There is enough review about PK1 in the forum so I won't be spend much time telling you how good it is - Yes, it is the best earbud in the current market. The is mainly a comparison between PK1 and A8. The A8, as I notice, isn't particularly warm to many members' heart (the BOSE effect?). Again, let me stated up front: PK1 is better (most of the time).
A few things you need to know:
SQ impression:
My PK1 has around 30 hours of burn-in, so far I can't say I detected any change in SQ. My A8 is 4~5 yrs-old, no burn-in problem there.
My first impression on PK1 is: How can they made it sound so close to a big can? It has a sound characteristic unlike any earbud I ever listen to. In fact, there is nothing in PK1 that sounds like an earbud. However, I wasn't total amazed by it. Yes, it does sound great, but not to a level that I will drop my jaw drop and say 'WOW...'. One of the main factor is, I already listen to A8 for many years now, and a relatively small incremental improvement isn't likely to surprise me so much.
Like all AT's earbud, A8 sounds very lean and clean with very less bass impact on the listener. The strength of A8 lies in its highly extended (but not harsh) treble. As a reason, it has the best resolution and soundstage among all the earbuds I ever own (including PK1). Comment has been made that A8 benefits quite a lot from burn-in beyond 200hrs, I do not personally know whether this is a fact or not.
SQ wise, I think PK1 give me the feeling of Shure where A8 is the Ety, or PK1 is the Senn. and A8 is the ATH-AD* series. IMO, PK1 is better because it has a very full sounding body that can easily matchup with all kind of music; A8, however, sounds too lean and clean by itself making it less enjoyable on music that require a warmer 'phone (R&R, POP).
Music test:
I use my iriver clix as source, with both my DIY cmoy2 (slightly warm and more detail) and FireStone Little Country amp (aka LC, optimized for soundstage). Songs are encoded either via LAME 192kbps (or above) or wma9 vbr. I don't have a golden ear so any higher bitrate doesn't mean much.
Conclusion:
If you counted, you will notice A8 actually wins the competition - no, not really. The result is simple manipulated to show you my observation of PK1 so far: It is a very good earbud as it successfully achieve a balance sound which resembles that of a big can, but it isn't necessary great on every genre. Its treble doesn't extend high enough to my liking, bass is strong when amped but doesn't go deep enough, and soundstage is lacking (A8 has good soundstage when amped). Instrument is definitely PK1's weakest link since its resolution isn't high enough (compare to A8). I won't want to listen to piano or violin recording on PK1.
Although its does have its short coming, PK1 is still the better 'phone out of the two. I like my A8, but music is more than resolution and A8 just isn't as good as PK1 being a general 'phone. Anyway, the search for a better earbud continues...
*My #599 post
A few things you need to know:
- B&O is a designer brand, it is expensive because it is a designer brand, like Gucci or LV.
- A8 is basically a redesign of AT's ATH-CM7. They use the same speaker unit. However, due to the design of the housing, I think A8 has a slightly better SQ.
- I don't own a ATH-EC7 (clip-on), but from what I read so far, EC7 is slight better than A8 on soundstage and detail (because of larger, improved drive).
- Yes, PK1 looks ugly next to an A8.
SQ impression:
My PK1 has around 30 hours of burn-in, so far I can't say I detected any change in SQ. My A8 is 4~5 yrs-old, no burn-in problem there.
My first impression on PK1 is: How can they made it sound so close to a big can? It has a sound characteristic unlike any earbud I ever listen to. In fact, there is nothing in PK1 that sounds like an earbud. However, I wasn't total amazed by it. Yes, it does sound great, but not to a level that I will drop my jaw drop and say 'WOW...'. One of the main factor is, I already listen to A8 for many years now, and a relatively small incremental improvement isn't likely to surprise me so much.
Like all AT's earbud, A8 sounds very lean and clean with very less bass impact on the listener. The strength of A8 lies in its highly extended (but not harsh) treble. As a reason, it has the best resolution and soundstage among all the earbuds I ever own (including PK1). Comment has been made that A8 benefits quite a lot from burn-in beyond 200hrs, I do not personally know whether this is a fact or not.
SQ wise, I think PK1 give me the feeling of Shure where A8 is the Ety, or PK1 is the Senn. and A8 is the ATH-AD* series. IMO, PK1 is better because it has a very full sounding body that can easily matchup with all kind of music; A8, however, sounds too lean and clean by itself making it less enjoyable on music that require a warmer 'phone (R&R, POP).
Music test:
I use my iriver clix as source, with both my DIY cmoy2 (slightly warm and more detail) and FireStone Little Country amp (aka LC, optimized for soundstage). Songs are encoded either via LAME 192kbps (or above) or wma9 vbr. I don't have a golden ear so any higher bitrate doesn't mean much.
- Andrea Corr - 'Hello Boys' from <Ten Feet High>
Unamped - PK1's bass isn't very strong, however it is expected. It give the songs a warmer (than it should) feel, maybe a bit too much mid; A8 has faster speed, good resolution, not much bass at all, better vocal but the whole song is a bit too cold. Overall, A8 wins.
cmoy2 - PK1's bass improved, giving it a very balance sound; A8 definitely benefits from a warmer amp, shows improvement on both mid and bass while retaining the good resolution. Overall, PK1 wins
LC - Very much like plugging into the comy2 but not as warm, PK1 has a balance and natural sound resembles that of a big can; A8 gives quite a wide soundstage and even better resolution, but unfortunately it still doesn't have enough bass. Overall, PK1 wins. - Roxette - 'Almost Unreal' from <Roxette Hit!>
Unamped - Like the last song, PK1 doesn't have enough treble and bass in unamped situation; A8 more forward presentation makes the female vocal more enjoyable. Since the song has less bass, A8's weak bass doesn't seems to be affecting as much. Guitar sounds fantastic on A8! Overall, A8 wins.
cmoy2 - PK1's warmer sound clouded the treble a bit, making the instrument less enjoyable. The warm sound doesn't make the relatively cold song more enjoyable; Again, A8 benefits from a warmer amp and making it just right for this song. Overall, A8 wins by a very small margin.
LC - PK1 warmness is reduced slightly, but still too warm for this song; A8 has better female vocal and instrument, but not warm enough. I can't really say which is the clear winner here, I like A8 better (cold song match cold 'phone) but this is almost completely depends on personal preference. - Vanessa Mae - 'Red Hot' from <The Violin Player>
PK1 loses all the battles, either unamped, on cmoy2 or LC. It just sounds too dull, too warm and too muddy for violin. LC does improve the SQ a bit, but not enough to defeat A8. On the other hand, A8 shines when it comes to instruments. All the shape and crisps piano keys and violin notes make the music truly becoming alive on A8.
Conclusion:
If you counted, you will notice A8 actually wins the competition - no, not really. The result is simple manipulated to show you my observation of PK1 so far: It is a very good earbud as it successfully achieve a balance sound which resembles that of a big can, but it isn't necessary great on every genre. Its treble doesn't extend high enough to my liking, bass is strong when amped but doesn't go deep enough, and soundstage is lacking (A8 has good soundstage when amped). Instrument is definitely PK1's weakest link since its resolution isn't high enough (compare to A8). I won't want to listen to piano or violin recording on PK1.
Although its does have its short coming, PK1 is still the better 'phone out of the two. I like my A8, but music is more than resolution and A8 just isn't as good as PK1 being a general 'phone. Anyway, the search for a better earbud continues...
*My #599 post
