[Barusu Lamperouge]

@Nimweth I suggest you try GK10 with Starlines. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

Glad that you're enjoying your sets @SpaceOperaVillain and @Barusu Lamperouge

Nice avatar btw are those 840s or 440s?

This GK10 reminds me of my CCA CKX but with wider stage and slight distance vocal.

With the CKX chock full of BAs that makes sense. soundstage with the stock tips seems pretty average. Hoping a tip roll will help. speaking of ...

Medium bore - It's so far perfect for my usage. KZ Starlines are by far the best matched to them. Sub-bass livens up, mids bloom delicately and treble gets much needed bite. I think I've found my perfect setup in form of GK10 w/Starlines> BTR5

That's a great call! I really like the Starlines and the KZ branded foams as well. Been listening on the GK stock tips so far.

I would recommend that you try to run them into a source with balanced ourput if you have chance and haven't already and see if treble gets airier,

I held off on ordering a balanced cable until verifying the basic build quality, and regret it, now. 8-core 2.5mm already on its way. I am betting it'll be a noticeable difference since the btr3k isn't pushing much power single-ended. Like Barusu said tho - these pin sockets are evil lol

 

[FlacFan]

I held off on ordering a balanced cable until verifying the basic build quality, and regret it, now. 8-core 2.5mm already on its way. I am betting it'll be a noticeable difference since the btr3k isn't pushing much power single-ended. Like Barusu said tho - these pin sockets are evil lol

No offense, but you do realize that you judged (the IEM) using a BT connection and want to get better results by adding a better cable...the BT is compressed to begin with regardless of how it is called ... LDAC, AptHD or yaddi yadda...

Just sayin'...

Cheers.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

No offense, but you do realize that you judged (the IEM) using a BT connection and want to get better results by adding a better cable...the BT is compressed to begin with regardless of how it is called ... LDAC, AptHD or yaddi yadda...

Just sayin'...

Cheers.

For casual listening, BTR series and most modern BT amps are capable enough to faithfully judge an IEM.

Streaming music coupled with 16/44.1 at 320 kbps AAC sounds exactly like lossless to 99.9% humans. More power to those who swear by lossless audio but 320 Kbps even via BT for most use cases is fine.

 

[Nimweth]

@Nimweth I suggest you try GK10 with Starlines. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

Ha ha! I am already using them! There will be news about my set soon though....

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

No offense, but you do realize that you judged (the IEM) using a BT connection and want to get better results by adding a better cable...the BT is compressed to begin with regardless of how it is called ... LDAC, AptHD or yaddi yadda...

Just sayin'...

Cheers.

btr3k over USB is same as redbook audio. I've worked around codecs professionally since the mid 90s. If you can hear better than redbook i won't tell you different. I can't.

Also the 2.5mm cable is to push more juice from the dual amps.

 

[SomeEntityThing]

Nice avatar btw are those 840s or 440s?

Unfortunately I don't actually know the model name, hahaha. That avatar was the default when I created my account years ago. I should probably change it to something more relevant to me, hmm...

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

Unfortunately I don't actually know the model name, hahaha. That avatar was the default when I created my account years ago. I should probably change it to something more relevant to me, hmm...

haha - fair enough! That's a silver ring on the cup now that I notice it - so SRH840s.

@Nimweth I suggest you try GK10 with Starlines. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

I just tried swapping from the stock tips to large starlines this morning and it definitely opened up the top end. I hear more detail coming through sans EQ and the midbass bloat is less noticeable. Opinions are still developing but thus far I really like this set.

 

[ian91]

I just tried swapping from the stock tips to large starlines this morning and it definitely opened up the top end. I hear more detail coming through sans EQ and the midbass bloat is less noticeable. Opinions are still developing but thus far I really like this set.

Glad you're starting to like them! The wider (and shallower bore) you go the better the result is, for me atleast.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Glad you're starting to like them! The wider (and shallower bore) you go the better the result is, for me atleast.

For me deeper and fuller insertion lead to elimination of midbass bloat and proper air in treble. Starlines worked best for me over the likes of Spiral dots, BGVP W01, Tennmak Whirlwinds, JVC XX series tips etc.

If one gets a proper model then these have by far the best separation, imaging with tonality at this price point. At least to my ears.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I just tried swapping from the stock tips to large starlines this morning and it definitely opened up the top end. I hear more detail coming through sans EQ and the midbass bloat is less noticeable. Opinions are still developing but thus far I really like this set.

Once your ears get accustomed to it, the midbass bloat is almost nonexistent. It sounds airy and stage feels spherical where instruments play around you.

 

[ian91]

Once your ears get accustomed to it, the midbass bloat is almost nonexistent. It sounds airy and stage feels spherical where instruments play around you.

Seems like we're hearing the same thing here, and agreed - wide & shallow bore plus deep insertion is the way to go!

 

[Rockwell75]

I finally got acquainted with the Geek:



Looking beyond how cheap feeling they are and that the "heart motif" doesn't really work for me in person I've been quite digging these. The first thing that jumped out at me was the meaty mid-bass response-- anti-midbass ayatollahs, people who need lots of upper mids or people who need exceptional balance or a reference type sound need not apply. Vocals are a little pushed back but female vocals are still breathy and seductive when need be and male vocals sound bodied and natural. People who enjoy CFA's bassier outings will find a lot to love here. Looking beyond the mid-bass and post some brain burn-in I"m impressed with the technical chops on these things-- detail retrieval & layering is deceptively good. I've never heard electret drivers before but listening to these, while it's clearly not on the same level, I catch shades of the shimmer and bodied natural presence of the highs on e-stat IEMs like the Elysium. While these won't displace any of my current faves they're damn good for $50 and if you can handle a good mid-bass emphasis while still retaining excellent presence in the mids and highs while possessing a decently coherent sound I'd heartily rec these over either the Blon 03 or Carbo Mezzo (my other $50 reference points)-- though all 3 IEMs have their charms & strengths.

 

[activatorfly]

haha - fair enough! That's a silver ring on the cup now that I notice it - so SRH840s.



I just tried swapping from the stock tips to large starlines this morning and it definitely opened up the top end. I hear more detail coming through sans EQ and the midbass bloat is less noticeable. Opinions are still developing but thus far I really like this set.

I used Starlines for both sets from day one !!

 

[marklivia]

With all the haranguing in this thread I've been quietly enjoying my GK10s, watching the comedy. I'm posting to just say I got my cable recommendations, that Dsnuts made a few weeks ago, from Aliexpress today. Both of the ones I got (a solid silver and a combo copper and silver wires one by XINHS HIFI ) take the GK10 up a few large notches.
I've been hunting for different IEMs, daps lately and have tried a few highly regarded -things like the Mangird Tea, The Aladdin, and even some of my keepers, in some respect are bettered by these cheap little killers. And some they simply blow out of the water. I have NEVER heard midbass bloat and even cleaner bass all around w/ the upgraded cables. You guys who like your GK10 spend $30 bucks and get your mind blown.