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OK3s: A review...
Mar 13, 2008 at 10:55 PM Post #46 of 87
Thanks for your impressions, souperman. I take it you had no fit issues with the OK3 in earbud mode, despite it being a bit thicker than the PK3?
 
Mar 13, 2008 at 11:02 PM Post #47 of 87
Quote:

Originally Posted by epithetless /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thanks for your impressions, souperman. I take it you had no fit issues with the OK3 in earbud mode, despite it being a bit thicker than the PK3?


Yeah earbud is no problems. However the PK3's were a bit small for me and I used a solid foam pad with a donut pad on top to get a good fit. That said, the OK3's only needed a donut on them for them to fit well. That's just my ears though, not everyones so YMMV. Geez I'm really enjoying these. My SR60's and HD580's are stored safely away and my HFI780's are getting recabled so these OK3's are serving me real well as my computer setup
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Mar 14, 2008 at 1:54 AM Post #48 of 87
Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So I just got my OK3's in today.

First off I would like to say that I am interested in the OK3 only for the earbud, as I don't need the isolation, so most of this review will be about the earbud.

The cable, jacks, and build are basically the same quality as the PK3's. The OK3 earbuds are a bit thicker than the PK3's. It is a Y-cord and much longer which I think is good.

I will be extensively comparing the OK3's to the PK3's as EARBUDS as that is what I am most interested in. Remember that these are entry-level earbuds, so if I make any extreme comments, please regard them as in the realm of entry level earbuds. These are not and will not outperform full-sized, more expensive headphones (I think
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).

The canal tubes are way too short for my ears. I got one of the early samples so I didn't get the longer tubes as a sample to review. So far none of the tips will fit completely in my ear and seal anything because the earbud keeps them from going any further into my ear. I will not be able to do a review on the canalphone since it sounds horrible and tinny without it inserting all the way into my ears.

Now to the earbud review.

First impressions of the OK3 are very good. I am using the donut foamies with the both OK3 and PK3. First thing I noticed was more clarity and soundstage than the PK3. Not by much, but better. There is a bit less bass (so slight that it does not matter to me), but it is nice, tight, and punchy. I am quite the punchy bass enthusiast and these satisfy as far as earbuds go. I listen to primarily rock music and acoustic guitar music. I will be doing this review based on a few tracks. My source is a Sony S618 which has one of the best headphone outs I have heard.


Strung Out - The Misanthropic Principle

This song is a very good rock track to measure the bass impact of my rock music. Typically headphones with boomy bass make the bass drum sound very muddy. This is not the case with the OK3's. Each drum kick can be distinguished clearly from one another, and each one is clear and distinguished. However, I could ask for a bit more quantity.

Antoine Dufour - Spiritual Groove

This is an acoustic guitar piece that I just absolutely love. Out of the OK3's, the acoustic sound is wonderful. The mids on the OK3's are so liquidy smooth, which are so good for acoustic guitar music. One thing that I noticed that lacks (both the OK3 and PK3) is the soundstage however. Not that there isn't any, but there could be a bit more, but I don't think I have heard this good of soundstage off of any earbud.

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2

I just threw in a classical piece just to get a taste of what the OK3's can do. The piano sounded wonderful, and the orchestra sounded great. I wanted to get a feel for the soundstage of the OK3's and they truly are a fun rocker's headphone. PK3's sound like you are a few rows from the front, while the OK3's puts you a few rows behind the PK3's. However, the soundstage on full-sized headphones like my HD580 is much better (quite expectedly).


Final Conclusion

I would just like to say that I absolutely love the OK3's. Take my word for what it is. I am not saying that it is the end-all be all headphone. It is the PERFECT headphone for portable use, and along with the canalphone you can have isolation or no isolation. I prefer no isolation. It depends on what the price of these will be, but if they are priced similarly to the PK3's, I would not hesitate to recommend these to anyone and everyone as they are a very fun portable headphone to carry around. They definitely beat out the other portables that are highly regarded that aren't even earbuds, like the Senn PX100's and Koss PortaPros that I have auditioned extensively for portable use. Thumbs up to Yuin and Head-Direct for the great customer service!


Thanks for the review. Seems we had some overlap on our OK3 perspective. As you can see, I had a little more improvement with the Comply foamies, but the earbud is still the better SQ platform, as you note. I too don't care all that much for isolation with the OK3s, because I will use them for situations where I don't need complete sound iso (much as the same with the PK3s). I also didn't care much for the J-cord, so the longer Y-cord is another improvement.

If the longer tubes don't bring the canalphone OK3s (and the entire OK lineup for that matter) on par in SQ to the earbuds, most buyers should realize that the OKs will not replace your current favorite canalphones or IEMs. But as earbuds go, they are untouchable in all three classes (entry level, mid-priced and $150+).
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 12:58 PM Post #52 of 87
Are the drivers any different from the ones in the pk series?

I love my pk3's and I really wish it had more isolation.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 1:56 PM Post #54 of 87
Quote:

Originally Posted by Nankai /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Important: When OKs work in in-ear mode, please still use the donut foam.


Hmm, thanks for that. I will give it a shot right now.

Edit: Wow, at least with the Complys (which I still had on), it seems to be much better, as the foamies are acting as a sound seal. The hollow/echo thinness seems to be gone. I guess you should be careful to point that out to users/buyers somehow. I would have thought not to leave the donuts on. Also, the fit still seems loose feeling, but that should be rectified with the longer tubes.

I do find the Comply tips more comfy than the ear bud format, so I expect I will use this combo. It also makes it much easier to do a comparison of the two modes, which I think I will do today. But I can notice an immediate improvement, at least with the T400 tips. Not going back to the silicone tips, because I prefer foamies.

Thanks Fang.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 3:43 PM Post #55 of 87
Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm, thanks for that. I will give it a shot right now.

Edit: Wow, at least with the Complys (which I still had on), it seems to be much better, as the foamies are acting as a sound seal. The hollow/echo thinness seems to be gone. I guess you should be careful to point that out to users/buyers somehow. I would have thought not to leave the donuts on. Also, the fit still seems loose feeling, but that should be rectified with the longer tubes.

I do find the Comply tips more comfy than the ear bud format, so I expect I will use this combo. It also makes it much easier to do a comparison of the two modes, which I think I will do today. But I can notice an immediate improvement, at least with the T400 tips. Not going back to the silicone tips, because I prefer foamies.

Thanks Fang.


Hey Fang,

I still have a problem with putting these into my ears. I think it's because the buds are too big for it to go any further so the tubes can't extend into my ear.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 3:59 PM Post #56 of 87
Agree, in that even with the Complys, they seem ready to fall out. But maybe the Comply tips' somewhat snugger fit decreases the sound leakage problem. Of course, that means spending more money to make them work as canalphones. But even so, the longer tubes seem critical (should have been the default tubes).
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 7:23 PM Post #57 of 87
Today I brought them around school as a trial run for portable headphones. I never though I'd say this, but I had gripes about the PK3's short cable, and the J-cord. I now realize how much I've taken it for granted. The OK3 cable is way too long, and the Y-cord is actually less convenient than the J-cord. Also, each wire leading to each bud is ridiculously long. I would say that are about a foot long. I guess I'd rather stay with the PK3's form factor. I also noticed that the OK3's are slightly too big for my ears whereas the PK3's are just perfect. Right now, the PK3's beat the OK3's in terms of build and form factor, but the OK3's still have the better SQ. Fang, I'm wondering if you guys are planning on changing the cable in anyway. I recommend for the OK3 (the most likely used as a daily portable out of the OK series), that you guys make the wires that go to each earbud shorter, and the whole cable length shorter as well. I would be happy to see them in J-cord as well. Let me know what you think.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 7:44 PM Post #58 of 87
Funny you should mention that. I thought I'd prefer the Y-cord too (after all the complaining I did about the J-cord), but I took mine to a poker room recently, and found the OK3 cable way too long (felt like a ball and chain, getting in the way). To try and remedy it, I grabbed an extra shirt clip I had, and attached it right below the Y joint, and that helped stabilize it a little. But by it's sheer length, it is cumbersome. Again, nothing to do with SQ.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 8:52 PM Post #59 of 87
from the design i look from the picture, i doubt the OK series had good isolation.
 
Mar 14, 2008 at 8:58 PM Post #60 of 87
Nope. Isolation is not good, mainly because of the short sound tube, I think. The earbuds are what they are, but even with the Complys, they just don't feel snug or deep enough. Better than the stock tips, but still loose and a little leaky.
 
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