CCA Trio - The Bassy Budget King

4.5⭐️

+ Price to performance 

+ Exciting and fun tuning

+ Switches add tuning variety

+ Shells have great build quality

+ Warm and bassy with UUDD setting

- Big shells and large nozzles may cause fit issues (but didn't for me)

- Stock cable

- Barebones accessories 

- Lacking in technicalities/timbre issues

thaslaya's star rating system:

☆☆☆☆☆ - Fantastic!

☆☆☆☆ - Recommended

☆☆☆ - There are buyers but not for me

☆☆ - Can't see the appeal

☆ - Product is a failure

Disclaimer: 

This set was provided by KZ in exchange for my honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Here is the non-affiliate product link for those interested: https://www.kztws.com/products/cca-trio-legendary-3dd-iem

Gear used: 

●LG v30+

●Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra

●Samsung dongle

●Hiby FC4

●KiwiEars Allegro 

Source:

●Listening was done through Amazon Music HD or Ultra HD.

Introduction:

If you have been in the world of iems for even a brief period, you have probably heard of Knowledge Zenith (KZ) and its sister company CCA. The brands have been around for over a decade and are well-known for their affordable iems, but they also have a bit of a reputation for quality control issues and for the frequency in which they release products. I had not personally tried any of their products prior to this review but YMMV. The recently released CCA Trio has garnered a lot of hype on Head-fi and other places so I wanted to hear them for myself. The Trio is a pretty unique iem featuring three 8mm dynamic drivers and four tuning switches all for the low price of $30.99 (at the time of this review). Let's break down the sound and see if they set themselves apart in the crowded budget tier. 

Build, fit, ergonomics:

The unboxing for the CCA Trio is about as barebones as it gets. The package is small and contains the iems themselves, a 3.5mm cable, 4 sets of tips, and a metal piece to toggle the switches. There is no case or bag included which isn't a big surprise considering the price. The shells are fairly large and made of resin with a metal faceplate. They are slightly on the heavy side but still have a decent weight balance. They actually feel more premium than I expected, and I really like the build quality, although I prefer recessed or flush 2-pin to QDC connectors. The nozzle size is slightly large, and in combination with the big shells, could present fit issues for some. There are 3 pair of silicone tips and 1 foam in the box. These didn't work well for me to create a good, comfortable seal so I opted to use my favorite Penon Liqueurs. The stock cable feels cheap and stiff, so I switched it out for the stock cable from my recently reviewed Simgot EM6L, which also has QDC and matches the Trio's aesthetics pretty well.

Sound impressions:

After playing around with the switches for a good period of time, I found that the UUDD configuration fits my preferences best. All of the following impressions were based on these settings since taking the time to write up every configuration would be an exhaustive effort. That's one of the fun things about the Trio though is that it can be tapered to each individuals preferences to a certain extent. Also the option of being able to adjust the tuning on the fly to suit a particular genre can't be understated.

The UUDD setting accentuates the sub and mid bass and gives the Trio a more L-shaped frequency response. This setting works best for my library which consists mostly of pop, rock, soft pop/rock, and some R&B. The soundstage is decent and definitely admirable for the price. The imaging and dynamic range are decent. Detail retrieval is OK but the Trio is more fun and musical than analytical. The note weight of the bass is fairly thick but the mids and treble are on the thinner side, although not too bad overall. 

●Lows - There is more sub bass presence over mid bass. The extension reaches deep and has a nice rumble. The mid bass does have a slight bleed and separation could be better, but it's not bad for the price. There is decent punch and texture. The attack is fast but the decay can linger a bit which leads to a somewhat pillowy and blooming bass impression. It's definitely not a super clean bass presentation but it is really fun and dynamic.

●Mid - Vocals are present but not as forward and separated as I prefer. Male vocals suffer a bit more than female, the latter being less recessed. This is probably due to the mid bass being boosted by the switches and causing some bleed into the lower mids. There are also some timbre issues with vocals and instruments sounding a bit unnatural. It's an issue that should be taken into consideration, even factoring in the low price.

●Highs - Treble is mostly smooth, non fatiguing, and stays out of the way. At least these are my impressions with the setting I used and more treble energy can be added with the switches if desired. Enabling the switch causes the treble to sound artifical and thin to my ears. Keeping the switch in the down position meets my preference and effectively manages any sibilance or troublesome notes. The downside is that the extension and air are pretty mediocre with this setting. Although, it is a worthy sacrifice to maintain a more controlled treble response for my listening preferences. 

In conclusion:

Leave your critical listening ears at the door and step into to the fun and bassy world of the CCA Trio. They offer a lot of fun for a small entry fee, and in my opinion, they are just too good to pass up. They do go on sale often (I've seen them as low as ~$20), so it might be worth it to wait if cost is a factor. It's hard to find too much fault in the tuning, especially with 4 switches offering different flavors. However, expectations should be tempered when it comes to the technicalities and accessories. The shells do have a great weight balance and build quality but the cable is pretty mediocre and the tip selection is sparse. I think one of the strongest aspects of the Trio is that it can be adjusted on the fly to suit your needs. Feel like banging your head? Dial up the bass and enjoy! In the mood for a more relaxing session? Turn all switches off and mellow out. Although they may not be the "giant killers" that some have claimed, they are indeed enjoyable and definitely worth consideration. To my ear, they were best suited to rock and pop music. I highly recommend them to anyone that wants a fun budget set for travel, the gym, or just as a backup iem. For me, the CCA Trio are the triple dynamic, bassy budget king.