Yuin OK1 - review and comparisons.

[Peter in Seattle]

Excellent review. I agree, the ER-4P is superior to the PK1. That said, for me, the ER-4P is uncomfortable for any length of time. For long term listening, the PK1 is my favorite of all you reviewed. Both my wife and I agree, all the PK line beats the ER-6 hands down. I do however, find the bass emphasis of the PK1 a little hard to get used to moving from the ER-4P.

[b0dhi]

Originally Posted by kostalex

Not always. My D2000 and ER-4S go deeper than PK1 and I can not call any of them "slow".

The ER4S I agree with, but not the D2000. The PK1 had more defined bass than it to my ears.

[kostalex]

Update: I returned to PK1. I bought Sansa Clip and found that it is capable to drive PK1 and OK1. So I replaced my previous ultraportable rig (Shuffle + PK2) with Clip + PK1. Why PK1? Because it performs better at noisy outdoors. It also serves better for background listening. These needs are 90% of my earbuds listening. Rest 10% are not worth to keep outstanding OK1.

WTT offer to XIN Supermicro owners:

I am willing to trade my OK1 for you Supermicro. Please, PM.

[kostalex]

Clarification:

If OK1 is superior to PK1, why I trade it? Well, there are two reasons:

1) I have a set of cans complementing each other. Usually I prefer can with a unique character to all-arounder, even if this is downgrade. Look: I replaced DT880 with DT990, which I replaced with DT770 later, which is no doubt the most inferior of three in terms of overall SQ. Moreover (do not bash me), I prefer DT770 to Denon D2000.

2) I want Supermicro so bad

[Quaddy]

just responding to kostalex PM re. trade OK1 for my SMIV.

no thanks.

i have er4p+s recabled with apuresound cable and custom friction moulds (for me it doesnt get any better than that for my resolving, cold and clinical tastes)

i recently got rid of my shure se530PTH IEMS, as nothing compares to my etys. and nor would a set of yuin quasi-iem canals.

i hope you get a SMIV though!

good luck.

[kostalex]

Yuins OK1 are not "quasi-iem canals", they are earbuds. They may serve very well for Ety lovers as an open portable solution.

I am interested in ER-4S custom molds also, may you point me to the pics of yours?

[Nankai]

Hi Quaddy,

Great to know you will have OK1. Please PM your address then we can ship you the longer canal. If you could compare OK1 with ER4, that will be terrific.

Best,
Fang

Originally Posted by Quaddy

just responding to kostalex PM re. trade OK1 for my SMIV.

no thanks.

i have er4p+s recabled with apuresound cable and custom friction moulds (for me it doesnt get any better than that for my resolving, cold and clinical tastes)

i recently got rid of my shure se530PTH IEMS, as nothing compares to my etys. and nor would a set of yuin quasi-iem canals.

i hope you get a SMIV though!

good luck.

[Quaddy]

Originally Posted by Nankai

Hi Quaddy,

Great to know you will have OK1. Please PM your address then we can ship you the longer canal. If you could compare OK1 with ER4, that will be terrific.

Best,
Fang

Hi Fang.

I dont have the OK1, must be a misunderstanding.

a head-fi member was wanting to trade with me. but that isnt happening.

you can of course feel free to ship me an OK1, with longer canal as a review sample and i will gladly review and compare with ety and shure and post the results for all to see.

the OK1 sounds as if it should have favourable and competitive outcomes

[Quaddy]

Originally Posted by kostalex

Yuins OK1 are not "quasi-iem canals", they are earbuds. They may serve very well for Ety lovers as an open portable solution.

I am interested in ER-4S custom molds also, may you point me to the pics of yours?

sure, mine were from hearyourself.com

a few pics of them in my 'ultraportable' rig with my nw-hd5 and SMIV

[cyberidd]

So where can you buy the OK1's? I can't find them anywhere.

[HiFlight]

They will be on the Head-Direct website within about 2 weeks.

I will also be submitting a review of the OK vs PK vs Ety4P in the very near future. Just as a preview, there is, IMO, no overall clear winner for all types of music. The PK1s are better for some types, ie: vocals, whereas the OK1s do well with instrumentals. The PK/OK 3s and 2s also show preferences for different types of music.

It has been difficult to make comparisons because of these differences between music genres. I will do my best to be fair to all of them and point out their strong points as well as their shortfalls.

[scottiebabie]

havnt heard the OK1s but i do own a set of PK1s which has been recabled with stock KSC75 cables (as im unlucky enuff to encounter stiffening issues with the ori Yuin cables). i cant really agree with a lot of what u said about PK1s having overwhelming bass nor being sibilant up top but i did find the ori PK1s a tad laidback, slightly unfocused in soundstage/imaging, thin & recessed in the upper mids & are very sensitive to amplification.

with the ori Yuin stiffening issue turning out to be a blessing in disguise, the recabling has made a significant upgrade to the PK1s SQ so much so that most of its weakness are now rectified. driving by a good hicurrent SS discrete home amp, bass is deep & extended with solid definition, mids are grado-like forward & full with smooth detailed highs. soundstage & imaging is alot more precise & lazer-like incomparo with the more blob-like original. infact i've sold an ex Grado SR225 cos i found the properly driven recabled PK1 to be as good if not better - indeed to my ears, the bass is deeper & fuller on the PK1 & the only edge the fullsize SR225s mite have is that its a hair airier. otherwise the recabled PK1 sounded better to my ears, earbuds or not!

besides the need for proper synergistic amplification, perhaps the only other fly in its ointment is the SQ degradation in a noisy environment. in this i would assume the OK1 mite have the advantage. otherwise, there's a lot of life yet in this here "ole" PK1s

[kostalex]

Originally Posted by scottiebabie

... i do own a set of PK1s which has been recabled with stock KSC75 cables (as im unlucky enuff to encounter stiffening issues with the ori Yuin cables). i cant really agree with a lot of what u said about PK1s having overwhelming bass nor being sibilant up top but i did find the ori PK1s a tad laidback, slightly unfocused in soundstage/imaging, thin & recessed in the upper mids & are very sensitive to amplification.

with the ori Yuin stiffening issue turning out to be a blessing in disguise, the recabling has made a significant upgrade to the PK1s SQ so much so that most of its weakness are now rectified...

I'm also unlucky enough to encounter stiffening issue. So I recable my PK1 with JVC HA-FX33 (Marshmallow) cable, which stands well against our cold winter. Unfortunately, this degraded SQ a bit.

I do not think that PK1 has overhelming bass or is sibillant itself. It shows these characters only in comparison with OK1. Nevertheless, I like PK1 more.

And I agree with your description of PK1 sound.

[jessica_fae]

Originally Posted by kostalex

Update:
OK1 vs Audio-Technica ATH-CM700
CM700 is a very good earbud, surpassed only by PK1 before, see more in my Review of the 7 best earbuds.
OK1 wins CM700 by a good margin:

• CM700 sounds flat, dry, shrill, ringing.
• OK1 sounds 3D, warm, smooth and mellow, muffled but detailed.

Although I haven't heard any of the Yuins yet, I would like to comment on the CM700. I have the over ear EC700 which is the same driver as the CM700. I found they were similar to your description when worn without socks. But with socks their character changed completely. Yes there is a small loss of highend sparkle (but some might call that shrill, ringing). The EC700 with socks has a nice warm midrange balance that renders piano sounding nearly perfectly natural. It is also quite 3D. In fact I would describe the EC700/CM700 with socks (no holes) exactly like you descibe the OK1. I also found the EC700/CM700 sound changed during "burn in" and after 150hrs the sound becomes much more 3D, out of head, and more refined in subtle expressiveness.

Just curious if you and your girlfriend might want to compare the CM700 with standard socks(no hole) to the OK1. I absolutely love my EC700 with socks. Reminds me a lot of Stax Lambdas but in a small cute portable package. But then again maybe that is why I like the CM700/EC700 so much (the Stax are known for a high-midrange bias getting piano and voice nearly perfect with some nice sparkle on the top, also needing very good sources)

[kostalex]

Originally Posted by jessica_fae

Just curious if you and your girlfriend might want to compare the CM700 with standard socks(no hole) to the OK1. I absolutely love my EC700 with socks. Reminds me a lot of Stax Lambdas but in a small cute portable package.

I made the quick comparison you quoted with intact foams. These are MX75 foams, which are quite thick and dense. So it was fair comparison.

It seems to me that CM700 just can not stand against OK1. Of course, every ears perception may vary. Anyway, CM700 may be the best earbud for Stax fan or heavy-metal lover, since it is incredibly fast. Moreover, it works fine even with really weak sources (like iRiver S10 from your sig), pulling the details out of them.