[Dopaminer]

   
. . .  bass of CKR9 is on different league than any other IEM. CKR9 has the best bass quality from any IEM I ever heard, even from IEMs more than 5 times it's price.

 
 
That is quite a statement. I like the CKR9 bass better than my SE846, but looking at your signature, I`m wondering about your fx850.  I would say at this stage of my brain burn-in, I give the bass award to the 850 . . . 
 
Thoughts?

 

[Dopaminer]

 
LOL. Good god almighty. I love me some J-Pop but these idol groups and wall of sound production have really soured me on the music scene lately. Are there any good J-Pop artists these days? Utada Hikaru is still going strong, but I haven't heard much I've liked lately other than the occasional release by an old voice actor I like. 

You know who is still going ?  UA.  She was one voice that just leapt out at me from the wall of atonal crap pop music, in the `90s when I came to Japan.  She had a couple of really amazing albums in the 90s - AmeTora and Turbo - that are still some of my fave music. Organic, soulful, groovy.  She seems to be mostly on the Jazz festival circuit now.  Check this out - her doing an acapella number in her hometown.  She just loses herself in the song; I love it. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny8LlCa6_2w

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Never thought I'd see someone mention UA in an IEM thread lol. Really enjoyed Turbo and Dorobo. Also loved the superband Ajico, that she formed with Asai Kenichi

 

[Dopaminer]

Never thought I'd see someone mention UA in an IEM thread lol. Really enjoyed Turbo and Dorobo. Also loved the superband Ajico, that she formed with Asai Kenichi

Oh yeah - Dorobo - I totally forgot about that album!  I am going directly to Book Off ! and buy that CD today. . . .   

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Great album. Love her collaborations with Little Creatures. I have a couple of her albums in my basement that I've never listened to, bought em like.... 5 or 6 years ago. Nephews, La and Golden Green. Also a concert DVD haha. Just so that this is on topic, I believe Dinerenblanc now owns my CKR9 lol

 

[ZapX629]

I've know of UA, but I've never actually listened to her stuff. Sounds like the kind of thing I'd like. Thanks for the recommendations.
 
EDIT: Yeah, this is definitely my kind of thing. Just bought Ametora on amazon. 

 

[Dopaminer]

  I've know of UA, but I've never actually listened to her stuff. Sounds like the kind of thing I'd like. Thanks for the recommendations.
 
EDIT: Yeah, this is definitely my kind of thing. Just bought Ametora on amazon. 

Wow - that is so cool.  That album is huge in my life; I had just moved to Japan when i got in to AmeTora, so there are all kind of memories/nostalgia attached.  
 
If you like Ametora, you`ll like Turbo too. They`re like a set, in my mind.  

 

[heatofamatch]

Another vote for Ametora here even though I haven't listened to it in over a decade.
 
Didn't like Turbo or anything else from UA except for that one-off single "amai unmei" that actually came out before Ametora didn't it...
 
oh Cure Jazz was pretty cool but that's not technically a solo project.

 

[earfonia]

   
 
That is quite a statement. I like the CKR9 bass better than my SE846, but looking at your signature, I`m wondering about your fx850.  I would say at this stage of my brain burn-in, I give the bass award to the 850 . . . 
 
Thoughts?

 
Well, that's only from my experience, which is limited. I will vote CKR9 for bass quality, speed, dynamic, and texture, while FX850 for bass volume.

 

[Randius]

Yikes - that is a loaded comment, for me.  What is popular in Japanese music, ie, pop music, or J-pop, is, for me, simply not music at all.  It is organized, mechanized sound waves, with every molecule of humanity, soul, emotion, passion, quality, reality, obsessively removed.   It is an atrocious corruption of humanity`s one and only unambiguously positive accomplishment.  And this is worst:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofrSyJhCc9M
 
or this
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJzbKlryK6g

 


The same can be said for most pop music as well, be it English, Korean or others.

 

[twister6]

Yeah I think that you just pushed me one more step in the 9 direction

Just to clarify I do enjoy a good and present subbass but don't like too much midbass and hate bass bloat

I guess it's all about the quality of the bass that's delivered.......

 
Not sure if you are still at the crossroads of CKR9 and CKR10, but my personal vote goes ALL the way for CKR10.
 
Both have neutral balanced signature with an excellent retrieval of details.  CKR10 has a better low end extension with a higher quantity of sub-bass (deeper texture) and more mid-bass punch vs CKR9 having bass quantity a bit north of neutral and more attenuated sub-bass.  For analytical/reference listening some might prefer CKR9 because of a bass quality rather than quantity, but CKR10 bass enhancement done is a very tasteful and well controlled way that adds warmth and body to the overall sound without any bleed into lower mids.  CKR10 mids are warmer and smoother and have more body, while CKR9 mids are thinner and brighter.  As a result I found CKR10 tonality to be smoother and more natural in comparison to CKR9 being a little withdrawn and colder.  Both have a very similar clear and crisp treble extension, no sibilance at all.  Also, both have excellent separation and layering of instruments.  Soundstage has plenty of width and depth with nearly 3D positioning of instruments and vocals.  But due to a warmer nature of CKR10 you get a more intimate feeling of being closer to a stage, while with CKR9 the sound is more airy and spacey which can give you a slightly deeper perception.
 
It is still driving me crazy because after extended listening to either of those you get attached to their sound signature.  But once you start A/Bing and going through all of your tracks - I quickly realized how much I was missing that extra sub-bass texture where so many acoustic instruments lost their warm musical tonality.  CKR10 bass doesn't add bloat, it adds a smooth warm body to a sound.  Also, the extra bass quantity in CKR10 makes it more suitable to be all around IEM for any music genre where it only comes out to play when called upon, and does it for both sub-bass and mid-bass.

 

[Dinerenblanc]

   
Not sure if you are still at the crossroads of CKR9 and CKR10, but my personal vote goes ALL the way for CKR10.
 
Both have neutral balanced signature with an excellent retrieval of details.  CKR10 has a better low end extension with a higher quantity of sub-bass (deeper texture) and more mid-bass punch vs CKR9 having bass quantity a bit north of neutral and more attenuated sub-bass.  For analytical/reference listening some might prefer CKR9 because of a bass quality rather than quantity, but CKR10 bass enhancement done is a very tasteful and well controlled way that adds warmth and body to the overall sound without any bleed into lower mids.  CKR10 mids are warmer and smoother and have more body, while CKR9 mids are thinner and brighter.  As a result I found CKR10 tonality to be smoother and more natural in comparison to CKR9 being a little withdrawn and colder.  Both have a very similar clear and crisp treble extension, no sibilance at all.  Also, both have excellent separation and layering of instruments.  Soundstage has plenty of width and depth with nearly 3D positioning of instruments and vocals.  But due to a warmer nature of CKR10 you get a more intimate feeling of being closer to a stage, while with CKR9 the sound is more airy and spacey which can give you a slightly deeper perception.
 
It is still driving me crazy because after extended listening to either of those you get attached to their sound signature.  But once you start A/Bing and going through all of your tracks - I quickly realized how much I was missing that extra sub-bass texture where so many acoustic instruments lost their warm musical tonality.  CKR10 bass doesn't add bloat, it adds a smooth warm body to a sound.  Also, the extra bass quantity in CKR10 makes it more suitable to be all around IEM for any music genre where it only comes out to play when called upon, and does it for both sub-bass and mid-bass.

You should write a in-depth comparison, twister. 

 The CKR10's signatures seems to be aligned with my tastes. I'm tempted to purchase them now. 

 

[vlenbo]

"Dry" sound lovers unite!!!
 
I find the ckr9s to be a balanced between warm and dry in my tastes. YMMV.

 

[peter123]

Not sure if you are still at the crossroads of CKR9 and CKR10, but my personal vote goes ALL the way for CKR10.

Both have neutral balanced signature with an excellent retrieval of details.  CKR10 has a better low end extension with a higher quantity of sub-bass (deeper texture) and more mid-bass punch vs CKR9 having bass quantity a bit north of neutral and more attenuated sub-bass.  For analytical/reference listening some might prefer CKR9 because of a bass quality rather than quantity, but CKR10 bass enhancement done is a very tasteful and well controlled way that adds warmth and body to the overall sound without any bleed into lower mids.  CKR10 mids are warmer and smoother and have more body, while CKR9 mids are thinner and brighter.  As a result I found CKR10 tonality to be smoother and more natural in comparison to CKR9 being a little withdrawn and colder.  Both have a very similar clear and crisp treble extension, no sibilance at all.  Also, both have excellent separation and layering of instruments.  Soundstage has plenty of width and depth with nearly 3D positioning of instruments and vocals.  But due to a warmer nature of CKR10 you get a more intimate feeling of being closer to a stage, while with CKR9 the sound is more airy and spacey which can give you a slightly deeper perception.

It is still driving me crazy because after extended listening to either of those you get attached to their sound signature.  But once you start A/Bing and going through all of your tracks - I quickly realized how much I was missing that extra sub-bass texture where so many acoustic instruments lost their warm musical tonality.  CKR10 bass doesn't add bloat, it adds a smooth warm body to a sound.  Also, the extra bass quantity in CKR10 makes it more suitable to be all around IEM for any music genre where it only comes out to play when called upon, and does it for both sub-bass and mid-bass.

Thanks a lot for the comparison!

I just reread most of what I found around here about these two last night and was pretty much determined to go for the 9's but now I'm uncertain again

 

[Dinerenblanc]

Thanks a lot for the comparison!

I just reread most of what I found around here about these two last night and was pretty much determined to go for the 9's but now I'm uncertain again

Lol What exactly are you looking for in a pair of IEMs?