[Gossling]

I've been doing some research and the CK10 seems like it may suit my needs.  However, I have not found any opinions regarding their ability to reproduce "classical music" (orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, etc.).  My primary concerns are timbral realism and imaging; not so much soundstage.  Source will be Clip+ and laptop headphone jack, but ideally the phone would scale up well.  Other canalphones I am considering include the GR07, ER4P, RE-ZERO but the CK10 seem to be the most reliable choice in my budget range (<$230 US).  Any thoughts or experiences?

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

I've been doing some research and the CK10 seems like it may suit my needs.  However, I have not found any opinions regarding their ability to reproduce "classical music" (orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, etc.).  My primary concerns are timbral realism and imaging; not so much soundstage.  Source will be Clip+ and laptop headphone jack, but ideally the phone would scale up well.  Other canalphones I am considering include the GR07, ER4P, RE-ZERO but the CK10 seem to be the most reliable choice in my budget range (<$230 US).  Any thoughts or experiences?

I listen to a lot of classical music. Thanks to rawrster, I've heard the ck10 and re-zero. The ck10 was nice but had a treble emphasis. When I listened to an orchestra piece with a lot of timpanis in it, the ck10 put them in the background and didn't reproduce their sound as well as I'd like.
 
The re-zero was interesting to hear but didn't sound realistic in the mids (imagine a picture that has had the "sharpen" filter applied several times) and the bass was muddy. Yes, it definitely smeared the same timpani-rich piece (Hovhaness sym 50, 3rd movement) and had poorer extension.
 
I haven't heard it, but the gr07 seems like it might be good. The monster turbine pro copper is a good choice if you buy from an authorized Monster seller and get the lifetime warranty on manufacturing defects (with an additional one-time replacement if its your fault they broke).
 
The future sonics atrio does very well with classical, too.
 

 

[DCofficehack]

I'm enjoying my Fischer DBA-02 with classical music. Gorgeous mids and highs. My Beethoven cello sonatas and string quartets are exquisite.  It does symphonic music well, but it really shines with smaller ensemble pieces.  Voices, too: Kathleen Battle's Ihr Habt Nun Traurigkeit (Brahm's Requiem) has never sounded better to my ears.  Lieder music is exquisite. Big thumbs up.

 

[yello131]

neither of this Dual Drivers are reproducing well enough classical music.
Ortofons or JVC Fx700, or Final Audio Design or at LAst Radius DDM #21 which was designed
keeping in mind Classical music imaging in large concert hall. Here is a companies profile on DDMs  http://www.radius.co.jp/Portals/0/twf_en/
 
You can get DDM at about 250 today but Ck10 is priced way above 230$, unless used..
 
 

 

[Gossling]

Thanks for the replies.
 
Kunlun, is it possible that the timpani were simply recorded poorly resulting in a percieved lack of balance? How accurate was timbre reproduction in your opinion?
 
DCofficehack, one reservation I have about the DBA-02 is that the high detail might tear apart lower bitrate files.  A lot of my listening is done on the NAXOS online database which only allows me to stream compressed audio. 
 
Yello, how do you know that the DDM was designed with concert hall imaging in mind? I've read that the imaging is more precise on the CK10.  Do you disagree?

 

[Kunlun]

 
Quote:

Thanks for the replies.
 
Kunlun, is it possible that the timpani were simply recorded poorly resulting in a percieved lack of balance? How accurate was timbre reproduction in your opinion?

Hi. No, it is absolutely not possible.  I use it as one of my reference recordings. The recording is a modern, digital recording superior to the discount Naxos label's quality. The balance and the timbre in the recording itself are excellent and top-tier earphones can reproduce this, of course, it's just that the re-zero did very poorly and as I said was surprisingly muddly while the ck10 was quite imbalanced pushing the treble while leaving the bass behind...
 
In terms of timbre, the ck10 really did better with treble than midrange or bass, as I remember it. I always say that a bass-lite earphone is not good for classical because you are missing out on a significant part of the music. Even a string quartet needs its cello resonance in the upper portion of the bass range, renaissance polyphony has its bass voice or voices and the orchestra has a whole range of instruments in the bass range, including but not limited to timpani.
 

 

[yello131]

Yello, how do you know that the DDM was designed with concert hall imaging in mind? I've read that the imaging is more precise on the CK10.  Do you disagree?

It is very easy, By  reading reviews, maker's website http://www.radius.co.jp/Portals/0/twf_en/
and I got DDMs in my ears right now.

• it is all there, check it out!