Today I did what I promised myself not to do which is to directly compare Ck100pro against cardas model 1.
Gears:
- ODAC
- portaphile 627x
- ELGAR Enigma Variations, Introduction & Allegr (24/192 file) I have included the youtube version as the changes i noticed was quiet common ,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ys-84N-fgk
- ER4S as my reference IEM
- Ck100pro
- cardas IEM
Finding:
After switching between these two IEM it was very hard to believe it was the same track I was listening too, it sounded completely different! I cannot say which is better or worst as they both rendered the track complete differently. Model 1 been more on the expansive, open sounding and less intimate which focuses on the entire track where as Ck100pro been more intimate and had such beautiful treble detail. When I put on the ck100pro right after the model 1 the first think that comes to my mind is' what happened to all this high freqancy details?' But all of a sudden the smaller considerably less expansive sound of ck100pro was also obvious. The difference in sound is as follow: Ck100pro feels like you are in a medium sized room and setting in the front row where as the cardas feels like you are setting in a large hall and placed in the middle row where in both cases the orchestra are few meters away from the front row.
I honestly cannot find fault in either rendition as while I love detail (which ck100pro won clearly ) the sound become so much more claustrophobic that I was willing to sarcifize on detail for more open sound. I really do not know what the artist and sound engineering was really aiming for after comparing this two IEM on that track but if once again using my own reference IEM the ER4S, ck100pro was able to produce the overall tonality of Er4s where as cardas and er4s sounded like two complete alien entity, two complete different things comparable in only that they both are IEM and that is about it, sound wise ER4S and cardas model 1 have nothing in common what so ever.
So naturally once again it comes to music genre and preference. As much as the detail is important there are certain things that Mr cardas has done right which is making an IEM sound so open and as natural as an IEM can get.
Negative finding on cardas model 1:
Sadly the driver flexes. This occurs when I try to insert the IEM deeper in my ear while the music is playing. I have learned that if I was to hold the hole at the back of the ear pieces the flexing would not occur but it is a little concerning as I had two dynamic IEM that died a while after I heard their driver flex.
Summary:
I liked what model 1 did to the track I posted above however this is only one track and still believe ck100pro is more universally suitable for other genre of music. If Mr cardas is able to keep the same tonality while adding the missing treble and somehow find a way to reduce the price by 50 dollar (perhaps use less cable?) model 1 can easily stand its ground.
As far as my preference goes I use cardas more these days after work as the sound is non fatiguing and no part of the sound stands between you and your music however over the weekend where I like to put on my critical listening hat on I am afraid I do not reach for cardas that much.
It is definetly a warm IEM but its bass has a nice decay and texture to it is not offensive to the listeners ears. I believe if a warm IEM is able to attract my attention without its bass been the first think about it that comes to my mind when I explain its sound to other people who ask me about it in my book they have done it right. While bass do play an important role in model 1 its overall tonality is more than the bass they offer.
Their bass changed from incredibly boomy and offensive out of the box to a nicely textured bass which goes nicely with its open sound. If the IEM did not sound as open as they do i am sure bass would have been an issue on them.
Future review:
My next review is going to be comparing model 1 and EX-1000.
