WATCH FULL REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/Ecs4xHFsSos

Price: $50

PROS: 

• Refined-sounding hybrid for CCA
• Fun, engaging sound that makes music sound alive
• Tuning switches
• Very good seal
• Good tonal balance
• Deep reaching, rumbly bass
• Clean mids with decent note weight

CONS:

• Might be too large for smaller ears
• Not the most technical set
• Not for trebleheads/detail heads
• Slight incoherency on the bass
• Barebones inclusions
  Not the most dynamic bass presentation

WHO THIS UNIT IS FOR:

• Harman-lovers
• People looking to upgrade from the Castor Bass
• Bassheads
• People looking for a fun, engaging set
• People with larger than average ears
• People with high tolerance to air pressure build up

WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T FOR:

• Trebleheads/detailheads
• Timbreheads
• People with small ears
• People with low tolerance for air pressure build up
• People who want an abundance of inclusions

RECOMMENDED GENRES:

• HipHop
• Rock
• Pop

SHORT REVIEW: 

The Rhapsody is potentially the new standard for CCA hybrids coming into 2024 with its big, hefty bass, clean mids, and tame treble that makes this a solid all-rounder set for anyone looking for a fun listening experience. It isn’t the most technical or coherent sounding set with a slower, less dynamic-sounding bass and a larger-than-average fit that might be uncomfortable for some. Regardless, you cannot deny that the CCA has made a solid hybrid! RECOMMENDED WITH CAVEATS.

FULL REVIEW:

CCA has always been an interesting case in the KZ family. Is it their premium division? Is it their hybrid division? What is the purpose of CCA’s existence when KZ exists in a similar market? Well, the more I looked at the sets that come out from CCA, the more evident it is that they seem to pioneer the tech and concepts that KZ will eventually adopt. 

Think CCA CXS, an IEM that first featured the weird open shell design that ended with the creation of the KZ ZVX. Or the CCA CRA’s tuning philosophy that ended up as the KZ EDA Balanced. Now I have no 100% proof of this claim, but it really seems that way when you look into their products and the subsequent KZs coming afterwards

Today, we’ll talk about one such IEM due to just how well executed the overall package is. Let’s talk about the CCA Rhapsody!

DISCLAIMER: This product was sent over by CCA in exchange for my honest impressions.  I was not paid. Rest assured, my thoughts and opinions on this product will be of my own honest opinions and will not be affected by the facts beforehand.

Audio is a very subjective hobby and as much as I try to objectively explain my thoughts and opinions, your mileage will vary. My preferences will also affect how I perceive the gear that I review. Sources and other accessories will also modify your experience. Lastly, my reviews should always be used only as a guide and not as the definitive bible. Trust your ears to know what’s good.

A CLEARLY CONCEPT AUDIO BRAND

CCA is well known for being KZ’s sister brand and also featuring some of the most well-received sets in the past like the C10, CRA, and today’s set, the Rhapsody. While it might not be as clear as to what exactly separates CCA and KZ’s philosophy, you may speculate as to the reasons. Regardless, it’s hard to deny that CCA has released critically acclaimed sets. 

What is clear, however, is that the Rhapsody seems to spice up the market with it’s 2DD + 4BA set-up (with proper tubing between the drivers this time) and a price tag of just shy of $50. So, how well can it capture the market? 

UNBOXING: 

The unboxing of the CCA Rhapsody is surprisingly slightly varied from the usual KZ-style products. Instead of the usual whitebox with the illustration of the IEM up front, the Rhapsody comes in a pure black box that has the specifications and illustration printed on the side and CCA up front. That’s how you know this is a unique (or on the contrary, possibly) set. 

The inclusions are as follows: 

• 1 pair of KZ Rhapsody
• 1 3.5mm Cable
• 3 sets of eartips
• Paperwork

The eartips are your usual KZ Starline that may or may not work, but it does improve seal and boosts the bass at the cost of stage. Unfortunately, no foam tips here which might have actually helped a little bit with the fit which I’ll talk more about later. 

BUILD & FIT

The CCA Rhapsody features 2 Dynamic Drivers and 4 Balanced Armatures in a resin shell and metal faceplate with an interface of 0.75mm QDC. Like many KZ sets, the Rhapsody features 4 tuning switches per side with a potential of 16 different tuning modes with 5 advertised by CCA themselves. 

The build itself is your standard CCA/KZ set with a pretty durable feeling resin shell and metallic faceplate. It feels sturdy, but nothing too special or fancy in how it feels. I’ll be honest, I don’t like the faceplate design that much. I do not like the Rhapsody font and the somewhat folded design looks a little odd when paired with that massive vent. Obviously, it’s a taste thing but regardless, I’m not a big fan

Speaking of big, this is, by far, the chunkiest KZ I’ve ever worn. Seriously, the fit was so snug and tight in my ear I almost thought I was wearing some $300 hybrid that also hurt my ears due to the number of drivers jammed into it requiring a larger shell. As expected, people will smaller ears will absolutely abhor the Rhapsody. This thing is so massive that this was my first KZ in a while that actually caused problems for long-term comfort. 

However, I do want to address the seal as this is probably the part of the Rhapsody that separates it from the rest of the hybrid lineups. The seal on this is insanely good. But at the cost of air pressure build up. And if you’ve been following my reviewers for a while, you know IEMs that have air pressure build up are essentially unusable to me. Thankfully, the Rhapsody isn’t the most air-sucking IEM that I’ve tried and tiprolling to the tried and tested Tangzu Sancai actually helped this to not have as crazy of air pressure build up. 

As expected, stability is solid on the Rhapsody due to its size and shape. I had 0 problems wearing this for long periods and it falling out due to my ears starting to sweat up. It’s a very snug and stable fit that, again, comes at the cost of discomfort as it adds a lot of pressure unto my antihelix. 

Overall, it’s a decently built,  larger than average CCA set with a VERY snug fit, seal and isolation at the cost of long term comfort and air pressure build up. It can be remedied quite well through tip-rolling and the stability is one of the best I’ve tried in any CCA sets. I’m not a fan of the aesthetics, but that’s just me. 

SOUND

NOTE: As the Rhapsody features 4 tuning switches per side, I’ll be talking about the tuning configuration that it came stock in and compare the other configurations later. 

Sound Signature

The Rhapsody features a rather steep U-Shaped sound signature with subbass emphasis, recessed lower mids, forward upper mids and elevated but smooth treble. As a KZ hybrid, the coherency in this set is actually insane. While the bass might still lag a little bit behind the mids and treble, there’s barely any metallic timbre and the higher frequencies don’t sound much faster than the lower frequencies. 

Drivability: 

With an impedance of 15-20ohms and sensitivity of 102db, the Rhapsody is quite easy to drive with a smartphone. Its tuning also makes it sound quite good, even through a smartphone. Your experience with the Rhapsody will be improved when using at least a dongle DAC, but I’d say it’s not necessary at all. I will say that pairing this with a more dynamic sounding DAC would improve its low end nuances better and bringing out the details better too. 

Bass:

On my first impressions, I said that the Rhapsody sounded alive. And this was the reason for that finding. The bass on the Rhapsody is big, boomy and ready to party. It has a subbass over midbass emphasis, but it’s elevated to the point where the subbass and midbass starts to balance out into a perfect storm. It is massive, it is booming and certainly for bassheads. However, I will say that texturing and bass nuances. 

Right away, I HAD to listen to Childish Gambino’s Me and Your Mama at the 1:37 mark and feel that rumble and boy, was I not disappointed. The depth and rumble of this is out of the charts and absolutely addicting. However, texturing as mentioned was lacking on a track like Send It by D’Angelo.

Mids:

What’s not so undeniably fun is its midrange. I will preface this however by saying that the Rhapsody’s lower midrange presentation is quite better than other midbass tucked sets in the market. There’s still a decent amount of body and note weight, but still lacks for my tastes and can sound quite recessed in busier mixes. Female vocals fair better, however, as the cleaner and open lower mids leave the upper frequencies with a rather crisp and nuanced vocal presentation. 

Instruments are expectedly on the thinner side, particularly in the lower frequencies. There’s almost this clear divide when the bass ends and the lower mids start as instruments lose their hefitness quite quick. It’s note entirely cold sounding, however, as the balance between the lower mids and upper mids are quite well done and smooth in the mix. 

Get Lucky by Daft Funk sounds very fun and energetic, but Pharell’s vocals as well as some of the backing pianos often lacks emphasis in the mix due to the deep, elevated bass presentation. Still, this was a very fun track to listen to on the Rhapsody despite that. The low end emphasis made the music sound so alive and engaging. Orchestral tracks, however, don’t fair as well. Something like Tohpati’s True Love. Despite not really having much low end, the guitar reverberations loses some nuances in the acoustic guitars. 

Treble:

The treble of the Rhapsody is generous and forgiving. There’s no unneeded overemphasis on the treble but still keeps a decent amount of clarity and energy to give life to higher frequency notes. I didn’t find any harshness or sibilance whatsoever and I’d even go to say that this would be a pretty good IEM for those who are sensitive to treble. There are instances of it getting a little hot, particularly on more poorly mixed tracks and when cranking the volume too high. But as a whole, it’s quite inoffensive. However, it does lack a little bit of that sparkle for my own personal tastes. You probably already know how much I love my spicy treble and for better or worse, the Rhapsody keeps sparkle at a normal level. 

Can’t Hide Love by Earth, Wind and Fire is a very good track to showcase the smoother treble presentation of the Rhapsody. From the intro to the end, the cymbals in this track never got grating or sibilant and offered a really nice amount of clarity, although admittedly has its finer details masked in the rather bombastic bass presentation that I found to perfectly suit this older track. Older tracks seem to be tuned with less bass in mind, so a bigger bass set like the Rhapsody was able to nicely present both the low end and the top end. 

Technicalities: 

This is where the Rhapsody takes a chill-pill and takes the energy a notch down. It takes a more musical than technical approach with the stage offering pretty good depth, decent separation and layering and pretty good imaging. 

Stage is more catered to providing a rather immersive experience than something more expansive, but the depth is quite well done and music feels extra full. 

Separation is less than stellar, but it’s still able to present instruments in a rather clean and smooth manner without much congestion until more complex tracks. The bass definitely attributes to the less capable separation ability.

Imaging is quite good, and I’ll talk more about in the gaming section. But for music, I absolutely loved how this was able to present instruments in a rather expansive level. Left and right as well as front and back was quite impressive, although nothing that is too mindblowing. I can pinpoint instruments quite accurately, but once agains struggles on more complex tracks. 

REAL WORLD USAGE:

Casual Use: 

On one end, I think the Rhapsody is pretty good for casual browsing and consumign content. The tuning is very engaging and fun when watching movies, shows and the tuning allows for most content to never get grating or hard to hear thanks to its easy drivability and balanced tuning. However, fit is certainly a big issue on longer sessions as it seriously gets painful. It’s been a while since an IEM has done that to me, but it’s honestly expected due to its 6 driver per side configuration

Gaming Use: 

Gaming is fantastic on these. The subbass over midbass emphasis allows low end sounds to pass through without sounding muddy or congested and the balance with the upper mids allow higher frequency sounds to shine without harshness. I absolutely loved this for gaming, but unfortunately the fit rears its ugly head once again. I have to take more breaks when gaming with the Rhapsody than the usual IEM which is not a good thing when I wanna keep immersive, but at least reminds me to take breaks every once in a while. 

DIFFERENT TUNING MODES:

Let’s do a quick comparison between the different tuning modes that are advertised by CCA

0000 – The “Basic” graph as CCA stated, but oddly was not the basic graph for me as it came in all up mode. This is essentially boosts the bass up which breaches into the midbass and can occasionally sound a little bit on the bloated side. 

1000 – The Bass +1 mode, which boosts the bass even more. This is makes the bass even more boomy, but oddly not as much on the rumble end. Rumble still seems quite similar but the midbass sounds a little bit more overcooked

1100 – The Bass +2 mode, even more bass! But this time, with extra rumble. This is the basshead setting and I did not linger on this mode for too long for the sake of my eardrums. It sounds very fun though

0010 – The Mid & High + 1 mode, which tames the sub bass but boosts the midbass without really changing the upper mids or treble that much. It shifts the balance to be less boomy and slightly clear

0011 – The Mid & High +2 mode, which is my favorite tuning as it’s the least bassy. Subbass does take a significant hit and it becomes considerably cleaner but less engaging. Still, I loved this setting the most because it’s the least bassy mode. 

COMPARISONS

Vs KZ Castor Bass Enhanced

The reason why this is my first comparison is because the Rhapsody is essentially the upgraded version of the Castor Bass in every single way, minus maybe the build as they’re very similar in that regard. 

The bass is tighter and cleaner on the Rhapsody, lower mids aren’t as sunken or thin, upper mids aren’t as shouty and the treble is better extended and more resolving. Even the fit is better, although more on the stability side as the Castor is still more comfortable than the Rhapsody due to its smaller shape. 

Vs Simgot EW200

The EW200 has a better overall timbre and technical ability than the Rhapsody, but the Rhapsody brings in a considerably bigger and more engaging overall sound. It’s less natural sounding than the EW200, but also less fatiguing than the brighter and potentially hotter upper mids to treble of the EW200. Technicalities are ahead on the EW200 by quite a margin which surprised me as the EW200 is cheaper, but it does feature a very high quality driver. 

Vs Truthear x Crinacle Zero: RED

Against it’s fellow 2DD (but not hybrid) brethren, the two have a similar transient response, that being on the smoother side with focus on a smoother and more lush listening experience. However, timbre and coherency is better on the red as unlike the Rhapsody which is a little bit slower on the bass and a tad bit faster on the treble, the Red just sounds slow and sloppy althroughout which gives it a lush and analogue sound. The Rhapsody is also considerably more fun and engaging sounding than the Red, even with the included impedance adaptor. Technicalities are slightly ahead on the Castor, but the overall presentation is smoother on the Red. 

Vs Truthear Hexa

The Hexa falls under a similar light to the Red with it focused more on providing a smoother, more coherent and more natural sound presentation compared to the Rhapsody. However, unlike the red, the Hexa is more technical sounding than the Rhapsody. The Rhapsody is still more fun than the Hexa, however. 

CONCLUSION

If it was not yet clear, I genuinely think that the Rhapsody is a fantastic IEM. Hell, I’d even say that the Rhapsody is one of if not the best-sounding hybrid that KZ has ever made. The balance of booming, lush bass and smooth upper midrange gives it a well-rounded sound. 

While I do find some gripes with the bass tuck, bass lacking nuance and being just a tad bit slower than the rest of the frequency, its sparkle somewhat lacking for my tastes, and it generally not-so-stellar technical ability it is almost hard not to recommend this to most people who want a fun, engaging and well-tuned set. 

Thank you for checking out my full review of the CCA  Big thanks to CCA for sending this over for my honest impressions. If you would like to buy your own check out the non-affiliated link below: https://www.kztws.com/products/cca-rhapsody

If you have any questions or concerns, contact me on my Facebook page or at obodioreviews@gmail.com

Enjoy music and have a great day!