Disclaimer: Cayin kindly loaned this earphone to me for the purposes of this review and companion articles. This review and the associated video below are way overdue.

Cayin’s YB04 sports 4 drivers per side, two from Sonion, and 2 from Knowles. It has one of the nicest laid out boxes I’ve seen, a great accessory set, and super comfy ear pieces. It goes for 499$ USD. You can find out all about it here: Cayin YB04 - Discover the Extraordinary.

Cayin’s YB04 sports two Sonion woofers and two Knowles tweeters in each of its Lexus-tight sides. Earphone-side, its female mount is gobbled up by the maw of a two-pin male cable connector. This knuckle is ready to weather the waterworks. Down below, solid stress reliefs protect its plug and the underside of its y-split. And the cable? Eight wire OFC and silver. It is supple, strong, and dekes the worst touch noise you can throw at it.

Detail-oriented branding elements like its stop-sign octagonal y-split and headphone plug are nice touches that, in symbolically certain terms, tell you: the YB04 is your last stop.

Unlike JHA’s Roxanne Aion, the YB04 slips into the ear. Its portrait-oriented body should fit most ears. But, cable connected, it is a pig. Put on glasses and it bucks. Wear a hat and glasses and it is a bloody greased oinker that you’ll never pin down.

Its set of twelve ear pieces are some of the softest, and most comfy in the business. You can pack your favourite tips into the fake leather case. And the large, subtly designed box is beautiful and its innards are precise.

Sound

Like Roxanne, the YB04 hisses with most portable Minidisc recorders/players out there. Paired with Cayin’s excellent DAPs, however, and it is dead silent. Also like Roxanne, this bad boy has mids on the brain. They run a strong stereo spread to the front, reaching farther right and left than do lows and highs. The YB04 doesn’t spread midrange stereo as wide as the JHA, and bass sound pressure hugs mids a bit much, warming both bands up with a bit of friction. But bass is solid, dekes bloom, and recovers both attack and decay instantaneously. Jammed up against the mids as it is, the low range is slim on texture, which makes it a great pair for fast trance and electronic, where stereo cues from the mids help get you into the trance. Vocals are rich, and similar to the JHA, soft-teethed along their leading edges and highs, which smoothly roll into their extremes, free of sibilance and reverb. If you like warm, relaxing takes on neutrality, the YB04 is killer. If you dig Roxanne, but wouldn’t mind scaling down its bass pressure, the YB04 may surprise you.

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