[TK277]

The ATH-CK100PRO sure are gorgeous little IEMs. I've been rocking the W4R for months now, but I'm going to take my CK100PRO for a spin for old times sake. It is certainly a detail monster, working wonders for fast, hard-hitting songs.

 

[AHorseNamedJeff]

Yes I have.  I'm on the board of a major non-profit organization that supports integration and acceptance of children with mental disabilities. 

I'm not "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."  Your review is articulate and enjoyable but I take umbrage with your awkward and inappropriate metaphor.    

Ifor one find the metaphor a little politically incorrect (oooh he said autistic wooow), but it was a very effective use and made sense. Social taboos really are becoming too prevelant in this society.

 

[MoonYeol]

I took a different path and decided to edit the CK100Pro and compare it to the fictious character Dr. Sheldon Cooper. That's the best I can do folks. I would like to thank you for pointing out the offensive nature of my post. I will try to stay away from that now. I will edit the review on the Head Gear section soon. Just need to give my daughter som attention and love.

 

[291079]

great review! much appreciated

 

[Makiah S]

  Very cute review! I like it! Cheers! Hear, hear!

indeed I liked it. The Father, the Mother and the Wonderchild lol very cool :3 

 

[MoonYeol]

Thanks!
 
I hear that they're expecting another baby.

 

[smsmasters]

I request permission to use these images as desktop wallpapers for my PC.

 

[MoonYeol]

Haha, no problem. I don't know if I have them in higher resolution, think I lost the memory card.
 
But later I can snap a few photos of ASG-2, UE900 and FA-4E when I get the first two back from the loan and the last delivered from Germany. Now I also have an external flash to play with. Instead of using crappy lighting and a LED light on my Galaxy S4.

 

[Love Music]

What music does the CK100Pro's excel at? Does it actually sound awful for things like rock, metal and pop because of the amount of detail and treble presence?

 

[MoonYeol]

Well mastered music in general sounds great on the CK100Pro. I can't compare any longer since they're not mine and I don't have them but if you like a your mids to be mostly neutral but because of the bright treble tilted more towards bright, a sliiiiightly lifted mid bass that just brings a little more impact than something like the R-50 but less than Gr07. Then the CK100Pro might be for you. But be sure that the music is well mastered. The recordings should sound incredibly unfatiguing on other iems. If they're mastered with a hot treble I think it will be too much for just about anybody. Unless your hearing is compromised to start with. Don't know if that helps but that's pretty much what I can say.

 

[TK277]

  What music does the CK100Pro's excel at? Does it actually sound awful for things like rock, metal and pop because of the amount of detail and treble presence?

I personally think they excel at fast and detail-heavy music. Club songs. Metal, for sure. But the other posters are right – bad recordings, low bit rates, any type of imperfection can seem glaring. For about 5 months the CK100PRO were my favorite IEMs ever. I listen to a lot of Linkin Park and I couldn't get enough of the speed and crunch. Today, I prefer the W4R because of the less sharp presentation. I came from the GR07 to the W3 to the CK100PRO. The CK100PRO are my favorite of those three IEMs. It's fast. It's detailed. It didn't take too long to fall in love with the sound signature; it reminds me of a lot of the Grado SR225i I had. 
 
What you listen to now will probably have the biggest impact on what you think of the CK100PRO. The W3 were opposites of the CK100PRO – fairly muddy in comparison, slow, boomy (but they had an awesome soundstage). They make the CK100PRO sound extra crisp for me, and like I said, I loved it. I loved it for several weeks after I got the W4R, but over time I've come to prefer the W4R, even though from time to time I miss the detail. Things are somewhat smeared in comparison. 
 
If you're looking for something without any kind of veil whatsoever, something that presents the music for what it is, I highly recommend the CK100PRO. If you are sensitive to treble, then pass. Otherwise, I say go for it! And if you want 'em fast and you live in the states, I'll sell you mine. (they don't see any use anymore!)

 

[Love Music]

  I personally think they excel at fast and detail-heavy music. Club songs. Metal, for sure. But the other posters are right – bad recordings, low bit rates, any type of imperfection can seem glaring. For about 5 months the CK100PRO were my favorite IEMs ever. I listen to a lot of Linkin Park and I couldn't get enough of the speed and crunch. Today, I prefer the W4R because of the less sharp presentation. I came from the GR07 to the W3 to the CK100PRO. The CK100PRO are my favorite of those three IEMs. It's fast. It's detailed. It didn't take too long to fall in love with the sound signature; it reminds me of a lot of the Grado SR225i I had. 
 
What you listen to now will probably have the biggest impact on what you think of the CK100PRO. The W3 were opposites of the CK100PRO – fairly muddy in comparison, slow, boomy (but they had an awesome soundstage). They make the CK100PRO sound extra crisp for me, and like I said, I loved it. I loved it for several weeks after I got the W4R, but over time I've come to prefer the W4R, even though from time to time I miss the detail. Things are somewhat smeared in comparison. 
 
If you're looking for something without any kind of veil whatsoever, something that presents the music for what it is, I highly recommend the CK100PRO. If you are sensitive to treble, then pass. Otherwise, I say go for it! And if you want 'em fast and you live in the states, I'll sell you mine. (they don't see any use anymore!)

 

Well mastered music in general sounds great on the CK100Pro. I can't compare any longer since they're not mine and I don't have them but if you like a your mids to be mostly neutral but because of the bright treble tilted more towards bright, a sliiiiightly lifted mid bass that just brings a little more impact than something like the R-50 but less than Gr07. Then the CK100Pro might be for you. But be sure that the music is well mastered. The recordings should sound incredibly unfatiguing on other iems. If they're mastered with a hot treble I think it will be too much for just about anybody. Unless your hearing is compromised to start with. Don't know if that helps but that's pretty much what I can say.

Thanks for the reply TK277 and MoonYeol. The CK100Pro does have a lot of qualities I like about them fast, detailed, big soundstage, airy, clear and lively. The only thing that worries me is how much of my music is actually well mastered and the treble tilt (I guess it can be eq'd though). Right now I have a number of iem's that have been recommended to me or I'm interested in so I'm having a difficult time choosing the right one. I'm also interested in the W4 as well. Does the W4 have forward vocals though and a big airy soundstage since that is what i'm looking for in my next iem. Also hows the clarity and detail on them I read numerous reviews that say they sounded veiled in the mids.

 

[xaddictionx]

Thanks for the reply TK277 and MoonYeol. The CK100Pro does have a lot of qualities I like about them fast, detailed, big soundstage, airy, clear and lively. The only thing that worries me is how much of my music is actually well mastered and the treble tilt (I guess it can be eq'd though). Right now I have a number of iem's that have been recommended to me or I'm interested in so I'm having a difficult time choosing the right one. I'm also interested in the W4 as well. Does the W4 have forward vocals though and a big airy soundstage since that is what i'm looking for in my next iem. Also hows the clarity and detail on them I read numerous reviews that say they sounded veiled in the mids.

I guess you should be looking at the W4R instead since W4 is already discontinued. From my experience, W4R is a stellar IEM which remains a flagship universal of Westone.

I would say the W4R does not have a wide, airy soundstage. Probably due to its armature based drivers and no vents design. However though, it does sports a pretty good soundstage slightly falling behind TF10.

W4R sounds very balanced to me. In that, no frequencies are intentionally emphasized over another. However, I do feel a slight mid bass boom adding a bit of warmth. But that does not affect the mids at all. Vocals are presented extremely well. Slightly forward and ahead of instruments and bass. Both male and female vocals are very smooth, sweet and lush. I have to stress that it has one of the best vocals in the IEMs that I have heard to date falling short only to the ASG2. If you are a mids and vocals lover, W4R would not be a wrong choice.

Clarity on W4R is very good. Yes, for me I do hear a slight veil hindering the clarity on the original cable. But I had it replaced with a silver dragon cable which removed the veil and improved coherency and smoothens out the entire frequency though no drastic or day and night changes audible. But! Instrument separation is superb! It has the "unique" layering of instruments presented similar to UM3X which is renowned for it's fantastic separation. Timbre sounds very natural on the W4R. Classical pieces excels with the W4R though the W4R is a jack of all trades and quite a master of all.

Till date it still remains as one of the top tier IEM I've heard and I would whole-heartedly recommend it especially at it's current discounted price which is definitely a steal!!

 

[Omnirai]

W4R is simply very good - I don't think it's very exciting, but exciting all the time becomes tiring.
 
CK100pro on the other hand can be very exciting - fast stuff sound amazing on it because of the explosion of details and the crispness of the whole signature, and yet it's not fatiguing either unless you are sensitive to treble. The sound is fickle, though. If your source doesn't match, or your music files are not up to par, it might sound awful. Not the most forgiving set of IEMS out there.

 

[Love Music]

  W4R is simply very good - I don't think it's very exciting, but exciting all the time becomes tiring.
 
CK100pro on the other hand can be very exciting - fast stuff sound amazing on it because of the explosion of details and the crispness of the whole signature, and yet it's not fatiguing either unless you are sensitive to treble. The sound is fickle, though. If your source doesn't match, or your music files are not up to par, it might sound awful. Not the most forgiving set of IEMS out there.

 

I guess you should be looking at the W4R instead since W4 is already discontinued. From my experience, W4R is a stellar IEM which remains a flagship universal of Westone.

I would say the W4R does not have a wide, airy soundstage. Probably due to its armature based drivers and no vents design. However though, it does sports a pretty good soundstage slightly falling behind TF10.

W4R sounds very balanced to me. In that, no frequencies are intentionally emphasized over another. However, I do feel a slight mid bass boom adding a bit of warmth. But that does not affect the mids at all. Vocals are presented extremely well. Slightly forward and ahead of instruments and bass. Both male and female vocals are very smooth, sweet and lush. I have to stress that it has one of the best vocals in the IEMs that I have heard to date falling short only to the ASG2. If you are a mids and vocals lover, W4R would not be a wrong choice.

Clarity on W4R is very good. Yes, for me I do hear a slight veil hindering the clarity on the original cable. But I had it replaced with a silver dragon cable which removed the veil and improved coherency and smoothens out the entire frequency though no drastic or day and night changes audible. But! Instrument separation is superb! It has the "unique" layering of instruments presented similar to UM3X which is renowned for it's fantastic separation. Timbre sounds very natural on the W4R. Classical pieces excels with the W4R though the W4R is a jack of all trades and quite a master of all.

Till date it still remains as one of the top tier IEM I've heard and I would whole-heartedly recommend it especially at it's current discounted price which is definitely a steal!!

Thanks for the reply. I guess the W4R will suit me better than the CK100 Pro since most of my music may not have the best mastering. Since I listen to a lot of J-pop, J-rock/metal, J-indies etc. I do like the excitement, detail, clarity and liveliness that the CK100 Pro offers though...
 
I am quite a vocal lover and also like good instrument seperation and detail for my rock music collection. I think the soundstage should be ok since I've owned the UE900 before and thought the size of the soundstage was quite good.