[Inks]

Luckily this IEM has become irrelevant as it hardly sold and is now discontinued. The CKM1000s...
 
But let's not forget this IEM was sold for about 400$ and had flagship status. Lachlan made a video review of this thing and even though he doesn't outright bash it, you can tell he's very displeased
 
Hereby I present to you its frequency response. 10db boost of bass and a record breaking [I'm serious] 18db spike at around 7k. This is just embarrassing.............The 7$ Monoprice 9927 annihilates this thing!!
Can't believe people take this company seriously after this...
 

 
To be somewhat fair, the IM line isn't that bad [IM50/70/02], though just average at best. Though it's funny how once again, the performance of the 400$ flagship, IM04 is so bad, ironically worse than the IM02s....As the IM02 is smoother and more extended in the treble with similar bass peformance. 
 
I love the M50s but whoever is tuning their IEMs is all over the place.....

 

[Nhubley]

Lachlan sold out long ago... Some great notes you point out. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Audio Technica makes awesome mics. Headphones... I'll pass. Their older stuff was pretty excellent though. I miss my A700x. 

 

[omastic]

I agree with you, their iem line up is rather inconsistent. The IM series is particularly confusing because the lower models absolutely outperforms the higher end ones. 
 
To me it goes like IM02 >> IM01 >= IM50 > IM70 > IM03 > IM04. 
 
Yes. the IM04 sounds that bad to me, particularly considering its flagship status and price.
 
However, I would not go as far as saying that no one should take them seriously, or call their iems scam. 
 
They have produced great iems in the past and the current CKR series is also pretty impressive. 

 

[vlenbo]

Ckr9 for the win.

 

[Inks]

  I agree with you, their iem line up is rather inconsistent. The IM series is particularly confusing because the lower models absolutely outperforms the higher end ones. 
 
To me it goes like IM02 >> IM01 >= IM50 > IM70 > IM03 > IM04. 
 
Yes. the IM04 sounds that bad to me, particularly considering its flagship status and price.
 
However, I would not go as far as saying that no one should take them seriously, or call their iems scam. 
 
They have produced great iems in the past and the current CKR series is also pretty impressive. 

I believe you in that you think IM04 is the worst, I've seen it's treble response and it looks poor. I think there's no denying Audio Technica make a fool of themselves with the CKM1000 and IM04 and that's not mentioning the likes of the CK100 which was also terrible for what they charged. If you don't think the CKM1000 is a scam then I don't know what is, I only made this thread because of how laughably humiliating it is to sell such an IEM for such a price, so glad they scrapped that...When a 10-20$ IEM is outperforming your 400$ flagship, I'll say there's certainly a scam. 
 
CKR you say? I'll give benefit of the doubt that they're maybe not bad, but I guarantee it's overpriced for the sound. You loose faith in a company when they such cases like the ones mentioned above. Maybe they can make something solid, but I think they'll need make a drastic change to make anything special. 

 

[Grave]

Ridiculously inaccurate FR's are not uncommon even among supposedly high fidelity headphones so this should not be surprising. 
 
The FOTM HJE900's come to mind.

 

[vlenbo]

Fo

  I believe you in that you think IM04 is the worst, I've seen it's treble response and it looks poor. I think there's no denying Audio Technica make a fool of themselves with the CKM1000 and IM04 and that's not mentioning the likes of the CK100 which was also terrible for what they charged. If you don't think the CKM1000 is a scam then I don't know what is, I only made this thread because of how laughably humiliating it is to sell such an IEM for such a price, so glad they scrapped that...When a 10-20$ IEM is outperforming your 400$ flagship, I'll say there's certainly a scam. 
 
CKR you say? I'll give benefit of the doubt that they're maybe not bad, but I guarantee it's overpriced for the sound. You loose faith in a company when they such cases like the ones mentioned above. Maybe they can make something solid, but I think they'll need make a drastic change to make anything special. 

Yes, Audio technica is one of the few companies that are laughable in their flagships.
 
 
 
Oh yeah, Sony! Big one there.
 
To be honest, I'm more disappointed with Sony than Audio technica at this point, unless Sony makes a comeback with their z5.
 
 
Even then, I would not claim that Sony is scamming their audience.
 

The ckm1000, in Japan, was considered the most popular IEM. You blame the masses for that, not the company, if they're that terrible.
 
Now the people in Japan hate the ckr9/10s, and yet people here love them. 

 

[omastic]

 
Oh yeah, Sony! Big one there.
 
To be honest, I'm more disappointed with Sony than Audio technica at this point, unless Sony makes a comeback with their z5.
 
 
Even then, I would not claim that Sony is scamming their audience.
 

The ckm1000, in Japan, was considered the most popular IEM. You blame the masses for that, not the company, if they're that terrible.
 
Now the people in Japan hate the ckr9/10s, and yet people here love them. 
 

 
Are you referring to the Sony XBA H3 here? I personally find the H3 a good tier above anything audio technica has in their line up right now, and that of course includes the entire CKR series. 

 

[vlenbo]

   
Are you referring to the Sony XBA H3 here? I personally find the H3 a good tier above anything audio technica has in their line up right now, and that of course includes the entire CKR series. 

Nope.

That one was a successful earphone imo. The bass needs control though, or tighten up, which is what I had a qualm with. The ckr series, imo, already fix this qualm of mine.
 
To me, the ckr9 bests it in bass department. However, the imagery on both is astounding, with the ckr9 beating it in layering. The highs are equal on both. The mids is where they both differ. I enjoy the forward signature of the ckr series better than the laid back midrange signature that the xba-H3 portray. The Xba-H3 are warmer though, and definitely deserved to be bought.
 
The Xba-z5? I do not know...that $700.
 
 
What I was referring to were the Xba-X0 series. 
 
 
Back when Sony were selling BA in ear monitors, I anxiously bought the xba-40 when it was at a cheap price of $220. Before though, the MSRP was around $300. 
 
The bass was lackluster in quality, the mids sounded tinny, and the highs were decent. Overpriced was the only term that came to mind.
 
 
The xba-h3s retailed $350 and I found that it actually did deserve to be priced as such. Sure, maybe it should have cost $300 to make it a bit less overpriced to the current competition, but I accepted it. The fit was a problem though, so that unfortunately, caused bias.
 
Then I discovered that the ckr9s were sold for $200 after their unveiling.
 
I bought it and haven't regretted it. They're both equal in technicality and prowess. One's warmer (Sony xba-h3), and the other one slightly less (ath-ckr9). 
 
Just like audio technica, sony does put a ridiculous pricing on some IEMS. Their Sony Xba-z5 is a good example.
 
The sony xba-h3 is another. I do think it is overpriced at $350, especially at the current competitive market. The sony a-3 will not disappoint at the price though, since they will fix the trivial problems that the sony xba-h3 had.

 

[warrior1975]

I will have my Ckr9 tomorrow, hoping that it sounds as reported in the AT thread. I know a couple of people that enjoy the IM-70, some people who I trust and respect their opinion enough to have faith that AT is a legitimate company. I'll share my impressions at some point tomorrow, for the price I am not expecting to be wowed, but I am hoping for a nice change of pace with my IEMS, something a little less bass. We shall see.

 

[Inks]

  Fo
Yes, Audio technica is one of the few companies that are laughable in their flagships.
 
 
 
Oh yeah, Sony! Big one there.
 
To be honest, I'm more disappointed with Sony than Audio technica at this point, unless Sony makes a comeback with their z5.
 
 
Even then, I would not claim that Sony is scamming their audience.
 

The ckm1000, in Japan, was considered the most popular IEM. You blame the masses for that, not the company, if they're that terrible.
 
Now the people in Japan hate the ckr9/10s, and yet people here love them. 

  Remember, I'm speaking of solely IEMs here, Sony is actually the most influential company in terms of design in the IEM world and their flagships have been solid [best being the EX1000 so far], nothing nearly as bad as the  CKM1000. CKM1000 was never considered the most popular IEM in Japan, it received some interest, but then it died out there when people realized how bad it was. You blame the company for tuning an IEM so poorly and charge them a premium price, anyone in their right mind would agree it's a scam. Headfi loves everything that's new, but then it dies out with time, CKR9/10 is in that shoe right now, time will tell whether it has the staying power of something genuinely good like the GR07. 
 
 

 
 
What I was referring to were the Xba-X0 series. 
 
 
Back when Sony were selling BA in ear monitors, I anxiously bought the xba-40 when it was at a cheap price of $220. Before though, the MSRP was around $300. 
 
The bass was lackluster in quality, the mids sounded tinny, and the highs were decent. Overpriced was the only term that came to mind.
 

Funny that for the XBA-X series, the XBA3 was better than the XBA4. Still.....the XBA4/0 is leaps ahead the CKM1000 and better than IM04 and CK100. 200$ is half of the price Audio Technica asks for their terrible 400$ flagships. 

 

[encoreAC]

    Remember, I'm speaking of solely IEMs here, Sony is actually the most influential company in terms of design in the IEM world and their flagships have been solid [best being the EX1000 so far], nothing nearly as bad as the  CKM1000. CKM1000 was never considered the most popular IEM in Japan, it received some interest, but then it died out there when people realized how bad it was. You blame the company for tuning an IEM so poorly and charge them a premium price, anyone in their right mind would agree it's a scam. Headfi loves everything that's new, but then it dies out with time, CKR9/10 is in that shoe right now, time will tell whether it has the staying power of something genuinely good like the GR07. 
 
 
Funny that for the XBA-X series, the XBA3 was better than the XBA4. Still.....the XBA4/0 is leaps ahead the CKM1000 and better than IM04 and CK100. 200$ is half of the price Audio Technica asks for their terrible 400$ flagships. 

 
What do you think about Final Audio Design then? I heard people say that they see them more as an lifestyle brand, partly because of the exquisite design. 
But at the same time after following the FAD thread, this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Inks]

   
What do you think about Final Audio Design then? I heard people say that they see them more as an lifestyle brand, partly because of the exquisite design. 
But at the same time after following the FAD thread, this doesn't seem to be the case.

The Piano Forte series is also very bad for what they sell them for. Of course, it's going to have it's fans that are going to have something to say to justify it's price, but when I heard them I couldn't believe how bad they were for their asking price, basically had no treble or bass, or rather very little. They do sound unique...just not good.
 
The Heaven II-VI series is solid, you can basically get a Heaven III and it's basically 90% just as good as the Heaven V and VI, so it's a good buy. The Piano Forte and the older generation Heaven series were just bad for their asking price...FAD is more about glam and exclusivity rather than performance. They all use cheap driver from the company Molex  that have distortion, they just stick a shiny housing to make it appear unique and sell it at a premium. 

 

[Carlsan]

I like the ATH-CKR09 and ATH-CKR10, both are excellent earphones, they do sound different from one another the 10 has more of a mainstream sound and the 9 audiophile sound.
I didn't like the IM-70 but did like the ATH-IM03 and ATH-IM02.
 
Out of all the recent ones I've heard, I would rate it CKR10=CKR09> IM03> iM02> IM70
 
I like the fuller and richer bass sound of the CKR10 and IM03. But the CKR09 and IM02 have quick and deep bass.
The ckr10 has rich and silky mids, that some on these threads may not like, but they sound wonderful with the right music.
The CKR09 and the IM02 have better tremble.
 
The Sony XBA series was greatly underrated IMHO. The xba 30 especially was a gem, they fixed some of the problems that they had with the xba-3. The xba-40, much like the xba-4 was very source dependent, but when it matched it sounded quite good.