[Bennyboy71]

252 is not more engaging than the 262.

 

[Bakkasan]

Terrifyingly awesome reviews!!

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

CK-10 IMPRESSIONS:
 
Well, I have been listening to |joker|'s CK-10 for a couple of days, and while they are very enjoyable I hate to say that I don't like them as much as he does.  
 
I do like the feel of the tangle-free cable, and they feel solidly built.  Because of their shape, I can only get a good seal with them wearing them with the cable over my ears.  And wearing them that way means practically no cable microphonics.  The CK-10 are engaging sounding and they don't need to be amped to enjoy them, but pairing them with my Pico Slim is still an upgrade over listening un-amped.
 
However, when I turn up the CK-10 playback levels to volume match the bass and mids to my UM3X, the CK-10 treble becomes too forward/boosted for my tastes.  Fortunately it's in the 8K-10K or higher range, so there is little sibilance boosting in most music but it's an issue with some tracks.  It's not so much of a "hot" sounding treble, but rather just a forward sounding treble.  The CK-10 may have a similar frequency response to my RE-252 or my old Phonak PFE, but the CK-10 are a bit smoother and more organic/liquid sounding than the RS-252 (and maybe a little warmer too).  I need to do more comparisons than the brief ones I've done, but both of these IEM are more engaging than the new RS-262, which are less aggressive sounding than the RE-252, but which when unamped can sound a little bland vs the RE-252 or CK-10.  The CK-10 bass is good without boost or weakness, but it's not as strong as my UM3X.   The CK-10 have good detail and speed, but I feel that my UM3X still sound more transparent and disappear better.  So, I do like the CK-10, but I don't see them filling a gap in my collection.  
 
In my case I would pick the UM3X over the CK-10, which themselves are surpassed by the new W4 that I'm reviewing. 

I'm not surprised.The treble you are experiencing is what makes many people hate the CK10 and I think the CK10 fits a specific group that is not very popular here so more people would hate them than like them. I consider them my favorite set of universals and if I was ever to purchase a universal twice the CK10 would be it.

 

[Bennyboy71]

Indeed - the Trebleheads are a vocal sect that worship the CK10, much to the bafflement of normal humans like myself who have tried them, only for blood to start trickling out their eyes and nostrils. .  
Quote:

Quote:

CK-10 IMPRESSIONS:
 
Well, I have been listening to |joker|'s CK-10 for a couple of days, and while they are very enjoyable I hate to say that I don't like them as much as he does.  
 
I do like the feel of the tangle-free cable, and they feel solidly built.  Because of their shape, I can only get a good seal with them wearing them with the cable over my ears.  And wearing them that way means practically no cable microphonics.  The CK-10 are engaging sounding and they don't need to be amped to enjoy them, but pairing them with my Pico Slim is still an upgrade over listening un-amped.
 
However, when I turn up the CK-10 playback levels to volume match the bass and mids to my UM3X, the CK-10 treble becomes too forward/boosted for my tastes.  Fortunately it's in the 8K-10K or higher range, so there is little sibilance boosting in most music but it's an issue with some tracks.  It's not so much of a "hot" sounding treble, but rather just a forward sounding treble.  The CK-10 may have a similar frequency response to my RE-252 or my old Phonak PFE, but the CK-10 are a bit smoother and more organic/liquid sounding than the RS-252 (and maybe a little warmer too).  I need to do more comparisons than the brief ones I've done, but both of these IEM are more engaging than the new RS-262, which are less aggressive sounding than the RE-252, but which when unamped can sound a little bland vs the RE-252 or CK-10.  The CK-10 bass is good without boost or weakness, but it's not as strong as my UM3X.   The CK-10 have good detail and speed, but I feel that my UM3X still sound more transparent and disappear better.  So, I do like the CK-10, but I don't see them filling a gap in my collection.  
 
In my case I would pick the UM3X over the CK-10, which themselves are surpassed by the new W4 that I'm reviewing. 

I'm not surprised.The treble you are experiencing is what makes many people hate the CK10 and I think the CK10 fits a specific group that is not very popular here so more people would hate them than like them. I consider them my favorite set of universals and if I was ever to purchase a universal twice the CK10 would be it.

 

[tuahogary]

 
Quote:

In my case I would pick the UM3X over the CK-10, which themselves are surpassed by the new W4 that I'm reviewing. 

 You have them in your hands right now?? I hope they genuinely sound better than the UM3x! Can you post some first impressions here and maybe a review in the future? 

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Indeed - the Trebleheads are a vocal sect that worship the CK10, much to the bafflement of normal humans like myself who have tried them, only for blood to start trickling out their eyes and nostrils. .  
 

 

QFT

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

 

 You have them in your hands right now?? I hope they genuinely sound better than the UM3x! Can you post some first impressions here and maybe a review in the future? 

 


I clearly said I'm reviewing them. See the W4 thread FlavioT started too.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Joker, as a suggestion to the review, for newer reviews perhaps you could put up a hiss rating? I wouldn't ask you to go and add something like that to all your old reviews (waaay too much work) but for newer reviews it might be a good idea? Usually specs, ie. sensitivity and impedance, are enough to give you a good idea of the hiss; but on occasion they can be misleading. So I'd say that a hiss rating would definitely be helpful, especially for people who don't typically amp their phones.

I think there is a certain inherent variability with a 'hiss' rating since hiss is a) extremely source-dependent  b) not a problem for the vast majority of in-ears with portable sources at listening volume and  c) listener-dependent. A setup that hisses like a snake to my ears may be 'almost silent' for someone else (reaching back into the old Amp3Pro2 threads here). If hiss is a problem I try to mention it at the end of the sound section but I think a separate rating would be overkill.
 

Quote:

CK-10 IMPRESSIONS:
 
Well, I have been listening to |joker|'s CK-10 for a couple of days, and while they are very enjoyable I hate to say that I don't like them as much as he does.  
 
[...]

Thanks for the impressions. I figured you'd have something like that to say since I know your POV when it comes to the DBA-02 as well as the W1/W2/W3/UM3X. Either way it's always nice to try a new sound signature, even if it is bound to be mildly offensive to someone who loves Westone products 

 

Quote:

Terrifyingly awesome reviews!!

Thanks!

 

[Caze]

Damn you Head-Fi and these wonderful reviews!
When I first registered the FOTM was the Nuforce NE-7M which suited my price range perfectly and I ended up buying them. I still love them but I've now started to crave after something slightly better. Thanks to these reviews (damn you) I've now ended up ordering both the Fischer Audio Eterna v1 AND Sunrise SW-Xcape. That may not sound much to you but for my student wallet, that's a lot of money and now that new harddrive and wireless router will have to wait.
I'll hopefully end up selling one of them so I pray to god I don't get attached to both of them, otherwise my wallet won't talk to me until next spring.
 
So thanks |joker| and everyone else here on Head-Fi for being there to ruin our economy!

 

[esanthosh]

Don't worry! It's a temporary phase. You'll get over it when you burn a hole in your wallet with some top-tiers and crave for customs (head-fi and ljokerl will still be "thanked" though

)

 

[mootookang]

Quote:

So thanks |joker| and everyone else here on Head-Fi for being there to ruin our economy!

 
I use Joker's thread as a guide line to learn whether a budget phone is worth trying or not, so it probably save me hundreds of dollars from the frequent deals posted on headfi.

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

So thanks |joker| and everyone else here on Head-Fi for being there to ruin our economy!

I beg to differ. Actually by spending more money it stimulates the economy and thus makes out economy better so the moral of the story is to buy buy buy
 
@HeadphoneAddict: I figured you would get your hands on the W4 pretty soon. It helps that you live so close to where Westone is located and have almost every Westone earphone

 

[akacoke]

awsome reviews. its a masterpiece.

 

[battleaxe]

I think what caze means to say is it bad for his personal economy, and great for the general economy. Lol. I know if I wasn't that particular with my headphones and the deals were better in store I'd have a few phones right now, and an empty wallet. 
 
In store I was pretty sold on the Jamz(the lil jamz were not powerful enough), and kind of kicking myself for not moving on the great deal Amazon had with the Turbines, but I got fooled by a used Turbine Pro Gold at a good price on Amazon(could have been a scam, but who knows). 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

 
Quote:

Quote:

CK-10 IMPRESSIONS:
 
Well, I have been listening to |joker|'s CK-10 for a couple of days, and while they are very enjoyable I hate to say that I don't like them as much as he does.  
 
[...]

Thanks for the impressions. I figured you'd have something like that to say since I know your POV when it comes to the DBA-02 as well as the W1/W2/W3/UM3X. Either way it's always nice to try a new sound signature, even if it is bound to be mildly offensive to someone who loves Westone products 

 
 
 

I agree completely, it's good to try different things as some will just surprise you, and it's still good to be familiar with what's out there even if you don't like it (the generic "you", as in people in general).  
 
What can't be denied is the CK-10's large treble peak, which is easily seen on the oscilloscope during frequency sweeps (don't ask, I can't tell).  While my hearing is gone by 16Khz I don't need any help with the treble below 12Khz, and in longer listening sessions the CK-10 start to become fatiguing with some amps (D4, Pico Slim, Protector, SR-71b, HDP).  They are actually an excellent match for either of my Nuforce uDACs and my ALO amphora amp, and if I hadn't tried them with the other DAC/amps I'd be singing much higher praise for them.  As for the DBA-02, I did think they were very good, it's just that the W2 had a similar sound with slightly better warmth and soundstage which put them ahead of the DBA-02 for me.  Going from memory, the CK-10 still have a smoother and warmer sound signature than the DBA-02, and I might pick the CK-10 over the DBA-02 as well.
 
Anyway, thanks VERY much for the CK-10 loan and I should be able to mail them back the day after tomorrow, since I'm under the weather after dental work this afternoon.  Is the shipping address the same as when I sent you the W3 before?