[Barusu Lamperouge]

What’s so special about GK10 is that it has “stand alone sound from various type of drivers” with “mostly acceptable tuning”.

Most disoriented IEMs got very wild tuning, some specific frequencies standout /becomes dominant, with many huge spikes and dips, which is not the case of GK10, mostly neutral mid to treble (with a spike for sibilance and diffusion factor), and surrounding mid-bass, distant sounding sub-bass. It’s pretty decent tuning. Then it comes with either “separated” or “disjointed” different type of tonal presentation backing up that decent tuning.

It has 4 components of the sound, sub-woofer, midrange cone, BA-tweeter, piezo super tweeters, all got different tonality makes pretty interesting collaborations when jammed together.

Again as I mentioned in my summary, this unique sense of separation is focused on musicality, not positional accuracy and other technical coherency. So if someone values “studio monitor reference”, GK10 is not the choice. It’s not kilobuck IEM slayer, but at some occasions, when staging and dynamism comes to first priority of playing back the track, this thing can be pretty wild, wilder than MEST MKII.

I saw some comments mentioned “some people are overly praising it over kilo buck IEM which is overly hyped”.

My comment is “ nah, not really. Take a look at my score, it’s 85/100 after all. I’m not saying GK10 is superior than MEST MKII in every single aspect, it’s just some limited situations that GK10 could excel at playing back tracks”



“something unique” and “new experience” will be the primary driving factor, whether like/dislike, it’s something there calling people’s attention

Yeah, your impressions are on point and pretty realistic as well. But, at times, folks just hype things over the top and some can't believe that they got an IEM that is different from what that other person is listening to.

Folks jumping on the bandwagon don't care to read and research much and create a toxic environment. I'm just excited to try them now as I brought out my KB100 after almost 6 months to compare them.

 

[Nimweth]

Yeah. Folks focus too much on micro details and consider it as a sign of a 'great' IEM. To each to his own but primary job of an IEM is to be musical and technicalities are secondary. Despite brilliant technicalities if they're not at all musical then what's the point? Only if you are an audio engineer or something like that will have some use for such IEMs. I don't mind midbass or even excess bass as long as all frequencies get their fair share across the spectrum. And, considering, these are inspired from speakers then the tonality makes sense as rarely one can experience sub-bass while listening via a speaker in an open room. Emphasis is usually on the midbass where your body gets the chills and shivers. I'd experiment them with a 5.1 channel separation emulator in Neutron MP to see how they cope with the performance.

Or probably they never thought these would work and created a small batch. Smabat is primarily an earbuds manufacturer so it's not surprising.

Yes, you are right. Musicality is the most important aspect in audio reproduction. The NCO is inspired by transmission line speakers and definitely sounds very natural, my speakers are Cambridge R50s and the bass certainly sounds authentic and similar in its effect on the NCO.

 

[KokushiTsumo]

Got mine a few days ago (got held for a while in customs), have to admit I'm not a fan (at least comparing it to the EX800, which isn't really a fair comparison, I suspect I'm getting thrown off by the piezos and BA since I'm a DD purist.). No QC issues thankfully. If anyone in the EU wants to buy a pair and avoid customs costs please PM me (30eur and the shipping should be pretty cheap as well, am open to offers)

 

[SomeEntityThing]

The XINHS balanced cable I bought for my GK10 came in a couple days ago. Bear in mind moving forward that I poked the holes near the 2-pin connectors the day before and noticed the highs have come out more without really losing too much bass (going off of what I heard on my HiBy FD1). The balanced cable really helps brings out the highs even more, but I still find the soundstage considerably less wide and the sound more "in your face"-ish (a result of the difference in soundstage I think) than my favourite pair of IEMs (if you know, you know. Can't explain anymore if you don't, I'm sorry). The mids are a bit thicker and bass has slower decay on the GK10 too. Finally, the GK10 is very slightly behinds in terms of sparkle in the highs... seriously, it's pretty shockingly close, but yeah the GK10 is a warmer pair overall. "Full Moon In Paris" by Amber Rubarth is definitely very enjoyable on both pairs and the one song I've been listening to on repeat the past little while to compare these - I find the differences I've outlined very noticeable with it. I'll probably learn to appreciate these more as time goes on and I listen longer but I think these are currently my 2nd favourite IEMs in my collection, since I like bright sound over something warm. I still believe their price to performance ratio is very excellent with my FD1, especially when running balanced. Great stuff... great stuff!

 

[activatorfly]

The XINHS balanced cable I bought for my GK10 came in a couple days ago. Bear in mind moving forward that I poked the holes near the 2-pin connectors the day before and noticed the highs have come out more without really losing too much bass (going off of what I heard on my HiBy FD1). The balanced cable really helps brings out the highs even more, but I still find the soundstage considerably less wide and the sound more "in your face"-ish (a result of the difference in soundstage I think) than my favourite pair of IEMs (if you know, you know. Can't explain anymore if you don't, I'm sorry). The mids are a bit thicker and bass has slower decay on the GK10 too. Finally, the GK10 is very slightly behinds in terms of sparkle in the highs... seriously, it's pretty shockingly close. "Full Moon In Paris" by Amber Rubarth is definitely very enjoyable on both pairs and the one song I've been listening to on repeat the past little while to compare these - I find the differences I've outlined very noticeable with it. I'll probably learn to appreciate these more as time goes on and I listen longer but I think these are currently my 2nd favourite IEMs in my collection, since I like bright sound over something warm. I still believe their price to performance ratio is very excellent with my FD1, especially when running balanced. Great stuff... great stuff!

Are your favourite set: MT300 ?...(just a guess ! Lol)

 

[gmdb]

My GK10 arrived yesterday. and in the last 24 hours they have gone from wow to dull to dynamic to wonderfully wide open, and then sounding very ordinary. I'm a believer in a decent burn-in for IEMs and these obviously need some good hours on them to settle down. As others have said they are sensitive to tip changes, source changes and and cable changes. They even seem to change their overall presentation with the type of music you throw at them and become a different IEM. Whereas with the Moondrop SSR and SSP (both of which I love), I still get their sound signature coming through on all types of music. Hmm, I think the GK10 are complex little beasts.

 

[zedbg]

Finally my set arrived, no problems with quality and i like them a lot for now, will see them after some burn-in

 

[sutosuto]

I listened to GK10 during my commute to/from work and break. It is not an ideal iem for commuting as the isolation is pretty low.
This GK10 reminds me of my CCA CKX but with wider stage and slight distance vocal. Anyone else has the same units and hear the same as me?

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

The GK10 has arrived, and so begins my immersion into the Geek Wold.

First off, it's a twofer! Denon included a freebie / consolation prize IEM hanging off the front in another plastic bag. I think reviewing the "WINNER" here might be as much fun as the GK10 itself. There is a nice warranty card in the box, clearly printed for 1 year of validity. I will hold them to it if need be. "Born for extreme audiophile". A bold claim, Geekers. We'll let the Doctor be the judge of that.

Fit and finish is good to my eye. There are no obvious signs of defects here in the way of gaps or misalignment. In fact I think it's rather beautifully executed. I know the horror lurking under that pretty blue cap and choose not to dwell on it for now. Just un-see those photos and move on. Right? Right.

Whomever said the pins were tight wasn't kidding. I can't get the pins to fully seat in the left driver. The right side took 4 or 5 attempts. I'll have to keep working it. The included silver looking 8 core cable feels nice and sounds nice IMO; no complaints about the cable for me.

Out-of-the-box impression: I hear the bass bloom that some are talking about. Not bad, per se. Gives it a very lush sound, very similar to the bottom end of many KZs, including the BA10 I also received today. These are not pretending to be completely neutral and I think that's fine. Mids are really nice (yeah I feel the mids love here with someone else that was commenting on it - I think it's that smaller DD singin') on a few jazz and electronic tracks. High upper mids and treble are slightly veiled to my ears to be considered neutral. I am using BTR3K as the source which is rated 0.3 ohm so should be within the rule of 8.

Right out of the box I'd describe these as a warm set with average sound stage on the BTR3K. There are no obvious defects in my set - I don't believe that this pair need any kind of poking. A touch of EQ wakes the upper end up very nicely. First impression of tenor saxophone noises is very good. Very, very good. The back half of Sonny Clark's Deep In A Dream seems to be saying: the hype is real, albeit with a bit of juice added on the top end.

I'm going to hold off any further judgement and just enjoy the honeymoon for a few of days. So far I'm happy I took the risk and smashed the buy button on these. Time to dim the lights and pour that drink.

 

[nymz]

The GK10 has arrived, and so begins my immersion into the Geek Wold.

First off, it's a twofer! Denon included a freebie / consolation prize IEM hanging off the front in another plastic bag. I think reviewing the "WINNER" here might be as much fun as the GK10 itself. There is a nice warranty card in the box, clearly printed for 1 year of validity. I will hold them to it if need be. "Born for extreme audiophile". A bold claim, Geekers. We'll let the Doctor be the judge of that.




Fit and finish is good to my eye. There are no obvious signs of defects here in the way of gaps or misalignment. In fact I think it's rather beautifully executed. I know the horror lurking under that pretty blue cap and choose not to dwell on it for now. Just un-see those photos and move on. Right? Right.

Whomever said the pins were tight wasn't kidding. I can't get the pins to fully seat in the left driver. The right side took 4 or 5 attempts. I'll have to keep working it. The included silver looking 8 core cable feels nice and sounds nice IMO; no complaints about the cable for me.

Out-of-the-box impression: I hear the bass bloom that some are talking about. Not bad, per se. Gives it a very lush sound, very similar to the bottom end of many KZs, including the BA10 I also received today. These are not pretending to be completely neutral and I think that's fine. Mids are really nice (yeah I feel the mids love here with someone else that was commenting on it - I think it's that smaller DD singin') on a few jazz and electronic tracks. High upper mids and treble are slightly veiled to my ears to be considered neutral. I am using BTR3K as the source which is rated 0.3 ohm so should be within the rule of 8.

Right out of the box I'd describe these as a warm set with average sound stage on the BTR3K. There are no obvious defects in my set - I don't believe that this pair need any kind of poking. A touch of EQ wakes the upper end up very nicely. First impression of tenor saxophone noises is very good. Very, very good. The back half of Sonny Clark's Deep In A Dream seems to be saying: the hype is real, albeit with a bit of juice added on the top end.

I'm going to hold off any further judgement and just enjoy the honeymoon for a few of days. So far I'm happy I took the risk and smashed the buy button on these. Time to dim the lights and pour that drink.

Is that freebie a earbud? Can you show which one is it?

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Received mine today as well and like @SpaceOperaVillain mine too are fine and I share most of the initial first impressions. Cable and all is fine Except I found them to be super sensitive to tip rolling. I've listened to almost 7 hours.

Stock - midbass centric and slightly confined sound

Wide bore - midbass gets shaved and treble lightens up. Gets a tad sibilant at times.

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

They're warm but nice kind of warm. My initial impression is that if Blon somehow evolved into a hybrid it would be GK10. They're good but I'll keep listening to them even more. I think I won't be disappointed with them in the long run.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Is that freebie a earbud? Can you show which one is it?

It's a routine Penon IEM. Too bassy and that's that. You can get it with your next order by adding 8th anniversary gift to the cart. They have 4-5 options like - Case, Eartips, cable (silver 8 core), Penon IEM and X. When you select X you get any option from the above.

The gift is not applicable for orders that have only accessories. Order has to have DAC, amp, IEM etc.

 

[SomeEntityThing]

Glad that you're enjoying your sets @SpaceOperaVillain and @Barusu Lamperouge !! Your OOTB impressions actually seem very similar to mine, and because I was craving a bit less veil in the highs, I did decide to poke the vents and got what I wanted to an extent. But since you're both happy with the way they are, I agree that you shouldn't do what I did, given the change is harder to reverse than just changing your EQ. 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, though! Either way, I hope you can savour the Wold the Geek has crafted

 

[SpaceOperaVillain]

It's a routine Penon IEM. Too bassy and that's that. You can get it with your next order by adding 8th anniversary gift to the cart. They have 4-5 options like - Case, Eartips, cable (silver 8 core), Penon IEM and X. When you select X you get any option from the above.

The gift is not applicable for orders that have only accessories. Order has to have DAC, amp, IEM etc.

oh that's interesting. bassy, eh? hmmm didn't someone post up a link to magnetostat component drivers on AliE? Urban stealth set

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Glad that you're enjoying your sets @SpaceOperaVillain and @Barusu Lamperouge !! Your OOTB impressions actually seem very similar to mine, and because I was craving a bit less veil in the highs, I did decide to poke the vents and got what I wanted to an extent. But since you're both happy with the way they are, I agree that you shouldn't do what I did, given the change is harder to reverse than just changing your EQ. 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, though! Either way, I hope you can savour the Wold the Geek has crafted

That build quality doesn't inspire confidence in me to do any modding and I don't think I am going to remove the cable anytime soon considering it took me over 15 mins to insert them But, I get it, piezo drivers usually sound better with more power and I can understand that with balanced out they will sound airier, tighter and crisp. I will listen them on High gain later today.

oh that's interesting. bassy, eh? hmmm didn't someone post up a link to magnetostat component drivers on AliE? Urban stealth set

I listened to them for 20 mins but maybe tip rolling will change sound but I will use them for video calling and meetings. Penon saved me some $10 by gifting that earphone. Lol.