Yuin PK2, Impressions & Pics.

[3x331m]

Tell them to get rid of the wooden box.... to reduce shipping cost. The box looks cheesy any way... Overkill marketing.... and still no English manual...

Thanks for your good impressions.

[Jahn]

Originally Posted by OGTL

Do they feel as cheap as they look?

they don't feel like anything, which is a good thing - out of touch, out of mind! my wife's ATH-CM3s are gorgeous budsticks, but pop out of the ear way too easily and the stick part taps your lobe, annoying.

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by OGTL

Do they feel as cheap as they look?

They feel pretty good... they just kind of sit semi-loosely in my ears. Very comfy.

They feel pretty solid to the touch. You can squeeze and bend them and they are robust/durable feeling. No wierd squeeks, creeks or flexible plastic. In fact, they are about as simple a mechanical design as I have seen from a portable headphone. No metal mesh screens, no rubber trim pieces... just two plastic halves that sandwich the drivers. So, in that regard they feel much more solid than they look.

[Honus]

Just received mine, and I would give them a big "thumbs up!" My headphone/earphone experience is limited to portable use. I just don't listen to phones much at home. At home I prefer the old "HiFi." I have some IEMs and a plethora of "buds." These are unquestionably the best buds I've heard; lots of detail and satisfying bass with a little bass boost. For me, definitely worth the 70 bucks. My only gripe is the "J" configured wire.

If you prefer buds, try these out.

[sbulack]

I've been listening to the PK2's with a Go-Vibe V5 (the recently released one with AD8397/AD825 opamps, regular gain). Here's what I hear: these $69 buds give me most of what I love the most from my Grado SR225, PLUS most of what I love the most from my Ety ER4S, all in one package - I'm slack-jawed amazed!!! Here WAS my dilemma (before the PK2's): I'd be at work listening to the Ety ER4S on the above-mentioned Go-Vibe V5, and I'd REALLY enjoy the high end loveliness and gorgeous detail of my favorite music (but I'd miss the crunch/chunk, larger soundstage and low end extension and impact of my SR225). Then I'd go home and listen through my SR225 - and revel in their clarity, transparency, crunch/chunk and low end fullness (but miss the high end gorgeousness I was hearing at work). Why can't I glue what my ear loves about these two phones together?

Enter the PK2's. The lows: they don't have as much low end as the SR225, but enough that I don't miss it. For example, on the CD "LushLife" by Bowery Electric, on the track "Psalms of Survival", nineteen seconds in, a low bass wave hits which, on my SR225, I feel it deeply down to the bottoms of my feet. I really miss it with the Ety ER4S, because I feel it less deeply and down to my chest. On the PK2's, I feel it deeply down to my knees. Enough that I DON'T sigh with a little frustration, wishing I were listening to that on the SR225. The mids: beautifully full, lush and lifelike. Human voice sounds full-size (neither like a miniature in the head, nor like an overblown close-up magnification). The highs: when the highs come from high soprano voice or an upper register instrument, they are natural and lifelike; when the highs come from electronic instruments and the production is full of the beams-of-light-visible-through-fog-or-smoke effect, the highs can be as ethereal, diaphanous and otherwordly sounding as the producer intended (such as the "Ardor" CD of Love Spirals Downwards). One of my favorite albums (for years now) is "Wrecking Ball", by Emmylou Harris (produced by Daniel Lanois). It takes the ER4S to hear the subtly beautiful features of Emmylou's vocal delivery on the intensely intimate track "Goodbye". Well, the PK2 delivers that subtle detail with sufficient beauty that I don't miss the ER4S when I listen to this favorite at home.

Having made all of these sonic dissection types of observations, let me pull it all back together into the living experience of music and say that the PK2 delivers the full range of the dionysian (visceral, body-moving, ear-tickling) fun-with-abandonment as well as the appolonian (internal/soulish, intimate, subtle, visionary) transporting adventures on which our music can take us - all in one phone.

So, here is a $69 pair of earbuds delivering enough of two $200 earphones, one full-size, one IEM that I can listen to music without sighing about wishing I were listening to some feature of it on my OTHER set of phones. There is much value in having this range of sonic capability/versatility in one set of phones. Just so that there is no misunderstanding, all of these observations were made listening to the PK2 on my work and main home rigs using the Go-Vibe V5, with AD8397/AD825. With this well-suited amplification, the results, to me, are simply stunning.

With this degree of satisfaction from the PK2, at this point, I'm not in the least even curious about how the PK1 sounds (with apologies to jdimitri, who is doing his best to stir up interest in the more expensive (and I'm sure worth every penny) PK1).

[jdimitri]

Originally Posted by sbulack

With this degree of satisfaction from the PK2, at this point, I'm not in the least even curious about how the PK1 sounds (with apologies to jdimitri, who is doing his best to stir up interest in the more expensive (and I'm sure worth every penny) PK1).

Hahaha, it's a lonely club

EDIT: And to the folks that said they're lacking bass, did you use the little foam things with them?
It increases comfort and bass (and impact) but reduces the soundstage and a tad bit of treble..
It's your call but i definitely prefer it with holed foams on

[loudwood]

PK2 is great if you like upfront sound. Its sound stage is surreal and voice becomes warm and sweet. As a long time Sennehiser HD580, PK2 sounds much more upfront, and sound stage is almost as wide.
The only downside is that PK2's mid seems to be a bit too strong, hence not so balanced as Sennheiser sounds.

[xlEnt]

Originally Posted by sbulack

I've been listening to the PK2's with a Go-Vibe V5 (the recently released one with AD8397/AD825 opamps, regular gain). Here's what I hear: these $69 buds give me most of what I love the most from my Grado SR225, PLUS most of what I love the most from my Ety ER4S, all in one package - I'm slack-jawed amazed!!! Here WAS my dilemma (before the PK2's): I'd be at work listening to the Ety ER4S on the above-mentioned Go-Vibe V5, and I'd REALLY enjoy the high end loveliness and gorgeous detail of my favorite music (but I'd miss the crunch/chunk, larger soundstage and low end extension and impact of my SR225). Then I'd go home and listen through my SR225 - and revel in their clarity, transparency, crunch/chunk and low end fullness (but miss the high end gorgeousness I was hearing at work). Why can't I glue what my ear loves about these two phones together?

Enter the PK2's. The lows: they don't have as much low end as the SR225, but enough that I don't miss it. For example, on the CD "LushLife" by Bowery Electric, on the track "Psalms of Survival", nineteen seconds in, a low bass wave hits which, on my SR225, I feel it deeply down to the bottoms of my feet. I really miss it with the Ety ER4S, because I feel it less deeply and down to my chest. On the PK2's, I feel it deeply down to my knees. Enough that I DON'T sigh with a little frustration, wishing I were listening to that on the SR225. The mids: beautifully full, lush and lifelike. Human voice sounds full-size (neither like a miniature in the head, nor like an overblown close-up magnification). The highs: when the highs come from high soprano voice or an upper register instrument, they are natural and lifelike; when the highs come from electronic instruments and the production is full of the beams-of-light-visible-through-fog-or-smoke effect, the highs can be as ethereal, diaphanous and otherwordly sounding as the producer intended (such as the "Ardor" CD of Love Spirals Downwards). One of my favorite albums (for years now) is "Wrecking Ball", by Emmylou Harris (produced by Daniel Lanois). It takes the ER4S to hear the subtly beautiful features of Emmylou's vocal delivery on the intensely intimate track "Goodbye". Well, the PK2 delivers that subtle detail with sufficient beauty that I don't miss the ER4S when I listen to this favorite at home.

Having made all of these sonic dissection types of observations, let me pull it all back together into the living experience of music and say that the PK2 delivers the full range of the dionysian (visceral, body-moving, ear-tickling) fun-with-abandonment as well as the appolonian (internal/soulish, intimate, subtle, visionary) transporting adventures on which our music can take us - all in one phone.

So, here is a $69 pair of earbuds delivering enough of two $200 earphones, one full-size, one IEM that I can listen to music without sighing about wishing I were listening to some feature of it on my OTHER set of phones. There is much value in having this range of sonic capability/versatility in one set of phones. Just so that there is no misunderstanding, all of these observations were made listening to the PK2 on my work and main home rigs using the Go-Vibe V5, with AD8397/AD825. With this well-suited amplification, the results, to me, are simply stunning.

With this degree of satisfaction from the PK2, at this point, I'm not in the least even curious about how the PK1 sounds (with apologies to jdimitri, who is doing his best to stir up interest in the more expensive (and I'm sure worth every penny) PK1).

woah .. that review sold me! and then i looked in my wallet and life gave me a slap in the face.

[Soundscape]

heh...i know the feeling.

[ShaolinRasta]

Been considering getting PK2's already, so when I saw the Chinese New Year Sale price I sent paypal immediately. Got them the very next day (shipped to NYC from NYC). I eagerly plugged them into my hp140...and was underwhelmed...better than OEM buds, but nothing special...then I put on the little donut foamies and everything clicked into place. All of the positive reviews are right on the money -- these are good, real good...way better than the average earbuds and definitely well worth the price.

[plainsong]

Originally Posted by jdimitri

Hahaha, it's a lonely club

EDIT: And to the folks that said they're lacking bass, did you use the little foam things with them?
It increases comfort and bass (and impact) but reduces the soundstage and a tad bit of treble..
It's your call but i definitely prefer it with holed foams on

Not so lonely. Todd just sent me the shipped notification. When I'm out and about, I'm using an amp anyway, so for situations when isolation isn't a good thing, and we all know that happens, it's no thing to plug something else into the amp.

[MrYman]

Anyone heard (compared) both 'V-Moda Remix M-Class' and 'Yukin PK2'?

[antonyfirst]

Someone has done it (probably PeterDLai, but I'm not totally sure), and made the conclusion that for him the PK2 sounded much better than the Remix.

[MrYman]

Originally Posted by antonyfirst

Someone has done it (probably PeterDLai, but I'm not totally sure), and made the conclusion that for him the PK2 sounded much better than the Remix.

PMed him... will report back when it's confirmed what he thought....

on some other (outside head-fi) thread i've read that v-moda m-class sounds quite alike pk2, but with more bass.... more discovering awaits.... hehe

[antonyfirst]

What I can say to you is that if they have all the bass provided by the Vibes, you couldn't like them. I don't like bass-anemic music, but I could't hear the OVC T25, that are supposed to be the same as Vibes. Overwhelming bass.