CCA Rhapsody Review – Fast Fashion

The Rhapsody is yet another assembly-line earphone from the KZ/CCA stable with a decent sounding Harmanish tuning that can be altered with a set of switches.

CCA is a sub-brand of Knowledge Zenith (“KZ”). Together both brands must have released 100 different models, each with an estimated shelf life of about three weeks. Almost all of them are positioned in the budget realm, therefore affordable to be bought in bulk, suited for stimulating the obsessive compulsive buying habits of some personalities. The numerous models are also rather repetitive in both sound and haptic. KZ and CCA are the earphone equivalent of fast fashion such as SHEIN, Primark and Co. Both stand for modern overconsumption.

Many buyers have been saturated with CCA/KZ models as you can read in the comments to my recent April Fool’s Day article:

We at audioreviews.org have certainly been saturated with budget models a long time ago and thankfully explicitly declined KZ’s request to review this one…but it ended up in my mailbox anyway. This is no arrogance from our side but self protection related our natural learning process: our ears have simply outgrown the budget segment. It is no fun anymore. Focusing on interesting and inspiring gear prevents burnout. Let the juniors take on these to earn their stripes, or the reviewers who make money from these with affiliate links and Google ads.

Since we do not rely on advertisement income based on the number of views (or none at all), we can, to some extent, take on gear that is interesting. And KZ/CCA earphones are largely not for us…except perhaps the current AS24 model.

The Rhapsody is yet another Harman-ish tuned iem with tons of B-grade drivers (2DD and 4BA). The shells’ resin and cable I have had in my hands at least 100 times before…good quality…but I wonder whether KZ/CCA’s earphone designers are dying of boredom. How often have we seen this combination before?

Whilst, the admittedly superbly designed product page hails the Rhapsody as the “New King of Hybrid IEM”, and “a new pinnacle of HIFI In-Ear Monitor, born for extraordinary auditory experience”, I wonder which of their “4-level tuning switches” should relate to that.

I give it to CCA that they make such claims without relying on the good/questionable names of YouTubers in so-called collabs.

In the end, I did it to me and tried the CCA out (with all switches off), and I had a perfectly average Harman-type experience. No need to even measure that. Nothing wrong with the sound, it is good middle of the road. Nothing piercing, nothing muddled, it may help me falling asleep at night.

What sets the sound the Rhapsody apart from more expensive iems is their lean reproduction, particularly in the vocals department. This has been a long-standing issue with KZ/KBEAR etc. earphones (I have never tested an CCA).

The Rhapsody fit well, are comfortable, and are relatively big owing to the large number of drivers. The fact that CCA can sell that $50 set for $36 on sale (without a loss) points to their profit margin.

Everything in the Rhapsody is just plain average. If you are not experienced in this hobby, they would be a good start, especially as you can play with the switches. But if you are earphone savvy, these are just repetitive…for the umptiest time.

If you want a decent CCA/KZ iem, get the AS24 model.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Specifications CCA Rhapsody