CK-10 IMPRESSIONS:
Well, I have been listening to |joker|'s CK-10 for a couple of days, and while they are very enjoyable I hate to say that I don't like them as much as he does.
I do like the feel of the tangle-free cable, and they feel solidly built. Because of their shape, I can only get a good seal with them wearing them with the cable over my ears. And wearing them that way means practically no cable microphonics. The CK-10 are engaging sounding and they don't need to be amped to enjoy them, but pairing them with my Pico Slim is still an upgrade over listening un-amped.
However, when I turn up the CK-10 playback levels to volume match the bass and mids to my UM3X, the CK-10 treble becomes too forward/boosted for my tastes. Fortunately it's in the 8K-10K or higher range, so there is little sibilance boosting in most music but it's an issue with some tracks. It's not so much of a "hot" sounding treble, but rather just a forward sounding treble. The CK-10 may have a similar frequency response to my RE-252 or my old Phonak PFE, but the CK-10 are a bit smoother and more organic/liquid sounding than the RS-252 (and maybe a little warmer too). I need to do more comparisons than the brief ones I've done, but both of these IEM are more engaging than the new RS-262, which are less aggressive sounding than the RE-252, but which when unamped can sound a little bland vs the RE-252 or CK-10. The CK-10 bass is good without boost or weakness, but it's not as strong as my UM3X. The CK-10 have good detail and speed, but I feel that my UM3X still sound more transparent and disappear better. So, I do like the CK-10, but I don't see them filling a gap in my collection.
In my case I would pick the UM3X over the CK-10, which themselves are surpassed by the new W4 that I'm reviewing.