Review of Audio Technica ATH-CKR9 & ATH-CKR10

[earfonia]

Have been listening to JVC HA-FX850, the woodie, using DX90, and I really miss the toe tapping bass & the superb dynamic of the CKR9 

 

[earfonia]

I completely agree aith your review earfonia. 

These ckr iem lineup are amazong, the bazz,has been a treat, along with the mids and highs!


Hopefully youll get the ckr9 in the future. 

 
Yeah, hopefully, starting to miss the CKR9 bass already... 

 
 
Quote:

  My time on the burner has yielded a tighter, smoother more cleaner sounding CKR10..I will have my CKR9s and CKR5s early next week so I look forward to hearing them.

 
When you get your CKR9 and CKR5, kindly please post some impression of how they sound before burn-in.
 
If my memory serves me right, my impression for CKR9 before burn-in was, there was some peaky glaring treble, and overall tonality was not linear. But after 1 week burn-in, the peaky treble gone.
Thanks! 

 

 

[vlenbo]

When you get your CKR9 and CKR5, kindly please post some impression of how they sound before burn-in.

If my memory serves me right, my impression for CKR9 before burn-in was, there was some peaky glaring treble, and overall tonality was not linear. But after 1 week burn-in, the peaky treble gone.
Thanks! :wink_face:  

I second this, with me, pre-burn in had a lack of treble sparkle, and then came the secent sparkle that it lacked

 

[kameenadesi]

subscribed!

 

[adammax]

Hi guys,
 
Agreeing with earfonia with regards to the pre burn in CKR9 on the glaring, peaky treble. Had an audition at e1 Singapore with A/B comparison with CKR7/9/10. CKR7 bass is too boomy. Put it down after listening to one track. I was told some put it down after 30s.
 
CKR9 and 10 is a different story all together. Given the pre burn in, I've probably didnt hear the true sound signature of the CKR9/10. From initial impression, 10 sounded abit warmer vs 9. Bass has more presence in 10. The bass from Dynamics driver does really sounded different from BAs, Wouldnt say its better or worse. Just different. Bass is tight and punchy and musical.  For treble, both sounded, like earfonia's impression, peaky and glaring. I find the 9 is more neutral vs the warmer 10. On the soundstage, I find it narrow. Some may call it intimate. Just different perspective. Soundstage reference point is from JH Audio Roxanne, a 12 BA per side IEM. Personal preference will go to the 9. 
 
I was also doing an A/B comparison with DITA Answer/True Edition. The price difference between CKR9 and DITA True Edition is about 5-6 times. But does the performance give rise to at least 3-4 times better? For my untrained ears, on absolute term, DITA True Edition does sound better. But by how much better and at what cost? Thats where I think CKR9 shines.
 
As both are dynamics and I believe have not gone through proper burn in process, the above opinion may differ when the sound opens up.

 

[Leoptimistic]

Hi all,
 
I was at e1 in SG today as well and auditioned the CKR 9.
Source - Samsung Galaxy S3, default music player app (rotated between auto, normal and Tube Amp Effect EQ) with some 320kbps MP3 files of some R&B ballads.
 
The boss, Albert, mentioned that the units were just in today so it's understandable if it's not completely burnt in.
 
Fit, Comfort, Build
The CKR9s could only be worn straight down which I thought would be detrimental. However, using the included large tips I had a great seal and fit and there is no worries of the earphone falling out unlike my experience with the FX850s. The unit sits comfortably with great fit (better than the sister IM-03 for me). The isolation was average, comparable to the GR07 with the right tips. However, as the earphone can only be worn straight down, it is more microphonic than the GR07.
 
The build was solid, with heft and does not give much worry.
 
Sound impression
Coming from the GR07, vocals sounded almost exactly like the vocals of the GR07, with more musicality. If you are looking for the monitor like airiness of the vocals of the GR07, you'll find a similarity here with a tad bit more lushness and musicality. It is somewhat 'shouty'/ sibilant but fans of the signature will feel right at home. It is similar to the older Audio Technica tuning before the IM series. In comparison, the vocals on the IM03 seem more forward, and lush, eliminating most of the sibilance.
 
However, those looking for an upgrade to the GR07 will find more things to like, such as depth in the soundstage. The GR07 was known for a wide soundstage but the CKR 9s give a depth which allowed me to hear more clearly how far in front or behind a certain vocal part or instrument is.
 
Bass- Hits hard with authority when called upon. Can be visceral

. Harder hitting than the GR07s or IM03 to me. Yet it never sounds as muddy or threatens to veil the vocals like a pre burned in FX850. Great texture to be found also with deep extension. One thing about the pre-burned in CKR 9 is that the bass impact in certain frequencies will seem to be flat or near non-existent. I was surprised because the earphone could produce shaking bass but seemed to sputter during a section of a dance track I tried. In comparison, the IM03 and DITA Answer I auditioned hit the bass parts satisfyingly (impact). Had a chat with Albert about this and he commented that since the unit was quite new and hadn't been put through its paces, this should clear up over time and be able to hit those bass parts with thump. The highs are also expected to be less sibilant. I accept this theory as turning up the bass on EQ brings on the head shaking bass in other parts of the song (sub bass that rumbles so low I think I felt it in my chest).
 
Given the price and sound, I felt like I have found an upgrade to my GR07s sound for the music I listen to (mostly R&B ballads from male groups) without losing too much of the 'monitor like' neutrality and airiness of the GR07 yet allowing me to perceive more musical detail in the accompaniment with more musicality, soundstage depth and bass.
 
Lastly, I realised volume settings needed were lower (2 on the music player) as compared to the DITA Answer and IM03 (3 on the player) to achieve roughly the same volume levels for listening.

 

[vlenbo]

Excellent impressions friends.


Its pretty weird though, the highs to me lacked sparkle abd the mids were slightly recessed during pre-burn in.

The bass is one small qualm i had with these, just like you stated leoptimistic, it felt like it couldhit hard across the low freqiencies but itsomehow struggles in some areas.

Now with burn-in, the bass hits much more evenly and pretty hard while being pretty addicting!

 

[kameenadesi]

if the CKR series is a dual dynamic, shouldn't the direct competitors be dual dynamic IEMs (JVC FXT90, etc.) ?

 

[ericp10]

if the CKR series is a dual dynamic, shouldn't the direct competitors be dual dynamic IEMs (JVC FXT90, etc.) ?

 
Not necessarily. The technology has stepped up in such a big way that now it's pretty fair to compare some BA earphones to some dynamic driver earphones. I would have said that isn't a fair comparison five years ago. I still don't think it is fair to compare headphones and earphones (only on rare exceptions) unless you're simply talking about sound signatures in general.

 

[kameenadesi]

interesting, thanks Eric....gonna wait for more impressions before pullin the trigger on the CKR9/10

 

[vlenbo]

 
Mambo Italiano
 
I swear, this song has one of the best bass impact I've heard on the ckr9s.
 
I thought it sounded great with the ws99s, but even if the bass is subtle and plentiful, it's a powerful tight thump when listening to the ckr9s, and I'm pretty sure the ckr10s wouldn't miss out either!
 
The vocals are pretty relaxing in this song too, so with the ckr9s, they're very smooth, silky, and definitely detailed.

 

[earfonia]

  CKR9 and 10 is a different story all together. Given the pre burn in, I've probably didnt hear the true sound signature of the CKR9/10. From initial impression, 10 sounded abit warmer vs 9. Bass has more presence in 10. The bass from Dynamics driver does really sounded different from BAs, Wouldnt say its better or worse. Just different. Bass is tight and punchy and musical.  For treble, both sounded, like earfonia's impression, peaky and glaring. I find the 9 is more neutral vs the warmer 10. On the soundstage, I find it narrow. Some may call it intimate. Just different perspective. Soundstage reference point is from JH Audio Roxanne, a 12 BA per side IEM. Personal preference will go to the 9. 
 
I was also doing an A/B comparison with DITA Answer/True Edition. The price difference between CKR9 and DITA True Edition is about 5-6 times. But does the performance give rise to at least 3-4 times better? For my untrained ears, on absolute term, DITA True Edition does sound better. But by how much better and at what cost? Thats where I think CKR9 shines.
 
As both are dynamics and I believe have not gone through proper burn in process, the above opinion may differ when the sound opens up.

 
Thanks for the impressions!  Please try again after full 1 week burn-in. I never heard an IEM that changes so much after one week burn-in, as much changes as CKR9.  But after 1 week full burn-in, they are awesome!
 

  Bass- Hits hard with authority when called upon. Can be visceral

. Harder hitting than the GR07s or IM03 to me. Yet it never sounds as muddy or threatens to veil the vocals like a pre burned in FX850. Great texture to be found also with deep extension. One thing about the pre-burned in CKR 9 is that the bass impact in certain frequencies will seem to be flat or near non-existent. I was surprised because the earphone could produce shaking bass but seemed to sputter during a section of a dance track I tried. In comparison, the IM03 and DITA Answer I auditioned hit the bass parts satisfyingly (impact). Had a chat with Albert about this and he commented that since the unit was quite new and hadn't been put through its paces, this should clear up over time and be able to hit those bass parts with thump. The highs are also expected to be less sibilant. I accept this theory as turning up the bass on EQ brings on the head shaking bass in other parts of the song (sub bass that rumbles so low I think I felt it in my chest).
....
 
Lastly, I realised volume settings needed were lower (2 on the music player) as compared to the DITA Answer and IM03 (3 on the player) to achieve roughly the same volume levels for listening.

 
The Dual Push-Pull driver really delivers the bass in a very realistic way, simply fantastic high quality bass 

Also had the DITAs for a couple of months, nice beautiful IEMs indeed. Uniquely very spacious sound from a single dynamic driver... they are awesome IEMs from Singapore 

 

Excellent impressions friends.

Its pretty weird though, the highs to me lacked sparkle abd the mids were slightly recessed during pre-burn in.

The bass is one small qualm i had with these, just like you stated leoptimistic, it felt like it couldhit hard across the low freqiencies but itsomehow struggles in some areas.

Now with burn-in, the bass hits much more evenly and pretty hard while being pretty addicting!

 
It is quite common that same model IEM doesn't always consistent in sound signature. Had a chat with an audiophile friend yesterday, he shared his experiences about this inconsistent sound signature from some very high-end brands and models.  So, sometime it just happens.
But we have something in common, that is, CKR9 and CKR10 bass is simply addictive 

Frankly, to get addictive bass from a non bassy IEM... I think this is rare 

 
 

if the CKR series is a dual dynamic, shouldn't the direct competitors be dual dynamic IEMs (JVC FXT90, etc.) ?

 
Those dual dynamics works in different fashion. Some are two ways, meaning woofer and tweeter configuration, and some like CKR series, ATH-IM50 and ATH-IM70, they are full range, one way system. No crossover. The dual driver configuration on those models are meant to lower distortion and improve the dynamic.  I personally being a purist in audio, prefer one way / full range system, rather than multi-ways drivers with crossovers.  No ideal crossover circuit so far, all crossover in multi-ways system introduce phase distortion.  One way system is free from this phase distortion.
Although I admit there are some good multi-ways IEMs that do sound awesome, and sound very coherent like a single driver.

 

[ericp10]

 
 
I must say that I'm liking the CKR9 straight out of the box, so I can't wait to hear what it reveals through burn-in. Very nice sound, and vlenbo is spot-on about that bass!!! 

 

[kameenadesi]

thanks for the detailed info earfonia!!

ericp10, im just waiting for where you would rank the CKR9 in your dynamics sig... patiently waiting lol

 

[kameenadesi]

i already own the FX850... so that would give me an idea of how the CKR9 competes with other dynamics...