[darockymn]

Zard fan (@darockymn), where and how did you manage to get new EXK now ?

Hi I was very lucky to find one on the Yahoo auction Japan and got it through proxy. Sorry to disappoint you but no there is no stock anywhere.

 

[osiris1]

once in a while you can find a new one or almost new one on Yahoo Auction Japan. mine is actually listed as New as well, and i think it was mostly new except for a small blemish. from what i can see that was from sitting in a position for too long. otherwise everything else looks new.

 

[auronthas]

Hi I was very lucky to find one on the Yahoo auction Japan and got it through proxy. Sorry to disappoint you but no there is no stock anywhere.

I got almost a new one EXK from Buyee Japan, for a brand new unopened is hardly seen.

I got a used EXK from eBay two years ago , but there's defect on the ETK thread connector.

 

[darockymn]

I have done some more listening now and here's some update on sound quality

I mentioned that the detail was lacking compared to er4B but it is not the case anymore. Turns out the detail retrieval is quite good after a few tens of hours of burning in. Plugging into a Hugo I do not see a huge improvement over sound quality (Hugo is not particularly powerful in terms of amplification, but its detail and timing is top notch), so in the following I will refer to sound of EXK as directly from the source.

The zx1 that I paired EXK with is slightly underpowered I guess. As the separation, sound stage improved significantly when I used Sony D50, a "DAP" that is known for having powerful output, to drive it. This is interesting because on paper both DAP have similar output Voltage.

One thing I notice tho, is that the timbre of string instruments, like guitars, are particularly realistic on the EXKs; you can really feel the string's vibration and its air movement. This is probably due to the dynamic driver v.s. balanced armature timbre difference.

Also the female vocal is smooth and brilliant, the detail is good enough to convey the emotions. (Note that this is a complement in disguise, as having enough detail compared to a 4B is hard to come by).

All in all I think the EXK are much easier to drive well and less source picky, the sound is vibrant with a large and natural sound stage.

After many hours of listening after getting it yesterday, I would like to share some of my enthusiasm about this earphone

First about my background:

I have been listening to my er4B for 10+ years now with it being my only IEM. (I don't own headphones or speakers either.)

The 4B's are known for having very good treble and extreme detail retrieval. The drawback tho is that it is quite tricky to drive it suitably well. When not well drive, it will sound overly bright and lacking in the low end. Also, the fitting is terrible: it requires perfect seal to function properly.
But when all the requirements are meet, the 4B's are my audio nirvana, (reason why I have kept only this particular earphone over the others in all these years). With its crazy amount of realism, detail retrieval and dynamic range, it's hard to beat.

Here let me add a note on the low end of er4B. Contrary to common believe, the bass extension of this earphone is pretty amazing to say the least, assuming of coz that it is suitable driven and a perfect seal.

===================================================================================

So why am I searching now after so many years for another earphone? Cause the prerequisites of the er4B are not always met. The 4B's sound quite good already out of anything that plays music, but the seal and fitting of it is a limitation. After 10+ years of experience it is easy to get a good seal with it, but the ears need to acclimate for a bit before musics can really be enjoyed, take around 15+ min. Human ears need time to get used to the very quiet environment inside the ear drums that this earphone produces, due to the extreme -42dB isolation of the er4B's. One day I realise that this is not exactly what I would think as a on-the-go earphone, but more like a hi-fi system for critical listening and enjoyment at home.

Back to ex1000 (exk) I bought it new and the earphone had been run for approximately 15 hr now, so it is not even close to burnt-in (200+ hrs).
To summarise upfront I would say that this earphone do exactly what I want it to do: serve as a hi-fi on-the-go complement to my at home hi-fi er4B. But it does that with a slight twist.

For the sound quality, honestly speaking, the amount of detail and seperation is substantially less than what I am used to with my 4B's. Also the bass extension, especially the sub bass is less than that from the 4Bs. This is not at all surprising to me as I know my er4B well enough to know that its technicality is top notch. For treble, mainly female vocals in Jpop, high notes etc where 4B's are the strongest, exk's presents the vocal with less detail. It is smooth, emotional and vibrant. All in all I think the exk's has good enough technicalities to produce a high-end sound, albeit less (insanely) detail as the 4B's, which in this case isn't a disadvantage.

Yet, the whole package of a exk blew the 4B's away.

It serves its purpose as hi-fi on the go.

The fitting is amazing for the exk's. Some people may have complained about the fitting these earphones but you guys have not seen nothing horrifying yet: the triple flange ear tip fitting that 4B requires. It took people many years to get used to the deep insertion feeling of the 4B's, if they will get used to it at all. (Not in my case tho, its fitting fit my quite well since the beginning.) So going from that to the ear tips of the exk's is like heaven on earth. I can fit it anytime I want instantly and start enjoying music right the way. And because the exk's are semi-open interns of isolation, no acclimation of the ears are needed. I can enjoy music right the way.

Now while the sound quality is slightly not as good (only when compared to the 4B's), it excels with its sound staging. It has a very natural sound stage and open isolation.

Simply put, the sound stage of the exk makes the music out of it very enjoyable and relaxing

This is best explained with an analogy:

The 4B's replace your reality with the reality in the recording; if the music is from a concert hall, you are teleported to where the orchestra director is; if it's a studio recording you are sent talking face to face with the artist.

What ex1000's does instead, is that it augments the reality with a hi-end Hi-Fi speaker unit and plays musics that supplements the reality.

===================================================================================

To conclude, the exk is easily my favourite on-the-go hi-fi

p.s. I'll be sure to update on the burning-in and more finding about the sound signature/quality as I listen more.

p.s. I'm aware that there are much potential within the exk's in terms of separation, detail and bass extension. Driving it from a Sony D50 I can see that it scales quite well with more powerful DAPs. I am pretty sure that with a good DAP, like the zm1z the exk would sound amazing. But for the moment, with the on-the-go requirement, with which I meant high portability and a easy to carry-in-pocket profile, I am not yet convinced that using a chunky powerful DAP, which is 3 times the size and weight of my 139g slim zx1, that does not fit in my shorts will enhance my listening experience any further.

 

[darockymn]

I got almost a new one EXK from Buyee Japan, for a brand new unopened is hardly seen.

I got a used EXK from eBay two years ago , but there's defect on the ETK thread connector.

When I buy my EXK I had missed an unopened EXK's offered and eventually sold at $650
But then I won't be confident enough to pull the trigger, as I have never listened to a EXK before.
Now I probably would buy it straight away at this price!

The EXK has been shooting up in price in Japan a lot since its discontinuation. Even pre-own stores have all ran out of stocks.
Even the stock cables are instantly sold once offered on these web sites.
Also due to the finish on the EXK's i.e. the paint tend to chip easily, it is very difficult nowadays to find one in perfect condition.

 

[Ziadax]

I pulled out my EXK last night to listen again after about a month without using them. Along with the massive soundstage and my ideal bass response, I was reminded again of how well it scales macrodynamics and conveys a sense of realism in what I listen to.

 

[auronthas]

When I buy my EXK I had missed an unopened EXK's offered and eventually sold at $650
But then I won't be confident enough to pull the trigger, as I have never listened to a EXK before.
Now I probably would buy it straight away at this price!

The EXK has been shooting up in price in Japan a lot since its discontinuation. Even pre-own stores have all ran out of stocks.
Even the stock cables are instantly sold once offered on these web sites.
Also due to the finish on the EXK's i.e. the paint tend to chip easily, it is very difficult nowadays to find one in perfect condition.

There's currently one quite a new (as described) EXK from Buyee linked from Yahoo Auction at 22500 yen, perhaps those who are interested can take a look.
Four-day before bid is over.

 

[auronthas]

I pulled out my EXK last night to listen again after about a month without using them. Along with the massive soundstage and my ideal bass response, I was reminded again of how well it scales macrodynamics and conveys a sense of realism in what I listen to.

Exactly, EXK is my favorite for critical listening session for identifying layers music separation, instrument placement with depth. It's one of the top studio recording monitoring IEMs

 

[darockymn]

There's currently one quite a new (as described) EXK from Buyee linked from Yahoo Auction at 22500 yen, perhaps those who are interested can take a look.
Four-day before bid is over.

Nice find there

A friendly note tho for those interested: Looking at the auction history for EXK's on Yahoo Auction (using aucfan.com), these things go usually for around 40k yen (360USD) at this condition these days. The staring price is kind of irrelevant, seeing that it has already 14 bids on it even 4 day before ending, it is going to be a competitive bid and is not going to be a cheap buy.

The popular and biggest pre-owned earphone site in Japan e-earphone.com has only EXK in bad condition or no stock on EXK at all.

I think I am mildly annoyed by the discontinuation situation. There are difference between window shopping and actually getting your hands on one of these goodies. Imagine you have to stress yourself out on winning a bid with multiple competitors bidding at the last minute, each last minute bid prolongs the bidding for 5min, and doing this all while being forced to do the biding at unfavourable time. For example this one ends at Thursday 10am D.C. time, meaning you have to sit there for possibly half an hour to finish with the bidding. Not very friendly for those who have work.

I wouldn't say this is anyway remotely "not difficult" to actually get a EXK nowadays. But one can always get lucky sometimes

 

[Whitigir]

My ex1k has a problem that the foam filters are rotting !!!

I love it and I need a way to open it up soon

 

[darockymn]

My ex1k has a problem that the foam filters are rotting !!!

I love it and I need a way to open it up soon

Sorry about your EXK, hope it will get well soon
You don't need to open it up! You can use tweezers to pick them out.
I once saw a post on Chinese forum that they have found a store on Taobao selling these foam replacement for EXK. If you are interested I can dig up the post for you.

 

[darockymn]

I pulled out my EXK last night to listen again after about a month without using them. Along with the massive soundstage and my ideal bass response, I was reminded again of how well it scales macrodynamics and conveys a sense of realism in what I listen to.

While I've definitely heard some impressive technicalities from pure DD models a lot of them have less than pleasing tonality that starts getting to you after the honeymoon phase of "oh wow all the microdetails". The M9 might just be the best compromise of near top technicalities but also with a tuning that doesn't reek of BA timbre, and unlike the Z1R it actually fits comfortably for long listening periods. Still though, it's really mind blowing how 10-11 years later the EXK is still competitive if you can EQ out those treble peaks.

I was struggling to understand why these earphones sounded so good to me despite it being not as detail as a balanced armature one.

I think you are probably right, the reason is the macrodynamic and the tonality. The music coming out of the EXK's are very engaging and comfy. Playing tracks that are supposed to be exciting (like movie sound tracks) they really sounded exciting. I love the atmosphere that the EXK can create.

The tonality of vocal always sounded beautiful no matter male or female, although it can be peaky at times.

The weight and wearing part of z1r is a deal breaker for me, I haven't hear it yet tho. Does it sound good?

 

[Ziadax]

I was struggling to understand why these earphones sounded so good to me despite it being not as detail as a balanced armature one.

I think you are probably right, the reason is the macrodynamic and the tonality. The music coming out of the EXK's are very engaging and comfy. Playing tracks that are supposed to be exciting (like movie sound tracks) they really sounded exciting. I love the atmosphere that the EXK can create.

The tonality of vocal always sounded beautiful no matter male or female, although it can be peaky at times.

The weight and wearing part of z1r is a deal breaker for me, I haven't hear it yet tho. Does it sound good?

It doesn't matter how good something sounds if your ears are screaming in pain after 30 minutes

But I would say that the tuning is very different from the EXK. It's far more U/V shaped sounding than the EXK was. The bass felt more thumpy than the EXK especially in the subbass regions but you can easily EQ the EXK to get to similar levels as we have a big boy 16mm driver in there. I would take the mids of the EXK over the Z1R as they were simply more recessed sounding on the Z1R and that tuning isn't for everyone. Treble is the only area I would give a clear nod to the Z1R as they don't have the strange frequency response peaks that the EXK has in that region and everything just sounds more sparkly and lively up there. The double edged sword is that in my case, they could get fatiguing after a while. For people who enjoy brighter signatures this probably won't be a problem. Soundstaging is wide on both but I still think the EXK cheats out the win by a bit simply by being more or less an open back set with next to no isolation.

My M9 might have slightly better details and intangibles than the EXK but it sounds rather lifeless and sterile sometimes. It's too precise for its own good, but I suppose as it was marketed as a monitoring IEM that was probably the end goal.

 

[Uebelkraehe]

Coming back to this thread after having listened to the EXK for more than a month i can only say that they easily live up to the hype. If Sony was still selling these at their original price, they would be an easy recommendation. Having paid the typical used price for a good pair (300+ EUR) it feels like i for once got a real steal of a deal. And this despite of being originally rather hesitant about paying 'so much for a 10 year old IEM model'. Very nice synergy with the iBasso DX160, by the way.

 

[darockymn]

Hey guys, I have written up a review concluding my thoughts on the Mdr-Ex1000. Feel free to chime in and discuss.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/sony-mdr-ex1000.13158/reviews#review-26672