Cat Ear Audio Mia Quick Review:- Cute Little Performer

Cat Ear Audio is a fairly new name in the audio community, but they have professional teams with years of experience in the industry. They are a sub-brand from Shunshi(Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. aiming precisely for developing high-quality audio equipments. Cat Ear Mia is their first product which was under development at the time of brand registration later last year. It got released in July this year in mainland China and god it received a lot of praise from everyone. So last month we got the news that they are planning for the worldwide release of Mia, and it happened a few weeks back. I was highly interested to try out the Mia and grabbed a unit for myself from the first batch itself. So now I have spent a few days with the Cat Ear Mia and now I feel like I should share my impressions of this cute little gem with you all. It is available for 100$, check out more details here.

Features & Technical Specs:-

>8mm micro dynamic driver unit.

>High-quality aluminum ear shells made with the CNC machining process.

>Each unit undergoes -196℃ Cryogenic treatment.

>Impedance: 16Ω±15%.

>Frequency response range: 16Hz-22kHz.

>Sensitivity: 105dB/mW.

>Universal MMCX connectors.

>High-quality silver-plated OFC(Oxygen Free Copper) cable.

Unboxing Impressions:-

The Cat Ear Mia comes in a rectangular cardboard packaging in Black and Red contrast just like the earpieces. Inside the box we get a bunch full of accessories including a cardboard card that says “Experience the sound of nature”, a hand-crafted earphone carry case, three pairs of black silicone tips, three pairs of pink silicone tips, an MMCX cable, and a few rubber tuning tips. The hand-crafted carry case is also in black and red contrast.

The unboxing impressions for the Cat Ear Mia are pretty good. It has a rich premium feeling to it. The entire package complements the black and red theme of the Mia. Here is the list of the contents of the package:-

>One pair Cat Ear Audio Mia IEM’s.

>One MMCX cable.

>Three pairs of Black silicone tips.

>Three pairs of Pink silicone tips.

>One hand-crafted carry case.

>One cardboard card.

>One pair of Rubber tuning rings.

Build Quality & Fit:-

Ever since the promotion of C.E.A. Mia, it is shown that the earpieces are made with some -196℃ Cryogenic treatment. According to the brand representatives, it takes about 72 hours for every unit to be ready. And believe me, when I say this, the earpieces reflect that premium feel that the brand has promised. It has beautiful red and black aluminum alloy ear shells made with CNC machining technology. They look outstanding and has a rich matte finish to them. The cable connects very firmly to the shells, though it shows some metallic noise whenever it touches any surface. That’s a bummer, though other than this metallic sound issue there are no complaints, the pair is built beautifully with a very premium finish to them.

As per the fit for the pair, the ear shells are very small and light. They provide a comfortable and firm fit. Though I got average noise isolation with the stock tips, I used SpinFit CP100 for a proper isolated fit.

Driving the Cat Ear Audio Mia:-

Well, the Cat Ear Audio Mia is very easy to drive. It has low impedance and high sensitivity ratings and can be driven very easily using smartphones only. I used it with my smartphone Huawei P30 Pro, xDuoo XP-2 Pro Bluetooth DAC, Hidizs AP80 Pro, xDuoo XD-05 Basic, and FiiO M11 Pro. It drove well on all the sources, providing ample bass, loud enough volume at around half the volume on M11 Pro. So yes very easy to drive.

Sound Quality:-

The Cat Ear Audio Mia features a single micro dynamic driver unit on each side. It produces exceptional sound clarity resolution, vocals, musical instruments feel very crisp and detailed. It has a V-Shaped sound signature with deep & powerful bass that complements the other sections. But I feel like some people might feel the bass to be overpowering. I felt it is making the pair more fun. The output is quite natural, vocals are lush and detailed. With deep heavy bass, another thing that catches my interest is its soundstage, these little monsters create a superb wide sound stage with good depth.

Lower End:-

As I have said previously, the Cat Ear Audio Mia has a powerful lower end. The pair produces impactful performance in the mid-bass section providing a rich texture to the lower end. It is quite fast and shows good depths in instruments like drums, bass guitar, and more. Sub-bass shows good extensions too, producing a powerful rumble that complements the music very well. Even though the lower end is elevated, it doesn’t leak to the other frequency segments.

Mid Frequencies:-

The mid frequencies hold a natural tonality and lush texture to them but feel recessed due to the V-shaped signature of the pair. Vocals are crisp with good clarity, listening to vocal-based artists like Damien Rice, London grammar is blissful. Instruments like acoustic guitars, pianos show good airiness and weight to the tones providing a rich textured output. Mids show great resolution with good clarity. It doesn’t feel like a 100$ pair with such quality resolution.

High Frequencies:-

The treble portion in Cat Ear Mia is pretty smooth and warm. The pair doesn’t sound fatiguing at all even during long music sessions. There is no harshness, peakiness in the high frequencies. Instruments like violins, electric guitars have a smooth texture feeling with no signs of sibilance at all. They feel quite transparent with good detailing in instruments. The pair produces decent instrument details with quality imaging.

Soundstage:-

Don’t get deceived by the small shells of Cat Ear Mia. They produce a brilliant soundstage with good width and depth. With good airiness around the stage, the pair shows outstanding imaging capabilities.

Rubber Tuning Rings:-

The Cat Ear Mia comes with Rubber Tuning Rings in the package. It can be mounted on the exhaust hole around the MMCX connectors. It adjusts the air pressure inside the earpiece and provides a deeper bass response. You can remove them to experience a more balanced sound output.

Conclusion:-

Overall the Cat Ear Mia is a very beautiful pair of IEMs made with high-quality material. They provide an outstanding sound quality experience with high resolution and precisely made earpieces. Bassheads will surely enjoy the elevated bass here, don’t worry it doesn’t affect the clarity of output in any way. I personally loved its fun signature that suited different genres of music that I enjoy. Though the only con with it is, it’s microphonic cable. At a price of 100$, it is a strong contender to be your next pair of IEMs.