Intro
CCZ is a new brand that’s pretty ambitious in my opinion. They hit the market a few months ago with their flagship IEM, CCZ Plume, which sadly has been discontinued. It received a mixed bag review, personally i liked them, the only downside to it is the price. Our topic today will be the Emerald, so let’s get right into it.
Packaging
The packaging is fairly standard. A box containing the IEM, eartips and cable. That’s about it. Nothing too fancy and also nothing to complain about at this price point. Though i’d appreciate if a carrying case/pouch is included. One thing to note is that the stock cable is very prone to tangling, very annoying.
Build/Comfort
Patented rubber fin may look weird but it does help to make the IEM stays in place
Comfortable throughout long session
Shell is light and feels pretty much weightless on ear
Semi Transparent shell is an eye candy
Just nitpicking, stock cable can be better, but at this price point, i’m just gonna overlook this
The cable’s earhook does cause a little discomfort after several hours of use, but this can be easily fixed by just cutting off the ear hooks which i usually do to most of my cables
8/10 for build and comfort
Source
Foobar 2k -> VE’s Unreleased Dongle -> CCZ Emerald(Stock eartips and cable)
Cayin N3 Pro Solid State -> CCZ Emerald(Stock eartips and cable)
Sound
Emerald is definitely not neutral and to my ears, V shaped as far as i can tell, i do not have the measurement tool to perform the necessary assessment, what i describe is solely based on what i heard with my own gears. Do take into consideration that you might get different results from different sources, heck even eartips and cable does have some impact to it as well. For the sake of this review, everything is in stock form.
Bass
As with every V shaped earphone, the bass here is definitely emphasised.
Sub bass extension is pretty good, the rumble can definitely be heard and felt, not quite bass head level like VE’s Bonus IE, but it can definitely be heard and felt when you have a good seal
It does bleed into the mids occasionally when the track gets busy, in particular Slipknot’s Duality
Bass is not bloated thankfully
Average punch and slam
Mids
Vocal is not recessed to my ears, the texture is just about right, not too thin sounding nor thick
Bass will bleed into the mids as mentioned earlier
Detail retrieval is average, u can hear the notes of instruments when it is not busy, when the track gets complicated, this is where it will fail to perform. It is not bad considering its asking price
Treble
Average treble extension
Smooth
Not harsh nor sibilant for sure
Lacking in terms of clarity
Soundstage/Imaging
Wider soundstage compared to Melody
Instruments separation is slightly better than Melody due to being a bit more spacious
Instruments can be identified easily due to having better
Compared against CCZ Melody
Melody is lacking soundstage
Detail retrieval and technicality they are very very similar
More refined bass,tighter and better impact
Bass doesn’t sound loose as Melody
Better sub bass response, more rumble to my ears
Driveability
Easy to drive
Can be powered well even off a dongle
Better source of course will provide better experience
Final Thoughts
Overall, they’re worth paying attention to especially coming from a new brand. They don't have class leading technicalities nor top tier detail retrieval, what they offer is a well priced IEM asking for 23.99 USD at time of writing with good enough sound to get you started in this hobby,but if budget is your main concern, by all means go with Melody. You won't be missing out much. If budget is not an issue, go with Emerald.
I would rate Emerald at 4/5.
If you are interested in purchasing Emerald. Do head over to KeepHifi’s store to check them out.
As always, big thanks to KeepHifi for sending them over in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
