Question: Does the bass tame with burn-in?
First impressions:
Well, I have to say that these sound quite well out of the box. And I'm one who has a high end speaker system, and in addition, I had the audeze lcd-2. Now I only have the jvc rx-700-900, which are full-size headphones, and they cost a little less than the ckm-500. I have connected the ckm500 at my audio-gd nfb-10se, which is an all-in-one dac+headamp+speaker pre-amp. It is a mid to high-end gear, which has very little less compared to high-end gears. I had to lower the volume on the nfb-10 rather than just lower the volume on my computer (which is the source, and btw I only listen to lossless audio). In fact, there was some strong background noise by just lowering the computer volume, but by reducing the nfb-10 volume instead, the background noise is just noticeable, but still hearable.
As I've mentioned, the bass is too strong, but it extends quite deep, which is nice. It doesn't make me miss my 2.1 speaker system bass extension, coming from the subwoofer. Of course it's not as linear though. I think the problem of these iems lies in the upper-bass, rather than at the lowest octave. It reminds me the sound of my 2.1 system before I bought the spl meter, which helped me set my speaker system as flat as possible. From memory, the ckm500 do extend as low as the lcd-2, though again not as linear, which is amazing, considering the price of these iems. The jvc-rx700 (or 900) don't extend as deep.
The midrange, especially the lower part of it, is a little too weak. The jvc-rx700 performs noticeably better in this part, making it hard so far to decide for a clear winner. Nevertheless, I think everybody mentioned how these iems change with burn-in, from a v-shaped frequency response, to a more flat one. So I will post my impressions, in particular concerning this matter, after burn-in. If the mid-range boostens up, I think these iems will have a superbous sound.
The highs. I'll start with the negative aspect: they are a little bit too harsh. Again, many said that they are not harsh after burn-in, so I'll wait to give definitive opinion. Yet, they are very airy and extended, definitly airier than the jvc-rx700, which is very positive. So, if they can retain the high extension and airiness, but reduce some of the harshness, I'll be very happy
. What I hated the most about the lcd-2 rev.1 was that the sound was too dark. Somebody even wrote on this thread about these iems sound similiar to the hd600 (and the lcd-2 are practically an improved version of the hd600) with more airiness. This is definitly positive. Of course they don't even compare to my speaker system, which mounts true ribbon tweeter (only electrostatic headphones could barely compete in this part).
I don't really seek a good stage. I know that no headphones can compete to my speakers, nevertheless, I don't feel the ckm500 stage too narrow or too centered.
The detail is very good, better than the jvc-rx700.
They are quite uncomfortable to my hears, especially because at the center of the tip they are bigger (hard to explain, but if you see them, you'll probably understand), and it irritated my ears.
To summarize, they offer a very wide-sound thanks to the deep bass in particular, but seem a little bit plastic due to the week mid-range (pre burn-in!!).
Edit: Just read dtomo post, as he wrote it while I was writing mine. Hope the bass will tame to my ears too.
Ah, I LOVE the short cable. The jvc-rx700 long one was really a mess for me. Why make a too long cable when I only need about 1m? The ckm500 one doesn't stay in the way. +1 for it!
