CCZ is a new brand with several iems that are released in short order.. This is a sign of their engineering experience and capability IMO. And the duo of BA and DD Melody + Emerald brothers are maybe the last of the budget line they started with Coffee Bean.
Box, Box Contents, Specs, CCZ Melody And Cable
Melody has the box like it’s brother Emerald. Same size and layout of graphic elements. You can’t expect a change of box contents. They are just enough for their jobs. S, M and L silicone eartips, cable detached and some documents tucked in the small budget box.
Brand: CCZ.
Model: Melody.
Color: Clear Black； Black.
Interface/Connector：2PIN 0.78MM.
Plug type: 3.5MM.
Impedance: 16±2Ω
Sensitivity: 110±3dB.
Frequency response：20hz-20KHZ.
CCZ Emerald is a hybrid duo of 10mm DD and a BA. And looking more like 3d printed with the same proestethic looking conca cymba extension. Almost black colored backplate and prosthetic looking black colored earpiece that is filling the concha cymba. Body of its case is transparent, comfort is so high with its concha cymba extension and the cable is replaceable. Its one of the iems you can lay your head on while sleeping. Same as its brother Emerald.
Sound
Everything smelled so budget until now! Timbre is dark as its case is. Presentation is forward. Clarity combined with its forwardness and body is the first thing to strike me. Now I am hearing a shallow V with quality all over the frequencies. Transparency is higher than its price tag and its brother Emerald. We have a punch to speak about. And they aren’t shadowing other elements. Such a joyful experience with the Independence Dave of Alice Cooper. I am not going to analyze the song here but melodica, double kicks and his voice are full with texture and comfort at a sound level higher than I can expect from a budget iem. But we have to admit that 3d imaging is not high on both macro and micro levels. Alas, the eternal rules of budget ieming..
Bass is average to insane. And what makes Melody so great is its power independence to be a bass monster. This is where neutrality come into play. The sound is somewhat dark and warm. This duo is already a base for bassy sound but carrying the neutrality of its brother and for eg. What a Wonderful World is sounding true to its original with his vocal extensions (bass is hardly occurred at it) but Mercy feat the Arcturians are with crazy bass even when un cable rolled and un amped. This is a huge plus in it’s favor.
Mid is pretty good in general. But here is a downside. Though this frequency band has weight according to its budget segment, lower mids are thick and lose the texture at their extended playing. Imagine a long and dull note of contrabass or ney or any wooden blown instruments lower notes. But even with the downside here, it is still performing better than Emerald. Body and tonality factor are elegantly budget tolerated high at my recent body related test tracks (Evergrey – Weightless and Dream Theater – Alien) and not tiring in the long run. This is a very good point for the budget segment.
Treble of Melody is demanding of power to shine. Even though not in the level of a twice priced budget star, 80/100 is perfectly enough for this. But sadly the quality and resonance of the metallic blown instruments are low if you are nitpicking. (By the way the sound isn’t getting distorted or splashy or tiring at this high volume level of the already strong SE output of LG G7. Sibilance is not present even on my easily to sound sibilant track.
Another points in its favor. 😉
Amping the Melody
At first I thought “why am I amping up an already very efficient budget piece” But reviewer duty calls.
At 50mV the sound is surprisingly at a reasonably high level. Bass is freakish at dubstep with rounded presentation resembling huge drum hits. But pretty tame in Tubular Bells of the master Oldfield and lower notes are creating vibrations now with withdrawn treble instruments chiming beneath. And control is continuing at Cooper’s We Gotta Rise. While the drums are rolling, the antemasque character of the song is still visible (hearable in this case) and finally the low ends of the instrumental section of Merchant’s Golden Bell ain’t boomy or blank like Emerald. A very nice addition to its score list.
Cabling the Melody
I used the usual 6N OCC cable and at first I thought “why is cable rolling an already magnificent budget piece?” But reviewer duty calls like the amping I did.
Results are nearly the same (albeit an obvious loss of the warmth) as amping for Melody. Dubstep is more clinical and less warm. Tubular Bells’s chimeful treble are actually chiming like little birds on a groove. Lower end hardly gets vibrations.
CCZ Melody Review Conclusions
Ending the review of the best iem I encountered so far of the CCZ brand. According to my belief; if an earpiece is sounding good with relatively low power, it probably is good (reverse of the famous Murphy law) . I hope they release better iems to the budget segment.
