[shigzeo]

Sounds great! Glad to hear you like 'em and yes, even ported drivers crinkle.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

Okay, I just picked these up from the post office. Obviously they haven't burnt in yet (and burn in should be interesting, considering I'm burning in two drivers at once).
 
My initial impressions out of the box are, they actually sound like a much more refined version of the Audio Technica CKS70's - or maybe out of box CK 90Pros with more timbre, with treble not nearly as recessed, and bass not nearly as overwhelming. The bass is the standout so far - wet, sonorous but not exagerrated. That said, resolution doesn't seem as good as something like the BA based CK 90Pro. One thing that they have over these other two is that there is no real shrillness anywhere on the frequency spectrum, and a frequency sweep through them sounds pretty smooth to me. They are ported, so have a open soundstage similar to the CKS70. These are of course all initial impressions, and I'm pretty excited about how they will sound with burn in. I'm not absolutely blown away at this point though.
 
Fit is actually okay for me - similar to the way CKS70's fit. I can see why people would find these awkward, but my ears are okay. The problem is because the majority of the weight is away from the ear canal, they seem to naturally want to pull out. The included tips are horrible and add to the problem by not being grippy enough. Sony hybrid tips seem to work better with the slightly sticky feel of the silicon.
 
A really scary thing happened: I must have taken out the right earphone too fast and displaced the bass drive in it, because when I put them back in I heard a crinkling noise and there was no bass in the right earphone. What's really bizarre was that I could still hear the treble driver, so I got the chance to listen to that driver by itself! Pretty weak and thin. I managed to solve the problem by moving the earphone in and out of my ear like a plunger, and the driver 'popped' back into place. I assumed that this kind of thing wouldn't happen with ported dynamic phones, so be warned!
 
The box is fantastic!

Nice first impressions @ a_recording. Thanks for the good, the bad  and the ugly. I hope they open up better for you as you burn them in. Since I've never heard any of the Audio Techs, I still have no point of reference, but I appreciate your efforts.

 

[a_recording]

Haha yes it's unfortunate that we don't have any common earphones EricP, otherwise you could relax a little. The DDM's (I'm going to call them that because that's what they say on the box and the actual name is too difficult - Dual Diaphragm Matrix, kinda like ADDIEM) are opening up as we speak. One nice aspect is that soundstage is really very wide, especially since they are open. On some tracks (like sparklehorse albums) vocals sound close enough that they are whispering in your ear, and on other tracks they are nice and far out. Pianos and cellos sound really sweet on them.
 
It seems like bass extension is even greater than CKS70's, which is honestly quite frightening. The 15mm driver moves a lot of air, and the bass is very layered. Orchestral stuff sounds really comfortable on these.
 
I discovered that over the ear these are actually decently comfortable.

 

[koonhua90]

I am sure Eric is anxious to know whether the 15mm DDM drivers will beat his 10mm single wooden driver...haha. or whether it will beat his BA dynamic hybrid driver.

 

[KLS]

Thanks for the impression @a_recording! I hope that the bass driver issue isn't going to happen to you again, and hope that future owners won't have this problem.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

I am sure Eric is anxious to know whether the 15mm DDM drivers will beat his 10mm single wooden driver...haha. or whether it will beat his BA dynamic hybrid driver.

a_recording has anticipated some of my questions @ koonhua, so I thank him and you. lol... Well koonhua, no matter how good the DDMs are (I like that name suggestion by the way) I don't think it will replace my love for the FX700. By the way @ koonhua, I have an old iPod Classic 80 gig. I Rockboxed it and it really pushes the FX700 in another realm (widens the soundstage more and separates the instruments even more). You might want to think about Rockboxing an old DAP if you have one lying around. Well, like I said earlier, there is finally movement, so maybe by the end of this week or early next. I'm trying to be patient.

 

[koonhua90]

Quote:

a_recording has anticipated some of my questions @ koonhua, so I thank him and you. lol... Well koonhua, no matter how good the DDMs are (I like that name suggestion by the way) I don't think it will replace my love for the FX700. By the way @ koonhua, I have an old iPod Classic 80 gig. I Rockboxed it and it really pushes the FX700 in another realm (widens the soundstage more and separates the instruments even more). You might want to think about Rockboxing an old DAP if you have one lying around. Well, like I said earlier, there is finally movement, so maybe by the end of this week or early next. I'm trying to be patient.

My old DAP is the samsung yp-z5. And as for the SQ, it's a class above the Nano I have, and somehow I feel that after I updated the firmware, the SQ becomes slightly better, with better bass, the noise level is slightly lower too. It might be placebo though. I think there's no rockbox for this samsung...and I realize that as time goes on, the FX smooth out quite a bit. There is less likely to have sudden harshness in the treble anymore...perhaps due to the wooden diaphragm softening a bit...even if I don't believe in burn in, I have more reason to believe that the wooden diaphragm does change a little bit as time goes.
 
Edit: to not cause confusion, I'd say that compared to the Nano 5G, the samsung has a much well controlled bass. It does not get in the way of mid and treble, unlike on Nano. The vocal has a fuller body to it on the samsung. Nano has good imaging, but the samsung is a touch better. On the samsung, the air, space and depth between different instruments are much better reflected. The treble on samsung is more sparkling, and well developed. Overall, nano has a warm presentation, while the samsung is more neutral.
 
Eric, maybe not this version of radius, but the next version of radius with improved ergonomics and improved treble might give the FX a run for the money.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Wow, a lot has been happening over the past few weeks! The right driver of my IE8 came to an unfortunate halt today. The sad thing is that I don't even have an ibud to listen to. Thought I'd check around here and was bombarded by all these "little treasures". The cornucopia of IEMs available these days is stifling haha. Nevertheless, that they appear to be of high caliber and seemingly outperforming "the venerables" is a good thing. I still think a lot of them should have friendlier prices. Hence, am particularly interested in the Radius DDM haha ( Absolutely apt naming by the way a_recording; it'll serve us well to record it!) as they are not that expensive, relatively speaking of course. I might be able to check these out whilst in Japan next week. Until then, I ardently await for further impressions.
 
By the way can anyone who owns these verify whether or not there is a metal mesh-like covering over the nozzle similar to that of the IE8. I hope not, those things are almost impossible to clean.
 
Edit: what the heck is this avatar doing in my profile?

 

[jant71]

 
Quote:

 
By the way can anyone who owns these verify whether or not there is a metal mesh-like covering over the nozzle similar to that of the IE8. I hope not, those things are almost impossible to clean.
 
 

 
On the mesh, they do have a metal mesh. It is convex so it curves out and is flat/even with the egde/lip of the stem so it is not hard to reach but the mesh may still be hard to clean if needed.
 
I can report some burn-in improvement over the first night. I like, a_recording wasn't blown away with them but today they have shown improvement in the bass layering and specificity of notes as it has tightened up. They seem to have opened up a bit on the soundstage and sound bigger than out of the box.
 
I also think they can be easier to fit after getting used to them. I picked them up and put them in one, two, three. More fiddling on the first day. I was checking burn in progress and 3 seconds later I did a double take realizing how easy they went in. To be fair I was a bit sick yesterday so It might have been that I was a bit irritable.
 
Like a_recording I have on hand a CK90 Pro on loan from Joker. But I don't have any driver flex on my pair of DDM's. They do seem to resolve as much as the Technica but don't have the clarity. Still, they are clearing and tightening up so things are still changing. They did catch up on the CK90 Pro since out of the box when they had less separation. Now they seem to have almost caught up to the Technica.
 
Starting to see things heading toward what Shigzeo hears from an older pair.
 
   

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

I can report some burn-in improvement over the first night. I like, a_recording wasn't blown away with them but today they have shown improvement in the bass layering and specificity of notes as it has tightened up. They seem to have opened up a bit on the soundstage and sound bigger than out of the box.
...
 
Like a_recording I have on hand a CK90 Pro on loan from Joker. But I don't have any driver flex on my pair of DDM's. They do seem to resolve as much as the Technica but don't have the clarity. Still, they are clearing and tightening up so things are still changing. They did catch up on the CK90 Pro since out of the box when they had less separation. Now they seem to have almost caught up to the Technica.
 
Starting to see things heading toward what Shigzeo hears from an older pair.
 
   

 
I'm finding the absolute same thing - burning them in overnight in the sock drawer, they have really cleared up and become much more transparent. Everything is much tighter now. I'd agree that they aren't as crisp and energetic as the CK90 Pros. On the flipside they also sound more polite and smooth. Because they are ported and open to an extent, soundstage advantage is really on the DDM's side. Thanks to their bass extension, everything has a lot more body behind it as well.
 
Jant71, are the CK90Pros stock or has the foam been modified? 
 
I'm still getting driver flex in the right ear, which makes me very worried whenever I take them in and out. The entire bass driver 'popping' has happened a few times since last post. However, I'm also getting accustomed to the fit.
 
I'm glad my suggestion of the DDM nomenclature is so popular - but what will happen when the new Radius DDM's are released? : / 
 

 

[rawrster]

when the new ones are released I'll go and buy them! ...maybe

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

when the new ones are released I'll go and buy them! ...maybe

Haha I meant more, what to call them. Or maybe they will have a name that may be pronounced by the human tongue and glottal superstructure.

 

[ericp10]

Thanks for more updates @ a_recording and jant71. So, what tips are you guys using and what size? Do either of you have the IE8, Monster, Orto or JVC? If so, how does it compare to those in bass and midrange. How is the midrange by the way? I have never heard an Audio Tech, so it's really hard for me to understand the comparison with the CKS70 or CK90Pro.

 

[rawrster]

Actually the one thing I'm interested in most is the bass. a_recording, how do you compare the bass extension and impact with the CK90PRO? That's the one that I've heard the most recent of all your earphones so probably the best comparison for me.

 

[Fernito]

Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread. Where can I buy these phones? Thanks in advance.