Review of Audio Technica ATH-CKR9 & ATH-CKR10

[earfonia]

  Okay, with 64 hours on the CKR 9 I am FINALLY hearing some significant change and a fuller sound. Let's see where this goes. 

 
Sounds good!
Looks like half way to go.... Go on to 150 hours 

 

[Dsnuts]

I am definitely impressed with how these CKR9s are turning out..They have some sweetness to the sound because of a tiny bit of aluminum enhanced treble lift, something I am familiar with in the CKN70s. These are way more refined however.. Back on the burner they go.

 

[earfonia]

  I am definitely impressed with how these CKR9s are turning out..They have some sweetness to the sound because of a tiny bit of aluminum enhanced treble lift, something I am familiar with in the CKN70s. These are way more refined however.. Back on the burner they go.

 
Nice! Burn it more and let's see how it transforms

 

[adammax]

I am definitely impressed with how these CKR9s are turning out..They have some sweetness to the sound because of a tiny bit of aluminum enhanced treble lift, something I am familiar with in the CKN70s. These are way more refined however.. Back on the burner they go.

Waiting for ur fx850 vs ckr9 impression after burn in.

 

[Dsnuts]

The sound on these CKR9s are very nice.. They do have a more spacious presentation over the CKR10 but there is a reason why I like the CKR10 more so than the CKR9. The CKR9 however for the money is going to be the best value in the CKR line..I am certain guys will be happy with this sound..It is not the most neutral and not the most musical of phones but I would say somewhere between the 2 main sound signatures in the $200 plus range of earphone sounds.
 
My pair has almost 100 hours of burn in and they do open up with better clarity and detail. The Treble on these I find interesting. It does have a touch of sweetness to the treble region that adds just a bit of emphasis for vocals and upper mid instruments. It sounds natural and is refined very well in the region with no harshness or off tonality. A fluid spacious sound..  
 
Owning both the CKR10 and CKR9s I can say both of these phones deserve the spot light on headfi for certain. How do these compare to the FX850.? To my ears that woodie timbre is hard to beat. These CKR9s sweet sounding timbre and balanced sound is excellent for the price but I think the same for the price point for the FX850..I like them both but if I was to choose one of them it would have to be the FX850 for me. 
 
Now the CKR10s. I still regard as the best immersive vocal presentation for any phone including the FX850.. The sound signature has more forward a signature and one does have to adjust to the sound more so than the CKR9 but once adjusted it rewards with one of the most unbelievable surround type fullness and will make your favorite vocal tracks the best you have ever heard for anything regarding vocals. And to me that makes the CKR10 special. I agree with earfonia that the CKR9 will appeal to a broader fan base for sound as it is the safer tuning, but for guys that love different sound designs and own more than a few great sounding phones will definitely appreciate what the CKR10 has to offer..
 
Both the CKR9 and the CKR10 are very worthy of your time and money.

 

[vlenbo]

The sound on these CKR9s are very nice.. They do have a more spacious presentation over the CKR10 but there is a reason why I like the CKR10 more so than the CKR9. The CKR9 however for the money is going to be the best value in the CKR line..I am certain guys will be happy with this sound..It is not the most neutral and not the most musical of phones but I would say somewhere between the 2 main sound signatures in the $200 plus range of earphone sounds.

My pair has almost 100 hours of burn in and they do open up with better clarity and detail. The Treble on these I find interesting. It does have a touch of sweetness to the treble region that adds just a bit of emphasis for vocals and upper mid instruments. It sounds natural and is refined very well in the region with no harshness or off tonality. A fluid spacious sound..  

Owning both the CKR10 and CKR9s I can say both of these phones deserve the spot light on headfi for certain. How do these compare to the FX850.? To my ears that woodie timbre is hard to beat. These CKR9s sweet sounding timbre and balanced sound is excellent for the price but I think the same for the price point for the FX850..I like them both but if I was to choose one of them it would have to be the FX850 for me. 

Now the CKR10s. I still regard as the best immersive vocal presentation for any phone including the FX850.. The sound signature has more forward a signature and one does have to adjust to the sound more so than the CKR9 but once adjusted it rewards with one of the most unbelievable surround type fullness and will make your favorite vocal tracks the best you have ever heard for anything regarding vocals. And to me that makes the CKR10 special. I agree with earfonia that the CKR9 will appeal to a broader fan base for sound as it is the safer tuning, but for guys that love different sound designs and own more than a few great sounding phones will definitely appreciate what the CKR10 has to offer..

Both the CKR9 and the CKR10 are very worthy of your time and money.

Awesome weite up dsnuts.

Never mind the question, i know wgat you meant now.

May buy the ckr10s after fx850.

 

[earfonia]

Excellent dsnuts! Thanks a lot for your impression!

True that CKR tonality might not be the most musical, and might need some adaptation to it. That's what happened to me and some friends who tried the CKR9 and 10. Although another friend of mine like the ckr9 immediately, but that's case by case.

Please try them more with percussion, as i think that's where the dual push-pull design shines

 

[Randius]

So no love for the CKR10? 

 

[vlenbo]

  So no love for the CKR10? 

I'm pretty sure the only reason the ckr10s do not get much attention is its price point.
 
However, from what dsnuts and earfonia are saying, the ckr10s are definitely another flavor that people should definitely not neglect to hear.
 
 
For those who don't understand (and pardon me if I offend you with this sentence) I can only offer this explanation.
 
 
Ckr9s: From what I hear, the mid to uppermidrange sounds so intoxicatingly sweet and thick. It's not as thick as the xba-h3s, but it isn't far behind. The bass in the ckr series, as earfonia said, is pretty detailed and pretty tight with beautiful texture. This also makes percussion pretty sweet to hear on this iem (as well as the ckr10 as their bass aren't too different), and the bass quantity on both make the vocals pretty thick, but not overly excessive like the m200s (imo).
 
The mids are more forward on the ckr10s while having the same type of surround sound staging that the ckr9s contain, which impresses dsnuts the most because one would expect the vocals to overwhelm the staging, but the forward and thick vocals only add musicality to the ckr10s as it sounds unbelivably beautiful while keeping the awesome imaging and depth of the soundstage, not to forget the height that goes along with the depth.
 
The highs must be what made the ckr9s unbelievably sweet and fluid on the ckr9s, which is why I stated that the ckr9s sound syrupy, similar to the ckm500s but better controlled and refined. The ckm500s didn't exhibit the treble lifted aluminum though, so it could have possibly been from the ckn70. 
 
The ckr10s and ckr9s are pretty good together from their impressions, as the ckr10s don't have a problem with its signature except tonality (if one wants a neutral soundsignature with a balanced mid high and low), but the rest of the frequency does not suffer any consequence from the lifted mids, which makes the ckr10 another contender to the iem market.
 
The price is what inhibits others to purchase, but that should alleviate after more impressions.

 

[earfonia]

  I'm pretty sure the only reason the ckr10s do not get much attention is its price point.
 
However, from what dsnuts and earfonia are saying, the ckr10s are definitely another flavor that people should definitely not neglect to hear.
 

 
+1
That's right!

 

[kameenadesi]

ooooh CKR10, new contender... mmmmm

Would also like to see a brief comparison of Sony H3 vs CKR9/10

 

[ericp10]

Oh yeaaaaaaa!!!  CKR9!!! 

 

[ericp10]

Well, I can't say that the bass is more in quantity than the H3 or FX850, but I can clearly say that CKR9 is some of the best quality bass and drum I've heard in an earphone. Very natural and realistic with great body and weight. AT got this part right! And I wouldn't call them basshead earphones, but it's not bass-light. I would baal the signature balanced. I love the bass in the TE-05,and this is like a better fuller bass of what's in the terrific TE-05.

 

[vlenbo]

Oh yeaaaaaaa!!!  CKR9!!! 

I wonder if you hit the 100 hour mark...

Its really

Hard to


Tell...

(Insert hilariously sarcastic picture here)

I hope the signature is settling in.

 

[ericp10]

I wonder if you hit the 100 hour mark...

Its really

Hard to


Tell...

(Insert hilariously sarcastic picture here)

I hope the signature is settling in.

 
About 80 hours.