The ATH-CKM500..The best CKM earphone yet. - Page 114

How do these compare to the MH1c?

It's a upgrade for MeElec A151? What's the difference?

My Brainwavz M4 kicked the bucket on me today, and after browsing head-fi for a few hours this thread has sold me. Just picked up a pair of whites from eBay. From reading this thread it sounds like I am going to be very pleased.

The next few days without a pair of IEM's are going to be so painful. 

a151 would be on the analytical side, someone correct me on that

...I have a pair for sale if ppl are interested.

I was so disappointed with these when I listened to them out of the box. And the presentation was still a muddled mess after about 20 hours of burn-in. I was so frustrated that I decided to plug them into my stereo playing on the R&B/Rap station, at really high volume, for two days straight -- I wanted to punish them for disappointing me so. Wow, what a difference! Totally opened up everything in the presentation. It's a completely different iem. Really enjoying them now.

So I've been LOVING my CKM500's for a few months now. I joined Head-Fi after lurking this thread a bunch and deciding this was the way to go

Initial impressions were pretty solid, considering I was coming from earbuds my mom bought me for Xmas, and this was my first foray back into audiophilia after a long while of being fed up with breaking IEMs, and well, its no surprise to me that the extension cable, where the cable terminates to the female end's casing, has separated, and now there's exposed wire, which I've made a temporary fix with electrical tape (I'd have a picture to show, but I'm scared to remove the tape). At least it's only the extension part and I can get something less microphonic to replace it. This is something that happens with me to ALL earbuds, no matter how cautious I am, and I've been very careful with these, not wrapping them around my ipod, and putting them in the alotted carrying case. However, the tangle issue is probably where the problem lies. Once I get them into the carrying case, getting them out is like organizing a spaghetti factory.

But after hundreds of hours of burn in, here's what I've got to say. Keep in mind this is actually the first IEM I've had in years, so I have not a lot to compare it to other than my AKG K514, which are pretty cold to my ears. So this is just me writing my thoughts, in review form. If someone with more experience has something to add to what I have to say, like if I'm making an incorrect assumption, please, feel free to correct me, this is by no means a professional opinion, just the opinion of a born again audiophile. 

Comfort is amazing, I didn't think such a large IEM would be so comfy. Getting them in my ears the first few times was awkward because of the angles, but it's second nature now. I'm using Sony Hybrid tips too because the stock tips wear fatiguing. I didn't hear any discernable difference in sound signature from my sonic memory, but I've burnt them in pretty well by now so things could be different. Microphonics are present and not the best isolation, but they stay in place, and don't leave you scared for your life when that 18 wheeler zooms past you.

Highs: Before burn in, the highs hurt, near sibilant, and I'm a loud listener, so it was pretty piercing at first. Over the first 24 hours of burn in however, they tamed right down to a great level of detail and balance, while being present, but not sibilant. I think now though, after such regular use, those highs have taken the back seat. I mostly listen to drum and bass, so the cymbals and snares aren't nearly as present as they'd ought to be, and the snare can feel kind of weak in certain tracks. The highest highs seemed to have rolled off quite significantly, where the low to mid highs are present, but not nearly as forward as drum and bass demands, I think. Even with the post metal I listen to, the cymbals aren't THERE enough anymore. The Beginning and The End by Isis has a really great drum track, but on these IEMs they've gone into the background, the reverb on the snare is weak, where as preburn in it was there, and lends to the atmosphere of the production of the album. 

Mids: To be quite honest, this is where I feel these have changed the least. They've been ever present, and never disappointing. The separation of instruments is decent. Noisia & Phace - Program is the track I played on repeat and listened to each synth seperately. WOW. Very rich, the off beat 'donk' sounds are exactly where they need to be in the mix, and the lower mids do have a bit of a hump to them, but it works well, considering....

THE BASS: Oh. My. Glob. I knew I was going to get an upgrade from the sony earbuds my mom got me for Christmas last year, but I didn't expect this. Recently bought a S.P.Y album that has really shown where sub bass can go, and these IEMs showcase it VERY well. Especially the track Infiltrate. The CKM500s produce very lush bass, pretty fast too. These extend very deep, and by my estimation, are tuned up 3-4dB. I really have nothing bad to say about the bass, except it might be a bit too much for some people. I remember showing these to my buddy who had been trying to pawn off his SE215s on me, and he said his SE215s don't extend as low, nor as accurately - He had a look of amazement on his face when his hip hop's bass dind't distort the rest of the spectrum. He was impressed to say the least. Good thing I didn't buy them from him haha. 

Over all, I'm very happy with these. They really excel with reggae (particularly Bob Marley. The exceptional mids and authoritave bass really compliment the production quality of Marley's recordings), hip hop, drum and bass, dubstep, the rest of EDM, and anything bass driven, with emphasis on the mids. For some reason the highs just aren't enough for me, when it comes to analytical listening, but they're DAMN fun, and the price-sq ratio is astounding - the main reason why I went all in and got them.

Another note, they seem to benefit from an amp. I don't REALLY have an amp/DAC, but my Traktor Kontrol S4's internal soundcard is decent. I figured I'd try to DJ using IEMs, just to see how I liked it compared to my K514s. Now I'll start by saying that my K514s don't do very well straight from my iPod Touch, but when I'm feeding it through my S4, the bass is very present, appropriate for mixing, and the highs have a warmer quality to them, where the mids are a little muddied by the powerful bass. But with the CKM500s, monitoring is actually very fun. The mixes are easily seperated in one ear, and with little effort I can catch the off beat track, where the K514s get all muddy and it's harder for me to hear the bass kick on the 1, and the snare on the 2 and 4, the seperation between the two tracks is harder to tell on the K514s. Weird considering they're a semi closed can vs an IEM, but that's my observation. 

I plan on getting another pair of these as a spare. Probably in gold this time though. Ballin.

So I got EQu for my iPod touch, and I have it set at 32hz @+3.0dB (I'm a basshead, and these handle sub bass very nicely), 150hz @ -1.2dB, 1k @ +1.0dB, 7k @ +2.4dB, 16k @ +1dB

I find the sound is more even for my music tastes. The treble roll off loses alot of shimmer when EQd flat, and going between flat, and this custom setting, I find that no/flat eq, the music lost its dynamics, and the detail retrieval in the increased treble is fantastic - cymbals are better defined, and the snares have that 'pock' back, instead of sounding dull in the background, while still not being harsh and fatiguing. I might even up the highs a little more. 

If anyone has any recommendations for me and my Drum and Bass, I'd be willing to take some pointers. I'm by no means an expert when it comes to EQing, but this custom setting is very nice to my ears. 

Just received my 500's (In sexy white) omgosh!!  Just jacked them in and WoW!! Ds was right...much more refined than the TT Isuras!!

Much more comfortable than the Isuras!

Clarity is stellar compared to the Isuras!

Bass is on par but the mid's and treble is beautiful...so musical!! (Lovin it!)

Using stock tips at the moment but I have some comply T-400's lurking about! (Not sure if I need them but we'll wait and see!)

Big thanks Ds!

Just some Pic's...

Welp...time to burn these puppies in!! (although they sound stunning out of the box)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsnuts 

Actually you do need to burn them in. The bass settles nicely and the sound actually becomes more smoother..You got the same white ones I got. I love my CKM500s. I would never get rid of these. Glad you like em. It is indeed a nice upgrade to the isurus..Happy listening my friend.

 these or the m50 headphones

Hmmm, if compared to an Atrios MG7, would CKM500s be better?

I'm loving the sound signature of CKM500, I wonder if there is a portable headphone, preferably audio-technica below $ 100 with similar sound signature.

I've been going through this thread all night. I'm definitely sold. Will probably order these next week or the week after. I'm also picking up a pair of ATH-TAD500's.