Audio Technica ATH-CKR10 IN-EAR HEADPHONE TITANIUM SONIC PRO DUAL PUSH PULL DRIVE SYST

I use these with my iBasso DX90 dap and they sound great.
 
The large audio port improves quality and quantity of bass and sound stage width. I also added JVC Spiral Dot tips to further improve them resulting in roomier sound.
 
The amount of detail retrieval is amazing, layer separation and presentation are top notched. I simply get amazed at hearing the sound details that I've never heard of before.
 
After I bought these IEMs I enjoy them so much I wanted to listen to all of my favourite playlists again simply to experience the details that I have never heard of before.
 
The material used on the sleve of the cable is matt rubber so they rub together and add a lot of microphonic noise whenever they are moved or rubbing against each other or your shirt. I attempted to mod them by painting the cables with silky enamel paint but that didn't work very well as the paint peel off Need a spray paint artist for this job.
 
I would be great if Audio Technica can replace the cables with something like Westone's EPIC cables.
 
Apart from this, just kick back on  your recliner, plug these in, lie back close your eyes and enjoy the awesome sound quality these CKR10 deliver.

Overview, design and build:
The CKR10 is currently the flagship dynamic driver earphones from Audio Technica. I bought it used from another Head-Fi user. Packaging and accesories are simple but classy. You get 4 sizes of eartips and a leather carry case. Build quality is excellent (look at those FAT strain reliefs), but cable is a bit springy and non-replaceable. Designed mainly for cable-down wear, they are very comfortable in my ears and I can even sleep on my side with them on.
 
 

 
 
Sound:
The bass is excellent in this set. It has a very good amount of punch and rumble that you can feel. Even so it doesn't obscure the mids, the lower mids in particular are upfront and very clear. Male vocals and guitars shine very well in this aspect. Going further up, the upper mids and treble are amazingly detailed and smooth, for a bass-oriented earphone this is remarkable. You hear many details in the sound even while the bass is ever-present. Detailed as it is however, the treble is a bit laid-back compared to the mids and bass, making this a warm and smooth headphone. This is very good for prolonged listening (less fatigue), but if you're looking for that extra sparkle in the treble this is not it. The notes are full and thick, maintaining detail, so listening to this is a very rich experience indeed.

Soundstage:
The soundstage has average width and depth, but very good height. Layering and separation are done very well in terms of height. Vocals are particularly good and stand out from the rest of the music. The earphones are very good for EDM, rock, pop, hip-hop, vocals, acoustic and jazz, but the bass might be a bit slow for metal because it hits hard and lingers awhile.
 
 

 
 
Comparison to ATH-IM03:
Compared to the Balanced Armature model ATH-IM03 the CKR10 has better treble detail, better dynamics, and more prominent mids. Vocals also sound flat on the IM03 compared to the CKR10, and IM03 costs nearly double as well. I sold the IM03 after getting this.

Conclusion:
This is a very good addition to anyone seeking a warm and smooth sound sig. It lacks a bit of treble and excitement for me, but for what it is, the CKR10 is extremely capable.

The ATH-CKR10’s were purchased by me and I’m not in any way affiliated with Audio-Technica.
 
I recently reviewed the CKR9’s as well and due to the pretty much identical design the first part of this review is very similar to the one I did on the CKR9’s. The two however sound quite different from each other so if you’ve already read my CKR9 review you might want to scroll down straight to the sound part in this one.
 
Built and accessories:
The ATH-CKR10 is a dual dynamic IEM featuring two 13mm drivers. The drivers are mounted to face each other and are wired out of phase, Audio-Technica calls this “dual phase push-pull driver system”.
Housing is made of metal coated titanium and overall build quality feels very good. The design looks as if it was made for detachable cables but unfortunately that’s not the case. The housings are fairly large but the design with a pretty shallow fit still makes them very comfortable to wear. I’ve got small ear canals but these stay well in my ears and I also use them in bed while going to sleep without any problem.
 
The cable doesn’t look or feel like anything special but in use I find it to be excellent with very little tangling, low on microphonics, soft and flexible. The plug is L-shaped and feels very solid.
The accessories are not much to write home about featuring four different silicon tips and a carrying/storage pouch. I’d have liked to see a lot more tip options included at this price point. None of the included tips worked well for me since I prefer this with wide bore tips, more about this in the sound description later.
 
The CKR10’s are very easy to drive and works great out of every source I’ve tried them with. Isolation is average or slightly below with silicon trips but I’ve used them with Comply tips on a couple of flights and that works very well.
 
The specs:
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Sound:
I did use these as my main IEM’s for over two months and they’ve played for well over 200 hours. I’ve used them at home, while travelling and when going to sleep.
I’ve used them with my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact phone, FiiO X3/Bluebird 6.0 combo and the Gekk Out 720/Cayin C5 combo.
 
Demo list:
Mark Knopfler – Sailing to Philadelphia
Røyksopp (Feat.Susanne Sundfør) – Save Me
Ane Brun – These Days
Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana
Alice in Chains – Them Bones
The Peter Malick Group – Immigrant
Eva Cassidy – Songbird
Thomas Dybdahl – A Lovestory
Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why
Celldweller – Unshakeable
Jack Johnson – Better Together
Seinabo Sey – Younger (Kygo remix)
Dire Straits- So Far Away
Passenger – Let Her Go
Morrissey – Earth Is the Loneliest Planet
 
I really like these most wide bore tips and my favorites are some OEM double flange tips I picked up on eBay, the JVC Spiral dot and the red/grey wide bore tips from Lunashop . Using wide bore tips makes soundstage slightly wider, treble more pronounced and mid-bass a tad less impactful to my ears.
 

 
 
The overall sound signature is thick, intimate and well balanced with a hump in the lower mid-range.
 
The lows have great depth and texture. The bass reproduction on the ATH-CKR10’s is very present in the overall sound presentation. The sub-bass is very well controlled with no bleed into the lower midrange. When I first got the CKR10’s I was struck by the layering in the bass. To me this was something I’ve only experienced in this quality through good full sized headphones before.
 
The mid-range is slightly forward with focus on the lower mids. This makes the mid-bass impact just above what I can accept on some tunes that is recorded with a high bass presence (Jack Johnson’s “Better Together” is an example of such a tune) and also with some sources (the X3’s headphone out is one example).  I consider myself very sensitive to mid-bass quantity so this will probably not be a problem for many others and it is really just too much and not a problem with most of my music.. The forward lower mids however also makes the CKR10’s feeling intimate and giving male voices just the right weight for a natural and very seductive presentation.
 
The treble is detailed and has a very good extension without any sibilance. This helps even further in giving a very well balanced sound.
 
Soundstage width is good while soundstage depth and height is excellent. Clarity is extremely good while micro details, positioning and separation are all amazing. The combination of the full, warmish sound and the very good clarity is really fascinating.
 
So all together we’ve got great sub bass impact, a slight forwardness in the lower mids and a very good treble extension without any sibilance. All this combined makes a very entertaining presentation pairing extremely well with bass driven electronic music (Røyksopp’s “Save Me” sounds great) as well as acoustic music, especially with male voices (Mark Knopfler’s “Sailing to Philadelphia” is amazing with these) but they’re certainly not bad with female voices either.
 
Comparison:
 

 
 
CKR10 vs CKR9:
Compared to the CKR10 the CKR9 has a brighter, less warm sound with a more lively presentation. The CKR9's has a lift in the higher midrange (while the CKR10’s has a lift in the lower midrange) that makes mid-bass less prominent. To my ears the CKR9 is better with female voices while the CKR10 sound more natural with male voices. Although these two looks very similar in design and specifications they’re signatures are really not very similar but the do share the non-fatiguing treble and excellent bass layering.
 
As already mentioned the design on the CKR9 and 10’s is identical so I find them equally comfortable. They’re also equally easy to drive.
 
CKR10 vs DUNU Titan 1:
Compared to the CKR10 the Titan 1 has an overall brighter presentation that gives a feeling of more air and better clarity but also makes them a bit more fatiguing in the treble reproduction. Bass impact is very good on both but the CKR10 reach lower and has better layering in the bass while the Titan 1 has a mid –bass more in line with my preference. The Titan 1 also loses out in soundstage depth and micro details.
 
The Titan 1 is one of the most comfortable IEM that I own so I’d rate them slightly above than the CKR10 in ergonomics. The Titan is also a bit harder to drive.
 
CKR10 vs ATH-IM70:
Compared to the CKR10 the IM70 is slightly brighter and more airy sounding while the CKR10 has significant more bass impact (both sub- and mid-bass) and better layering in the bass. If you can live with some more mid-bass and a slightly warmer/fuller sound I’d say that the CKR10 would be the perfect upgrade from the IM70’s since they share a lot of the same qualities such as a slightly forward midrange (even more forward on the CKR10’s) and overall well balanced sound. The CKR10’s just gives more of everything (weight, depth, warmth, clarity etc.).
 
I really struggled with the fit on the IM70’s until I got a replacement cable without memory wires but even with the new cable I find the CKR10’s to be more comfortable. These two are equally easy to drive.
 
Summary:
Even though the CKR10 is not really my preferred sound signature they do what they do so good that I enjoy them a lot anyway. Their intimate presentation and reproduction on male voices have really seduced me. The fact that they also pair up very nicely with my Z3 compact phone makes them get quite a bit of head time. If I should describe the CKR10 in as few words as possible it’d be that they’re intimate and seductive sounding.   
 
If I’d have gotten the CKR9’s before I got the CKR10’s I’d probably never would have gotten the 10’s since the 9’s really is more my preferred sound but I’m really glad that I didn’t because I like both of them very much. Actually the CKR10’s are still growing on me even after several months of use.
 
If there’s something I’d like to change on these it would be ever so slightly less mid-bass impact. The variety of included tips should be much better at this price point and I would really have liked the cable to be detachable.