Geek Wold GK10

Additional Notes:

I liked the GK10 quite a bit once I EQ'd back the missing bass. The glaring issues with this set is the incoherency in terms of drivers, frequency response and extension.
It lacks this kind of richness that music is supposed to have, it's sort of hollow and thin throughout its sound presentation. The treble is quite nice however and really is the highlight of this IEM, if you can tolerate that slightly brittle Piezo sizzle that is. It imparts a different vibe than the other drivers and does its own thing, lending further to the aforementioned incoherency.

Today there are better IEMs for the price as the GK10 issues are too glaring for me.

Pairs best with laid back source such as Ovidius B1.

For more reviews, check us out at: https://perrivanaudio.com/

Driver Setup:1 balanced armature for high frequency,
2 piezoelectric ceramic for ultra-high frequency,
7mm graphene diaphragm dynamic, and
8mm dome titanium diaphragm dynamic

Price: US$47.90

Intro​

Disclaimer: This review set was graciously lent to me by a friend from his personal collection and the review is written of my own accord. This set was purchased by him from Penon Audio at full price.

At first sight, many will misread the name Geek Wold as “World” which I too made the same mistake. Geek Wold is one of the many relatively obscure Chi-Fi brands out there that are up and coming. The GK10 is a 5 driver hybrid consisting of 2x Piezoelectric, 1x Balanced Armature, and 2x Dynamic Drivers which is uncommon to see in this price range but certainly the trend in the upper echelons of the IEM world.

Accessories and Build Quality (Score: 7.0/10)​

For a budget option, the GK10 comes with minimal accessories as I would expect given the stacked driver design and usage. It comes with 2 sets of silicone tips, a carrying pouch and a pretty decent braided cable.


For US$47.90, I do not have any qualms in terms of value here and besides that, the quality of the cable is certainly much better than the likes of some other budget options.

Build quality-wise, the shells are smoothed out with no rough and pointy edges, a heart-shaped faceplate design which I am not a fan of but that depends on your preferences as well. The materials used feel like plastic to me but at least it feels sturdy handling it.

Fit (Score: 7.0/10)​

Fit wise, the heart-shaped design feels relatively odd as it does not sit into my ears as well as some others do. It is relatively small as compared to some offerings that stack drivers as the GK10 do which helps with comfort in longer listening sessions. Nozzle size is pretty average, no comfort issues there but hoped that it could be slightly elongated to have more seal.

Sound (Score: 7.5/10)​

Sources used:

• Ibasso DX120
• Atom DAC and AMP

Music I listened to:

• Alan Walker – Alone/Faded/Darkside
• Billie Eilish – When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
• Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
• Chainsmokers – Sickboy
• Cigarettes After Sex – Cry
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• One Republic – Human
• Keane – Fears and Hopes
• Nino Rota – The Godfather OST
• Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra – 2016 all Japan Band competition
• Fedde Le Grand – Cinematic
• ARTY – Rebound
• ACDC – Highway to hell

Bass

The GK10 is tuned rather warm and meaty which some may enjoy this enormous warmth bass that engulfs the listener. On my end, I felt that it made the entire presentation here rather sluggish for my taste and took some marks away in technicalities. I would have liked it more if there were lesser bass bleeds and more emphasis on separation here which could really make it a superb experience.

On the upside, the GK10 does have good thumps and punches which again appeals to the majority of having an energetic bass response that is overly boomy to the listening ear.

Mids

There is some slight recession in its mid-range at around 1khz and an uplift in its upper mids to create that sense of clarity and energy. I do notice that vocals on the GK10 sound rather thin and it is lacking some sort of “depth” that makes it sound “full and weighty”. Think of it as a painting, it has the right colours but with weaker strokes. There isn’t much upper-mids spike here so we are all good on that fatigue bar over time.

Treble

Now I would like to say that the GK10 does have pretty gorgeous treble tuning here. It is very smooth and sparkles like a star when the time comes for it to shine. It does not sound sibilant even with some spikes in that region. The extension is great on the GK10 which is another plus point that I did not expect in this price bracket. I am guessing it is due to the 2 piezos it has and it is definitely working wonders in there.

Details, speed, attack, decay, and tuning/tonality were pretty much spot on here for the GK10 which I really enjoyed and dig. What a great surprise here!

Overall


The imaging and soundstage of the GK10 are definitely above average in this price bracket but I felt that tonality wise, it is slightly skewed. It did well in striking a good balance with that mild V-shaped tuning where it does not sound wonky and off.

I do enjoy the mid to treble regions a lot but with a slight letdown with its mid-bass hump which makes it lose out in terms of quality and shy away from a super-competitive triple threat driver pick.

Conclusion​

In conclusion, the GK10 is wonderful at what it is good at, has superb treble performance and good staging/imaging capabilities that ensure great value for you people out there. However, it does have some shortcomings in terms of technicalities in its bass regions. For the price, I feel that the tradeoff is decent and furthermore, individual preferences will differ and who knows, if you like that warm tone with great sparkles, this might be a good budget pick and a good introduction to those piezoelectric drivers.

Overall Grade: B​

Click HERE for our grading list for earphones

Disclaimer: I received this review unit from HifiGO for free. Thank you very much. Prayed to the audio gods and burned in for 50 hours before reviewing it.

Price: 48 usd

Specifications:

Shell material: ABS+PC

Impedance: 8Ω

Sensitivity: 106dB

Frequency response range: 20-30kHz



Accessories:

S/M/L silicone tips (2 colors)

Carry pouch


Cable: 0.37ohms, 8-core cable. Metal divider/connectors are decent. Not needed to change the cable.





Build: feels like the kind of cheap plastic that is used in sub-10 usd iems from KZ. Has a lip for the nozzle and metal mesh at least.

Fit: Not that good due to the unique heart shape.

Comfort: Good due to the size being a bit smaller than average.

Isolation: Slightly below average.

Setup: Schiit Asgard 3 (low-gain, volume around 8 o´clock), Elecom EHP-CAP20 tips L, stock cable 3.5mm

Lows: Mid-bass focused, speed is decent but combined with the very high quantity of bass and it being quite loose. It is bloated to the point it masks the treble air. Sub-bass doesn’t rumble much despite the high quantity.

Mid-bass: Metallica – fight fire with fire (01:11-01:52), very unclean due to the bloated bass (loose, decent speed) and too much quantity, individual bass strikes are poor and is very mushy sounding. The (02:55-03:01) section with the chopper is hearable but very unclean.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Pretenders (01:18-01:47), a lot of quantity and it is bloated due to the loose bass, but decent speed.

Sub-bass: Djuro – Drop that bass (01:15-01:30), poor extension and doesn’t rumble a lot. Punch quantity is high but is bloated thanks to it being loose, speed is decent but lacking texture.

Will Sparks – Sick like that (03:08-03:22), good quantity but needs to be tighter because it is very unclean (and lacking air).

Mids: recessed vocals, lacking clarity due to the overly warm and bloated bass. Poor timbre as well.

Female-vocals: Hiroyuki Sawano – OldToday (01:25-01:52), vocal tonality is poor due to the bass bleed causing it to lack clarity and is also recessed. Instrument tonality is decent but overly warm. Timbre is very poor and incoherent.

Yuki Hayashi – MightU (01:58-02:55), vocal and instrument tonality lack a lot of brightness and clarity, also recessed vocals. Timbre is bad.

Evanescence – Bring me to life (01:18-01:35), not fatiguing at least. But lacking clarity.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Crescent (02:07-02:26), sharp, bloated and chaotic at the same time.

Male-vocals: Hiroyuki Sawano – Pretenders (00:57-01:17), recessed vocals, lacking clarity and timbre is poor.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Scapegoat (00:57-01:17), recessed vocals and bleed from the bass. Poor timbre.

Treble: Linkin Park – Shadow of the Day (03:24-03:42), electric guitars aren’t sharp, but poor timbre and overall bloated.

Deuce – America (03:03-03:16), very bloated and chaotic.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Lose (string version) (01:22-01:59), Cello tonality overly warm and bloated, timbre is poor, lacking texture and clarity. Violin tonality lacking brightness, clarity is lacking due to the bass bleed and timbre is poor. Treble-extension is decent though.

Hiroyuki Sawano &Z (02:18-02:57), poor tonality, timbre and lacking a lot of clarity.

Soundstage: Average

Tonality: Warm-V-shaped, with very poor timbre and incoherent due to the fast piezo/BA vs the bloated and slower DDs.

Details: below average due to the bottlenecked tuning.

Instrument Separation: Very poor imaging due to the tuning and poor separation.

Bad genres: Entire library

Comparisons:

IEM: Blon Bl-03 (mesh mod), Radius Deep mount tips, cable B3 4.4mm

Bass: Djuro – Drop that bass (01:15-01:30), extends lower and rumbles more on the 03. Punch quantity is higher on the GK10 but a lot tighter, faster and more textured on the 03, as well as being cleaner and airier. Tonality and timbre are a lot better on the 03.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Pretenders (01:18-01:47), cleaner on the 03 due to the faster/tighter bass along with more texture and a lot better timbre.

Metallica – fight fire with fire (01:11-01:52), cleaner on the 03 due to the faster/tighter and lower bass quantity.

Mids: Hiroyuki Sawano – OldToday (01:25-01:52), vocal/instrument- timbre, tonality, clarity, detail and coherency are all better on the 03.

Evanescence – Bring me to life (01:18-01:35), brighter on the 03 and thus more fatiguing, although a lot cleaner on it and natural.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Scapegoat (00:57-01:17), a lot cleaner, more natural and more correct tonality on the 03.

Treble: Linkin Park – Shadow of the Day (03:24-03:42), electric guitars are a bit peakier on the GK10. Cleaner and more natural on the 03.

Hiroyuki Sawano – Lose (string version) (01:22-01:59), Cello tonality, timbre, texture, clarity and detail are better on the 03. Violin tonality, timbre, texture, detail and clarity are better on the 03. Similar treble-extension though.

Hiroyuki Sawano &Z (02:18-02:57), a lot better tonality, timbre and clarity on the 03.

Technicalities: Shiro Sagisu – Hundred years war (02:24-02:57), wider and airier on the 03 but similar depth. Detail, imaging and instrument separation are better on the 03 due to the very poor tuning on the GK10. Timbre and coherency on the 03 are outclassing the GK10 badly.

Overall: The 03 has better timbre, tonality AND technicalities.



EQ: Does EQ fix it? It certainly does improve (like, a lot) it but the fundamental lack of bass texture, unnatural timbre and poor coherency are still there and that cheaper iems are still better.

Low-shelf: 500hz, Q: 0.6, gain-6db

Low-shelf: 80hz, Q: 1, gain: 6db

Preamp: -6db

Conclusion: Just another hype train that is all bark and no bite. QC is utterly non-existent as well, since all current graphs on it are different and channel balancing is poor as well. Thanks for reading.

Graph:

Cable source:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...zTm4ei7HEfP8AI1zxswrMw2ho/edit#gid=1801072063

Reference/test songs:

REVIEW

TONALITY: 7.5/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.8/10
CONSTRUCTION: 7.8/10
SOUND VALUE: 9/10

INTRO

GEEK WOLD is quite an obscure Chinese (?) audio company for most of us but has already launched a couple of IEM of their own, including the ultra-budget triple DD GK3 and the intriguing Geekfly GF8S TWS IEM. On their Geekfly website, they say they are a ''United States high-end audio brand''(?) with more than ''20 inventions patent''. Very elusive yet...very productive audio company!
For more....''info'', you can go check their website here: https://geekflyaudio.com/

PACKAGING, ACCESSORIES & CONSTRUCTION

Nothing to write about the PACKAGING presentation, it’s as minimalist as it can get. Don’t even have a proper box cover, just transparent plastic that shows the IEM wooden backplate. The Packaging cost is kept to a bare minimum as well as accessories, but at least it means we have a decent quality 4cores SPC cable, I’m not sure about its durability but can say I just got a 300$ IEM that doesn’t even have a cable of this standard. We have as well 3 pairs of silicone ear tips, a carrying false leather bag, and a 1-year warranty card.

CONSTRUCTION is all about the beautiful heart-shaped stable wooden backplate that have rich colors nuance in harmony with wood texture. This makes all GK10 IEM unique. But the rest of the construction is made of light cheap plastic, which ruins a bit the elegancy of the whole design. Something more shiny and sturdy would have matched better the glossy stable wood design, as well, backplate should have fully covered the back so it at least hides this ugly plastic part. Anyway, this means they are very light too and quite comfortable. The 2pin connector is plastic too but well embedded in the housing. Anyway, the GK10 doesn’t seem extremely durable so don’t throw them on hard ground.

CRITICAL SOUND IMPRESSIONS



TONALITY is brightish W shape to analytical neutral with mid-bass boost. The GK10 is an extremely revealing sounding IEM with x-ray like treble, mostly in a balanced way apart from some overly excited ultra high that can pick up background audio artifact. The dual piezo used really digs every micro-details they can, so if you ever wonder what the public or even a fly whisper in a live track, this is it. In terms of balance, it’s quite cohesive for an exotic hybrid of this type but their some slight treble peak, mid-bass blunt, and mids can go wonky from time to time.
The GK10 is not natural sounding earphones, the unique tonality mash up a lot of different drivers timing and timbre which can deliver sometime an overly compressed sound, saturated with audio layers, yet thin and a bit ‘’multi-boxy’’ in its rendering. The upper treble can be distracting too, really hit or miss depending on the track you play.

TECHNICALITIES are god-tier for the price even if they aren’t perfectly balanced between each other drivers in terms of timing and expansion. Transparency of mids is great. Treble attack is lighting fast. Upper highs are crisp and snappy. The resolution is super sharp. GK10 can deal with the fastest busiest track until it put you K.O with it’s an infinite amount of micro-details. But I would say it’s a bit rough and heterogeneous too. And that the dynamic drivers (bass, lower and mid mids) are darker in micro-definition than BA and dual Piezo.

The BASS is the part I struggle the most to appreciate, it does have some boosted thump but the sub-bass lack natural extension and articulation. When you hear sub-line, it feels like it’s played from a defective sub-woofer, it’s boxy with compressed rumble resonance. It can go muffled too, so it’s slower than all other drivers in there, making the attack timing feeling off. But it doesn't hollow the mids, neither thicken them, so here it’s perhaps the bass timbre that displeases me as it feels saturated and grainy a bit.

MIDS are crisp with great transparency and separation. It’s a bit intimate and not very open. The texture is a bit rough too. Male and female vocals lack density but don’t feel recessed, just thin. Clarity is very good but not very clean. While piano note lack weight, the definition, and attack is very good, well-articulated and fast. The result is more fascinating than musical, due to lack of lushness and naturalness. It feel like listening to a serious monitor with a clinical rendering of the music.

TREBLE is the most impressive part of GK10, and it’s impossible to expect this type of resolution in sub-100$ price range. The highs are everywhere with the GK10, even when there ‘’none’’ of them the dual piezo will extract something new in your music, like extremely subtle micro-details, a door squeak or background recording hiss. In term of tone, violin does sound realist but not very bodied. Harpsichord is crisp and the piezo doesn’t struggle with the speed of attack, but natural resonance-decay-sparkle isn’t there and the result is rather dry. I can’t rave enough about the tremendous amount of details the GK10 dig, sometime it’s literally overwhelming and you need to stop what your doing due to the distraction of all these sounds info your brain must deal with. I never live this type of experience with any IEM in this price range, even the Audiosense T800 can’t dig as many ultra highs details.

TIMBRE as said isn’t natural, but it’s not disastrous. Let say it sound like...hum, it has too much treble gain and gets a bit fuzzy-saturated in texture. You know when you put high gain with sensitive IEM and harmonic distortion highen? That's how the timbre feels too me, peaky in texture, thin in density, and boosted in dryness. It’s not a smooth, organic neither lush or warm timbre. Its the GK10 timbre, unique, and excited in energy.

SOUNDSTAGE is average wide and tall, but not very deep. It feel a bit stuck in your head too.

IMAGING is out of this world for the price. Both in layering and spatial placement. And that, even if it feel a little compressed in term of deepness and instrument separation space.


SUBJECTIVE APPRECIATION

Psycho-acoustic biases are sometimes fascinating, in the sense, when you expect something to be great technically you can tend to focus only on this aspect before going critical about tonality, timbre, and macro dynamic rendering. This is what happens to me because tonally, the GK10 was neither shouty, sibilant or particularly spiky. I was firstly extremely impressed by the complex imaging, high resolution and tremendous amount of micro-details. And I’m still am. Their no other IEM I try in sub-100$ price range that offers as sharp and precise instrument placement with an infinite amount of sound layers and micro-details. The GK10 are unapologetically analytical yet it doesn’t put all its attention in the treble section even if it’s sure has sharp highs. When something peel your music like GK10, you can somehow feel a bit distant, as if you suddenly become a sound producer analyzing its track with monitor speakers that aren’t mean to enjoy music and this is where GK10 lose me a bit, in terms of pure musical enjoyment. Its dry, serious tonality makes you listen to music as if it was a speech, not a singing. As well, the biggest drawback of GK10 being it’s bass, this isn’t the type of IEM that makes your feet tapping or head banging, in fact, the bass feels less resolved and controlled than all the rest of the spectrum, creating a bit of uneven unbalance. Simply put, for my audiophile pleasure, the GK10 will be used for the very few tracks that benefit ultra-crisp imaging and details retrieval, it’s more of a critical listening tool than a musical enjoyment one.

Sidenotes :
The GK10 doesn’t really benefit from amping but is very source sensitive, especially about output impedance due to its low impedance of 8ohm. They like a smooth clean source, like SMSL SU-9 or Xduoo X20. Surely due to it’s low impedance, it seems cable sensitive too. As well, if you can lower 16-20khz region with EQ, it will tame the hissing or ‘’noise grain artifacts’’ it overly boosts with its dual piezo ultra-high driver. A warm thick sounding source can add a bit of meat to the body and timbre, bass boost doesn’t work that well though. Ear tips do inflict on sound too, but marginally, its especially on how soundstage and imaging is perceived.


COMPARISONS

VS KZ ZS10PRO (1DD+4BA : 40$)

ZS10PRO is a very capable IEM for its price, but it’s technical limits are shown against the GK10. Firstly, the tonality is more bassy and V shape, the bass is warmer as well as mids but the treble is splashier and hotter. Resolution is inferior and it can’t deal as well with the busy tracks as the faster GK10.
BASS has more sub-bass extension, but more bleed too, less texture, and poorer separation. Timbre is thicker, more opaque too. MIDS are a bit more recessed and hollow, it can go a bit shouty and sibilant too comparatively to cleaner, more forwards and controlled mids of the GK10. TREBLE is less accurate and articulate, more excited too and unbalanced, cymbals go splashy and out of place while GK10 keeps them on line with other percussions. As well, GK10 dig way more micro details and extend further in upper highs. The soundstage is similar, but a hint deeper with GK10 due to cleaner bass and mids. Imaging is notably more precise and transparently layered with the GK10.
It’s evident the Geek Wold GK10 is in another league in terms of technicalities, as well as more neutral and balanced in tonality, but perhaps less fun and weighty in dynamic than ZS10PRO.


VS Hzsound Mirror (1DD:50$)

To some extent, these two offer a similar tonality that we can call crisp neutral, vivid yet not too spiky. But cohesion of a single DD is always more organic than a hybrid and here the GK10 offers a dryer, less dynamic and weighty sound.
HZ bass extends lower, is fuller, more natural and textured, way better in quality and better controlled in quantity. GK10 feel boomy and boxy compared to the natural bass response of HZ.
MIDS are wider in presence, more lively in attack and more natural in timbre but have less sounds layers and aren’t as clinically extracted, making GK10 sounding more analytical.
Highs are smoother yet more snappy-sparkly and bodied than the GK10. HZ background is cleaner, while the GK10 extract background audio artifact that stole silence purity. Overall treble is more saturated (grainy?) with sound info for GK10, making it feel compressed and lacking air compared to HZ.
While imaging is crisper with GK10, it isn’t as spacious and realistic as the HZ, as well, soundstage feel more open and less stock in your head with the HZ.
It’s hard for me to conclude if GK10 is superior to HZ in term of technicality, due to less well-controled attacks and the mix of drivers tones. While it do dig more micro-details, it sounds way more in-your-face and less refined in tonality than the HZ. Sure, a single DD can’t compete with that number of drivers when it come to the number of sound info, but the HZ being more cohesive and realistic in tonality as well as extending in both end with more flexibility, it sure offers a more enjoyable musicality that isn’t affected by bad bass response or overly emphasis upper treble.

CONCLUSION

The Geek Wold GK10 stand above the crowd in term of analytical technicalities and put to shame any effort done by KZ, CCA and TRN in that regard alone. Their just no other IEM in it’s price range that can offer as revealing listen that can pick up a tremendous amount of micro-details and sounds layers. The treble reaches very far too, so much so that it make the GK10 very unforgiven of any background audio artifact of alot of tracks, not just bad recording. Unlike other hybrids in it’s price range, the GK10 avoids dangerous unbalance that would create sibilance, shouting, or intensely harsh treble spike. But this is to the cost of dynamic weight and natural timbre as well as bass impact.
If you favor technicalities over musicality and search for the cheapest IEM that can near reach Planar resolution and attack speed, i’m pretty confident to suggest you the Gk10.
50$ isn’t expensive for getting bat ears!

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PS: I wanna thanks HIFIGO for sending me the GK10 after my request 2 months ago. As always, i'm a 100% free-of-mind audio reviewer with no official affiliation.
You can buy the GeekWold GK10 on their Amazon store here:
https://www.amazon.com/Earbuds-Earphones-Monitor-Piezoelectric-Audiophile/dp/B099K92JQP

Update:​

So below is my review of my unit of the GK10. However, it has become clear that there are varying units and possibly QC problems. I would not recommend this IEM to anyone as long as those are not solved, and have therefore deducted a star from my initial rating of 4 stars. I like my set, but since there are multiple graphs going around and there have been reports of QC issues, be aware if you consider buying these.

​

Intro​

I ordered the GK10 because I wanted an IEM with a piezzo driver in my collection, and I thought this one looked interesting. Unfortunately there has been quite a hype and anti-hype around them. It seems like you are now allowed to love it or hate it, and nothing in between. I feel like this is a rather unproductive situation and I hope the (anti-)hype around them will die soon so people actually get a good idea of this IEM.

I want to add that I am not a reviewer, I'm a consumer. I do not own a hundred IEMs, headphones and sources and I do most of my listening while I'm working.

Build and fit​

The build is decent for the price. It's plastic, but units look fine and they very light. The fit is excellent for me, I can easily wear these the whole day. I like the wood, but I would've preferred if the whole backside was wood because I don't really like the glossy plastic part. The cable is not necessarily great, but I've seen much worse. I haven't touched the provided tips because I have quite a few after-market tips

Sound​

I've let the GK10 burn in for at least 15 hours before writing my thoughts down. As source I've used the FiiO BTR5 and listened to music on Spotify.
The FR graph suggests that the they have a huge bump in the mid/upper-bass. I don't think it's a very representative graph for my unit, it does have a bit more mid-bass than I'm used to, but not thát much. I don't think they are dark or muddy, and I don't notice a lot of bass-bleed like the graph would suggest. That being said, I do think the IEM benefits from 2db less around the 125-150MHz (I didn't do this for the review though).
I think the stage and imaging is very good. Detail retrieval is also good and I haven't noticed much incoherency like I would've expected in a budget IEM with 5 drivers and three types of drivers.

Comparisons​

GK10 + Final Audio E vs Blon BL03 Mesh Modded + Final Audio E​

In short
The GK10 has better technicalities than the Blons, but I prefer the tuning of the BL03 over that of the GK10.

Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa
The GK10 has a wider stage than the Bl03. You can hear that the GK10 has more mid/upper-bass

Touch - Marshvll
The BL03 has more sub-bass, quite noticeable in the drop at 0:54.

You want it darker - Leonard Cohen
The BL03 handles Cohens voice better IMO. The GK10 has him more on the foreground but I find it a bit too forward on the GK10.

Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Snares hit hard on GK10 and they reveal the bassline more than the BL03. However, the BL03 sounds more natural to me and the voice is more forward on the GK10.

Never going back again - Fleetwood Mac
Plucked strings are crisp and snappy on both sets. The GK10 has wider stage and a bit better imaging, but the strings on the Bl03 sound a more natural to me.

Going to school - John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma
The violins sound more natural on the BL03, not sure if it's the tonality or timbre but I prefer them over the GK10.

Yours is no disgrace - Yes
This is a song where the GK10 really shines IMO. There is a lot going on in this song, and the GK10 handles it very well. Detail retreival is good, bass stands out and they are clearly fast enough. The separation, imaging and stage are very good. The BL03 also sounds pleasing, but doesn't have the technicalities to represent everything like the GK10 does.

GK10 + Final Audio E vs FiiO FH3 + Sony EP-EX10A​

In short
I like both, I think I prefer the FH3 just a bit over the GK10. They sound massively different to the point where it sounds weird when you go from one to the other, but I like the FH3 for some songs and the GK10 for other songs.

Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa
The GK10 is warmer than the FH3. The FH3 seems a bit more detailed to me, I feel like I can better hear the texture of the balls on the FH3 than on the GK10.

Touch - Marshvll
The FH3 has more sub-bass, quite noticeable in the drop at 0:54.

You want it darker - Leonard Cohen
Cohen's voice sounds better on the FH3 than on the GK10 to me. I feel this is a track where the elevated mid/upper-bass hurts the GK10.

Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Snares have more body on the GK10 again, I think this is due to the GK10 being louder in the mid/upper bass. I enjoy the song on both sets, they can both play it well but they have a different emphasis.

Yours is no disgrace - Yes
Both sets handle the speed and all the little details well. The GK10 sounds a bit fuller. I prefer the bass texture on the FH3. It's not recommended to keep switching between the sets, because the one I switched to always sounded a bit weird until I listened to it for a while.

Final thoughts​

I think the GK10 is an interesting set and I think it's a good set. I think the hype may have been a bit exaggerated IMO, since there are cheaper or similar priced IEMs I prefer over this one (BL03). I will definitely keep it in my active-duty box because I like listening to it and it's very comfortable. Does it "compete with $200" sets? Well yes, but there are $200 sets that are crap or are just not my thing so that's not really an interesting question IMO. I am glad I bought them because of the looks, the piezzo driver (for my collection) and because I quite like the sound. Due to the fact that I don't think the sound is as spectacular as the hype suggests and the talk about possible QC issues (due to the varying reviews out there) I would not recommend this to people who are looking for one IEM or have a tight budget; I would still choose the BL-03 over this one if I had to pick one.

Driver configuration:

8mm dome titanium diaphragm dynamic driver (bass)

7mm graphene diaphragm dynamic driver (mids)

1 balanced armature (high)

2 piezoelectric ceramic drivers (ultra-high)

__

Source: Shanling M8 (4.4mm LO mode, high gain) > Cayin C9 (4.4mm in, low gain, tube mode, class AB amp)

Burn-in: circa 30 hours

Cable: CEMA UPOCC / Tips: CP145

Purchased at full price from Penon here. This review has not been incentivised in anyway, by anyone.

Disclaimer: what is unclear at this time is the standard of QC on this IEM and we will only know more as people get their hands on it. I would temper this review by saying that if $45 is a lot of money to you, exercise caution until we know more.


Preamble

For context, my journey with IEMs has recently taken a turn towards single (or multi) dynamic driver configurations. As a general rule, I prefer the tonal colour / timbre of instruments and vocals when presented by a well-tuned DD. The exception to this, from my history, is the Oriolus Traillii with its masterfully implemented and tuned BA+EST that had plenty of tonal and timbral accuracy for my liking. Thanks to @Rockwell75, I was encouraged to try the Oriolus Isabellae (please see @Rockwell75 review on Head Gear for a great read). At a higher price of $659, it’s a single DD with a wonderfully coherent, warm but bright tuning that works wonders for lovers of midrange who prioritise timbre/tonality over technicalities.

Coming from this recent purchase and almost pathological love of DDs, the prospect of a hybrid IEM didn’t initially appeal to me due to concerns regarding coherency. Something that although often hard to convey, incoherency is something that jumps out to my ears and it really saps my enjoyment of an IEM. Three things did spark my curiosity however; a dynamic driver was being used for mids (which isn’t particularly common), piezoelectric drivers were being used for ultra-high (I had never heard these) and at the price of $45 it represented a low risk experiment. Ofcourse the hype generated by @Dsnuts helped matters considerably...

After a day or two with the GK10, I am confident enough to weigh in with my opinion. Clearly I would expect further burn in and slight changes to sound signature with time, but out of the box they are already worth the price they are being sold for (and much more).

With that out of the way let’s get stuck in!


Accessories and Packaging

The weakest part of the whole presentation. A small, white cardboard box with a Geek Wold sticker on it. Included are pairs of narrow bore silicone tips and wider bore silicone tips, a leatherette carry case, warranty card and a cable.

The cable is a 3.5mm terminating SPC cable. It isn’t the worst cable I’ve ever handled by a long shot, it’s light, with only a small amount of memory and has a good feel in the hand however the fittings feel on the cheaper side. I am not using the stock cable largely because of its aesthetics. I used a mid-budget UPOCC cable for this review.

All in all, I can forgive the shortcomings on the accessories if it means a saving to the customer. I would hope in due course, with more money behind Geek Wold they may be able to improve the included accessories.




Design, Build, Fit and Comfort

The shape of the shell itself is interesting. From the outer aspect it appears similar to cartoon heart, and on the internal aspect more like an elephants rear end! The stabilised wood plate is beautiful and catches the light well. It is glued onto the plastic shell and at least on my unit, very little glue if any is visible around the borders of the wood. The plastic shell is light and comfortable but seams are clearly visible and although dead-ended, detritus might ingress over time. The connector is a flat 2pin 0.78mm connector. A variety of colours are available with considerable unit variation.

Having used not so flattering terms to describe the shape, I can confirm those elephant buttocks do a great job of sitting perfectly against my concha! The GK10 inserts easily and sits in place for long periods without any discomfort. The plastic shell offers a lightweight experience. The nozzle is long enough to reach my auditory meatus and hold onto most tips I’ve played around with.

Fitment is obviously a very personal matter but the shape is not obtuse or abstract, like the BL-03 or 01 for example, so I expect it will fit most without issue.

Overall, while I’m not worried about durability I would have preferred a metal shell and hope to see this in a future iteration provided it doesn’t impact sound quality.








Sound

This part will largely be descriptors clarified with more general feelings and comments.

Bass – sub-bass focused, good mid-bass impact, very well textured from sub-bass to mid-bass to lower mids, natural timbre

Comments:

The driver shows great versatility from Baroque bass strings to thumping and dynamic modern electronic. The bass does exactly what it needs to do, no more, no less. The timbre of the bass and its attack/decay is incredibly natural, not taught or artificial, yet not too slow for the fast pace of electronic music. Bass is wide reaching and supportive of the midrange and treble but does not obscure with its intensity or tuning. Provides a room-temperature ambience. Rumble is present, punch is tasteful.


Midrange – relaxed, close to neutral in vocal positioning (neither forward nor back), non-fatiguing, subtle recession, complete in its expression

Comments:

Male and female vocals have a very refined presentation. Combined with the room-temperature tonality of the tuning and natural timbre of the 7mm graphene DD they are revealing and expressive. Positioning of vocals is unobtrusive but not distant or removed.

Guitar, violin, harp and sax fundamentals and harmonics captured beautifully with a sense of air afforded by the BA and piezo above. Timbre great throughout.

Vocals and instruments lack any sibilance near to 6-8kHz which makes for an easy and non-fatiguing listen.

I hear the mids to have a very subtle recession when compared to bass and treble, but it’s not enough to detract from my enjoyment, which I primarily derive from action in the midrange. Rather, this recessions makes for an easier listen over longer periods compared to my Isabellae.

Coherency between bass and mids is excellent, as you would hope with two dynamic drivers. I think a combination of 1DD for bass and 1DD for mids is a genius move and definitely a success. It allows for cohesive expression of the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of instruments that sit through both the bass and mids which is the vast majority.


Treble – airy, palpable edge, highly resolving

Comments:

I want to preface my comments on the treble that it may still change over time as the drivers settle.

I have a hard time here distinguishing the BA from the piezoelectric drivers, but my understanding is the piezo’s will be doing the brunt of the work above about 12kHz.

There is certainly no sibilance here, but there is a lot of definition with a significant and palpable edge. Similar to what I recall of the MEST MK2, I can almost ‘feel’ the treble in its expression.

It is tuned well and is incredibly revealing. However, it straddles a very fine line that could pull the overall tonality towards being ‘brittle’. How much you notice this and how much it bothers you will depend on what music you listen to, what instruments are being played and what your personal tastes are.

Whoever tuned this did a very good job, was not risk averse and clearly enjoys living life on the edge. The treble sits in a goldilocks zone for me, personally – just right.

My only point of comparison here is Sonion EST drivers, whose presentation tends to be smoother and less tactile. I have yet to decide which I prefer.


Technicalities

Soundstage – Very respectable stage that is triangular in shape around the head, with some height above and below the ear line. Perceivable stage expands with amp’ing. Larger than what I’ve sampled at this price point. Bass and treble tuning complement the sense of space well. Verging on over-ear experience in some tracks.

Imaging and Instrument Separation – Instruments sit naturally with good representation in space. Transition from left to right is well represented but does narrow as it moves towards the centre.

Layering – depth perception is present thanks to good staging, but track layering is less appreciable. Still acceptable and doesn’t detract from my enjoyment.

Dynamics – Incredible for this price, manages the very low to the very high and movements between with incredible ability. In this sense it reminds me of the Traillii. With the aforementioned technical ability combined with driver response I can throw almost any tracks at this IEM and it will handle it fine.

Comments:

I challenge you to listen to any album by Yosi Horikawa, with the GK10 connected to a good DAC and amplifier, and tell me you’re not floored by the technical ability of the GK10 for $45.


Conclusion

Admittedly, I have only been with the GK10 for a few days, but I wanted to get the word out and sing its praises as soon as possible to help people make a decision.

The top standout features for me with this IEM is its coherency, technical ability and total dynamic range. For a multi-driver IEM at this price point it is top shelf. The second standout feature is the timbral accuracy where it matters to me most – the bass and mids. The third is its tuning, it’s not offensive, yet it is in no way boring, all while managing to retain detail and texture and not resorting to ‘cheap’ tuning tricks. The first proviso is that you have to like treble detail and not be attached to a warm and rolled off tuning. The second is that you have a source with a low output impedance (<1Ohm) and reasonable output power. On my higher output impedance devices the signature becomes warmer and bass more pronounced. I would recommend pairing this with a warm-neutral source that is not clinical.

If I had to describe the GK10 in a few words it would be: ‘coherent, exciting and dynamic but with heart’. This set easily sits alongside my much more expensive Oriolus Isabellae to tackle the more complex, electronic and ambient music I listen to. It is brighter and has a more refined touch than the 3DT, which is better for some genres and yes, totally supplants the BL-03 on my rotation.


Ladies and gents, dive in without regret. Geek Wold have thrown down the gauntlet and we are all winners.





Helpful tips:

• Experiment with wide bore tips – my favourite are Spinfit CP145.
• These DDs like power (despite what the sensitivity suggests).
• Experiment with sources and source output impedance which may affect frequency response - the lower output impedance the better (<1Ohm) and the higher output power the better.

Geek Wold GK10

These folks introduced a triple dynamic driver IEM called the GK3 several years ago in 2018 and it was for the most part overlooked by the headfi community. Even though it was unique at the time in the budget sector of earphones using 3 dynamic drivers. Its tuning was not so favored among the few impressions I have seen which was good enough for the collective to move on to other offerings.

However what caught my attention to their new GK10 is that this is by far the cheapest tribrid to utilize 3 different types of drivers for the asking price of $45 which by this sheer fact alone you have to take notice. Then there is what they are actually using for each of the drivers. In reality the Geek team is using 4 different types of drivers. An 8mm dome type titanium coated dynamic for the lows, a 7mm graphene plated dynamic for the mids, single BA for treble and two piezoelectric ceramic tweeters doing the ultra highs. If you're keeping count, that is 5 drivers stuffed in a fairly smaller heart shaped all plastic shell. A heart shaped shell is a bit odd and is nothing you see normally for earphones unless you are talking about toy earphones for little girls but hey at least they are using a unique stabilized wood face plate for decorating the shells and again in a heart shape.

Heart shaped shells. Either you're OK with it or you are not. I am a middle aged man and I am all too happy to dawn some heart shaped shells in my ears and let my colleagues at work make fun. But that is ok. They aren’t hearing the sound these things make. In the end I am proud to wear the heart shaped GK10. You never know, these guys might be onto something new in the wold of IEMs.

Build of the GK10 is nothing special minus the stabilized wood, what looks like basically a glued-on stabilized wood plate on the outside of the shell, is made out of plastic. It is fairly light too because of the all plastic build but the saving grace here is that Geek folks decided to go 2 pin for these making cable swapping a breeze. By the way, the included accessories are what you would expect for a sub $50 earphone. Cheaper looking cable and even cheaper looking tips, it does include a pouch to throw everything in. Otherwise the GK10 is fairly bare bones. But that is not why I am writing this review. It has to do with the sound of these things.

Sound was analyzed using my DAPs Fiio M15,M3ii,X1,Shanling M6pro, M5s, M3s, Ibasso DX160, Pioneer XDP-30R, IBasso PB3, IFI Black Label for amping. The GK10 was provided for the purpose of a review. You can order yourself a set here.

Sound design of the GK10 has to do with balance and utilizing each driver to their full potential. Using two dynamic drivers to do the meat of the base sound the GK10 has a punchy full bass line and has the graphene dynamic throwing out the detailed mids. The balancing of the sound is superb. Which unto itself is not so remarkable but it is how the overall sound is portrayed that is. These don’t sound anything like a $45 earphone in fact I have yet to hear a $100 earphone sound this complete and balanced this well and defined at every part of the sound like these. There is some trickery going on here, it has to be right?

I know being on the threads most folks get jaded by claims of earphones that are supposed to sound like a million bucks that are way cheaper. Hype be damned, these things perform regardless. I immediately posted about these on the discovery thread and I have it on good authority that these are selling at an alarming rate. So there will be a host of Headfiers that will be writing reviews and scrutinizing the GK10 soon enough. But for now you all have to take my humble opinion on why it is that you have to pay attention to what the Geek team has accomplished with this design.

How many times have you seen a very nice looking shell for a hybrid or tribrid only to be disappointed with the actual sound it produces. Let's face it, just because an earphone looks like a million bucks, it don’t mean the sound will be a million bucks. I present to you the exact opposite of what that is.


The GK10 is kinda funny looking, like a kids toy more specifically for young pre teen girls that are into their my little pony dolls and cartoons.

Cuz nothing says your an extreme audiophile like a heart shaped earphone!
You just can’t take a shell that looks like this seriously right? I mean this must be a joke. Who in their right minds are gonna be wearing these out into the public.

I already have and have been listening to them ever since I got them. They are indeed curious if not unique looking. 2 pin design lets you swap out cables with ease as just about anything you bought with your hard earned cash cable wise will be an upgrade on the very budget cable they threw in the package. This being said the included cable which is described as a 6 cored twisted silver plated copper cable is not bad and actually meshes well with the sound tuning on the GK10. However this is a case where the nicer you want to throw on cable wise the better these are gonna sound for you. These do well with better aftermarket cables as the sound is way more resolving than you would expect for the price point.

Actually tested, pic here with Penon Golden Armour you can look up more info on the cable here.

I usually don’t break my own rule of not using a cable that costs more than the earphones themselves but since these are so cheap why not. Plus like I mentioned before they sound even better. I am using an aftermarket cable for my sound descriptor but the included cable sound is pretty much the same as I am describing the sound. I am breaking conventions here as nothing about these are conventional. Just know if my sound descriptions about the GK10 does not align with how you're hearing them. Check a different cable and better tips.I highly suggest at least an overnight of burn in as well before taking a good listen. I never used the included tips either. I am breaking all sorts of rules here about reviews and such. That's ok, this is my review and not yours.

Like you're not going to use better cables and tips when you get yours.

Base tuning of the GK10 has got a solid fundamental balancing to the sonics. I don’t perceive an overhyped pinna gain, a big booty bass or treble spikes that poke your ears out. None of that is happening for the sound design of the GK10. You can never judge just how good these are tuned based on how they look or their packaging. These are right up there with some of the best designed tribrids that I have been fortunate to have heard. I did a comparison of the LZ A7 on the discovery thread here. And it was astounding to me that the GK10 does not sound like a complete downgrade from a phone that cost 6X more than them.

You would figure just based on the price these are sold at they would have the typical try hard budget sound where they might be too bassy or too trebly for an artificial high end tuning or not enough of another with recessed mids for your typical cheap V shaped signature. Nope you're not getting any of that either. The even sound performance of all the bands on the GK10 is just that. Everything sounds even. Treble does extend to the upper realms where you're not gonna hear it much but that just helps the sound become lighter in presentation and even airier. An airy treble presentation from a $45 earphone? That is just crazy talk.

What is apparent to me is the designers went above what they thought was just OK and really tuned each driver on the GK10 to take full advantage of their strengths.

I will say coherence here could be better but coherence for my UM MEST earphones could be better too. The treble region uses a single BA for the lower trebles and two dedicated piezoelectric ceramic tweeters doing upper trebles. That is 3 drivers just doing the trebles. The results are pretty surprising actually. Sure piezo treble notes are not the most natural or is it the best drivers that take care of the upper trebles. BAs and even EST drivers do this aspect better with better note weight and tone in performance but hey you can’t expect a $45 earphone to be using some highly regarded and expensive Sonion ESTs that's just not realistic. In a way you can look at piezos as the cheap man's version of Sonion EST drivers as it essentially does the same thing.

GK10 treble does an amazing job at recreating what you would hear from much higher end EST implemented tribrids. Micro details with quick transients and little treble shifts in tone and emphasis are easily heard, this just doesn't exist at this price. Treble end here does not sound forced with too much in one area of emphasis with a big spike from what I am hearing. It is marvelously even handed the tuning they did for the treble here is the middle porridge for emphasis and details that far exceeds what's considered budget fi. It isn’t the most natural of trebles, can sound just a touch splashy at times. Not the most silky or the most detailed but I bet you're going to be surprised with how capable the trebles are for the GK10.

How many sub $50 earphones do you know that use 3 dedicated drivers just for trebles? Is my question. The answer to that would be none, but that doesn't mean a thing if they are tuned to be wince inducing with too much or too little treble emphasis. I bet most manufacturers would give up on such a design for something they're charging $45 for and this is the reason why I gotta give credit to the Geek team for making it work. It is like let's take all these drivers and see what we can do with them. The tuning is excellent for this level of earphone. If you're not used to extended trebles. It is an aspect that is hard to tune for a lot of earphones and not every higher end earphone can do it either. So to hear that on a budget offering is nothing short of an accomplishment. They claim their trebles can reach up to 30Khz. I believe it actually does.

But wait there's more. The mids of the GK10 has a natural tone, smoother even a bit lush in character and if I was to nitpick a bit about the mids, its presentation is not as dimensional as I would have liked. For the most part, mids are fine the way they are with very good timbre of instruments, especially acoustic guitars with an even presentation.

Graphene is a highly dense rigid material which is a type of carbon based material similar to carbon nanotubes. Mid bands are closer to neutral in presentation and forwardness. Not recessed but not exactly forward either. At the given price again you can’t expect world class mids. However the mids here shows a surprising resolving character portraying very good details for the mids. Vocals sound good on the GK10 but not the best again it is due to not being superficially lifted via a larger pinna gain and could use a bit more range and fullness but for what is there it does line up well for the rest of the tuning.

Imaging is surprising on the GK10, you don't expect world class imaging for the GK10 but surprise surprise. Imaging is very good on the GK10 approaching some of the more refined mids I have heard in the sub $100 category for earphones. Instruments have clear placement in the sound field while average for sound stage. It does come off as a spacious sound due to the nicely advanced treble presence for the sound mixed with a resolving graphene dynamic. Mids have ample presence but since there is a very moderate pinna gain you don’t get that artificial sweetener for the tones on the GK10. The best aspect of the tuning on the GK10 has to be how seamless the sound presentation transitions from the mids to the bass. It helps that both the mids and bass ends are using dynamics for the sound presentation for the GK10.

The decision to go with a titanium plated dome dynamic for bass was a good one. Titanium bass is very akin to some of the best dynamic bass abilities for our hobby for earphones. If you guys have ever owned some of the older Dunu or Fiio earphones with titanium plating. This was a thing way before the beryllium plating craze. Some of the best bass performers I know of come from using titanium. Should be used more often imo and here we have it on the GK10. Bass much like the mids has good presence through to the mid bass and has a steady rise to the sub bass from what I am hearing with not much in the way of drop off. Bass emphasis has an enthusiastic punch while not overly cooked, is balanced well from mid to lower bass. Titanium bass has very good speed, tightness, detail, texture and ample punch with an excellent sub bass presence that is again surprising. You would never hear how good the bass is for the GK10 until you land on a track that utilizes the need for good bass attack and decay.



Bass has surprising authority and ability which is some of the best I have heard for anything under $100. It's got raw power and excellent agility when needed. Again something you're more accustomed to hearing in much more expensive sets.

You see the recurring theme here? These are the sets you got to pull out for your family and friends. Have them listen to take an uneducated guess on what the price is on these things just based on sound. Tell them they cost $45 afterwards. If I was you reading this. Just get a set already. You're gonna want a few sets for gifts for the same friends and family during the upcoming holidays and or even birthday gifts as they will have never heard anything sounding so good for so cheap.

As a reviewer and and someone that is active in our headfi community there are earphones that come out once in a while that sets a benchmark for the sound it has in the price range and I feel the GK10 is such an earphone. Sure the GK10 is not the most refined sounding earphone or does it have the best stage, detail, nor does it sound as dimensional as higher end offerings. But it is hard to not like the GK10 for pulling off a sound you just don’t get in this price range. These not only mimic much higher end sound qualities but actually pulls it off. I have heard and owned my share of budget fi offerings that try so hard to be something it isn’t but these on the other hand has the necessary components to actually do it. That is the difference. I can see the Geek team here having a sense of accomplishment as these are selling like hotcakes on a cold winter's day as I am currently typing. Already sold out several times on the Penon sales page here. That is a good thing as we want to support substantial efforts in the industry because all that will do is fuel one better for next time and with the success of the GK10. There will be a next time.

A suggestion to the GEEK team.
Please consider a GK10 pro or MK2, whatever you're gonna call it. These need a newer shell, even if the same drivers were put into a much pricier housing. I am certain most folks will be OK to spend a bit extra on a nicer more universal shaped earphone housing. I realized the reason why the GK10 could be at this price was due to the cheaper housing it is using but at the same time. If your core enthusiast is willing to pay a bit more for something not so heart shaped. Why not. I would like to see a follow up to this design with a better, more substantial universal housing and I think I am not the only person who feels that way. These are so good but you have to admit having a heart shaped housing in the ear for a serious enthusiast is a bit strange borderline comical. If only for my coworkers to not make fun as I have a heart shaped earphone in my ears. Great job on the earphones nonetheless and I hope you guys make one better next time. Surprise us with a $100 offering that sounds like $500 earphones. Thanks for taking the time to read.