Trysaeder
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Dec 27, 2009
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First of all, since not many people own a CK100, I think I should do a review on it. Also, I'm almost capped so I can't use as much internet as I normally would.
Lots of pictures to come up tomorrow when I get my camera back.
Packaging – Audio Technica have gone for the subtle look on this product, with a smallish cardboard box containing a few other boxes and separators. It really doesn’t look like its price when compared to other top tier models like the IE8, but when I thought about it, the already high price is reduced by this lack of accessories, which can be described as ‘adequate’ at best. I think it is fair to assume that if you are buying $400 IEMs you will have accessories already, but since the nozzle is smooth and smaller than the standard 5.5mm, a few extra tips would be appreciated.
Build Quality – The CK100 has probably the best permanent build out of any IEM. I thought the IE8 had the best cable, replaceable and not microphonic, but now there is a whole new level of awesome. This cable is almost perfect, having the perfect balance between memory and flexibility. You can coil it up and place it in your pocket, then take it out and run your fingers over it and it will be straight again. You can place it over your ears and it will not try to straighten itself and jump off. The surface is low in friction when you run your fingers over it, but when you squeeze a little harder its friction increases to that of a rubber cord. It is not a single cord, but rather 2 that are joined in the middle. This isn’t really common on other high end IEMs as it makes a tangled cord a lot harder to untangle, but on the CK100 it makes a coiled cord extremely easy to straighten.
Lack of a shirt clip is annoying, but I first thought it was ok because of the awesome cable. After travelling with it for a bit, I realised that the cable weighs a bit. Not enough for you to notice if it is in your hands, but it can weigh your ears down a bit when rubbing against your clothes. I would really have liked to see a shirt clip.
Strain reliefs are great, but could be slightly softer to allow the cable more room to move. The right angled jack is made of a hard dense plastic that is also very light, giving it a quality feel. The housing itself is very solid, there is no giving way with any force I applied, which is probably more than what it will experience in normal situations. Some improvements could be made on the wax filter, which seems very hard to clean or replace. The cord cinch also falls into the ‘initially underwhelming’ category, but when I used it a few times I found its function. It is a relatively rigid, but soft enough to squeeze into an oval. This lengthened diameter allows the cinch to move up and down the low friction cord with ease. Once the cinch is let go, it pushes the 2 cords together and retains its place very well. I would have liked to see some kind of visible strain relief at the top of the cinch though; it looks like it may stretch after a while.
At first, I didn’t think the smooth nozzle would work very well, but after a few tests with different tips I found that there was no noticeable difference between a smooth bore and a grooved one when it was in your ear.
The ergonomics of the housing are good but slightly flawed. Being an elongated housing that sticks away from the ear, it can move up and down quite easily because of the shallow fulcrum that is in the person’s ear. This makes it move up and down slightly while walking, although it isn’t enough to negate the benefits of such a great cable.
Is the build worth the price? Yes. Definitely. If you like the sound, these will be the last IEMs you buy for a very long time.
Sound – The overall sound signature is one that perfectly suits me, which is why I bought it. Fast, lean and airy, it gives a great sparkly feeling, which I am addicted to. The soundstage is very round and even, it extends around 1-2 inches in a bubble around my head in every direction except the far back. The IE8 has wider soundstage to the left and right, but very little in the area around my forehead, which is important for a nice, airy, live feeling. Its speed and precision gives it a refined sound, especially in the highs. The lows and mids aren’t textured; it feels like cheap chrome, smooth, precise, and a bit unnatural. What do I mean by unnatural? When I listen to a piano, it sounds strange compared to the B&W 703, which I use as a reference point.
Test tracks:
A variety of tracks played through my unamped Sansa Clip+ and computer with onboard sound (GB P55a-UD3r). I’m much younger than most of you so my music tastes may be wildly different, but I’ll try to include as many genres as I can. I am not used to describing sound, but am used to describing music, although I haven't done that in a while. I strongly suggest you listen to a few of these tracks. EQ is used to flatten the frequency response.
Boys Like Girls – Real thing (187 VBR): As soon as this song starts, you know it’s performed in an echoey room, perhaps to emulate a garage. This makes the guitar and voice very messy, with many notes played and distorted by the echo. This song requires great speed and clarity to avoid being turned into mud, but at the same time, it is meant to sound unprofessional. The CK100 does this very well, never getting stuck in its difficult passages while still presenting wonderful vocals over the mess of background music.
Jay Chou – Ye Qu (192 CBR): Punch, sparkle and vocals, a typical song in my library. A drumkit provides the bass and hi hat, while the piano provides a layered melody underneath the vocals. The CK100 gets the balance pretty well. Vocals are smooth and a bit sparkly, very nice, but the piano sounds slightly unnatural. Bass drum isn’t quite there yet, the frequencies are but they have no strength or impact. The hi hat is perfect, possibly covering up some of the vocals at some points but it’s nothing outstanding unless you listen for it.
Immediate Music - Lacrimosa (320 CBR)(Similar style to Carmina Burana and Globus Preliator if you can’t find it): What is this? Liquid awesome. The only thing that can satisfy me is my dad’s B&W 703 Speakers with 7K in amplification. How do you satisfy me? This piece has over 150 people singing with an orchestra. I want to hear the sections of the chior and instruments, yet still be able to enjoy the piece as a whole. I want it to make me have flashbacks of a previous life where LOTR was real. The CK100’s detail and separation is top notch, which is enough. The soundstage is almost enough. It just can’t beat full sized headphones, but I couldn’t ask for more detail, soundstage and separation in an IEM(at my price).
Vivaldi - Concerto Grosso In C. Rv558, Allegro Molto(320 CBR): Air and detail, the CK100 does this very well, although instruments still sound a little unnatural.
Techno and trance in general (192+ VBR): I have a lot of trance, and I take it very literally. When I listen to trance, I want to get out of this world and stop thinking. This is mostly my own sound signature preference and isolation, although in all the tracks, the bass was fast and punchy, enough, but more bass would be welcome. I am not a basshead, but I do like those moments when you just want to bang your head or tap your feet to the beat. The CK100’s sparkly treble really brings this music alive, when I compared to other IEMs such as the IE8 and T.F10, they sounded lifeless and sluggish.
A few pieces to sum up the CK100 does perfectly would be FFIX “The Place I’ll Return to Someday”, Leona Lewis “My Hands”, Michael Bolton “Go the Distance”, Coldplay “Viva La Vida”, most classical in general and all of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Conclusion – Is the CK100 perfect? For its price you would expect so, but it still has some flaws. The sound is a tad unnatural and the bass may not be enough for some, making it a risky IEM to buy. If you like what it has to offer, I think it will be the last IEM you will buy for a long time.
Lots of pictures to come up tomorrow when I get my camera back.
Packaging – Audio Technica have gone for the subtle look on this product, with a smallish cardboard box containing a few other boxes and separators. It really doesn’t look like its price when compared to other top tier models like the IE8, but when I thought about it, the already high price is reduced by this lack of accessories, which can be described as ‘adequate’ at best. I think it is fair to assume that if you are buying $400 IEMs you will have accessories already, but since the nozzle is smooth and smaller than the standard 5.5mm, a few extra tips would be appreciated.
Build Quality – The CK100 has probably the best permanent build out of any IEM. I thought the IE8 had the best cable, replaceable and not microphonic, but now there is a whole new level of awesome. This cable is almost perfect, having the perfect balance between memory and flexibility. You can coil it up and place it in your pocket, then take it out and run your fingers over it and it will be straight again. You can place it over your ears and it will not try to straighten itself and jump off. The surface is low in friction when you run your fingers over it, but when you squeeze a little harder its friction increases to that of a rubber cord. It is not a single cord, but rather 2 that are joined in the middle. This isn’t really common on other high end IEMs as it makes a tangled cord a lot harder to untangle, but on the CK100 it makes a coiled cord extremely easy to straighten.
Lack of a shirt clip is annoying, but I first thought it was ok because of the awesome cable. After travelling with it for a bit, I realised that the cable weighs a bit. Not enough for you to notice if it is in your hands, but it can weigh your ears down a bit when rubbing against your clothes. I would really have liked to see a shirt clip.
Strain reliefs are great, but could be slightly softer to allow the cable more room to move. The right angled jack is made of a hard dense plastic that is also very light, giving it a quality feel. The housing itself is very solid, there is no giving way with any force I applied, which is probably more than what it will experience in normal situations. Some improvements could be made on the wax filter, which seems very hard to clean or replace. The cord cinch also falls into the ‘initially underwhelming’ category, but when I used it a few times I found its function. It is a relatively rigid, but soft enough to squeeze into an oval. This lengthened diameter allows the cinch to move up and down the low friction cord with ease. Once the cinch is let go, it pushes the 2 cords together and retains its place very well. I would have liked to see some kind of visible strain relief at the top of the cinch though; it looks like it may stretch after a while.
At first, I didn’t think the smooth nozzle would work very well, but after a few tests with different tips I found that there was no noticeable difference between a smooth bore and a grooved one when it was in your ear.
The ergonomics of the housing are good but slightly flawed. Being an elongated housing that sticks away from the ear, it can move up and down quite easily because of the shallow fulcrum that is in the person’s ear. This makes it move up and down slightly while walking, although it isn’t enough to negate the benefits of such a great cable.
Is the build worth the price? Yes. Definitely. If you like the sound, these will be the last IEMs you buy for a very long time.
Sound – The overall sound signature is one that perfectly suits me, which is why I bought it. Fast, lean and airy, it gives a great sparkly feeling, which I am addicted to. The soundstage is very round and even, it extends around 1-2 inches in a bubble around my head in every direction except the far back. The IE8 has wider soundstage to the left and right, but very little in the area around my forehead, which is important for a nice, airy, live feeling. Its speed and precision gives it a refined sound, especially in the highs. The lows and mids aren’t textured; it feels like cheap chrome, smooth, precise, and a bit unnatural. What do I mean by unnatural? When I listen to a piano, it sounds strange compared to the B&W 703, which I use as a reference point.
Test tracks:
A variety of tracks played through my unamped Sansa Clip+ and computer with onboard sound (GB P55a-UD3r). I’m much younger than most of you so my music tastes may be wildly different, but I’ll try to include as many genres as I can. I am not used to describing sound, but am used to describing music, although I haven't done that in a while. I strongly suggest you listen to a few of these tracks. EQ is used to flatten the frequency response.
Boys Like Girls – Real thing (187 VBR): As soon as this song starts, you know it’s performed in an echoey room, perhaps to emulate a garage. This makes the guitar and voice very messy, with many notes played and distorted by the echo. This song requires great speed and clarity to avoid being turned into mud, but at the same time, it is meant to sound unprofessional. The CK100 does this very well, never getting stuck in its difficult passages while still presenting wonderful vocals over the mess of background music.
Jay Chou – Ye Qu (192 CBR): Punch, sparkle and vocals, a typical song in my library. A drumkit provides the bass and hi hat, while the piano provides a layered melody underneath the vocals. The CK100 gets the balance pretty well. Vocals are smooth and a bit sparkly, very nice, but the piano sounds slightly unnatural. Bass drum isn’t quite there yet, the frequencies are but they have no strength or impact. The hi hat is perfect, possibly covering up some of the vocals at some points but it’s nothing outstanding unless you listen for it.
Immediate Music - Lacrimosa (320 CBR)(Similar style to Carmina Burana and Globus Preliator if you can’t find it): What is this? Liquid awesome. The only thing that can satisfy me is my dad’s B&W 703 Speakers with 7K in amplification. How do you satisfy me? This piece has over 150 people singing with an orchestra. I want to hear the sections of the chior and instruments, yet still be able to enjoy the piece as a whole. I want it to make me have flashbacks of a previous life where LOTR was real. The CK100’s detail and separation is top notch, which is enough. The soundstage is almost enough. It just can’t beat full sized headphones, but I couldn’t ask for more detail, soundstage and separation in an IEM(at my price).
Vivaldi - Concerto Grosso In C. Rv558, Allegro Molto(320 CBR): Air and detail, the CK100 does this very well, although instruments still sound a little unnatural.
Techno and trance in general (192+ VBR): I have a lot of trance, and I take it very literally. When I listen to trance, I want to get out of this world and stop thinking. This is mostly my own sound signature preference and isolation, although in all the tracks, the bass was fast and punchy, enough, but more bass would be welcome. I am not a basshead, but I do like those moments when you just want to bang your head or tap your feet to the beat. The CK100’s sparkly treble really brings this music alive, when I compared to other IEMs such as the IE8 and T.F10, they sounded lifeless and sluggish.
A few pieces to sum up the CK100 does perfectly would be FFIX “The Place I’ll Return to Someday”, Leona Lewis “My Hands”, Michael Bolton “Go the Distance”, Coldplay “Viva La Vida”, most classical in general and all of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Conclusion – Is the CK100 perfect? For its price you would expect so, but it still has some flaws. The sound is a tad unnatural and the bass may not be enough for some, making it a risky IEM to buy. If you like what it has to offer, I think it will be the last IEM you will buy for a long time.
