The ATH-CKM50. The CKM family impressions..(First look at the NEW CKM500)..Pg 86 - Page 55

hi, which earphone of ckm family is closest to ath-m50 on sq and signature?

I believe that would be the CKM50´s mate, search on this thread for how Dsnuts compared them to the m50´s almost identical apparently with him rating the ckm50´s a little higher than the full sized m50´s! (arround page 20 i think)

Edited by danny93 - 2/21/12 at 8:16am

  Okay, I received my pair of CKM77s a couple days ago and I've put about 10 hours on them so far. At first, my impression of them was very negative. They sounded thin, anemic; with extremely harsh highs and weak lows. I have no idea if it was from burn in or simply my ears getting used to some phones that aren't bass-head friendly, but now I view the lows as very well balanced with plenty of punch and depth when required but yet they aren't overpowering. Oh, and the lows are crystal clear. No muddiness to be found from my ears at least.

 

  After listening to the entire album "(e)vening" by Mae through my CKM77s, I tried listening to it with the CKM50s. The CKM50's lows were simply too much. I MUCH prefered the far more levelled lows of the 77s. They let through a lot more detail and instead of the bass becoming the prominent instrument in every single song, it became what it should be: one piece of the musical ingredient that makes a rock band.

 

CKM77's lows, compared to my full-sized cans:

 

DT990 Pro/250ohms - Not as much impact, but more clarity. Depth seems the same to me. Simply a preference of whether you like more bass or less bass, with these. Close tie, to me.

 

Alessandro MS2 - Deeper extension AND impact to my ears. Not as much in the low-mids, so less warmth. Definitely more clarity. I think the bass is better on the CKM77s.

 

AKG K701 - MUCH more impact. More depth. Hard to tell a difference in clarity, but due to there simply being more bass with the 77s, I'd say they win there too. The K701s sound positively anemic compared to them. CKM77 is a clear winner here for me.

 

ATH-M50S - 77s are punchier, tighter, and clearly more detailed. Depth seems a little better too. The M50S has a little more quantity, especially in the low-mids, but less quality. I prefer the CKM77s here again.

 

  As far as soundstage goes, I'd compare the CKM77 to my DT990 Pro with a little more "in-you-face-ness". The K701s have the widest soundstage by a large margin, but they can often seem artificially wide: nothing really has any impact from such a distance. My Alessandro MS2 and ATH-M50S both have more a more narrow stage than the CKM77s.

 

  Mids.. I think my MS2's have the nicest mids of all of my cans; they just cut through the mix beautifully. I like my CKM77's mids more than any of my other cans though; vocals come through nice and clear, just not as in your face as my Grados, naturally.

 

 Detail: CKM77s are the most detailed cans I've ever heard, period. EVERYTHING comes through clear as crystal. Not lifeless, like my ol' ER-4P, but CLEAR. Even my K701s don't have the clarity that these CKM77s have. I'd compare their clarity to the AD700s I used to own, though probably even more clear - been a while since I've heard the AD700s. Dsnuts is probably right about their likeness to the ATH-A900 headphones, very much an Audio Technica sound.

 

  On to the highs! Holy cow, these CKM77s have the most HARSH highs I've heard in anything I've put on my ears. I think the highs are even more harsh than my ER-4P set. The highs are so highly emphasized that they make all of my other cans, including my K701s, seem dark and vieled. Maybe this appeals to some people, but it simply hurts my ears. I'm REALLY hoping these highs simmer down a notch after some more burn in. If not, I'd be sorely tempted to send them back to amazon despite how much I love the rest of it's qualities. :( - they are simply too fatigueing for my ears.

 

I'm going to try some EQ work when I pick up and configure my replacement Galaxy Nexus in a few hours - that might be sufficient, but I won't know until I try. Does anyone know if some other ear-tips would help? How about some Sony Hybrids, do they even fit? I'd love it if there'd be a way to tame the highs without having to resort to EQing!

 

My opinion on CKM50 versus CKM77: Completely different sounding headphones. The 50s are bass-heavy and mildly detailed and generally sound good with everything, the 77s are balanced in bass and mids with jutting highs and loads of detail and soundstage. In my opinion, the CKM77s are clearly better except for one thing: the CKM77 has the harshest highs I've ever heard. If they level out with burn in or different tips, than I'll be one incredibly happy man, because this IEM is the only thing I've heard that can compete with my full-sized cans in an even fight. THE CKM50's aren't bad, especially for the price, but they have simply too much bass for my taste, and I also prefer more mid-centric cans in general. Vocals are a priority for me.

Edited by Brandon7s - 2/22/12 at 3:13pm

Seis del Solar (Son del Solar) used to play/record a lot with Ruben Blades!

Always Good Stuff.

 

Although Salsa doesn't get much exposition locally anymore, last year I really enjoyed an independent

production here from Puerto Rico: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/orquestaelmacabeo3

 

http://youtu.be/MheGaGskW7w

Hey nuts, I am really diggin my ckm50s and are really interested in the 77s.  Like to wait until they are under 100. Seems prices have gone up since you gave them attention.  One concern though is comfort fit. the 55s are really comfy but some have suggested that the 77s are larger and less comfortable.  Can you comment more on this?

Thanks for the information, Dsnuts. I'm going to give them about 24 hours of burn in and then try them on again to see if I can notice a difference. I'm glad to hear that the highs to simmer down a little bit. I'm using the second-to-the-smallest earpieces. I could probably go up one size, but I have kinda small ears (especially my right ear) and if I size up they tend to get sore. By the way, have you also noticed that the tips are much more difficult to put on on the CKM77 than than the CKM50s? I think the inner ring is thicker on the tips the 77 came with, which means they are less elastic. They are pretty difficult to get on sometimes, heh.

 

 I'll let y'all know how the highs sound to me after some serious burn in time.

 

 

Anyone else besides dsnuts have both the m50 and ckm50 and can post a comparison?

 

I'm considering buying a pair of m50s just to see what all the hype is about, but if it's that close to the $30 ckm50s, I might just pass.

 

I have both and, to me at least, the CKM50 is the M50 on steroids. Everything is more forward and visceral about the CKM50 at the same volumes. Perhaps that is a side effect of taking the M50 signature and condensing it into an in-ear form. The M50 is somewhat v-shaped in response with a fairly recessed midrange but it doesn't tend to present bass as big or punchy as the CKM50 and the treble is more refined and less sharp to my ears. I'm really sensitive to treble spikes so I tend to slap a bit of a V on the high end to calm those. I'd still say the M50 is the better sounding headphone (as it should be) but the CKM50 is still very, very enjoyable for me.

I also have both. I agree with TheGame for the most part. To me, the CKM50s are like the M50S with more punch and in-your-face-ness. The M50S has slightly rolled off highs in comparison, and lower bass quantity. If it were me choosing between these headphones I would get the CKM50; they have a similar sound signature but I actually like them a little better.

Now that my CKM50s have burned in I like them even more. I would recommend that you pick them up while you still can. If you like music that emphasizes a heavy bass line, these will definitely give you that kick. I won't say that these are the greatest things ever, but I really do love their sound signature.