[sacrifice13]

Ok, I picked these up for $30 + shipping.  Out of the box, they are bright and tight, making my ATH-IM50 sound surprisingly warm.  My test track "Break Free" shows a bit of sibilance in comparison, but it's pretty easy to ignore.  Vocals are a stand out in everyway possible and with Ariana Grande, it's in your face in a good way.  The cut off treble has not been noticeable (yet) and the bass shows little of anything low.  I don't have the right tips anyway, so we'll see how everything pans out with new tips and a mandatory BA burn-in (at least according to all you experts.  My iPhone 6 drives the 65Ω no problem, but it's about the max you would probably want to run with this phone.  The quality is good, but the cord seems cheap; it's very springy and noisy.  Would really like to compare these to an ATH-IM01.

Nice impressions! Keep us updated as you burn it in.

 

[AzimAkbar]

Audio-technica ckb50 mini review and comparison to IM50, XBA10 and FXT90.

I bought the CKB50 through Aliexpress for just 26USD, free shipping. They described it as original CKB50 and even blurred out the AT logo. Just received it 2 days ago of course without original box, just come with extra 4 pairs of silicone tip. I have Sony XBA10 as my sole balanced armature earphone before this so I am excited to try this CKB50 as a comparison. This is no ordinary earphone even the specs shows impressive features like 65ohm impedence and a strange frequency response of 20hz to 15kHz. Even with high impedence it is still easy to drive with my HTC Desire 820s. But surely I have to crank up the volume to about 20 to 25% of total volume. My other earphones normally will need up to 10 to 15% volume.



There is only one seller with only single gold colour CKB50 currently sell in Aliexpress. I have no idea whether this is truly original Audio-technica products or not. It doesn't matter anyway. Out of box/ or package in my case it already sound impressive. It has big and tight bass sound. Definitely bigger than XBA10 or FXT90 but not as big as IM50. The vocal are clear and details are almost as good as XBA10. The treble is moderate at best not as sparklingly bright as FXT90.

Comparison with IM50;
IM50 is my 1st AT product bought BNIB at full price of 62USD so I am very sure that this IM50 is real original Audio-technica. It was my best earphone until I bought FXT90. The best thing about IM50 is the build quality. The cord is super tough but flexible. CKB50 cord is springy and not very flexible. Nevertheless there are not much different in SQ between these 2. Bass amount is slightly higher in IM50 but CKB50 is tighter. Details and treble are almost the same.

Comparison with XBA10;
XBA10 is my 1st ever balanced armature earphone. Bought BNIB but at a discounted price. Still very original Sony product. This is still my current king of details amongst my earphones. It sounds nicely balanced and details. CKB50 is only better in bass. Very surprisingly bassy for single balance armature driver.

Comparison with FXT90;
The 1st earphone I bought through Aliexpress. Same story selling as original FXT90 for 32USD. Sounds fantastic out of package. Moderate but tight bass, sparkling bright treble, good vocal and details. Good for any kind of music genre. CKB50 is better in bass amount and probably has slightly more details.

Conclusion.
A very good entry level balanced armature earphone. I only wish that Aliexpress has CKB70 and FXT100 selling at OEM price like this CKB50 and FXT90. Very secure in ear even with half in ear design. Very fun sound signature. The cons are the springy and microphonic cable without any chin slider or shirt clip. Otherwise an excellent value at just 26USD.

 

[B9Scrambler]

[/quote] There is only one seller with only single gold colour CKB50 currently sell in Aliexpress. I have no idea whether this is truly original Audio-technica products or not. It doesn't matter anyway. Out of box/ or package in my case it already sound impressive. It has big and tight bass sound. Definitely bigger than XBA10 or FXT90 but not as big as IM50. The vocal are clear and details are almost as good as XBA10. The treble is moderate at best not as sparklingly bright as FXT90.

Comparison with IM50;
IM50 is my 1st AT product bought BNIB at full price of 62USD so I am very sure that this IM50 is real original Audio-technica. It was my best earphone until I bought FXT90. The best thing about IM50 is the build quality. The cord is super tough but flexible. CKB50 cord is springy and not very flexible. Nevertheless there are not much different in SQ between these 2. Bass amount is slightly higher in IM50 but CKB50 is tighter. Details and treble are almost the same.

Comparison with XBA10;
XBA10 is my 1st ever balanced armature earphone. Bought BNIB but at a discounted price. Still very original Sony product. This is still my current king of details amongst my earphones. It sounds nicely balanced and details. CKB50 is only better in bass. Very surprisingly bassy for single balance armature driver.

Comparison with FXT90;
The 1st earphone I bought through Aliexpress. Same story selling as original FXT90 for 32USD. Sounds fantastic out of package. Moderate but tight bass, sparkling bright treble, good vocal and details. Good for any kind of music genre. CKB50 is better in bass amount and probably has slightly more details.

Conclusion.
A very good entry level balanced armature earphone. I only wish that Aliexpress has CKB70 and FXT100 selling at OEM price like this CKB50 and FXT90. Very secure in ear even with half in ear design. Very fun sound signature. The cons are the springy and microphonic cable without any chin slider or shirt clip. Otherwise an excellent value at just 26USD.[/quote]

Nice review! Something to point out though.....that's the same cable used on the replica EPH-100 I recently picked up. It's also used on the KZ CM9.

 

[mootrail]

 
Ok, I picked these up for $30 + shipping.  Out of the box, they are bright and tight, making my ATH-IM50 sound surprisingly warm.  My test track "Break Free" shows a bit of sibilance in comparison, but it's pretty easy to ignore.  Vocals are a stand out in everyway possible and with Ariana Grande, it's in your face in a good way.  The cut off treble has not been noticeable (yet) and the bass shows little of anything low.  I don't have the right tips anyway, so we'll see how everything pans out with new tips and a mandatory BA burn-in (at least according to all you experts.  My iPhone 6 drives the 65Ω no problem, but it's about the max you would probably want to run with this phone.  The quality is good, but the cord seems cheap; it's very springy and noisy.  Would really like to compare these to an ATH-IM01.

  Quote:

Comparison with IM50;
IM50 is my 1st AT product bought BNIB at full price of 62USD so I am very sure that this IM50 is real original Audio-technica. It was my best earphone until I bought FXT90. The best thing about IM50 is the build quality. The cord is super tough but flexible. CKB50 cord is springy and not very flexible. Nevertheless there are not much different in SQ between these 2. Bass amount is slightly higher in IM50 but CKB50 is tighter. Details and treble are almost the same.

Conclusion.
A very good entry level balanced armature earphone. Very secure in ear even with half in ear design. Very fun sound signature. The cons are the springy and microphonic cable without any chin slider or shirt clip. Otherwise an excellent value at just 26USD.

 
Good time for a follow up.  I changed to Sony Hybrids for a better fit and the bass suddenly became one of my favorite things about these earphones.  It doesn't go low and there is very little from the sub-bass region, but it's much cleaner then the ATH-IM50.  I'll have to disagree with AA here as the IM50 has much bigger bass and especially down in the subs.  When I'm on the go, I use these exclusively, even where the IM50 would be superior, like on a plane.  They really suit the genres of music I prefer, pop, female vocals crossing into hip-hop.  Bass heads, run and hide.
 
At 4.4g these earphones are insanely light, tiny, fit well (with the right tips of course) and make the IM50 seem heavy and huge.  At their price point, I just wrapped them up and put them in my pocket, no worries.  The cheap springy cord has horrible microphonics, but it never bothers me and they untangles pretty easily.  Sound isolation is just fair, but even at moderate volume on a plane, they hide the engine noise amazingly well.
 
I can't understand why people like L connectors, I caught the cord traveling and it ripped right out of the L.  If it had a straight connector...
 
How much did I like these?  I think the AAs comment of a "fun sound" is apropos.  I have another pair on the way.

 

[AzimAkbar]

I still have unused Sony hybrid tip from my XBA10. On XBA10 I use an original Comply to get perfect fit. I will definitely will try out those hybrid tip on my CKB50. IM50 only have very slight different in bass amount with standard tip that pre installed in the package. Probably with hybrid Sony tip I may get bigger bass.

I only like L shaped connector for sport use with arm band. Easier to fully closed the zipper at side. Straight connector is suitable for use in pant pocket. Anyway have to be extra careful with L shaped connector in pant pocket since they are easier to dislodge.

 

[mebaali]

I have been using CKR9LTD (initially tried JVC Spiral dot Size L but it was somewhat uncomfortable for my ears hence changed to Whirlwind Size M blue core tips which gives me perfect fit) for the last 10 days. 
 
(Caveat: I have very limited exposure to costlier IEMs/Audio Set-ups, so take my impressions with a grain of salt 

 )
 
Bass - Both Mid and Sub bass are pretty solid without entering the territory of bloat/overwhelming. 
 
Treble - is buttery smooth with great extension
 
Mids/Vocals - Highlight of these IEMs for me. Both Male and female vocals are mesmerizingly fantastic with slight forwardness.
 
Clarity/Detail Retrieval/Instrument Separation - Amazing (compared to IEMs that I own right now)
 
Overall Sound Signature - Slightly warm yet very well balanced across the frequencies.
 
Build quality - Solid (aluminum out-casing is quite good, despite looking big on the hands pretty light weight on the ears)
 
These are very easy to drive on most of my audio gears (Oneplus One, Fiio X1, Laptop).
 
To my ears, these provides pleasure listening experience for long hours with most of my musical preferences (even with poorly mastered or recorded audio). These are one of the best earphones (there ain't many that I had opportunity to listen to) I have ever listened to.
 
My main audio set-up - Fiio X1 LO + Topping NX1 LG, MP3/AAC (320 and 256 kbps respectively) using these mostly listen to Post-Rock, Industrial Rock, Instrumental, New Age, Tamil Soundtracks.
 
(BTW, got these from Aliexpress with retail box and accessories. These are my first Audio Technica purchase, can't confirm the authenticity of the product but doing the scanning of bar-code from the retail box does shows it as genuine CKR9LTD, though. From the sound alone I feel very happy with my purchase!)

 

[Raketen]

Bought some used CKB70's that came in today - After a couple hours listening first impression is a pretty significant emphasis/peak in the high-mids/low treble and just-under the usual sibilant peak (kind of like the bottom end of 'sss'... I get only occasional full-on sibilance, more often something that sounds like a hint at it) that is kind of ruinous to a lot of rock and certain types of vocals (seems better with female vox). Definately not an all-rounder, at least not unEQ'd. Other than that peak though, these seem pretty good, nice punch to the bass but not fully extended- very similar to the IM02's bass, a bit lower maybe, even get some rumble if I use the bass switch on my C5D (been quite a while since I had the IM02). Not a lot of body to the mids from what I can tell, Rest of treble & highs arent harsh and has decent detail. not an 'airy' or particularly energetic kind of sound, a little restrained depending on the music... maye this is more because the high mid is so dominant and I can't turn the volume up, which is a pretty big disadvantage for practical daily use too.
 
With the right stuff seems like it can be really good, especially with a fair amount of pop depending on the mixing of the vocals mainly (and not too much electric/distorted guitar...) really nice with folk & other acoustic music like some jazz & some classical, though violin & some brass instruments if they're very forward in the recording can be a bit overbearing, electronica is also hit & miss- mellower & ambient stuff can sound really great ... really just depends on if that peak is an advantage or not I guess.  Sounded amazing with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuN_c4L0GWk
 
Never done it before but might try some filter material swapping if I can find a good suggestion for material for taming that peak, depending on if it can be handled with EQ or just for fun.
So far have only listend with my JDS C5D.
Construction seems solid, chunky plastic & rubber, I like the looks. Really like the fit as well, body isn't too big for my mediumish ears and nozzle angle is good... wish they had adapted this design for the IM02 as those fit me terribly. Used with med spiral dots and small sureseal tips so far, will try some Sony hybrids as well since ppl seem to recommend them for the CKB50.
 
CKB70 has a pretty unique sound vs everything else I have, kinda dig it, but based on a few hours tough to recommend, especially with so many good versatile options in the price range now,  unless there's room in the collection for a tricky/specialized set, also, maybe easier to recommend if listening to a lot of female vocal pop & acoustic folk stuff (though not strictly those things, nor always those things) as long as a lot of mid body/warmth isn't needed..