Last Friday, Audio-Technica announced two new models, the in-ear ATH-CKM55 and the open supraaural ATH-EP700.

The CKM55, which appears to an improved CKM50, has a very similar design to its predecessor, but seems to be of higher build quality and fit and finish. The CKM55 incorporates a brass stabilizer behind the transducer unit to reduce unwanted reverberations, in an attempt to produce clearer midrange and treble reproduction. This is probably in an effort to differentiate it from the just-released "Solid Bass" CKS series earphones.


The CKM55 is available in 5 colors

More pics of the CKM55 can be found here at Phile-web.

The EP700 is an open-back headphone that utilizes a design similar to the ES7 and ES55 (but open of course). The 40mm driver is tuned specifically for the monitoring of musical instruments like digital pianos. Like the ES series headphones, the EP700 also folds flat for easy transport.


EP700 in Brown and Orange, with pic of the phones folded flat

Both models will be available in Japan on August 21. The CKM55 will retail for ¥6300 (≈$66.63 US), while the "open priced" EP700 should retail for around ¥6980 (≈$73.82 US).

株式会社オーディオテクニカ ｜一般製品 | ATH-CKM55 (AT website)

株式会社オーディオテクニカ ｜一般製品 | ATH-EP700 (AT website)

オーディオテクニカ、6,300円のカナル型イヤフォン - AV Watch (Japanese)

The EP700s look interesting, especially at the japanese price, but I wonder how big the market for fully open portable phones is (limited practicality). Also, I hope they come up with some other colors, too. Both of those look like the thatching my grandmother's couch .

Thanks for the heads up, OP.

Sigh. Why do these have to come out after I'll be leaving Tokyo? I'm pretty curious about the performance of the EP700 since they're open but cheaper than the ES7.

The EP700 is strange since Audio-Technica seems to market it as a monitor and not as a portable, although I see no reason why someone couldn't use it for on-the-go purposes, other than its open-back design. The fact that there aren't a whole lot of monitor headphones under $100 makes this an interesting product.

Also, I just noticed that somebody already started a thread on the EP700: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/aud...-ep700-436524/. Posting an old thread is a first for me . Well, at least nobody started a thread yet on the CKM55, but it remains to be seen how popular they will become considering the CKS series is all the rage currently.

Hi Guys, my ATH-CKM55 arrived yesterday by mail! I'll write a more detailed review after a proper burn-in time, but these headphones got potential!

After 4 hours of burn in the bass has improved but it's still far from well defined. The treble and the mids are very good, well balanced, detailed, and the speed seems correct so far. Overall the sound is very balanced, with good spacial placement, and the soundstage has a really good depth feeling after the initial break-in (it showed none straight out of the box).

They are not very sturdy at first sigh but I'll only be able to tell it if they break too soon. I didn't got the time to try a smaller earplug but they're not the most comfy headphones I ever used, maybe I'm just not used to them though, since it's been a few years from my last in-ear headphones.

Looking forward to your review? I am especially interested in the mids and highs and how much bass they have as well as the size of the soundstage.

Hi,
 
can you please describe how did the CKM55 work out? I am considering to buy them. How do they perform compared to similar priced Sennheiser's? I am curious especially about it's how it's bass is (strong vs weak, deep vs boomy)and outer sound insulation.
 
Thanx!

http://www.head-fi.org/t/592457/the-ath-ckm50-the-ckm-family-impressions