Come with me as I share my impressions on the CCA Polaris, CCA’s entry into the Harman-tuned sets that have dominated the market in the last year with a ludicrously low price of $12. Does this have what it takes to be called the ultimate budget Harman set? Let’s find out!
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
- Barebones KZ style unboxing
- Decent fitting but tip rolling helps improve the fit greatly
- D-fi/Krila style Harman tuning with extra upper mids/treble emphasis
- Decent but limited technical ability
Another day, another CCA. With the tragic loss of the CCA CRA (at least, the first iteration) we have all been yearning for the next crazy budget set from one of the KZ families.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything in the sub $20 from CCA, but Polaris seems to put them back into whatever market they intended to tackle when their sister brand has been dominating with the likes of the Castors and Krila’s of the world.
So how does the Polaris compare? Quite well, actually.
Polaris follows a similar tuning philosophy to the KZ D-fi and Krila with 4 tuning profiles that vary from V-shaped to a neutral midcentric sound.
The Polaris is closely related to the Krila in the sense that there is an extra emphasis in the upper mids to treble region that some might find overemphasized and shrill or perfectly bright.
The downside to this higher frequency emphasis is the distinct thinness in the midrange that leaves vocals and instruments sounding a little bit lifeless and dry.
But this also gives it a more revealing and crisp-sounding instrumentation that gives percussions, strings, and air instruments a very lively and vibrant sound.
The bass is also quite decently thick and punchy, although not the tightest to give lower frequency notes a sufficient definition which is expected for the price.
While I do want to commend the Polaris for being a fantastic value set, it does not try to reinvent the wheel in any way which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a decently tuned sub $20 set with tuning switches that do more than enough to add variation to its sound that is pretty safe to recommend to most people. While it may have a little bit of vocal intensity and lack of overall refinement, it continues to lower the bar for good audio at a low price.
STAY TUNED FOR THE FULL REVIEW
Thank you so much for reading my impressions on the CCA Polaris. If you would like to order one, consider using the non affiliated link down below: https://www.kztws.com/products/cca-polaris
If you have any questions or concerns, contact me on my Facebook or at my email at obodioreviews@gmail.com
