CCA (Clear Concept Audio) - Hydro

They really could have do away with the tuning switches, it is mainly for low frequency, while the bass is not at the level you will feel the need to tune it down. So far it is very clear and detailed, very suitable for vocal focus tracks like most of what I would listen to like JPOP including anime songs, Chinese POP or even KPOP. For those electronic tracks with strong bass, I think I would enjoy more with CCA Hydro.

I think I prefer KZ Zenith compared to PRX... there is something with PRX sound that I do not quite like.. hard to pin point to what it is. KZ PRX is detailed but somehow I dun quite like it as much. And you definitely need to use a more powerful source to run it like balanced output from a DAC AMP, I mean you can use 3.5mm if it provides enough power. My favorite IEM is still CCA Hydro.

Quite different. Hydro is much more Bassy, better instruments including strings, thicker note weight, bigger soundstage. Za12 is more sharp, a little bit more detailed and resolution, brighter. Both good for the price.

Big shells, like sonata, hydro.

Haven't heard the other 2 but am very happy with the hydro in my collection.

I was in your position a while ago. I was hesitating between the SM4 and the hydro. I went with the CCA Hydro, price-wise, with the 11.11 sales, it was in the same ballpark. I think its the more versatile pick between the two with its physical tuning switches. I had it for around a month, and I'm really pleased with it.

After a couple of months, I just received my FatFreq Deuce. Sadly I'm disappointed. Yeah, they're pretty bassy with the imedance adapter on, but it's mostly muddy and mostly sub-bass. Not much punch at all. Comparing side by side against my CCA Hydro Bass Edition (the black ones), I found them inferior in every way. And, yes, I tried some narrow bore tips (the Final Audio Type E that I use on my Hydros). They're pretty good, don't get me wrong. But for me, they're just not a match for the Hydros for clarity (across all frequencies), punch and growl. So far anyway. I'll keep testing (can't at the moment, 'cos I'm working), but first impressions are that I'll be selling them immediately. Lemme know if you have any questions. EDIT: Actually I was wrong! I don't know what I was hearing at work this morning, but I had a good listening session tonight, and the Deuce are, in fact, slightly better than the Hydro. They have ever so slightly more growl and punch, and less sibilance. Overall smoother. That's without the impedance adapter. With the adapter, they're a bit pillowy on most tracks. On some, the adapter adds some body and depth, but on most it's a hindrance. So... Apologies everyone for being hasty!

Yeah they're great value, that's for sure!

I think they're about the same but thinner. My sister has my Castors at the moment. I prefer the Hydro size because they're easier to take out!

The CCA Hydro is a very good iem, and very underrated. Comes with mic or without, and even with a HQ cable for 10$ more. It fits within the 200$-250$ segment for less than half the price.

I'm very impressed with the CCA Hydro iem's. I've bought 3 sets of iems during the summer sales. Whereas the hydro is the cheapest of the 3 sets I've bought (others are juzear 61t and kiwi ears punch). Still the hydro sounds like a very good competitor against sets wich are around the 200$ segment.

Damn it! I just ordered them from Amazon a couple days ago, they just came today, paid $156.06 with tax. On another note, I just spent an hour listening to different songs & I'm pretty happy with them! For IEMs, I've also got S12 Pro, 7Hz Timeless & the Simgot SuperMix 4's & I think the Hydros are my favorite so far. I've got to do some A/B testing with the other IEMs, but first initial impression, I'm very happy with them, they've got more bass than I expected they would have.

I've only really messed with the treble switches so far, the 2 bass switches I left on because I love bass. In my opinion, the CCA Hydros are too bright with the treble switches on. I haven't tried turning the bass switches off yet, I'll tinker with them next time I give them a listen, perhaps later tonight. I also just picked up some used IEMs from eBay, Thieaudio Oracle Mk3's, they were listed for $450. I think those might be my 'endgame' IEMs, they sound amazing! They've got more bass than the CCA Hydros & the midrange & treble are incredibly clear. I'm now thinking about selling all of them on eBay, except for the Oracle Mk3's & I'll keep CCA Hydro's as a backup.

Hydro are definitely better than the EA500LM but you will have to eq them a bit to get the right sound you want. The Hydros are also not as heavy as the ea500lm so the comfort is really nice as well. I use the hydros on 1100 and just lower the bass using eq. Also the ea500lm in the sound comparisons is not entirely accurate as it doesn’t sound that thin/sharp in person when you listen to music with them.

cca hydro has a rly nice upgrade cable for a few bucks more. i wouldn't call the build very cheap it's good for the price, just the connector is something to be careful with.

edc pro, zenith, cca rhapsody/trio, zs10 pro 2 and cca hydro are all competitive.

separation a bit harder since headphones have wider stage and iirc sundara had good separation, but detail for sure, my cca hydro and truthear nova i had have more detail than both sundara and lcd-2c. kima 2 I've heard is good it looks a bit warm, maybe not detail focused, but should still be fine. if you want detail i would get something like nova, hydro, em6l, defiant, maybe ziigaat crescent, xenns tea pro for higher end and still bassy.

CCA Hydro has a very engaging tuning for hip-hop, rly good bass punch, pleasant tonality.

Yes it’s great maybe the best for hip hop if you pick the right one My choices KZ edc pro - super budget option 5$ just sounds good overall. Kz castor pro bass (black) - 10-15$ give you that mid bass punch and slam Kz saga bass - 10-15$ give you that sub bass rumble and thump Kz zs12 pro x (with the tuning switches set to Up up down down) - overall amazing bass sound and texture but it’s 30-50$ CCA hydro - the king but it’s 80-100$ My personal pick is zs12.

I will share my head-fi signature below (it’s long). I have/had most iem’s that are mentioned. I wanted also to buy the DaVinci but it was recommended not do buy them. For example I like the Ziigaat Arcadia (186,-) more than the Punch (449,-). Prices, and even graphs, don’t tell the whole story. It like someone said, most important question is if you enjoy them. Also Doscinco is very good. Headphones: Fiio FT1, PSB M4U, Corsair HS70, Grado SR60X (rebought). IEM’s: Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+, NiceHCK Himalaya, Hidizs MP145, Artti T10, Aoshida E20, Ziigaat X HBB Arcadia , Tripowin X HBB Kailua, QOA Adonis New, HifiMan RE2000S Pro, Faaeal Iris 2.0, Faaeal Anchestor, Aful Explorer, CCA Trio, CCA Hydro, 7Hz Five, Kz EDC Pro, QKZ MDR, Kbear Rosefinch, Yincrow X6. DAC/Amplifier: Hiby R4, Fiio Q3 MQA, Ifi hip dac 3, BGVP T01s , Olaf dual Bocheng chip dongle, NONAME 4.4mm dongle with Apple C101 chip, Aqua Nexum. Tested but send back: Inawaken Dawn-MS, Fiio Q11, iBasso DX180, Joyodio Shine, Fiio Q3, Kz X Libra, Fiio JD3, Sony WF-C500, JBL Tune 130NC, Sennheiser HD 650, Simgot EW200, HiFiMan Sundara, Philips Fidelio X3, Philips Fidelio X2HR, Dali IO4, QOA Vesper (DOA), BeyerDynamic DT 900 Pro X, Beyerdynamic DT 990 32Ohm, HiFiMan Deva Pro wired, Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Blessing 3, Truthear X Crinacle: Red, Tangzu X HBB XuanNV, 7Hz Timeless, Simgot Supermix 4, Tangzu Wan’er SG, Austrian Audio HI-X15, XSL X-One MK4, Sony WH-1000XM5, ThieAudio Hype 2, Owned but sold: SMSL C200, Fiio JM21, 7Hz Timeless AE, Tripowin X 0DiBi: Vivace, Simgot EW-300, Denon AH-D5200, Artti R1, Aful Performer8, Jabra 75T Active Elite, TRN Conch, Ikko oh300, Fiio FP3, HiFiMan HE400SE Bilateral (China edition), Kefine Delci, iBasso SR2, Koss PortaPro, Ziigaat Nuo, Ziigaat Doscinco, Ziigaat X Jay Audio Estrella, Ziigaat Odyssey, Ziigaat Cinno, Ziigaat Cincotres, Grado SR60X(rebought), Kiiboom Evoke, Kiwi Ears Quartet, 7Hz Legato, 7Hz Salnotes Zero, 7Hz Sonus, 7Hz Timeless II, Etymotic ER2XR, Fatfreq X HBB Deuce, Blon BL-03 II, Kiwi Ears Crinacle Singolo, Faaeal Poppy, Qkz Cl8, Faaeal Rosemary, Sennheiser ie200, Fiio FH7S, Fiio JD7, Fiio FF3S, Fiio FF5, Fiio FD3, Hidisz MS3, Hidizs Mermaid MS2, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Qkz X HBB, Meze 99 Neo, Moondrop Chu 2, Grado SR325X, HiFiMan RE800 Silver, HiFiMan RE400i, Kiwi Ears X HBB Punch, Kiiboom Evoke, 1more Penta P50, Artti T10 Pro, Kz ZEX, Kz ZVX, Kz PR1 balanced edition, Kz X HBB PR2 (first batch), Kz PR3, Kz Castor bass edition, Moondrop Chu, Kz Krila, Kz ZEX Pro, Kz LingLong, Kz DQ6, Kz ZS10 Pro X and Denon AH-C620R🤮 (Worst IEM ever, possible AE imitation). Sources: Tidal, Ipad Pro M4 13’, iPhone 16 PM, Hiby R4 Wishlist: Ziigaat Lush, Ziigaat Arcanis, Fiio M21.

I got the Hydro and the KZ zs12 pro. Both are great and totally different. I prefer more flat sound with good mid range forward. I'm wondering how the Sonata sounds in comparison. Looking forward to your reviews! Many thanks!

If you have larger ears, I would go with CCA Hydro. They’re great, and can be adjusted to fit your preference using physical switches on the IEMs to change the sound profile.

CCA Hydro. I love them, sound is awesome and this iem is never mentioned don't know why.

look for a Glenn gane audio channel on youtube where you can actually hear how many iem sounds like . I ruled out many recommended and praised iems after I heard them and found others that I didnt know of and sound great to me . For example cca hydro was a shocker to me , sound signature close to xenns Up and I bought it for only $80 on aliexpress [https://youtu.be/ptxP8YRQmTE?si=3MHMzGmLtFglNXVV](https://youtu.be/ptxP8YRQmTE?si=3MHMzGmLtFglNXVV)

I dont own kz zs10 pro 2 but I have zs12 pro x. and its the banger. it just have one extra BA than zs10 pro 2. I power them with cs43131 dac and its just amazing. the most expensive iem i have right now is cca hydro. I love them the most and use them the most. I use fiio ka13 for powering it.

Me and my mate got into iems around the same time. I got CCA hydro, he got s12, we were both disappointed with the s12. I don't understand how they are so often reccomended.

couldn't agree more. Been doing iem research last week and came to a few hard choices: used $300 Mangird Tea Pro, Dunu Braindance or $400+ for Mega5est. Really broke down what I wanted which are mids with more air along with tight sub bass. After listening to a bunch of sound demos and vs videos I ended up going with a sale on CCA Hydro for $80.

Nice collection! Some real gems in there. Still really like my Hydro and Trio.

I've tried planars and basshead sets so far! Kiwi Ears Aether, Letshuoer S08, Kiwi Ears Airoso, KZ Decet, CCA Hydro, and today the QoA Adonis arrived... I even wondered if 'd get a bigger benefit with headphones so I bought an Edition XS. They are all really good, but the difference between my $50 Artti T10 and the $150 Aether was much more "I guess it sounds a bit better if I concentrate." Same for ear tips- they've been wasted purchases.

I have the CCA Hydro, and it's an absolute banger to get a taste of what a $500 hybrid sounds like for $100... Doesn't beat it or match it, but it's damn good value and makes me question why everyone else is charging 5x more. They ARE better, but definitely not 5x better.

I have the Hydro and the EW300. Have not heard the PRX. The first 2 are fairly similar with the Hydro having a bigger bass response, and the EW300 having a better balance and more midrange. So I definitely use them for different stuff. I will say, I love the EW300.

Treble is very smooth and shockingly detailed, but the tuning is wack.

The upper mids and above are pretty great, but the lower mids are nonexistent, and something about the shape of the bass shelf makes it sound really limp and unimpactful. I think it’s fair to say that the broadband tuning is very non-traditional. It’s not v-shaped or exciting sounding, it just sounds odd, at least to me. https://squig.link/?share=IEF_Comp_Target,%E2%88%86_JM-1_-_10dB_Tilt_Target,CCA_Hydro_UUDD

KZ has about 2-3 incidents that people still cling to and just hate in them. In general I have found they have pretty solid products I’m currently happy with the ZS12 Pro X, while it’s a nice upgrade from ZS10 for a significant upgrade, go for the CCA Hydro, depending on your budget ofc. If you want planer sound at a budget, get Artti T10

I have the Hydros and the EW300 DSP and imho the Hydro clears it. Its a set that would probably handle any music genre thrown at it and it is my preferred at home for music and gaming on my PC. The EW300 is still good with DSP cable or 4.4 cable also.

The Hydros are fucking 🔥. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. You've done research and already purchased them, so no need for more reviews that helped me get them. Most of this community is going to think you're crazy for even thinking something from KZ/CCA is an upgrade or better than anything from Aful. See the lame joke comment. I had someone tell me I was wrong for thinking the Hydros were better than the EW300 (they are) despite me having both, and I believe he had neither. I was somewhat interested in the P5+2 last year and asked Paul Wasabii if it was better than Hydro, and he said no. It also wasn't being sold on Linsoul for the $50 off code, so that played a factor also.

Cheaper hydros? Those aren't comparable to the Hydros. The supposed baby hydro were the Rhapsody and people that have both said that's not even close.

Disagree about the tuning. It was probably the start of them doing better tuning reflected in their later sets.

The Hydros are fucking 🔥. No need to apologize. That's what make the Hydros so good. They compete or beat above their price range. The fact that you needed more time to see if a $100 iem was better to you than a $250 set shows that. I picked them up after reviews here and from Paul Wasabii, Akros and ToneDef on youtube were amazed by them and said they were better than iems 2-5X their price. Your ears, your wallet. You're doing the right thing by not falling in line with those still crying about KZ. Most are just parrots and probably have never did what you and me did. Try them for ourselves. They'll still be talking about "fake" drivers and missing filters 5 years from now.

The Hydros are KZs large shell. They are fatter than the castors.

KZ are very plasticky in build and often overemphasize slam and 10k region to bring out a perceived detail and crispness.cables are super cheap and feel bad. They are value monsters though. One of my favourite value for money sets is a former KZ brand the cca hydro. It has very cheap cable and build though. Also, as you figure out your tastes and preferences, consider buying higher quality sets to truly upgrade your experience, instead of going for tons of super cheap mediocre sets. For reference I am no snob. I enjoy ziigaat's thin cables and old small cases fine. But KZ's stuff is just another lower level of feel and experience.

I absolutely adore my CCA Hydra. But, it isn't a solid build and the feel of the product is subpar. I still love it and use it more than my ziigaat cincotres and Mackie mp-460 that are way more expensive iem's

Good Soundstage? CCA Hydro. Good technicalities iem

Honestly I love my CCA Hydros and reach for them over some of my much more expensive pairs.