Yuin PK2, Impressions & Pics.

[chesebert]

Originally Posted by milkpowder

Well... nothing really worth translating apart from this:
The use of high quality sources, interconnects and amplifiers may improve sound quality.

It might also be interesting to note that the AC impedance is different to the DC impedance, ie 16 +/-4 ohm vs 14.5 +/- 1.5 ohm

wait a minute, why is there DC Z anyway? DC is suppose to be 0V from output, unless your amp has outrages DC offset. strange they include that in the spec, how did I miss that?

I guess another issue is warranty, IIRC, the customer support is just one guy in Shanghai, out of his house. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but I thought ppl who are buying should know that if there is a huge spike in quality issue, there could be problems. I am getting scared of micro-scale operations like Storm Digital.

[ydss]

good review
pk2 is from china~~~~
there are so many new good earbuds every months in china,ex01/r02/pk1/pk2/pk3/tm80

[DJGeorgeT]

Originally Posted by ydss

good review
pk2 is from china~~~~
there are so many new good earbuds every months in china,ex01/r02/pk1/pk2/pk3/tm80

at it all costs $0.01 to make

I think it is time to translate that manual to english

[Advil]

Awesome, so value for the money is good right?

I've been looking into these myself, so thanks.

[MikeB06]

Excellent review, Kramer! I can't wait for mine to arrive in a couple days from Head-Direct. I'm so excited about my first headphone purchase in over a year that I decided to bump a second PK2 thread to the top, hehe .

[jrussell6]

got to listen to these at the philadelphia meet courtesy of fang, if i liked ear-buds, i wouldve bought a pair, they sound very very good. to bad my ears hurt from all buds.

[Febs]

I also had a chance to listen to the PK1s at the Philadelphia meet, and I received a pair of the PK2s. I have to agree--they were very, very impressive. I'm going to do a more detailed review of the PK2s when I have a chance.

[SptsNaz]

Would you say they're worth the 70 bucks?

[Coltrane]

I tried these at the Philly meet as well and was pretty impressed. The pk2s were pretty good but the pk1s were actually pretty amazing. I tired them in direct comparison to woodied 600s on a Raptor, and it fared pretty well. The bass wasnt there, but there was an incredible amount of clarity, and even some soundstage in those little earbuds.

If you need portability, and IEMs arent for you, this is definitely the way to go.

[SptsNaz]

Darn, too bad the PK1's are a crazy $140 bucks otherwise I'd probably be jumping all over them based on some of the impressions I'm hearing so far. Come on, that's like ER4s territory there for a very much cheap looking earbud. Ety's, earbuds, Ety's, earbuds.... ahhh

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by SptsNaz

Would you say they're worth the 70 bucks?

Aah... the bottom line

The Good:
They are head & shoulders more enjoyable than the e888 and AT earbuds I tried. They are more tight and refined than the KSC75, which has some bass-bloat and a bit of slop that you may or may not like. They are MUCH more airy and open sounding than the EX90, D-Jayes IEM and FX33. Maybe a little more closed in than the KSC75, which IMHO is THE portable (earclip, earbud, IEM) king of image separation and soundstage at any price.

I can wear them at night. They sit flush and flat enough to lie ON them.

The bad:
The PK2 just doesn't have the bass extension / impact I like. I found myself dialing in ~4db at 60Hz, and ~2db at 250Hz. Fortunately its mids and highs are smooth enough that despite their low bass roll off they do not fatigue or sound harsh.

The "J" cord IMHO needs to go. It tugs at the left earpiece and always reminds you that its not "Y" design.

IMHO the PK2 is a good portable option if:
You find IEMs uncomfortable
You dont like the closed in isolating sound of IEMs
You dont like earclips or streetstyle portables
You find the e888 and AT earbuds cold and analytical

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by Coltrane

I tried these at the Philly meet as well and was pretty impressed. The pk2s were pretty good but the pk1s were actually pretty amazing. I tired them in direct comparison to woodied 600s on a Raptor, and it fared pretty well. The bass wasnt there, but there was an incredible amount of clarity, and even some soundstage in those little earbuds.

If you need portability, and IEMs arent for you, this is definitely the way to go.

Ditto on the PK1... It scales up HUGE with amplification too. Sounds very good with my PPA with the bass boost.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by SptsNaz

Would you say they're worth the 70 bucks?

"Worth" is such a subjective term ....

I will say this:

I prefer the sound signature of the PK2 to the Shure E2 (which I own) and the Bose Triport in ear (which I tried at the meet). There is no question at all in my mind that they compete favorably with other options in the $50 to $100 price range.

[Jahn]

Bingo on this review. I'm borrowing a pair of PK2s as well (Nankai gets around!) and I'd say the PK2 is a compliment to the KSC-75 and K81DJ, not a replacement. Meaning, if you have situations where you would need full cans/clips and/or buds, your SQ won't suffer switching back and forth, although they do have different sound signatures. So at ranges from $15 to $50 to $75, you get the whole portable compliment without having to worry about a "jack of all trades" type deal. Of course you could sell all three and for the cash grab one pair of PK1, which does sound better than all three, but you'd NEED an amp, and isolation will be a prob so it won't fit all situations. Fun problem to have, eh?

[OGTL]

Do they feel as cheap as they look?