CCA Lyra Review (2) – Profiles in Polyurethane
$20 cheapo from the wildly inconsistent KZ factory looks and feels like a pricier piece, with campy-but-cool rhinestone faceplates, smooth acrylic underbodies and smaller-than-typical teardrop-shaped shells which provide for very good seal and comfort.
Unamped, and with the included silicon tips, the Lyra sounded like, well, a $20 cheapo—bass-shy and anemic , with a dark unnatural-sounding tone. Amping these with a Shanling UA-3 dongle, switching to foams and (esp.) inserting the nozzles deeply massively transformed these to warm, rich-textured and (generally) balanced, with tons of thumping-but-controlled subbass, a bit of a dip in the 100-200Hz midbass region and full-bodied mids.
Treble is smooth and fairly laid-back—it misses a bit of snap on drums and percussion, but wholly avoids the tizziness and sharpness of cheap hybrids. Soundstage isn’t massive, but remains uncongested, and imaging (a typical KZ strength) is very good by any standard.
The Lyra lack the high-end extension and sound less expansive than KZ’s better hybrids (ZSX, ZS10 Pro) but have the more organic, less strident timbre; the Lyra is also less revealing than the $40 budget champ Blon BL-03, but has superior fit and isolation. In the same price bracket, the amazin’ TRN-STM is bigger-sounding and presents more microdetail and sizzle, but is also hotter at the treble end and more exhausting than the easygoing Lyra.
Durwood praises these as daily-driver material and the current uber-budget go-to. He may be right.
Disclaimer: borrowed from Durwood.
SPECIFICATIONS CCA Lyra
- Driver Single 10mm Dual Magnetic Dynamic
- Impedance 28ohm
- Frequency Range 20-40Khz
- Sensitivity 113+/-3dB
- Cable 0.75mm recessed 2pin (QDC) 3.5mm 120cm length
- Color Options: Clear/Blue
DISCLAIMER
Get it from CCA Store on Aliexpress
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