How was CCA CKX compared to Tri i3 and Starsea?
CKX is fair bit cheaper in my place but i wonder on the audio quality gap between them.
Unfortunately, I don't own the TRI i3, so I can't comment on their performance, but I can make some comments regarding the Starseas. Edit: forewarning that all of my comments regarding the Starseas are made with the Bass boost switch enabled and no other switch tweaks. Both IEMs are using Defean TWS-Pro tips because their smaller bore nozzle aperture and foam construction help boost bass and mids while taming treble. This is mainly because I am treble sensitive. If you are not, then it may not be a necessary consideration to use a small bore tip or foams.
I'm currently doing my burn-in on my Starseas, but I can say already that they're a much more resolving IEM compared to the CCA CKX. CCA has done excellent work tuning the Bellsing BA drivers for the CKX, but they still aren't quite at the level of the Knowles and TRI custom BA drivers. On top of that, the CKX has some unfortunate peaks in the treble response that I'm cautiously attributing to the use of a coaxial nozzle-placed BA driver. If you can get them on sale at around $50, the CCA CKX perform well above their price point. In terms of fit and finish, they're already hitting above their price point. The Starseas have better resolution and a more open, airy sound that lends itself to a larger and more atmospheric soundstage compared to the CKX. Personally, I also prefer the resin shell of the Starsea for the weight, since the CKX is quite heavy for such a compact IEM. Thanks to a slightly longer nozzle and lighter overall weight, I find the Starseas to be a bit more comfortable to wear, but I never really had any problems wearing the CKX for 6-8 hours at a time, so it'll really be down to personal preference here too.
Bass: Both perform about the same, with decent sub-bass response, solid bass, and excellent mid-bass with minimal bleed into the mids thanks to the use of BA drivers for the majority of the mid-frequency reproduction.
This song really pounds those 40Hz wubs and can show how well your IEMs handle the transition from bass to sub-bass nicely.
Mids: The CKX has
more mid strength, owing to the use of quite a few more BA drivers, but the Starseas have more resolution in their mids and the instrumentation reproduction sounds more natural and authentic. For a $65-$70 IEM, the CKX is pretty admirable for its fidelity here, but it isn't quite as good
in my opinion.
Here you get interesting strings and breathy wind instruments
and here you get a song that covers the whole spectrum with great mids, twinkling highs, and a subtle sub-bass rumble partway through.
Speaking of more natural instrumentation reproduction, the Starseas really make the strings and the rain sticks sound incredibly realistic. It's just a comparatively marginal improvement over the CKX, like saying the CKX have a 7/10 in timbre and reproduction, the Starseas get an 8/10.
Treble: The CKX has modestly elevated treble, but the peaks from all of the BA drivers and their respective placement can contribute some harshness and make the treble quite
hot in some tracks. Adding equalization can dramatically improve these qualities to make the CKX an extremely competitive and well-rounded budget IEM. The Starseas have distinctly elevated treble, contributing to their sense of airy reproduction, and the relatively minimal peaks in this frequency speaks highly of TRI's tuning department.
One of my go-to treble demos. Loads of highs that can routinely sound strident or piercing on lesser IEMs, or can easily indicate where you need to EQ to tame a wayward BA driver.
EQ isn't strictly necessary on the Starseas to tame them, but adding some additional kick to the ultra-high frequencies can improve their upper extension further. Both lack extension past around 14kHz, though that's rarely a problem for most average listeners, since these can prove challenging to hear in the first place unless you're treble sensitive or very young. I'm treble sensitive and like some additional grunt in the mids, bass, and sub-bass. My EQ for the CKX can be seen below:
I find that this provide a slightly bass-heavy neutral signature with moderate treble lift. YMMV, since everyone has vastly different hearing and preferences for their sound signature. If you aren't treble-sensitive, you may not need to do anything to enjoy the CCA CKX.
Final notes: Both of these IEMs benefit tremendously from tip rolling and source selection. I usually go with a small nozzle tip to help tame the treble on both without needing to do even more work with EQ, plus the additional resistance helps add some resolution back into the bass by loading the drivers up more, but it isn't strictly necessary. Just another point of personal preference. What isn't personal preference is that both of these IEMs like a high-res source with some driving power, particularly the CKX. They aren't so high impedance that they can't be used on lesser sources, but they do kick much better with some more power behind them. I ran both balanced off my HiBy R3 Pro Saber (an excellent inexpensive DAP if you want something compact and cheap that can also function as a LDAC bluetooth transceiver for your PC) and the CKX can easily take more power than the Starseas before they threaten to deafen you.
