ATH CK-100 First Impressions
Jul 20, 2009 at 5:33 AM Post #91 of 104
in fact i'm quite clueless about why people need to weigh W3s buying decisions and UM3X buying decisions. They are totally different beasts.

i think most people have already covered the ground that W3s are definitely bassier than um3x but um3x has the midrange that w3 lacks.

I initially asked to audition the W3s and um3x. but i had already coiled up the W3s within 5 mins. just not what i needed in signature. that was when i asked to audition the CK100s instead.

The W3s are the one man's meat another man's poison type of IEM. people who like fun, lively sounds will respond favourably to the W3s. I actually think the W3s have a pretty good soundstage but somehow overshadowed by their bass emphasis. haha. but with 5 mins of listening that's all i could muster.

If i could give them more time maybe i'll have different impressions but i doubt the shopkeeper is going to entertain someone listening in their shop for an hour...
 
Jul 21, 2009 at 7:36 AM Post #92 of 104
Update: I've been going from silicon tips (not so good) to olive-stuffed silicon tips (much better) and now believe I've found the best tip-variant for the CK100:

De-core some Shure olives. Then cut the stems off some silicon tips and mount the de-cored Shure olives on top of the silicon stems. Slide both onto the nozzle of the phones. Then compress the olives between your fingers and insert your IEMs as far as you can into the ear canal. This gives me 100% seal and excellent, coherent sound across the whole frequency range.

I can't emphasize enough that perfect seal is crucial with the CK100 - far more than with any other IEMs I know. IMO not only bass but to a great extent also the midrange and even highs depend on it.
 
Jul 21, 2009 at 2:28 PM Post #93 of 104
Today I tried TF10 Pro tips with CK100. They sort of fit perfectly without any mods. With the TF10Pro tip, the distance between the speakers and the tip exit is minimized. The bass is tighter and sound becomes even more transparent. I still have a lot of tips from my SE530s (which are the worst >HK$3000 earphones I have ever purchased, their worth now are only their tips), so will probably try to olive trick.
 
Jul 22, 2009 at 3:49 AM Post #94 of 104
I have also tried the UE tips and while I found them better than stock, the olives are the most noticable step up for me. But if you don't find the mids too cold with your current tips you might not want the warmer sound sig that the olives provide.
 
Jul 22, 2009 at 6:32 AM Post #95 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by googleli /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I still have a lot of tips from my SE530s (which are the worst >HK$3000 earphones I have ever purchased, their worth now are only their tips), so will probably try to olive trick.


The more I listen to the CK100 the more I'm tempted to change that "Audio Technica CK100 = Shure SE530" in my signature to "Audio Technica CK100 > Shure SE530". Obviously I'm holding the SE530 in higher regard than you, but they are strangely source dependent IMO, i.e. sounding good with the Fuze, even better (startling synergy!) with my Sony DRC-BT15 bluetooth receiver, but much worse with my iPod Classic. Yet they still intrigue me with their super-smooth mids every time I put them on.

Nevertheless the CK100 easily trump them in highs and detail, but I will keep listening to them for a little longer before I declare them better than the SE530.
 
Aug 8, 2009 at 4:19 AM Post #96 of 104
No more heard about these CK100...... Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The more I listen to the CK100 the more I'm tempted to change that "Audio Technica CK100 = Shure SE530" in my signature to "Audio Technica CK100 > Shure SE530". Obviously I'm holding the SE530 in higher regard than you, but they are strangely source dependent IMO, i.e. sounding good with the Fuze, even better (startling synergy!) with my Sony DRC-BT15 bluetooth receiver, but much worse with my iPod Classic. Yet they still intrigue me with their super-smooth mids every time I put them on.

Nevertheless the CK100 easily trump them in highs and detail, but I will keep listening to them for a little longer before I declare them better than the SE530.



 
Aug 9, 2009 at 5:30 PM Post #97 of 104
Is it improve lot after extensive burn in(specialy bass)?.....
 
Aug 9, 2009 at 6:40 PM Post #98 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by ZARIM /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Is it improve lot after extensive burn in(specialy bass)?.....


technically speaking burn in shouldn't have effect on BA drivers, but i do feel that the bass became more prominent after some burn in
 
Mar 2, 2010 at 1:59 AM Post #102 of 104
Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
De-core some Shure olives. Then cut the stems off some silicon tips and mount the de-cored Shure olives on top of the silicon stems. Slide both onto the nozzle of the phones. Then compress the olives between your fingers and insert your IEMs as far as you can into the ear canal. This gives me 100% seal and excellent, coherent sound across the whole frequency range..


I can't add anything about the ck100's but your hybrid tips sound similar to an idea I tried last week and now love with my tf10's. You again de-core a pair of olives but instead of replacing the cores with the silicone nozzles I tried something a little different. I took a de-cored olive, pushed it onto the tf10 past the plastic nozzle. Then I took a medium silicone tip and put it on normally. Then I took the de-cored olive and slid it over the silicone nozzle. Finally I rolled the silicone flange over the olive.

I've found it to give the seal and comfort of a foam tip with the easy insertion and removal of a silicone tip. I've been looking around the forums to see if anyone's done this before and it probably has been but I haven't been able to find it.

 
Mar 11, 2010 at 12:04 AM Post #104 of 104
Sorry it took so long to reply. I used the small olives.
 

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