CCZ WARRIOR: Audacious and Dynamic

"Shine, shine on, through the darkness and the pain.

Shine, shine on, Warrior.

Shine, shine on, through the wind and the rain.

Shine, shine on, Warrior."

~Excerpt from lyrics of "Warrior" by Riot V~

The word "Warrior" have a strong connotation to me as I am avid fan of History and art of warfare throughout the chronological events is one of the subject that really peaks my interest on how history of humanity was marred with bloodshed and terror through political manoeuvring or simply an unjustified ego of a megalomaniac personality/tyrant. The mind of tactical brilliance of some historical warlords like Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, Oda Nobunaga, Frederick The Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Heinz Guderian and Georgy Zhukov really defines the outcome in the battlefield with their flexibility and keen observation on commanding a such number of warriors in the midst on a chaotic fighting. But I digress in this subject as I do a review on an audio product rather than chattering about war history.

CCZ Warrior is a new product released by CCZ Hi-fi. CCZ Hi-fi is an audio company situated in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China which is known to be the innovation hub and manufacturing powerhouse in the world. This company has strong ties with other popular brands with the likes of KB Ear and TRI (still doesn't have a review product from them).

CCZ Hi-fi released some previous products like the CCZ Plume and CCZ Coffee Bean and it received some positive feedback from its users. And CCZ Warrior will be reviewed thoroughly with my own methodology if it really delivers a good sound quality.

The driver set up on CCZ Warrior is of a hybrid one as it has one (1) 10mm polyester resin diaphragm dynamic driver for bass response with three (3) custom balanced armature drivers to handle mids and treble. These transducers were encapsulated in a polycarbonate plastic shell and the build quality is somehow durable. There is an innovative approach that CCZ implemented was a rubberised stabilising fin that will be conducive for best fitting in the cochlea in the best possible manner. Another good thing is that it uses a 2-pin TFZ-type connector rather than a QDC-type connector which is quite different to its contemporary products in the same price range.

As for fitting, CCZ Warrior is now in my list as one of the best comfortable IEM in the under £30/US$35 price range. It snugly and rest well to my lug holes without any pain and irritation even in a long listening session with its innovative rubberised stabilising fin.

When it comes to product packaging, CCZ Warrior has very similar inclusions with budget/entry-level contemporaries. A small, simple white coloured rectangular box with the product illustration at the front and basic specs and company address at the back.

Here are some of the contents included in the box.

■ CCZ Warrior IEM.

■ A black 4-core OFC stock cable.

■ Extra pair of ear tips in different sizes.(Small, Large)

■ Instruction manual.

As for scalability and amplification, CCZ Warrior performs well with flying colours as it can be easily driven by devices with decent power out like smartphones, tablets and laptops due to 18 ohms resistance rating and an amplitude of 108dB.

The tonality of this set is more of a V-shaped sound signature with added warmth on it as it try to exhibit a more equipoise sound between treble and bass regions.

Here are some of my observations on its sound characteristics within its frequency range spectrum.

LOWS/BASS:

The moment I listen to this set, this is the particular frequency that really stands out. The bass is very impactful, corporeal and boomy that it really hits hard with good depth.

Sub bass is commendable on this one as I discerningly feel those reverberations and rumble if I play some of my sub bass-laden tracks. Mid bass is more of a focus on this one as it has a well-textured that gives a more boomy response especially on bass-baritones, bass guitars, bass trumpets and bass kick drums. Bass-baritone has broader and guttural sound, bass guitars growl are very authoritative that I hear those weighty and mighty sounds, bass trumpets has fuller and sombre characteristics and lastly, bass kick drums sound very thunderous and resonant that gives the powerful thud.

There is some slight bass bleed on this one but for most uber bass heads who want a rigid and imposing bass quality, they will absolutely love this one.

MIDRANGE:

Considerably, it has a V-shaped sound signature that we should expect a recessed and drawn back midrange presentation. Yes, it is scoop one but it is warm, sleek and has an organic presentation.

Due to the added warmth, it has an ample body that gives male vocals more voluminous with adequate deep and gruff. Female vocal has a decent texture to give a comforting and soothing feel to give a very pleasant listening experience.

Instruments seem to have at least a natural sounding especially on percussives like snare drum, tom and timpani. Snare drums has this hard and penetrating sound, toms have this booming sound and a thunderous and deep sound on timpanis. Strings like guitars and violins has this warmer sounding as guitars are more on a "buttery" tone with warm, well-texture tones rather than being crisp and bright. Violins have this sweet and lustrous sound as I want a more lively and vibrant sound on every strike in the bowstring. Brass like trumpets and tubas seems to have a darker, rounded and robust sound. Piano has a warmer and richer tone which is if you are a fan of European-made antique pianos, you will absolutely like it.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble is presented in a smooth manner with decent details, ample scintillation and moderately airy. Upper mids to presence treble seems to have some elevation but not to the point of being peaky that might cause some jarring and stridency. Sibilance is well-inhibited that hissing is practically non-existent upon testing on my sibilance-laden tracks.

Crashing of cymbals seems to have a good shimmer, resonant and with good sizzle extension. Hi-hats sound very life-like with its dry, shortened metallic nature that gives off that "chicky" sound. Treble air is passable with its moderate range to give a good amount of harmonics.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

This is actually my concern and somewhat a reservation regarding its soundstage proportion. It has only an average width that give me some sense of being crammed in my headstage but it has a good height ceiling and an engrossing depth. Imaging, separation and layering is quite impressive on this one within its price range. Imaging is presented in a concave manner where I can fairly locate the placements of each instrument and vocal in a spatial field with a good gap and distances on it. Layering of each specific frequency and dynamics of the elements is noteworthy that they are presented in a decent manner with its own distinct overlay but in some cases like some complex multi-instrumental tracks, it does exhibit some moderate muddleness and indistinction of some instruments.

Furthermore, with the coherency of its drivers, It performs decently as it is presented in a homogeneous manner but the dynamic driver seems to have a moderate speed that affects the attack, decay and transients but at least it tries to follow the speedy performance with the balanced armatures.

For its resolution capabilities, CCZ Warrior has good solid macro-dynamics and satisfactory detail retrieval that I can hear those nuances and subtleties with its sonic canvas. Timbre of this set is more on being organic with a hint of warmth.

PEER COMPARISONS:

KZ DQ6s(£29/US$34)

● Both have similarities regarding its form factor but CCZ Warrior has fresher and classy look. Instead of BA drivers, DQ6s has added more dynamic drivers for other frequency ranges.

● With its tonality aspect, they have a similar approach on targeted sound signature with a warmish, V-shaped sounding. Bass on these set are comparable as they present in an authoritative and tactile manner. Both mids on these sets are recessed but female vocals are better on Warrior. Treble is more airy and more detailed in CCZ Warrior compare to a less airy and prone to sibilance of DQ6s.

● Technicalities are also comparable on both sets like average soundstage width but layering, separation and imaging is better on the CCZ Warrior as DQ6S has a more typical linear stereo panning and less gaps on the elements. Detail retrieval is not the least important point of the DQs as it has mere average exhibiting on subtleties.

TKZK WAVE(£34/US$39)

● It has a similar driver set-up like CCZ Warrior albeit it has lesser driver count. Both have decent-looking shells in their own right (beauty is a subjective one, its up to you which you prefer). Its uses a QDC-type 2 pin connector.

● TKZK Wave has a bright U-shaped sound signature, with sufficient punch, mids are more forward in presentation compared to CCZ Warrior and has more details and crisper on female vocals. Treble is even more shimmering and detail on TKZK Wave but it is prone to sibilance and less airier too.

●TKZK Wave has a better proportion on the overall sound stage as it has wider, possesses a good depth and height and equally decent imaging, separation and layering. It has also a decent detail retrieval and its dynamic drivers performs better decay and attack as it has faster transient speed.

My afterthoughts in this review is what will be CCZ Warrior's value in the eyes and ears to its customers. Agreeable and pleasant tonality? Aye. Decent and attractive shell design? Yes. Affordability? Certainly. For sure that it is a very solid performer despite some inadequate technicalities that I've noticed.

Nevertheless with its performance, CCZ Warrior is a must have if you are a bass head who wants some decent details on mids and highs without compromising your preferred frequency range.

CCZ Warrior is now available to KEEPHIFI and I'll provide two links below this description for those interested parties.

 ◁◆KEEPHIFI◆▷

 ◁■AMAZON■▷

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: CCZ Warrior

IMPEDANCE: 18Ω

SENSITIVITY: 108dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:  20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.25M

PIN TYPE: TFZ-TYPE 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (3) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS

PROS:

● Simplicity and logical shell design with an innovative rubberised stabilising fin.

● A non-QDC type 2-pin connector which is quite uncommon nowadays.

● Authoritative bass response 

● Smooth treble response with sufficient airiness.

● A well-bodied and dense noteweight.

● Competent imaging, separation and layering performance.

CONS:

▽ Narrow to average soundstage width.

▽ the bass quality might be too boomy to some midcentrics and trebleheads alike.

▽ Too spartan inclusions.

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to CCZ-HIFI nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly. 

Once again, I would like to KEEPHIFI for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity towards me and other reviewers.