C. Crane’s CC Buds Pro
[December 2018] Finding the right set of headphones or ear buds is not as easy as you might think. Each manufacturer has a “reason” for its weight, “feel,” and response.
There are about a thousand versions of ear buds out there from barely a dollar to hundreds of dollars.
As is true with Control Room speakers, hearing is a very personal thing – what you like may not sound good at all to someone else. Getting the right one for you can take some careful looking.
You can get ear buds that are cheap throwaways or ones that are designed to fit your ear perfectly – vocal artists often pay hundreds of dollars for a set.. There are ear buds that “lock” into your ear for joggers/runners and even WiFi ear buds to cut the cord entirely. And of course, there are heavy duty ear buds that some broadcasters like due to being much lighter than traditional headphones.
Then there is the CC Buds Pro from C. Crane. Optimized for voice frequencies, these can be quite useful in a number of situations.
The CC Buds Pro look and feel nice. Like all products from C.Crane, they are built-well, using quality materials. The 1/8th inch, standard (ring, tip, sleeve) stereo plug fits most headphone plug jacks.
CC Buds Pro
The design priority, as mentioned, is to solve the most important problem for critical listening. The first requirement is clean non-distorted audio, to reduce listener fatigue. The second is the correct reproduction for the use.
If you think about it, there really is no one set “standard” for how audio is reproduced. One might want, for certain uses, completely flat frequency response. Many ear buds emphasize bass reproduction. Or, let us put it another way: during tests in the 80s, many listeners preferred AM stereo to the same audio on FM.
But in the Control Room or at rest with audio books or DXing the central voice frequencies are key. Especially when trying to mix voice and music or background sound, being about to hear oneself is important.
The CC Buds Pro accomplishes this by paying attention to the voice frequencies like few other manufacturers.
Listening Along
Perhaps you are like a lot of broadcasters who try to set their personal radios to emphasize the vocal frequencies, even as you enjoy a clean bottom end and crisp high end.
This is not always easy to accomplish with the typical bass and treble knobs.
But similar to the use of a parametric equalizer or multiband processing, the CC Buds Pro accomplishes the task for you, bringing the voice material to the forefront, without overloading your ears.
By the way, CC Buds Pro is one of three products in the family, including one with a built-in microphone (the CC Buds Pro-mic has a four section (left, right, mic, ground 1/8th inch jack), but with cell phones you might want to check to make sure you get the right product.
Speaking of your ears, the CC Buds Pro package contains two sets of small, medium, and large ear bud covers – one set silicone-based, for vocal clarity and one foam-based for more sound isolation and enhanced bass. That lets you use the CC Buds Pro for both uses.
Once you decide which bud cover is your favorite, you might want pick a couple of spares for when they wear out. Like the CC Buds Pro themselves, spare sets are quite modest in cost. In fact, you are likely to compare these with ear buds that cost at least twice the retail price.
One more note, with C. Crane you can feel confident you will get what you need. If you have any questions, unlike some places where tech support is by email (maybe) or “leave a voicemail,” Debby and Deanna, at C. Crane customer support, are super ladies who will do what it takes to make sure you have what you need and are happy. They are the best! TheBDR
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For more info: visit the C. Crane website.