Originally Posted by
Dsnuts 
Thank you mugen3, Gee, dflock I appreciate all you guys.
I burned in my new CKN70 in for the past 4 hours or so. They are no where near done. But this is what I am hearing from them. right now.
AT has once again shown the mastery of tuning.. I have not been disappointed with a single item from AT this year.. I didn't even have to think twice about the CKN70 for me to bite on them.. This sound is decidedly high end..
It is unfortunate that AT has decided to use the same exact cord they used on the cheaper CKN50. Comfort and fit is exactly like the CKN50 it is a non issue. There is not an ear that will have an issue with the comfort of these in ears. But how does these sound?
The balancing on these earphones are a work of art. There is not a range these don't hit with precision. This sound is not just about the nicely done high level of detail but the smoothness of that detail on here is effortless. These remind me a bit of the tuning that is on the ES700. The level of detail is very similar to armatures in detail. These do remind me much of how my XBA-3s sound. Yet the mids on these.. I will get back to that here in a few. The all aluminum housing has something to do with the sweetness of sound these are emitting..
The highs..At another level of refinement. The highs are the new AT version..The highs are a bit forward in the mix but no where near the unrefined ear splitting sharpness that used to be on many of their older earphones. These have absolute control in this region and high end sparkle abound very natural and transients are spot on. Timbre detail is yet another very fine aspect of this sound..I mention that this sound is effortless and I think it has everything to do with ATs version of the carbon nanotube they are using on these earphones. Now let me get to what is without a doubt the best part of these earphone.
The mids..The balancing and depth in the mids are superb.. Vocals are not only portrayed with the power and intention of the artist but also a smoothness and a touch of sweetness that is only on a higher end sound.. AT this year has done the one thing that other companies only wish they can do. Vocals on these do remind me of the vocal performance of the ES700s.Imagery and instrument separation is very distinct yet so cohesive in what I am hearing..It is astounding I am getting all this from one single 5.7mm Micro HD driver. The added aluminum housing on these earphones add to this sound a command and control that is unheard of for this cost. I can sense the mids will become more fuller and I bet even smoother than how they sound now with a full burn in cycle and if that happens. Game over my friends.
The bass.
Magic. Just magic..These actually adjust to the bass level of the tune more than have a set level of bass. See cheaper phones have a certain amount of bass boost and that is it. You get to enjoy that bass even if you don't want to. Not with these..If your tune has sub bass that comes in like your friends Honda trunk o funk 12 inch. Guess what these will bring it.. Be it natural or synthetic bass is not only controlled but is very satisfactory..Tonality is spot on and is very textured and layered to perfection. Simply put these have a very high quality bass on these earphones. It is not a question if these will hit them bass notes but more of a question of if your tune has it in it.
It is surprising to me that this earphone is not only sounds like they have 3 drivers in the ears that represent the highs mids and lows but then they have all the goodies that make up a high end performing earphone. If these actually get better with burn in. Oh man.
