[TheDreamthinker]

Good morning to all.

My name is Matt, I'm 32 years old and from Australia (so please excuse my English skills). I've been interested in audio listening since my early twenties, and have been reading Head-Fi about as long. Lurking and reading up has helped me gain the knowledge I needed to purchase a variety of equipment that I have been happy with.

I'm de-lurking now as I would like to start sharing some reviews and help out others in the same way.

I've had many different pieces of equipment over the years, but the current setup is:

Home
Brix NUC
Foobar
Arcam irDac via ASIO
WooAudio WA6SE (upgraded tubes)
Beyerdynamic T90
Denon D5000
Sony HAP-S1 (soon to be replaced)
B&W CM1

Portable
Sony ZX1
Audio Technica CK100Pro

I look forward to sharing some quality time and opinions with each other!

Wow, a ck100pro owner...(congrats)

How do you like them?

 

[MattLanham]

Wow, a ck100pro owner...(congrats)

How do you like them?

 
I think they're damn good buds, and with the ZX1 they just have this amazing synergy (sorry for that term) together. Really crisp without going too high. Great detail and texture. Brilliant soundstage. The bass isn't incredibly deep, but damn it's punchy.
 
For a brighter sounding setup, I have been constantly surprised at how well it handles so many different types of music well. Especially rap and hip-hop.
 
The hard part when they eventually fail, so I stay with another pair or look elsewhere... Let's hope that decision is far, far away though

 

[Uncle AL]

   
Thank you for the welcome Uncle Al. If the Q701s are not good with a tube headphone amp. There's a YT video that a guy made and says the Q701s sound awesome on a Schiit Vali, which is a hybrid tube amp. I would be interested in knowing what you use.

Okay, there are many who like Schiit.  Their product line includes hybrid tube/solid state amps.  Myself, I use AKG Q701s with a SS (solid state) amp, a Practical Devices XM6, which is an updated version of the XM4, and has adjustment for low and higher impedence headphones, dB, bass and treble boosts, as well as adjustable cross-over.  The combination works quite well.  When I was looking for a tube amp, I sought one that would have a warmer "tube" sound, and one that would permit tube rolling (trying different tube combinations), and opted for the Little Dot amps, ultimately buying the MK IV SE directly from LD.  Quality of construction and the overall sound was excellent for the price, producing better than expected sound quality, especially with the HD650 headphones.  Both the Senn HD600 and 650s have almost a cult following, and are rated well in reviews.  How would headphones like the AKG (Q701, K701) do with the Little Dot amp?  It would perform okay, but you would not obtain the tonal quality of the LD MK IV SE and HD650.

 

[attapon1980]

Some tout BOSE QC headphones, but I recommend Sennheiser PXC450's. Decent audio quality and they have a by-pass in the event batteries die. They also have a switch that activates a talk through feature permitting you to respond to someone, verbally, if you wish. New, they can be pricey $325-400 USD, but can be located used on eBay for less. I bought mine new, years ago and love them. Albert Einstein in my avitar is wearing my pair of PXC450s

Hi Uncle Al
 
What do you think about Audio Technica M50X, the pxc 450's is not available here, m50x seem decent enough?
 
Thanks

 

[TheDreamthinker]

I think they're damn good buds, and with the ZX1 they just have this amazing synergy (sorry for that term) together. Really crisp without going too high. Great detail and texture. Brilliant soundstage. The bass isn't incredibly deep, but damn it's punchy.

For a brighter sounding setup, I have been constantly surprised at how well it handles so many different types of music well. Especially rap and hip-hop.

The hard part when they eventually fail, so I stay with another pair or look elsewhere... Let's hope that decision is far, far away though

A few month ago, i was waiting patiently for the price to go down on these again (kakaku.jp). But then they suprisingly went out of production.

Then i had the opportunity to sudition them at a store a few weeks back. They were too overall too bright and sensitive for the setup i currently have. Really unforgiving.

Great you do enjoy them, as they are indeed quire rare.

 

[MattLanham]

A few month ago, i was waiting patiently for the price to go down on these again (kakaku.jp). But then they suprisingly went out of production.

Then i had the opportunity to sudition them at a store a few weeks back. They were too overall too bright and sensitive for the setup i currently have. Really unforgiving.

Great you do enjoy them, as they are indeed quire rare.

 
Hmmm, very interesting. I only purchased the Pros as the regular CK100s had been discontinued without notice and was offered these at the same price. I wasn't even aware the Pros had done the same.
 
I could definitely see these not being to many people's taste and being terrible with certain sources. The Cowon J3 was never a great match for them, and that's why the Sony was a rather pleasant match up.

 

[winternoir]

Hello everyone,
 
I'm Gary from Jakarta, Indonesia. Been lurking here for quite a while (started way back from 2008 when I was working in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and was looking for a set of MP3 player and earphones for work). Found Head-Fi and ABI as my source of recommendations for anything source or headset related.
 
Decided to join after I found out there are Jakarta meets and it looks like everyone is friendly (but sorry about your wallet!).
 
Currently I have the following gears (music player related):
Source: Galaxy Note 2, Sansa Fuze (V.1!), Sansa Clip (the first one)
DAC: Fiio E18 Kunlun
Phones: Sony MH1C (I got three, one still in packaging, one as backup, and a recabled one), a recabled JVC HA-FX300 R (bought them at a discount from HMV).
 
Daily, I use the Note 2 as my media player/gps/calendar/note taking/impromptu camera/etc... The Fuze and Clip not so much, they served their purpose well before so it is hard to let them go.
The Kunlun is only used occasionally since, apparently, when connected to the Note it isn't too practical or very portable. It is a transportable setup at it's best. I use the MH1C in this setup (with the amp).
When using the FX-300 (or "Cherry Bombs") I don't need the amp, only need to tweak the EQ slightly.
 
Well, that's all about me for now. Looking forward to participate in the forums and learn new things every day.

 

[Uncle AL]

Hi Uncle Al

What do you think about Audio Technica M50X, the pxc 450's is not available here, m50x seem decent enough?

Thanks

The Audio Technica ATH-M50X is a decent quality headphone with fairly good bass. Consider too, the type of headphones you want, closed back, such as the M50X or open back, such as Sennheiser HD600, 650, Audese and some AKG models. Open back headphones often have very good soundstage (spacial quality of audio), but allow extraneous sound around you to possibly interfere. Closed backs direct more sound inward, with some favoring these for rock music with more pronounced bass. We're you considering noise cancelling headphones? I suspect not so much, since the Audio Technica M50X headphones you asked about are closed back non-noise cancelling. Whatever the headphones you consider, be sure the impedence of the headphones are appropriate for the amplifier you consider.. Higher impedence models such as HD600, HD650 (300 ohm) pair well with tube amplifiers while lower impedence models may favor solid state amplifiers. These are general comments, and not absolutes

 

[Uncle AL]

Thank you for the welcome Uncle Al. If the Q701s are not good with a tube headphone amp. There's a YT video that a guy made and says the Q701s sound awesome on a Schiit Vali, which is a hybrid tube amp. I would be interested in knowing what you use.

Started out with Sennheiser PXC450s and AKG Q701s with several amps, Fiio E17, E09 then Practical Devices XM6, which was a really sweet yet powerful portable amp, then made jump to HD650 headphones with a Little Dot MK IV SE. That is my favorite combo, so far, and big difference when compared to SS amps or hybrid amps.

 

[TheDreamthinker]

 
Hmmm, very interesting. I only purchased the Pros as the regular CK100s had been discontinued without notice and was offered these at the same price. I wasn't even aware the Pros had done the same.
 
I could definitely see these not being to many people's taste and being terrible with certain sources. The Cowon J3 was never a great match for them, and that's why the Sony was a rather pleasant match up.

 
Lucky you.
 
I found getting a proper seal on the ck100pro a bit difficult.
 
Imo their sound is very difficult to explain, They are bright, but not necessarily harsh. I would describe them as 'shouty' and extremely sensitive (i had a constant hissing noise floor with my rig).
 
I heard from other reviewers that the ZX1 mesurements show that it has a substancial noise floor. So that makes me wonder how the ck100pro works so well with them.
 

 
Sadly AT didn't bring out a direct successor to take its place.

 

[MattLanham]

   
Lucky you.
 
I found getting a proper seal on the ck100pro a bit difficult.
 
Imo their sound is very difficult to explain, They are bright, but not necessarily harsh. I would describe them as 'shouty' and extremely sensitive (i had a constant hissing noise floor with my rig).
 
I heard from other reviewers that the ZX1 mesurements show that it has a substancial noise floor. So that makes me wonder how the ck100pro works so well with them.
 
Sadly AT didn't bring out a direct successor to take its place.

 
I get the seal thing. They have a very fat nozzle on them, and it took me a while to get comfortable with them. Even now-a-days if I start smiling or generally moving my mouth a lot, they can feel very tight and a little sore.
 
Overall, I think you have described their sound quite well, except I don't personally find them to be shouty at all. I would actually go the opposite end and say they are actually quite polite. I guess it's either a source pairing or just different ways of hearing the same thing
 
They suffered quite a bit of hiss when paired with the J3, but nothing from the ZX1. I was a little worried about that when purchasing the ZX1, but previous Sony players had always worked well for me in that regard.
 
Yeah, I looked into that after you mentioned it. Oh well, I guess that solves my future dilemma of staying put or moving on.

 

[TheDreamthinker]

 
I get the seal thing. They have a very fat nozzle on them, and it took me a while to get comfortable with them. Even now-a-days if I start smiling or generally moving my mouth a lot, they can feel very tight and a little sore.
 
Overall, I think you have described their sound quite well, except I don't personally find them to be shouty at all. I would actually go the opposite end and say they are actually quite polite. I guess it's either a source pairing or just different ways of hearing the same thing
 
They suffered quite a bit of hiss when paired with the J3, but nothing from the ZX1. I was a little worried about that when purchasing the ZX1, but previous Sony players had always worked well for me in that regard.
 
Yeah, I looked into that after you mentioned it. Oh well, I guess that solves my future dilemma of staying put or moving on.

 
I found them shouty, probably because i am using a fairly bright setup.
That's why i put them away after 15min because my ears got sore (and i felt deaf afterward - not due to high volume that is). 
 
You may want to try the IM02 or the IM03 - people told me that they are supposed the be 'successors' of the ck100pro. I personally doubt it, but give them a try.

 

[Bothand Nether]

Another Long time Lurker Here.
 
I just want to thank You folx for all the invaluable information that You have provided since i first came here to parse reviews.
 
I am a professional artist/musician,originally from Long Beach california....
-recently moved to the Mountains 5700 feet above it, to finally track My own songs, and finish My own art.
 
I was raised without a television, so I read a lot
 
I collect/use vintage tubes & vintage Amplifiers.
 
I stuffed a silicon chip Theremin into a vintage Drive-in Speaker enclosure, & am learning to play it.
 
I know little about electronics, but I know what sounds good to Me, and as a Recording Engineer, My ears are fairly discriminating.

 
I believe that objective,constructive feedback is the most helpful, but when someone posts something that is not factual, I will sometimes try to add some facts. (politely)
 
When i have sufficient permissions to edit my profile, I'll list my relevant gear/links there.
 
But for now:
 
My Music on soundcloud
 
A shot of My studio is on My Graphic Design Portfolio Page
 
My Hi-Fi soundstages (so far)
 
AKG Q 350 IEMs
AKG K240 Reference Headphones
AKG Q701 Heedphones
Emotiva XDA 2 DAC
Parrot Zik Bluetooth Headphones
 
Event Tria Active 2.1 near field reference Monitors
Event 20/20 passive Monitors
Yamaha NS-10m near field reference Monitors
Yamaha P-2200 Amplifier
 
Looking forward to contributing what I can, whenever it can help.
 
Rae

 

[RomalusIV]

Hey everyone,

I've been lurking here for a long time and Head-Fi has been my go to for reviews and advice whenever I buy a new piece of equipment.

I got interested in audio equipment and the hi-fi world when I started doing research to buy my first pair of higher end (>$100) headphones. I came here and ended up with a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ESW9A's that sounded fantastic and got me hooked.

Since purchasing the ATH-ESW9's, I've gotten:

Sennheiser Momentum over ear headphones

Emotiva Airmotiv 5s

SMSL SD793-II

and I'm already looking at some new open back headphones and other amps and preamps.

As I've gotten more and more into audio, I've been coming back to head-fi more and more to learn about the different aspects of sound and learning to listen to music more actively. It just made sense to make an account and officially join the community considering how long I've been lurking. I'm definitely looking forward to being more involved in the community and learning a whole lot more.

 

[francez]

Hi
 
It will be nice to have some feedback from u guys