CCA CRA Review

The CRA is the an ultra-budget $17.99 IEM from CCA, one of the off-shoot brands of the popular Knowledge Zenith (KZ) family. The CRA is a fun, enjoyable and great listen for a very measly price and I'll hope to tell you why in this short review.

First off, I would like to acknowledge KZ for sending me this review unit. It's been around my house for a little bit now and I've finally had some time to sit down and write about it. They had also sent the Crinacle collaboration ZEX Pro and CRN along with this set, which I have already covered previously.

The CRA comes in a very similar box to those two. It's a small, white box, with simple set of ear tips, and a brown-colored cable and the IEMs. The CRA has a dark translucent shell and fits pretty nicely in my ears. I did not have any issues with fit, comfort, or anything for that matter, and the default tips worked pretty well out of the box. I did not need to tip roll.

So how is this thing fun? It has one of the most fun slam and bass impacts of any of the budget IEMs I have heard. The single dynamic driver here provides the excitement. When I first put on Lo Moon's "Loveless" and it's opening sub-bass buzzing intro, I immediately was shocked with delight. This little cheap thing has great rumble, and the kick drum has impact. It's boosted up a bit, but it is played back fairly well controlled, and there's no bass bleed. I hear my mid-range and treble ranges quite cleanly.

On a track like Loveless, there's quite a bit of hi-hats and a shaker that constantly keeps the tempo up along with the bass backdrop. If you don't get a great seal, these two higher frequency attacks can get pretty fatiguing, but when I found the proper seal and resting place for the tips in my ears, the aggression of these instruments calmed down a bit and it wasn't so bad. 

The CRA, while borderline V-Shaped with an elevated bass and treble, still has a solid mid-range which is smooth and apparent. I never felt that vocals sounded dead or recessed, and they also never sounded shrill or top heavy either.

While the CRA isn't the most resolving IEM, nor is it the most controlled IEM, nor is it the most smooth overall IEM, it has a fun combination of solid dynamics and a very engaging bass presentation that makes me want to crank up the volume and turn on tracks that emphasize and bring out my inner basshead. 

The CRA is one of, if not my favorite budget IEM on the market right now.