[dweaver]

OK they do sound interesting then, I'll be watching...

But I suspect I'll be watching while I listen to my IE8's

(if they ever arrive, DOH!!!)

It's really sad that we all have to live at such different places in the world. Let's say I love my new IE8 and you love your new CK90Pro, we live so far apart without caving in to the urge to buy the other IEM we will never know if the other would be better or worse, Arghhh!

 

[dweaver]

Oh, btw, I love Accessory Jack, they have great prices, super fast service, and the real goods. Excellent companyt to deal with so far.

 

[a_recording]

Well unfortunately the mail option that Accessory Jack uses to send to Australia doesn't allow tracking from within Australia, so I had a few nail biting moments before I discovered that, and thought that the package was somehow lost in transit. However, Accessory Jack was really communicative and polite throughout, and I'd agree they are awesome to deal with!

What I'm going to try to do for my review, which I will write when I'm not swamped (lol) is try to alleviate the difference in distance that you mention by trying to share the experience of listening to the same earphone and the same music as much as possible.

Still, it would be easier if I was a millionaire with a private jet, eh?

 

[AwakenedBeing]

Quick question: I'm just trying to gauge the bass impact on these. Is the bass impact on the CK90Pro closer to the CKS70 or RE0? Or are they in between them?

Thanks for the initial impressions and looking forward to your review!

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwakenedBeing /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quick question: I'm just trying to gauge the bass impact on these. Is the bass impact on the CK90Pro closer to the CKS70 or RE0? Or are they in between them? Thanks for the initial impressions and looking forward to your review!

Definitely more close to the CKS70. What I'm finding is perhaps a little less sub-bass. One thing is though, that the 90Pro is much, much faster than the CKS70, even in terms of bass - so that you might not get that swelling bass sound from them. They tend to be more accurate, but you might not get the same warmth from cellos that the 70 do... however, that said, bass impact easily outstrips the RE0. This is unamped.

However, I just did an experiment, listening to the 90Pro out of the headphone amp on an Onkyo receiver, hooked up to a PS3 with the 176kHz upscaling (Bitmapping mode 3). Amping completely, completely changes the sound signature! It removes the muffled tone completely, instrument separation improves. Comparing them to the same setup with the RE0, I would say, the RE0 still has better high extension and more forward mids, but the detail in the mids on the 90Pro and soundstage/imaging are better and the 90Pro is overall smoother and less fatiguing. Bass tightens up significantly when amped, but because the overall sound signature becomes much more balanced, it almost seems like there is less bass. Overall sounds pretty incredible, so this must be what people mean when they say portable sources don't drive BAs well.

I feel like I'll say too much and have nothing to say for the review lol, but the amping discovery was too cool to keep quiet about.

 

[AwakenedBeing]

Thanks a_recording. The CK90Pro seems very interesting. I wish I still had a amp.

 

[cn11]

I'd love to hear comparisons of these to the CK10's... so I can make up my mind which one I will try out! I just recently got a pair of the CKS70's, and really like them, so I'm hoping one of these two will have reasonably close bass impact, but with more extended and detailed highs. That would be a fantastic earphone....

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sound-wise with certain tips they can sound as close as two different phones can. Tip rolling to both sound their best, the CK10 is smoother, has a larger soundstage and rolls off more slowly on the bass side of the spectrum. The CK10 has huge build, fit, isolation, size and looks advantages. The RE0 price has dropped $90 since I had the RE0 and the value factor has increased on them. The CK10 are the better phone, the RE0 are the better buy.

So better bass with the CK10 than the CK90 pro?

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cn11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So better bass with the CK10 than the CK90 pro?

It's quite hard to say - I don't even know if jant71 is talking amped or unamped when he makes that comparison, as RE0's bass improves significantly when amped.. however, jant71 has repeatedly said in his reviews that the CK10 sounds very similar to the RE0.

Whether amped or unamped, the CK90 does not really sound like the RE0 in terms of its low/mid/high balance.

 

[AwakenedBeing]

If the CK90Pro is closer to the CKS70 in terms of bass impact, then the CK90Pro has more bass impact than the CK10. Also, their acoustic horn design probably attributes to more bass impact. CK10 has more bass impact than the RE0 (unamped). I really haven't had a chance to compare the two extensively since another member (Hung0702) who owns them is away right now.

 

[cn11]

Bump for this thread-
Any new owners out there who can add in their impressions?

 

[Donnyhifi]

I did manage to check out the CK90Pros while I was looking at the Ortofons, my thoughts below:

The ATH-CK90Pro has greater bass impact than both the CK10 and CK100, I gave them a second listen though my sessions were quite brief. They are a very good pair of headphones except for one thing, the trebles have abit of sibilance to it which varies depending on your source.
The sibilance is less with a better source, their amped source had less sibilance and sounded fuller than my Cowon X5. I also think some Foamies such as the Audio Technica Foamies would help with reducing the sibilance.

It is also a very different sound signature when compared to the CK10 and CK100. The CK10 and CK100 have more forward mids when compared to the CK90Pros.
I feel they are less coloured than the CK100 with greater bass impact.

I think these are definitely worth a listen though some might find them fatiguing with the stock rubbers, I will give them another go when I get another source to test with.



The CK90Pros intrigue me with their SQ and I might just pickup a pair since they are about 14,000Yen in Japan

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnyhifi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did manage to check out the CK90Pros while I was looking at the Ortofons, my thoughts below: The ATH-CK90Pro has greater bass impact than both the CK10 and CK100, I gave them a second listen though my sessions were quite brief. They are a very good pair of headphones except for one thing, the trebles have abit of sibilance to it which varies depending on your source. The sibilance is less with a better source, their amped source had less sibilance and sounded fuller than my Cowon X5. I also think some Foamies such as the Audio Technica Foamies would help with reducing the sibilance. It is also a very different sound signature when compared to the CK10 and CK100. The CK10 and CK100 have more forward mids when compared to the CK90Pros. I feel they are less coloured than the CK100 with greater bass impact. I think these are definitely worth a listen though some might find them fatiguing with the stock rubbers, I will give them another go when I get another source to test with. The CK90Pros intrigue me with their SQ and I might just pickup a pair since they are about 14,000Yen in Japan

Hey there, thanks so much for your impressions. They are sounding quite promising! I'm going to watch closely for further thoughts as people acquire them.

If you do pick them up, please share your further thoughts.

 

[rawrster]

They definitely do sound promising. I'm waiting until average joe gets his before I make a decision on these.

 

[cn11]

Ugh, well mine are ordered. Couldn't resist any longer. I sure hope these prove out to have sufficient bass, more than the CK10's are reported to have. The fact that they're described as closer to the bass of the CKS70's is very encouraging, since I find the bass from those to be more than enough.

I'll post impressions once they're here, which will probably take a while since they're coming from Japan.