CCZ Coffee Bean Earphones Review – A Budget All-Rounder

First Impressions

The CCZ Coffee Bean came in a simple box. The box is made out of a similar material that most Chi-Fi brands use – thin cardboard with some graphics on the front and product information on the back. 

The earphones are made of resin and come in a typical IEM shape. It has a nice design in the color brown, thus the name Coffee Bean.

The accessories only included a 2-pin detachable cable and three pairs of silicone ear tips in varying sizes, with the medium-sized ones pre-installed.

Build Quality

The CCZ Coffee Bean is made out of a transparent resin shell with a brown faceplate to accentuate the whole design. 

Since it’s made from a polycarbonate shell, it’s not as durable as IEMs with aluminum alloy shells. It does have an aluminum nozzle.

The accessories, such as the 4-core OFC cable and silicone ear tips, were average but of decent quality. They do their job pretty well, and I can’t argue about that since they’re pretty affordable. Plus, you can easily swap them out for better-quality accessories.

Fit and Comfort

The CCZ Coffee Bean’s comfort is astonishing, as it was one of the most comfortable IEMs I’ve ever used. The added rubber fin on the shell really helps improve comfort. 

The shell is quite light due to its resin shell construction and its shape is pretty standard, so I had no issues with comfort. I think that this IEM would fit most ear sizes.

The cable is your run-of-the-mill OFC 4-core cable, which is pretty standard in this price range. For me, it’s slightly better than most of what you’d find on budget IEMs, but there’s nothing special about them.

I got a comfortable fit and seal with the included ear tips, and they do a decent job. The ear hooks also fit nicely in the ears.

Sound Quality

The CCZ Coffee Bean has an easily recognizable warm sound with a noticeable treble presence. You can immediately notice it as the mid-bass and the sub-bass can be heard a lot more than the other frequencies. 

The lift on the treble can also be observed on the cymbal splashes as the treble adds a bit of brilliance.

Bass

The bass on the CCZ Coffee Bean has a substantial amount of sub-bass rumble but not enough to be considered as a pair of bass-head IEMs.

While observing its performance on the hip-hop tracks I’ve used, I noticed that it showed decent amounts of thickness on the low end and a mellow attack on the mid-bass. Although not as aggressive in presentation, the mid-bass can sometimes experience some mid-bass bleed, resulting in a smeared vocal presentation.

In most use cases, I enjoyed how the bass on the CCZ Coffee Bean is presented. It’s not overly excessive like bass head IEMs, but the boominess can sometimes work well with specific

genres, like hip-hop. To the untrained ear, it can sometimes be perceived as adequate.

The bass has its fair share of flaws but considering its price, it’s relatively decent compared to other IEMs at this price point.

Mids

The mids aren’t too forward in terms of presentation, which gives me the impression that the CCZ Coffee Bean has a V-shaped sound signature. But for me, it has a relatively warm tuning with a slight boost on its upper frequencies.

The mids have a decent-sized body giving a decent depth to the vocals and instruments that sits on the mid-frequency regions. However, the mid-bass bleed, which you’ll see that I often

mentioned in this review, heavily affects the presentation of the lower mids, messing up the clarity and the details that the area has.

Treble

The treble on the CCZ Coffee Bean is ideal for those who are treble-sensitive but still love details and breathiness in their music.

The treble is presented with neither bright nor harsh elements. It worked well in providing details and adding texture to the upper regions of the tracks I’ve used.

One thing I particularly liked about the Coffee Bean’s performance is how it makes the vocals and cymbals more appealing due to the airiness, which the treble extension is responsible for, allowing details to shine through the mix.

Test Tracks

I’ve tested the CCZ Coffee Bean on different genres of music to get a proper understanding of how they sound and here are my findings.

• Metal / Rock – These genres are known for their distorted guitars and heavy audio presentation and the CCZ Coffee Bean performed exceptionally in them. The sub-bass to mid-bass region presented the drum kicks well. It was tight and controlled with a quick attack and a bit slower on the release. The bass guitar was present, although it varies depending on the song you are listening to. Clarity was average, guitars were tight even on high-gain parts, and the vocals were presented with decent detail. The lift on the treble region helped reveal details, remaining controlled with no signs of sibilance or sharpness throughout the test tracks. Tracks used: I Don’t Love You (My Chemical Romance), All The Small Things (Blink 182), Ignorance (Paramore), Cold (Korn)
• Pop – Instruments were yet again more highlighted than the vocals, most notably, those that sit in the lower frequency regions. The bass was thumpy and had a mellow punch, but there were times when the lower bass region sounded boomy and loose. The vocals weren’t too forward in the mix. There was noticeable breathiness but the vocal presentation added texture to the mix. Tracks used: Snooze (SZA), Neverita (Bad Bunny), Yours (Maye)
• Hip-hop – The boost on the bass and the treble extension worked well when paired with hip-hop genre tracks. The low end was very energetic and lively, the instruments had a decent amount of depth and presence, and the vocals added texture to the mix. In contrast, the top end added brilliance and revealed minute details that often get unintentionally drowned in some IEMs due to poor tuning. Tracks used: LOVE. (Kendrick Lamar, Zacari), sdp interlude (Travis Scott), I Wonder (Kanye West), Superhero (Metro Boomin & Future)
• R&B/Soul – The warm, V-shaped sound signature of the CCZ Coffee Bean is one of the most significant factors of its very entertaining and lively sound. The added coloration to the instrumentations improved how it was presented. The sub-bass extension added a lot of note weight on the low end, while the lift on higher regions revealed details such as reverb tails on snare hits and cymbal splashes. However, the midbass bleed muddied up the vocals’ appearance and affected other instruments in that region, making the mids sound smeared. Tracks used: LA FAMA (Rosalia, The Weeknd), Blessed (Daniel Ceasar), Moonlight (Kali Uchis), Traingazing (Sam Wills ft. Honey Mooncie)

Conclusion

The CCZ Coffee Bean is a delightful pair of IEMs to listen to. After testing it out, I often grab it for casual uses like gaming or watching movies on my phone or computer.

Even when just plugging it directly into my devices without the help of a DAC or a DAP, it’s relatively easy to reach my desired volumes. It can stand independently, even without a strong power source.

Its tuning is easily likable, even for non-audiophile aficionados.

If I were tasked with recommending the CCZ Coffee Bean, I’d recommend it to those looking for a decently-priced IEM with an excellent price-performance ratio.

This post was last updated on 2024-12-04 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.