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The CK90Pro is different enough from everything else that I've never recommended it to anyone and probably never will. Quite dark for an armature and very, very fast. I don't know if the acoustic horn setup has anything to do with how it sounds. Would really like to try the CK70Pro but they are prohibitively expensive stateside. Still, Phonak got the top-firing armature down so maybe ATH did as well.
You description of the K501 vs K601 sounds how I feel about the K601 vs K701 - the K601 has less detail but also sounds more laid-back and less fatiguing for long sessions. And you are right, I don't think it's right to compare headphones to IEMs. The K601 I find a little inverse-U-shaped, not that it has forward mids but it does roll off gently on either end. The ortofons I feel would be a good match (I haven't heard any of the MA FADs), maybe a higher-end HiFiMan with a proper source match. I would think you'd like the RE-ZERO if you've tried it. Won't be as resolving as the AKGs but similarly non-fatiguing.
That's the thing - a dark fast armature sounds like it could be what I want. I like detail and I like speed but I don't particularly like a treble-oriented sound. You describe the CK90 as having a mostly neutral sound, with treble detail but no treble peaks. I'm a little surprised you say that you've never recommended it, your review sounds quite enticing. You say it's "quite dark for an armature", but I've noticed many of the BAs I've listened to have a treble-oriented sound (haven't heard a Westone or Earsonic). How does the CK90 balance compare to something like, say, a Turbine or the GR07?. If I ever get a chance to listen to them I would probably jump on the opportunity.
I do like the RE-ZERO when I owned it, but there were a couple caveats - first, I very very *very* slightly preferred the Sunrise Xcape V1 (mostly on account of the shape of the barrel and the less-microphonic cable, but also the very slightly warmer and very slightly heavier sound). However I also owned the CK10 at the time, which did everything the Sunrise/RE-ZERO/0 did but better. I've always considered the RE-0 to be a thin headphone, with a smooth but not overtly detailed treble, and the CK10 did the treble much faster and much more detailed. In the end it turns out the treble of the CK10 was actually too much, and even the PFE122s with grey filters beat them out in bass without losing too much of the treble detail. Ever since, I've been searching for something that can come close to the detail of the CK10 but not the treble quantity. If I had to summarize my cornerstones, it would probably be:
GR07 - smooth, balanced, nice extended bass without a midbass hump, but somewhat sibilant treble and a can smear tiny details in cymbal hits and other high treble
SE530 - great tonal balance and extension on both ends, presentation is great, no peaks, but large/uncomfortable and can smear details in the high treble like the GR07
CK10 - very very fast and exquisitely detailed, bass and treble extension is superb, but bass quantity/slam is too little and treble is too much, especially in cymbals
These three IEMs have come closest to what I'm looking for, but each of them is missing something. I know I've stated this a hundred times and you guys are probabyl tired of recommending stuff to me (I know the moving armature models in particular have been recommended a thousand times but no one wants to sell them for a low price
). I should probably start a new thread about this.
And yes, the K501 is to the K601 what the K601 is to the K701. It's an interesting progression and it turns out that I prefer the overall strengths of the K501s (mostly smooth frequency response and nice bass response - not really that punchy but the quantity is nice) enough over the K601/701 to have kept them over the two higher-end models.
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