CCA C10 Pro Review (2) – KZ/CCA Pokemon, Better Not Catch Them All!
Pros
Light and comfortable. Good build.
Above average technical performance for the price.
Above average isolation.
Easily drivable.
2 pin connector – better lifespan than MMCX in general.
Cons:
Not for treble sensitive folks, can be fatiguing and harsh in the treble.
Sibilance fest.
Average soundstage.
Very forgettable in the pantheon of KZ/CCA sidegrades/beta releases.
Poor instrumental timbre.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
KZ (and by extension sister company, CCA) are back to their circa 2018 – early 2019 habits of churning out almost weekly sidegrades/marginal upgrades. The CCA C10 Pro is one of these said sidegrades, and in the big scheme of things, the CCA C10 Pro is pretty forgettable in the pantheon of pokemon KZ/CCAs.
The CCA C10 Pro features a V shaped sound signature, with an overly boosted upper mids/treble. It has above average technicalities, but this is offset by a harsh and fatiguing treble, sibilance and an artificial timbre. I find it doesn’t give much value add compared to some existing KZ/CCA iterations (eg the KZ ZS10 Pro), so this is one pokemon that you should think twice about catching.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver type: 4 BA + 1DD (10 mm)
- Impedance: 24Ω
- Earphone sensitivity: 109dB/mW
- Frequency range: 20 – 40000Hz
- Cable type: 2 pin 0.75 mm
- Tested at $40 USD
ACCESSORIES
In addition to the IEM, the package comes with:
1) Silicone tips (S/M/L).
2) Stock cable – silver plated. It is servicable, for cable skeptics, please go on to the next section! For cable believers, I feel a pure copper one would have synergized better with the CCA C10 Pro as it is already bright and harsh in the treble, and would have benefitted from a copper cable to tame the highs and give a bit of warmth.
BUILD/COMFORT
The CCA C10 Pro has a beautiful metal faceplate, with a unique design emblazzoning it. Kinda like some illuminati code LOL. The CCA C10 Pro is very comfortable and light and I had no issues with using it for longer sessions in terms of fit (sound wise however, I couldn’t use it too long due to the harsh treble, but that will be discussed below).
I did not detect any driver flex.
I liked that the CCA C10 Pro came in a 2 pin connector, that has generally better lifespan than MMCX connectors in my experience.
ISOLATION
The CCA C10 Pro’s isolation is just above average, but won’t beat some unvented multi BA types in this area.
DRIVABILITY
The CCA C10 Pro is pretty drivable from lower powered sources, with not much scaling in sound noted when amped. It does hiss with PCs and phones but this can be mitigated by using a DAC/AMP, inline volume controller or impedance mismatch device.
As the CCA C10 Pro is on the brighter and leaner side tuning wise, I preferred pairing it with warmer sources to offset the treble/upper mids glare.
SOUND & TECHNICALITIES
The CCA C10 Pro sports a bright V shaped tuning, with boosted upper mids and treble. This is a treblehead set, no doubt about it, with above average technicalities at this price point.
Timbre is unfortunately, artificial for acoustic instruments, much like some circa 2018 KZ fare. The CCA C10 Pro is definitely not one for folks that listen to genres that comprise primarily acoustic instruments. I think the CCA C10 Pro will do pretty well with genres that have more synthetic instrumentation eg electronic. Note weight is leaner and tonality is overall on the colder side.
Soundstage on the CCA C10 Pro is pretty average in all 3 dimensions, it is slightly wider than deep, nothing to write home about. Imaging, instrument separation and details are above average but not class leading for a multi BA/hybrid budget set.
Bass:
Bass on the CCA C10 Pro is midbass focused over subbass, and the subbass extension is not the deepest. Generally the subbass manages to hit notes when called for and is not anemic. The bass quantity is north of neutral but not as basshead levels. Bass speed is on the faster side for a DD with above average texturing.
Mids:
Upper mids are boosted on the CCA C10 Pro compared to the lower mids, and the upper mids can on occasions be shouty, especially at higher volumes (Fletcher Munson Curve). Female vocals are hence more forward than male vocals.
Treble:
This is a bright set with the dreaded S word: sibilance. The CCA C10 Pro has detail and clarity to suit trebleheads, but may be fatiguing for longer sessions at the lower treble region, especially with female vocals/horns/trumpets. Cymbals and high hats occasionally sound splashy. I would grade the treble of the CCA C10 Pro as the weakest part of the frequency spectrum.
COMPARISONS
I had a bigger collection of KZ pokemons in the past, but have sold all my KZs away except the KZ ZS10 Pro, so apologies if I can’t do A/B comparisons with the other KZs.
KZ ZS10 Pro (4BA + 1DD)
The KZ ZS10 Pro is also V shaped in tuning, but the KZ ZS10 Pro has less treble than the CCA C10 Pro. CCA C10 Pro is hence brighter, and due to the ears taking the entire frequency spectrum as a whole, it also feels as though the CCA C10 Pro is lighter in bass quantity. The CCA C10 Pro has more sibilance, and is much more fatiguing for longer sessions than the KZ ZS10 Pro.
In terms of timbre, I thought the KZ ZS10 Pro wasn’t the best, but the CCA C10 Pro is even worse in timbre. KZ ZS10 has better soundstage and imaging. CCA C10 Pro has a tighter bass with less midbass bleed. KZ ZS10 Pro is more “fun” sounding and more versatile in terms of tuning, with the CCA C10 Pro sounding more cold in tonality.
Even though the KZ ZS10 Pro came out more than a year ago, I think there is no value add for the CCA C10 Pro for existing owners of the KZ ZS10 Pro.
TRN V90S (5BA + 1DD)
The TRN V90S is also another V shaped set, but it has less boosted upper mids/lower treble than the CCA C10 Pro, with the latter being more fatiguing and harsh and sibilant. The TRN V90S has better soundstage and imaging/instrument separation/details than the CCA C10 Pro, though the CCA C10 Pro has better clarity due to the boosted higher frequencies. TRN V90S has a more textured bass too, though it has a bit more recessed mids than the CCA C10 Pro.
Both sets have poor instrumental timbre, and ain’t the best option for music genres that incorporate a lot of acoustic instruments.
Overall, both are going at about $50 USD, and I think TRN V90S is the better set in terms of tonality and technicalities.
CONCLUSIONS
The CCA C10 Pro features a V shaped sound signature, with an overly boosted upper mids/treble. It has above average technicalities, but this is offset by a harsh and fatiguing treble, sibilance and an artificial timbre. I find it doesn’t give much value add compared to some existing KZ/CCA iterations (eg the KZ ZS10 Pro), so this is one KZ/CCA pokemon that you should think twice about catching.
In all likelihood, a pro version of this CCA C10 Pro will probably be coming our way in a few weeks’ time, since it appears KZ (and by extension sister company CCA) are back to their circa 2018 – early 2019 habits of churning out almost weekly sidegrades/marginal upgrades. Perhaps trebleheads will like this set, but even so, it doesn’t have the best technicalities also, and there’s better options to be gotten out there at the same price range.
The CCA C10 Pro is really pretty forgettable in the $50ish USD cut throat CHIFI market, and unfortunately being average in that price segment is not good enough nowadays. Perhaps two to three years back, when CHIFI were still relatively uncommon in the wild, the CCA C10 Pro would have been lapped up, but this does not apply for the past year and a half or so, when CHIFI sound quality has really scaled up tremendously.
MY VERDICT
DISCLAIMER
I would like to thank the Wooeasy Earphones Store for providing this review unit.
It can be gotten here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001302167271.html at $40 USD.
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