Mysterious Focalprice IEM's = AMAZING! Impressions and comparisons inside - Page 22

I guess I'll just stick with the Nuforce NE700Xs for now - after I got used to them, I realize how much I was missing out with the XKDUNs. Like I was saying before, the strong bass and treble of the CK700s gave the illusion of them being higher fidelity than they actually were. The instrument separation, detail, and overall experience is way better with the Nuforces. I'm not so in love with them that it'll be a tragedy if they break, so I'm cool with running with them and drenching them in sweat.

I'm going to attempt to learn soldering in a couple weeks and hopefully by then I'll also have a nice fixed pair of Sennheiser CX880s that will make searching for a good-sounding budget IEM pointless. The Sennheisers actually sound very close to the XKDUNs, albeit with a much more refined polished sound.

It's still too bad that the XKDUNs were discontinued though. It's nice to have a beater pair of IEMs that I don't have to worry about wearing in the rain or anything like that. Oh well.

Just took my pair of CK700s out of retirement and holy crap.

1. Now I remember why I put these away. The highs are PIERCING!!! Even after I EQed the treble down several dB, I couldn't stand to listen to them for long.

2. But I took a moment to consider and decided to give them another shot, this time with Comply TX 400 (with the foam "wax guard") tips on them. The sibilance was gone. I could finally listen to them in comfort!

3. These things have some of the most ridiculously powerful but competent and controlled subbass I've ever heard in an IEM. Really impressive.

I can tell you're talking about the white ones. Yeah, I really liked the fact that the sub bass was there when needed but the headphones otherwise didn't sound excessively bassy. I'd like to hear other headphones that have that sort of sound. Deep sub bass usually comes with heavy mid bass in all the pairs I've listened to.

It's probably for the best that mine broke though, considering how much they were worsening my tinnitus. I didn't realize how strongly these things had skewed my hearing toward treble until I started listening to my Nuforce NE700Xs again over the last week. I'd gotten so used to the CK700's ridiculous treble, for months I stopped using my other IEMs because they all started sounding terribly muffled to me. Those evil $5 IEMs from Communist China had me brainwashed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moleface 

 

I can tell you're talking about the white ones. Yeah, I really liked the fact that the sub bass was there when needed but the headphones otherwise didn't sound excessively bassy. I'd like to hear other headphones that have that sort of sound. Deep sub bass usually comes with heavy mid bass in all the pairs I've listened to.

 

It's probably for the best that mine broke though, considering how much they were worsening my tinnitus. I didn't realize how strongly these things had skewed my hearing toward treble until I started listening to my Nuforce NE700Xs again over the last week. I'd gotten so used to the CK700's ridiculous treble, for months I stopped using my other IEMs because they all started sounding terribly muffled to me. Those evil $5 IEMs from Communist China had me brainwashed.

Indeed I am talking about the white ones. They're excellent in terms of low end presence, extension and texture without ever being overpowering. It's a shame they were discontinued, they're pretty much a budget basshead's dream come true.

Well, if said basshead loves prominent treble because these have the sharpest and most exaggerated treble I've ever heard. In any headphone/earphone/IEM. Period. But I decided to perform a fairly simple mod to tame the treble. I had a bunch of tiny foam circles from when I bought a bunch of earbud foam covers and they didn't completely punch out the middle and decided to remove the metal grilles and stuff one of them down into each of the nozzles, which tamed the treble without killing its detail and clarity.

I love the crap out of these things now. I'm going to baby them now so they don't end up breaking because, for...whatever price I paid for them, they're a pretty fantastic set of IEMs.

Yeah, they are pretty remarkable - especially for the price. Listening blind, I honestly would've assumed they were at least in the $30-50 range.

Lots of treble and profoundly deep sub bass without excessive midbass is a really nice mix, and I'd like to find more IEMs that sound like that. Like I was saying though, the signature gives the illusion of higher fidelity than they actually are. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything at all when I was using them as my exclusive IEMs, but going back to a higher quality pair definitely reveals the CK700s' relative deficiency in soundstage and overall 3D sound imaging. Still fantastic sounding though. If they'd stayed in production, they would've been my permanent workout IEM of choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moleface 

 

Yeah, they are pretty remarkable - especially for the price. Listening blind, I honestly would've assumed they were at least in the $30-50 range.

 

Lots of treble and profoundly deep sub bass without excessive midbass is a really nice mix, and I'd like to find more IEMs that sound like that. Like I was saying though, the signature gives the illusion of higher fidelity than they actually are. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything at all when I was using them as my exclusive IEMs, but going back to a higher quality pair definitely reveals the CK700s' relative deficiency in soundstage and overall 3D sound imaging. Still fantastic sounding though. If they'd stayed in production, they would've been my permanent workout IEM of choice.

The White XKDUN CK-700's are still being sold here:

http://www.eforchina.com/view/106174/High-Performance-Noise-Isolationg-Stereo-Metal-Earphone-with-Bass-function-for-MP3---MP4---iPod--CK-700---Grey.htm

And the black ones also:

http://www.eforchina.com/view/106095/High-Performance-Noise-Isolationg-Stereo-Metal-Earphone-with-Bass-function-for-MP3---MP4---iPod--CK-700---Black.htm

I've had nothing but bad luck with the black ones. All the ones I've bought(from different sites) have all had an imbalance on one side, possibly from bad soldering.