After 24 hours of burn-in: Sound -
- Vail has lifted.
- Soundstage is very elusive, you can't see the ends of the stage but it's there. Every track is treated differently and can go from narrow to wide.
- High's went from harsh/strident to dry with a hint of sparkle. Not overly done on the Im70's very neutral.
- Bass is as others have describe, powerful, impactful, textured, presence. It sits nicely behind the mid's, adding weight and timbre to the music.
- Mid's have developed nicely but I feel they're still coming out, very forward and clear. I can compare these to my Grado's. Vocals presented front and center with clarity.
- I can hear a difference in bitrate (mp3 vs flac), micro detail surpasses the 500's by large percentage.
- Overall a very natural sounding iem, quite brilliant really!
Other's mention these are great from acoustics, I can concur! They sound very competent with acoustic music. Listened to 'Eric Clapton Unplug' and was a joy to listen to! They bite hard with heavy metal but could be due to burn-in, trance/electronica/chillstep/glitch are perfectly presented just as well as the 500's but you'll be surprised by the extra detail and separation you'll hear and not muddy like the 500's. (The 500's are no-way a bad iem, just comparing the 500's to the Im70!)
I must mention, the detail on these iem's are definitely a few notches up from the CKM 500's. However, if you are looking to upgrade from the 500's, I'm not sure if you'll find the sound signature to be similar to your much loved 500's. These are definitely more refined to a point that I could see people using these more for critical listening but they are still a fun iem, just more grown up!
I use these primarily at my desktop with an amp, they definitely don't need an amp and go very loud with one. I can hardly put the volume knob up past 8 o'clock before becoming to loud. Which leads me to volume control, I found the best sound comes when these gents are at a relaxed and comfortable volume.
I found turning up the volume only makes them scream and shout at you! Picture a gentlemen's club and all the members are in a hall and they're all talking between one another at a nice relaxed volume. You can hear each conversation very clearly from end to end. But if the member's start to yell and shout at each other, all you will get is a wall of sound that you can't make anything out. Long story short, less volume is more on these!
I'm getting use to putting these on and finding the comfort very good, I can wear these much longer than the 500's and the over ear loop thingy sits better. I just wish the cable was a foot longer but for portability I can see why they are a bit shorter. Hardly any micro-phonics from the cable whatsoever, which the 500's were terrible for.
For the time being, I'll be using the comply tips as I'm satisfied with the comfort and sound for the time being. However I am looking at grabbing the JVC spiral tips soon.
A big 'Thank you' goes to the OP for showing us the way, these are definitely keepers and joining the 'Hall of Daily-use'.
