CCZ Coffee Bean review everyone! Success often breeds joy and satisfaction that we have done our part to the best of our ability which paved the way for the positive result to shine through. AK Audio has been and is still a prominent Chi-Fi store which also inspired some other players in the game like EZ Ear. One of their key brands that made them a household name for the entry level IEM category is Knowledge Zenith which once again leads us to CCZ. Specifics aside, we can argue that CCZ as well as CCA and TRN which we have reviewed a lot here is KZ-inspired but let’s start to get to know CCZ now their aromatic IEM, the Coffee Bean.

The CCZ Coffee Bean review unit was sent to Audio Realviews in exchange for our take on it and no other monetary factors were involved. You can check it out in AK Audio’s AliExpress storefront or EZ Ear Amazon.

The CCZ Coffee Bean features a 10mm dual dynamic driver and is spec’d out with an 18±2 Ohm Impedance, a 111±3 sensitivity with a frequency response of 20hz-20Khz. They come in both the traditional brown coffee bean look and a more discrete black option.

Packaging and Build Quality

The CCZ Coffee Bean review unit came in a white sleeved box with the usual product snapshot upfront and the product specification at the back and the sides. The overall packaging experience screams KZ with a touch of CCZ sleeving.

The included accessory in the CCZ Coffee Bean is a set of black silicone ear tips. No pouch for storage but who’s complaining, you, me? Maybe them.

The CCZ Coffee Bean features a polycarbonate shell which comes in a smoked hue that looks complimentary for both the brown and black faceplates, again, made of polycarbonate. There’s a single vent present in the faceplate and two vents which seat right above the dynamic driver in the shell. This is a common setup for dynamic driver IEMs.

What made me like the build quality of the CCZ Coffee Bean earpieces are the inclusion of a black rubberized ear concha support specifically towards the cymba part of the outer ear which CCZ calls a “patented earfin”. This worked wonders in the comfort aspect of the Coffee Bean which is not present in most entry-level IEMs. I have used the CCZ Coffee Bean for hours, be it stationary of mobile or laying down and the CCZ Coffee Bean scored a comfortable fit experience.

The included stock cable features a blacked out 4-core 4N OFC cable with the usual twist-braid that comes with a .78mm 2pin connector.  A pre-formed TPE over-ear guide is also present. Mic and non-mic’d cables are also there for those that need them. Another minor addition but made great impact was the addition of a cable cinch which made securing a tight and snug cable setup when worn all the more achievable.

Finishing up the build quality of the CCZ Coffee Bean is a right-angled gold-plated 3.5mm plug with a CCZ branding on it.

The CCZ Coffee Bean certainly gives so much more than it should have given with the “patented earfin” and cable cinch addition that sets it aside from its entry-level competition, build-wise. How about its sound? Let’s take a sip.

Tonality and Isolation

The CCZ Coffee Bean falls right where its name suggests in terms of its overall tonality. It offers a warm sounding experience with a heavy dose of bass rumble and impact. The Coffee Bean will entice a lot of bass-lovers when they try it for a quick run with its in your face bass approach yet there are aspects to it that we’d talk more about later.

Isolation and seal on the CCZ Coffee Bean is on the excellent side of the spectrum given its price and it doesn’t try to use untested and unconventional IEM design and just does it job perfectly. There is no noticeable sound leak as well and passive noise cancelling worked great. The included stock ear tips where usable too compared to what most KZ IEMs comes with in the box. Comfort also follows the isolation and seal’s stride in being excellent which is one of the CCZ Coffee Beans’ strengths.

I did the usual 200-hour burn-in for the CCZ Coffee Bean for those that believe it and have used the stock M-sized ear tips for the review. I used the Sony WM1A music player and the Sony CAS-1 desktop system off the MSI GF62-8RE laptop via Foobar2000 v1.4 outputting various FLAC files which would be mentioned along the review.

Lows

Having a warm sound signature brings forth an expected load of low-end performance, be it from power, impact, control or maybe just loads of low-end that sometimes overwhelms. The CCZ Coffee Bean refrains from that overwhelming low-end output yet having the same effect by giving out a lingering sub bass with a touch of rumble. DeadMau5’s Cat Thruster in 16/44 FLAC highlights the Coffee Bean’s solid mid bass which doesn’t sound bloated despite having a slightly unwanted bloom to it. Its overall bass performance results in a dense and full experience with a less than refined control to it.

Midrange

The CCZ Coffee Bean builds well upon its full sounding bass with a midrange performance that is energetic and engaging. Both female and male vocals sound natural. Its lower midrange doesn’t come short of being laid-back but tries to be with you in your listening sessions. While the midrange vocals are not the most articulate and detailed, the Coffee Bean instead opts to give a smoother presentation which deviates from an otherwise aggressive approach. Its upper midrange sounds open and lively specially with Michael Jackson’s Baby Be Mine in 16/44 FLAC. The CCZ Coffee Bean won’t go calling you all day long to sit and spend time with you with its midrange performance yet will give you the calm and collected feel of the songs with its smooth delivery.

Highs

The CCZ Coffee Bean’s high frequency performance is for me the one that they tried to do too much with and ended with a non-decisive result for it. It doesn’t present itself as too aggressive sounding yet having some distinct edgy tone to it at times. It does however still sound clear and precise specially with Black Eyed Pea’s Rock that Body in 16/44 FLAC. The fun factor is still present despite the obvious loss of control when treble spikes up. The CCZ Coffee Bean is not a set that would be fatiguing but one that would occasionally send stinging sensation with its highs.

Soundstage and Imaging

One area that the CCZ Coffee Bean hands cleanly and precisely is its imaging. Instrumental tones and positioning are easy to discern and spot with a L-R and R-L panning all coming together well. There is also a clean presentation in depth and layering. It overall gives the CCZ Coffee Bean a slightly intimate soundstage with a slight openness to it.

Conclusion

The CCZ Coffee Bean is a surefire win if you are getting one given the attention to detail that was put in place to secure a strong combination and coherence of build quality, comfort and sound despite being priced in the entry level IEM market. It has a good balance of lows, midrange and highs which might present some inefficiencies in some respects but is still able to present an enjoyable IEM experience, and who would hate a Coffee Bean for a name? I won’t.