[threelury]

Correct me if i'm wrong. I've auditioned the ckn50 and the gr07. I've read about the ckm500 and there are people saying it was comparable to the gr07, and the ckn50 is a bit better than the ckm500, in other words, ckn50 could rival the gr07. Having auditioned both, i don't get the hype honestly. Gr07 sounds much better than the ckn50 and more natural sounding on the gr07. It sounds thicker too, with better bass impact, ckn50 on the other hand, sound so artificial. Thats my honest opinion, correct me if im wrong.

 

[jarrett]

The GR07 is much better. The CKM500 got the hype train and now they aren't discussed. Yeah, artificial is a good way of putting it...I think they are a genre specific headphone

 

[Jakkal]

i realize this is a shot in the dark, but i'm in the market for a new pair of iem's and having a hard time after my vsonic gr07's died. does anyone in this thread happen to have heard the gr07's and can they relate them to the ath-ckn70's? i've also had the sony mh1c, which are another microdriver set, so a comparison to those could work as well. and i was considering buying the vsonic vc02's as a cheap temp set, which are also microdrivers. i'm also slightly interested in the hifiman re-400's and the tdk ie800's if anyone has those and can compare, haha. thanks a bunch.
 

 
 
You have more chances asking in here - http://www.head-fi.org/t/586909/the-discovery-thread-ghosts-first-take-ath-ckn70-pg487-dannybs-first-take-ath-ckn50-pg383

 

[jant71]

That thread is a mess and overcrowded. The impressions of the phones that have their own threads should be steered towards the individual threads. That being said, my impressions of the CKN70 will be in this thread.
 
To raisedbywolves, I had the GR07 not too long ago and the Sony HPM-78(similar predecessor to the MH1C) and my CKN70 has reached the U.S. according to tracking. So, I can give a general idea. I take by you're choices(RE-400, IE800, GR07, and VC02) and speaking of the MH1C in past tense, that you are wanting more towards balance with enough bass rather than a bassy signature.

 

[raisedbywolves]

Quote:

That thread is a mess and overcrowded. The impressions of the phones that have their own threads should be steered towards the individual threads. That being said, my impressions of the CKN70 will be in this thread.
 
To raisedbywolves, I had the GR07 not too long ago and the Sony HPM-78(similar predecessor to the MH1C) and my CKN70 has reached the U.S. according to tracking. So, I can give a general idea. I take by you're choices(RE-400, IE800, GR07, and VC02) and speaking of the MH1C in past tense, that you are wanting more towards balance with enough bass rather than a bassy signature.

you'd be right. i listen to a very wide range of genres, so i need balanced, all-around phones. i basically want something that doesn't color the music but has ample enough bass to give the low end some weight when a song calls for it. the re-400 sounds good to me except for the fact some people are calling it a little bass light.  the mh1c had quantitatively too much bass for me. the gr07 is pretty great to me as far as the bass goes, sometimes it can bleed a little into the midbass, but i definitely liked the bass of the gr07 compared to the mh1c. if you could compare the ckn70's to the gr07's when you get them, i'd appreciate that a lot.

 

[jarrett]

Sounds like we have the same taste in headphones 

 

[jant71]

Tracking says my CKN70 are out for delivery. Not bad at all, CDjapan took one week. I don't count ordering on Sunday, so Monday to Monday is fine by me

. But I should add that I can walk to JFK airport from my house so when they land from Japan they are about a mile from me which makes it quicker. Probably still the best option for price, speed, great packing, marking as gift, and earning points to save later on.
 
Might give a first impression later on. My father's birthday today so after that dies down then I can come back and give them a listen.

 

[kahaluu]

Welcome to the club. They're fantastic phones for the price. 

 

[jant71]

I do have a quick initial impression. As stated before, and expected, the stock tips are not the best and should be switched out.
 
They are good value for the money. They still are AT typical no frills, with no case and one set of tips and they choose between a clip and cable winder but not both. But in the past they saved money in the same way but didn't bring the SQ the CKN70 brings to the table. So, they are stepping it up where it really counts.
 
As one of the longer time veterans here, I have had/heard a lot of phones and came across some good stuff, and learned what I want from my sound.  They have good range and clarity out of the box. The sound is tight and has a high level of precision/resolution. The SQ is quite good and should get better with some run in. No complaints but they don't excite me too much.
 
The part that doesn't excite me that much so far is the signature. Have my CKP's and my CX985, I find the SQ pretty close but below the CX985 and above the CKP200. The mids that others really like and are impressed by, I already have with these phones. So hard for me to be excited since it is par for the course. The CKN70 so far seem a little polite compared to the other two phones. Not quite as exciting. The CKN70 is more forward compared to the other two which requires adjusting. I am used to being further back with the other two so they seem a bit larger sounding. I like the signature of the CKN70 almost as much as the CX985 but not as much as the CKP200's. Also, the treble is a bit sizzly compared to the other two. Not sibilant, actually a bit smoother than the CKP and a decent bit less brightness/sparkle than on the CX985. I think the treble tone/timbre will round into shape. I had hope for something even more enjoyable than the CKP. Interesting to see how that turns out for me.
 
So, just an early impression of them. I actually totally agree with most all the reports on them. The gain a bigger stage from wider bore tips and if you have a nice selection of tips in the kit you may have ones that also give them a bit more sparkle. They just fit in-between my current phones without bringing anything new. I certainly made the right choice to try them based on my preferred sound. I just won't add to the hype train that much.
 
So, let the burn in commence

! Then re-evaluate my tip choice. I still think they have a chance of making my CX985 expendable to free up more funds. A possible goal I had in mind.
 
I'll add that the cable is fine for a J-cord. J-cord is not automatically bad. Some are better than others. These have enough length on either side which is the right way to do it so it doesn't pull on the earphones. The blue has a nice rich blue colored cable that makes the Y and strains stand out nicely. A touch that is just nicer than all black would be.
 
I'll also add that in addition to the required burn in, I only compared on one source set up so far. My later impressions will be an amalgamation of the whole lot. I'll also throw the ECCI PR200-II which also has an engaging, fun signature.

 

[raisedbywolves]

i'd appreciate if you could compare them to the gr07 whenever it's convenient for you. really interested to hear that.

 

[jant71]

I've come to an interesting finding with my CKN-70 in my short experience with it. Found these tips...

...from my Kanen KM948 to clearly be the best tip I have for the CKN70.
 
The 70 does not follow any of my other phones as far as tips and sound changes. These are narrow bore tips(~3mm) but they stretch enough to fit on.
 
These solved most all issues. Better depth, lower reaching sub-bass has appeared. Treble is nicer as far as tone though a bit brighter. Maybe a bit sharper notes account for it. Clarity and balance are not changed, maybe improved a bit. I don't have to try another tip as well. The best sounding tip by a fairly wide margin and a game changer as far as me keeping the phones or selling them.
 
 The small bore size may just make the most difference in the better layering out helping with the depth and sub-bass. I looked down the barrel under light and through the nozzle mesh. The CKN70 has no foam insert. The same thing happens to the Senn(both CX870 and 985) when the foam is removed from their nozzles, mainly losing depth and layering ability. Creating a slight bottleneck for the freqs to go through seem to benefit the CKN70 in a similar way. These are as comfortable as any tip as well.
 
So, as usual, you can't say it enough. Have a good fit kit. And in the case of the CKN70, ditch the stock tips cause they fall quite short of their potential with them.

 

[kahaluu]

Interesting, I might have to experiment with those tips. And I agree, the stock tips aren't very good.

 

[Hipgig]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing

 

[jant71]

No real 70 pics in the thread so far so I took a quick one...

Went with the dark backdrop, soft flash for effect

and posed with the Minidisc keeping with the blue theme.
 
Anyway, I am only around the 30 hour mark. It was more important to get the fit and tips down. From the DDM1 to Ety to the EX600 etc,  I've certainly had plenty of fit differences and challenges. The CKN70 don't seem to be hard to fit for most but, for me, I think the loop and angle of the sound tubes being very slight gave me a bit of a challenge to figure out. A bit of occlusion seemingly due to the angle being too small. More bend would be better for me but I seemed to have worked it out.
 
Odd that these have a cord slider. Not many J-cords have a cord slider since it can only go as far as the shorter side. They could have done what they did with the CKP200. They put a slider on the longer side of the J only and it folds the cable back on itself to shorten or lengthen it.
 
It does depend on tip a bit and insertion depth but these have reminded me of the EX600 sound signature. Not exact but a similar presentation in many ways. though these phones do not lack isolation like the Sony. I think they will end up at that level or slightly better. On a familiar scale, Joker's SQ scale, that would make the CKN70 a 9 or maybe even a 9.1. Seems right even at this point. Better than the CKM99 which got an 8.8. reports have the CKN70 on another level from the VC02 which got an 8.1 and a step up from the FXD80 which got an 8.7. I'd say that score and being as good/freeing me to sell my trusty CX985 is very, very likely. That will free up funds to save up some for a high end in the future. Either something new or something current(SM64 maybe) when they drop to a better price. Certainly the highest model of this CKN series may well be on that list.
 
I'll get more hours on my pair of CKN's, then see how they end up turning out(treble may need to tame some) and how they end up comparing with things.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif...
 
and a step up from the FXD80 which got an 8.7. I'd say that score and being as good/freeing me to sell my trusty CX985 is very, very likely.

 
Thanks for the impressions Jant! I'm looking forward to receiving these in a package along with the FXD80's. I absolutely loved the FXD80's so I'm excited if the CKN70 shares some of the same strengths.