Cat Ear Mia Review (1) – Boom Boom Boom Boom

Cat Ear Mia: $99 single DD from a new Shenzen entrant. I really like the cable-down, slim form factor, which remind me of the Final Heaven IV, and comfort and isolation are good. The Cat Ear Mia’s gimmick, aside from some mumbo-jumbo about “-196 cryogenic treatment,” is the inclusion of tiny rubber tuning rings, which seal the gap between the shells and the  MMCX connector and augment the already- massive bass. I found the rings to be almost impossible to attach and to further congest the sound, so I left ‘em off.

Unamaped, through my mobile the Cat Ear Mia was a muddled mess of boomy, flabby bass and veiled higher frequencies. Powering with an amp (in my case, the HIdisz S-9) much better presented Cat Ear Mia’s intended character—a very warm/dark  presentation with dominant, impactful subbass, forward mids and severely rolled-off treble. Soundstage is very narrow, albeit with some height, and imaging isn’t very good; there’s not a lot of air between instruments. Notes have a thick, ballsy texture—male vocals in particular are full-bodied—but attack is poor and high end lacks detail and tends to be overshadowed by the low end. Drums in particular seem muffled and distant. Tonality is actually fairly analog-sounding—the Cat Ear Mia isn’t strident or exhausting, but  these lack clarity or any sort of sparkle, particularly on more complex materials.

The Cat Ear Mia may have some limited appeal to a narrow band of users (treble –averse bassheads?), but the <$15 KZ ZS3, not to mention innumerable TFZ, Tennmak, etc., hit the same target much more effectively. Not recommended.

Disclaimer: Cat Ear Mia borrowed from Durwood. Set provided by and available for purchase from Hifigo.