[utdeep]

Congrats! I ended up ordering the Kuro from Price Japan. The Kaede would have been great if I could use another grand on IEMs.

 

[shigzeo]

 
I'm glad I had decided early on that I couldn't afford KAEDE. I wanted it so badly, though. Anyway, for those, who like me, don't have the dosh to nab KAEDE, the modded CKM55 is a great earphone at a good price. It's a great way to get into the Ocharaku family. By the way, I'm in! And here is my review.

 

[bobeau]

I don't mean to stir stuff up... but I was perusing Rin's site over the weekend and noticed he did a writeup on the Flat-4.  And I don't recall seeing anything about it on head-fi.  I was considering purchasing some Kuros but after seeing this have decided to wait until I can hear them at a meet.
 
http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2013/04/ocharaku-flat4-sui-part2-general.html

 

[shigzeo]

That's old hat. SUI is my least favourite precisely due to what I called a suckout in the upper midrange. KAEDE is different again. If you're looking for a perfect earphone, ER4. If you're looking for an earphone with a certain sound, then forget Rin's blog.

If earphones were designed to sound exactly the same, they'd sound the same. We would all wear grey clothes, work at the Ministry of Truth, and round corners to posters of big brother.

Don't bother going to a meet. The only earphone that will pass Rin's vetting has been out for years. It has its fans precisely because it is flat.

Go get it.

Flat4 isn't for you because it has a sound all its own.

 

[music_4321]

I hear many kids these days aren't hanging posters of their favourite pop stars on the walls of their bedrooms anymore — they're hanging frequency response graphs instead. I hear the ER4S is the new Michael Jackson, the F111 is the new Beatles, etc.

 

[Inks]

Quote:

That's old hat. SUI is my least favourite precisely due to what I called a suckout in the upper midrange. KAEDE is different again. If you're looking for a perfect earphone, ER4. If you're looking for an earphone with a certain sound, then forget Rin's blog.

If earphones were designed to sound exactly the same, they'd sound the same. We would all wear grey clothes, work at the Ministry of Truth, and round corners to posters of big brother.

Don't bother going to a meet. The only earphone that will pass Rin's vetting has been out for years. It has its fans precisely because it is flat.

Go get it.

Flat4 isn't for you because it has a sound all its own.

All earphones compromise and ER4 is not the flattest IEM there is, it too has compromises. Plenty of earphones do well in Rin's analysis and they all sound very different, Flat-4 just wasn't one of them. Personally I thought it was a poor effort,unique but not in a good way. 

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

All earphones compromise and ER4 is not the flattest IEM there is, it too has compromises. Plenty of earphones do well in Rin's analysis and they all sound very different, Flat-4 just wasn't one of them. Personally I thought it was a poor effort,unique but not in a good way. 

How can a poor effort be good, in any way?

 

[Inks]

Exactly. Soundstage was cool but that's it. Harsh treble, bass lacked body, midrange recessed and timbre was weird.

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

That's old hat. SUI is my least favourite precisely due to what I called a suckout in the upper midrange. KAEDE is different again. If you're looking for a perfect earphone, ER4. If you're looking for an earphone with a certain sound, then forget Rin's blog.

If earphones were designed to sound exactly the same, they'd sound the same. We would all wear grey clothes, work at the Ministry of Truth, and round corners to posters of big brother.

Don't bother going to a meet. The only earphone that will pass Rin's vetting has been out for years. It has its fans precisely because it is flat.

Go get it.

Flat4 isn't for you because it has a sound all its own.

 
Sorry to bring this up being old hat, as I said haven't seen it mentioned before and have been following the Flat-4 discussions for awhile now.
 
Not that this matters, but I had an ER4 for years and don't like it - now using a 334 and was just curious about something different.  Not so much the graphs (though I don't do well with edgy treble), more so  the conclusion where he posits the designer did not quite meet the objectives set out to achieve with the design.  I'm going to have to hear it before a purchase, that's all.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Exactly. Soundstage was cool but that's it. Harsh treble, bass lacked body, midrange recessed and timbre was weird.

SUI is not my favourite. In fact, I disliked it from the beginning. My comments are in this thread I believe. KAEDE I loved almost immediately. KURO is another great option. Neither one will be ruler flat. Soundstage is wide on each and low end details are superb. The midrange 'hole' that I mentioned and that Rin's graphs bring to light, has more or less been smoothed out in the other models. The CKM55? Something different again. Completely different.

 

[Mimouille]

Quote:

 
Sorry to bring this up being old hat, as I said haven't seen it mentioned before and have been following the Flat-4 discussions for awhile now.
 
Not that this matters, but I had an ER4 for years and don't like it - now using a 334 and was just curious about something different.  Not so much the graphs (though I don't do well with edgy treble), more so  the conclusion where he posits the designer did not quite meet the objectives set out to achieve with the design.  I'm going to have to hear it before a purchase, that's all.

Damn...you woke Graphy Graph up, he is now ready to ruin another thread...

 

[lee730]

I actually like the Flat 4 Sui. Now if the Kaede improves upon it that's great. But I don't think the Sui sounds bad at all . Going from other headfiers impressions the Sui isn't far off from the Kaede at all and doesn't justify the price difference if anything.
 

 

[shigzeo]

lee, I'm not saying SUI is bad. I just don't like it. I prefer a bit more attacking edge in the upper mids. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it, but it won't be a favourite of mine, ever. 

 

[lee730]

So basically the Kaede doesn't have as much recession in the mid range I take?

 

[Carlsan]

How does the KURO fit in? Compared to the Kaede and SUI, that is.
Just ordered it a few days ago.