The ATH-CKM500..The best CKM earphone yet. - Page 108

Hi all, I'm new here. I am ready to pull the trigger on the CKM500, but I can't decide if I should get the CKM500, the CKM500i, or the CKM500iS. Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I am wondering if someone could please go over the lesser known positives and negatives of these different versions. What made you decide to pick one over the other? I currently have a Blackberry but will be picking up an iPhone 5 and perhaps the new iPod nano (for use at the gym). It seems like the obvious choice would be the CKM500i, but I do like the idea of having a mic to use with my iPhone or whatever smartphone I get in the future. Is the mic actually good? Or is it a feature that's cool for all of three days and then ends up falling by the wayside? I've also seen some people complaining about the boxiness of the remotes. Is this an issue of aesthetics or does it cause discomfort? Are there other reasons you would opt for the "regular" CKM500 over the others? Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basstato 

Hi all, I'm new here. I am ready to pull the trigger on the CKM500, but I can't decide if I should get the CKM500, the CKM500i, or the CKM500iS. Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I am wondering if someone could please go over the lesser known positives and negatives of these different versions. What made you decide to pick one over the other? I currently have a Blackberry but will be picking up an iPhone 5 and perhaps the new iPod nano (for use at the gym). It seems like the obvious choice would be the CKM500i, but I do like the idea of having a mic to use with my iPhone or whatever smartphone I get in the future. Is the mic actually good? Or is it a feature that's cool for all of three days and then ends up falling by the wayside? I've also seen some people complaining about the boxiness of the remotes. Is this an issue of aesthetics or does it cause discomfort? Are there other reasons you would opt for the "regular" CKM500 over the others? Thanks!

If you're planning to listen to these thru a smartphone then get the CKM500iS otherwise if you're only gonna use them with a DAP then get the stock CKM500.

The CKM500i is not a good option as you are stuck with Iphones and the button press volume control, the newer CKM500iS can be used with both Iphones and Andriod phones and they have a much better rotary volume control.

Finally got my CKM500i in the mail. So far, so good :) Works nicely with both my iPhone 5 and macbook. Controls work flawlessly on both.

I just got my red ckm500, by recommendation of this thread. These are the first set of headphones I did any sort or research into, and have used cheap headphones in the past, that sounded... well cheap. I was really exited to try out my first set of decent headphones, but I was really disappointed upon first plugging them into my computer to try them out. At first only the left ear was playing, I thought just my luck, I got a broken pair. I gave the jack a bit of a turn, and at the right rotation both ears started playing. I stuck on wrm's Remix of Here Comes the Flood to try them out, they fit really nice straight out of the box, but sounded quite bad. I felt they sounded similar in quality to my awful temporary €3 headphones. I made it about half way through the song before I decided to mess with the jack again to see if it was still messed up in the right ear at a different angle.  I then pushed the jack a bit harder into the computer, then BOOM! It was amazing, I cannot describe how incredible the change from the slightly unplugged to properly plugged in. It put the biggest smile on my face. Firstly because it sounded just so great, but secondly because I thought they were damaged and sounded bad but instead I was just being an idiot. I really am hearing details in songs that I never noticed before. If it is true that they sound better after burn in, I really cannot wait to hear how great that is. They already sound amazing to my uneducated ears. 

Haha that has happened to me a few times, especially on the el cheapo front computer audio jack that has a lot of static interference. 

I've probably got under a hundred hours of use on mine, other than the highs not being as harsh on my ears, haven't really noticed much of a difference. 

Its crazy how mch my tastes have changed. I used to love these. I put them in earlier today for old times sake, and i did not like what i was hearing at all. I guess my GR01's have spoiled me. The weird thing is that i also prefer the dual driver Brookstone IEM's over the CKM500's now too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonb 

Its crazy how mch my tastes have changed. I used to love these. I put them in earlier today for old times sake, and i did not like what i was hearing at all. I guess my GR01's have spoiled me. The weird thing is that i also prefer the dual driver Brookstone IEM's over the CKM500's now too.

I have the GR01 and DDM (supposedly, Brookstone is its copycat), and it seems that the GR07 is right up your alley. It strikes right in the middle in terms of soundsig and combine some of what's good about the two.

I got a CKM300 from Japan that i am still burning in but i have to say its sound signature is actually better than what i thought it would be.

The treble on it is actually sparkly enough as it is on the ckm300. If the CKM500 is more sparkly then i am not too sure my ears will like it.

Maybe i'll just wait and hope for a CKM700 release :)

I thought the CKM300/500 is Asia release only but i just realised that the CKM300 is actually shown here in AU and also in the US Audio Technica website.

Not too sure why the CKM500 is not there though, maybe it will probably be released soon.

I just got mine in the mail and am definitely pleased with it's quality vs the price I paid.  I know they aren't the absolute best IEM's but for the 60 dollars I just paid, they definitely exceed in the value aspect.  Even without burn in I already like them more than my Klipsch s4 IEMs that I got back in the day when I just started my foray into the world of higher quality personal speakers

The only problem that I'm having right now is that the bass is a little pushy and a bit muddled, but I'm still trying to find the sweet spot for amping it right and I figure after the burn in the bass will tighten a bit

Well I guess the trick for these is to pull back the bass, leave the mids alone for the most part and raise the highs.  I got my amp set up perfectly for them ^_^

Sorry if this has already been mentioned and I've missed it, but has anyone brought these along on an airplane? If so, how is the isolation in blocking out engine and/or crying baby noises? lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by freemini 

How do these compare to EPH-100? Or even better the Klipsch S4 since that's the only ones I heard personally. I'm stuck between Yamaha or these.

EPH-100 is much better but it is also more expensive. S4 is quite horrible and the CKM500 is better in every respect. If your budget allows then I would say go for Yamaha.

I have a few hours on theese now and they are great for the price (58$ including shipping from the other side of the world) but they arent perfect (i wasnt expecting that either).
I have the RE-01 already, and they are great except they are lacking bass. Mid and high is fine but they are lacking bass. Now the CKM500 isnt far off from the ER-01 in highs, but they are complete opposite when it comes to bass and lower mid. The CKM500 is too much, well, i can handle abit much bass (Like my DT770 80ohm) but the main problem with the CKM500 is that it affects lower mid too, so they are quite colored by that.

The ER-01 also have a wider soundstage, not something i focus alot on tho, but its easy to hear the difference when i go straight from one to the other.

So are they better or worse than ER-01? Well, abit hard to judge because of how different they are in bass/lower mid but i think i rather say they are fairly equal but different.

So wich will i continue to use? Well, i think im going with the CKM500 for now. The CKM500 are easier in use. I just put them in my ears and they stay there becasue of the shape. Its much more fiddeling with the ER-01 to get them where they sound best, and when moving around i need to adjust the ER-01 occasionally. I dont think i have to do that with the CKM500 (tho i havent moved that much around with them yet.

Since the ER-01 sits deeper in the ears they isolate better than the CKM500, so thats a plus to the ER-01.

Im curently looking for a 10band(or more) EQ for my phone so i can try and tame that lower mid abit, 5 band (60hz and 230hz) didnt quite cut it.

Oh yeah, microphonics... even tho the cables are pointing down i just loop them up and around the ears anyways, that and the shirt clip from my ER-01 seemes to work great.

I also tried a few other tips i had close by. Smallest and second smalles stock tips didnt seal for me, the second biggest ones fit the best. The biggest ones sound like if i push the mediums abit further in my ears, wich makes the bass/lower mid even more pronounced so that wasnt good. I also tried the ones wich came with the Galaxy S3 IEMs, but none of them was any better.
The closest ones to the stock second biggest tips was the ones from my ER-01. The are slightly smaller and shorter but have a bigger opening. The judge is still out on them tho, i think i have to carry both with me for a while to figure out wich i prefer.

Overall i quite like them, and for the price i think they are great. Biggest issue is the lower mid/upper bass, if that was tamed abit they would be awesome. So next time im looking for new IEMs i would like something inbetween the ER-01 and CKM500 ;)