TDK BA100

TDK's newest additions to its earphone lineup includes the recently reviewed Editors' Choice, the TDK EB950. One step up the pricing ladder from the solid-performing EB950, we have the TDK BA100, a $199.95 (list) option that is quite different than its less expensive sibling. For starters, the two pairs look nothing alike, but beneath the cosmetic differences, the EB950 uses dynamic 8.5mm drivers, while the BA100, as its name implies, uses a balanced armature design. The resulting audio performance is also quite different, trading the EB950's deep and bright extremes for a focus on midrange frequencies. There's no distortion to speak of, and the BA100 can get quite loud, but its sound signature lacks the excitement of the EB950 or the accuracy of flat response pairs.

Design
The BA100 is a good-looking pair of earphones, with a large, but lightweight, earpiece that is capped by a metallic panel emblazoned with the TDK logo. The rest of the design is primarily matte black, with a wide, sturdy black cable extending from each earpiece and combining for a short length. A cable extension is provided, however, so you can chose between lengths of 20.4 and 50 inches. Both cables terminate in 3.5mm connections, but a screw-on ?-inch adapter for larger headphone jacks is also included.

The BA100 also ships with a snap-shut carrying pouch, a shirt clip, an earwax cleaning tool, 4 pairs of silicon ear tips (in various sizes), and a Comply foam ear tip set. We suggest starting with the Comply foam tips?pinch them to make them smaller, then let them slowly expand at the base of your ear canal. This will create a secure, strong seal, which not only helps the earpieces stay in place, but provides a more consistent stereo image and better bass response.

TDK also includes a set of replacement filters for the ear tips. This is not something you typically see shipping with an earphone pair, and it's an excellent accessory. No matter how well you clean your ear tips with the provided tool, sometimes wax will get lodged in the filters. The included user guide tells you how to replace a filter?you'll know it's clogged if you hear markedly more audio from one ear than the other, and the cable appears to be undamaged.

Notably, TDK opted not to include an inline microphone and remote control for mobile devices?an increasingly rare move in the realm of earphone these days. The negative aspect of this is: You're probably buying these for a mobile device, and it would be nice if you could use its phone functions without removing the earpieces. The upside is: You're not paying the extra $25-35 manufacturers typically tack on to the price for said remotes and mics.

Performance
Like its sibling, the BA100 handles deep bass quite well. At maximum, unsafe listening levels on tracks with very challenging sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," there is no distortion and plenty of low frequency rumble. At more moderate listening levels, the BA100 still manages to convey some serious low frequency presence.

Compared with its sibling, the EB950, however, it seems less present in the sub-bass frequencies, with a focus more on the low-mids. As for treble, the EB950 also feels more crisp and tweaked than the less bright BA100. Again, it seems to be more focused on the high-mids than the highs.

How does this translate to different genres? Bill Callahan's baritone vocal delivery, on tracks like "Drover," has a bit less treble edge to it through the BA100 than I'd prefer. Part of this, however, is the mix itself, which can sometimes sound a tad muddy on earphones that lack much boosting in the high-mids and highs. The consistent drumming in the background sounds almost thunderous on the EB950, but more reserved here. There's certainly plenty of low frequency response on the BA100, but it's focus is less on the deep stuff, and less boosted in general.

On classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," this more reserved approach compliments the overall mix quite nicely. The higher register strings have less high-mid presence than you hear on the EB950, but they're still delivered with definition, and cleanly, while the lower register strings have plenty of resonance, as do some of the lower register brass parts. This is primarily due to the aforementioned focus on the low-mids, where much of the lower frequency content of the instruments resides. The high-pitched wood block hits could sound a bit brighter than they do here, but the overall focus on mids means an articulate, centered sound signature that is never too bright nor too bass-heavy.

The lack of overly boosted highs also serves modern pop, rock, and hip hop mixes well. On the Jay-Z and Kanye West track, "No Church in the Wild," the BA100 tames the sometimes too treble-heavy attack of the kick drum loop the song is based around, while the sub-bass synth hits bring a certain level of deep low-end to the equation, but nothing that overwhelms the mix. As you might expect, the EB950 sounds both heavier on the sub-bass here, and brighter. Both pairs deliver vocals cleanly, but the BA100 does so with a bit less high-frequency boosting.

Between the two TDK pairs, the more sculpted EB950 sounds more compelling to me, even if it's providing a less accurate picture. Perhaps that's because the BA100 is not really trying to deliver anything close to flat response, so its lack of brighter highs or very much sub-bass presence makes its overall sound signature seem comparatively smoothed over?not muddy, but not particularly crisp, either.

If neither pair appeals to you, perhaps it is a more flat response you seek. The recent MartinLogan Mikros 70 is not flawless, but it does have a more typical flat response sound?more definition in the highs, and subtle low frequency response. If you have more money to spend, and like the idea of some bass, but a focus on the mids?and perhaps a bit more brightness?the Logitech UE 900 fits this description well, but it's also not a flawless earphone pair.

And if all of these seem way too pricey, and you really just want something on the inexpensive end of things that doesn't sound horrible, the RHA MA450i sounds quite good for its low price?but it's nowhere near the quality level of the aforementioned options. The clean, powerful TDK BA100 is the middle-child of the new TDK line-up?there is another, more expensive option in the TDK BA200, which we have yet to test. So far, the baby of the family is getting all our attention, but the BA100 is no slouch?it just doesn't stand out quite as much.

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