[ericp10]

Quote:

 
I agree that the bass in some music can sound muddy.....Chris Isaaks "Blue Spannish Sky", for example, sound muddy and unlistenable, IMO, even with the bass EQ set lower.  There is so much music on these that is very good listen, I get to listening and get carried away with the CKM-500, my Celtic music sounds great....Clannad, Loreena Mckinnet, Dan Ar Braz to name a few.  For some reason I really like the way Audio Technica colours the sound....it makes for fun listening even though it is not neutral.  Audio Technica wooden headphones are the reason I sold my other IEM's, Aurisonics, Westone 4R.  The W4R, to me was the best universal IEM that I had, but cables make a big, big difference with them!  May try the Aurisonics again at some point, when they get to sounding better, and they get more comfortable to wear, the bump on the inside was just not a good fit in my ears, and the mids were not in my sound sig, too many shrill peaks!  The CKM-500 really outclasses the Aurisonics in mids, and far outclasses the Aurisonics in the highs, IMO!  The CKM-500 sounds more like what I expected out of the Sony XBA-4!
 
If the bass on the CKM-500 was not so flawed, they would be a very good IEM, and could compete with many at double or triple the price!  The mids, and the sparkly highs I do love, so far!  I am enjoying listening to them with most of my music.
 
I'm really enjoying Ry Cooder's guitar on "The Ry Cooder Anthology:  The UFO Has Landed", the guitars have a real sounding sting to them that is very clear, sparkly and real sounding

Just briefly off of subject, cute, but did you ever hear the 1.2 revision of the ASG-1? 

I  have a feeling something coming down the pike from Aurisonics that will blow your socks off...
 
Anyway, I was going to put the CKM500s in my ears tonight, but realized I haven't give my headphones any love. Listened to the ATH-M50  a few days ago and wasn't too impressed with it (anymore)... But I forgot I still own the Fischer FA-011. Whoa!!! The love hasn't left me. I love the Grado sound in headphones. This is like the Grado (great mids, bordering on harsh but not quite highs) sound, but with BASS. A lovely headphone (not for portability as it's a very open headphone)...

 

[Dsnuts]

Wait you have headphones Eric? Nice. I own both of them too and agree with your statements on both.. You know which headphone these CKM500s sound like? The ATH-A900X.. The mids the highs even the bass is similar. Kinda cool having a full sized headphone that mimics my favorite earphones.
 
On a side note. I managed to stay alive on my road trip to the grand canyon. It was an adventure I will not forget as it was made memorable by a motel that was the most NASTIEST motel room I have ever seen. Lol!
 
There is an old lady that lives and maintains a small motel in a small town in a place called Kanab Utah which is not strange in of itself but what was strange was the foul Cat odor that was lingering in the lobby and the rooms. The room she showed us was something out of a mystery horror novel. I have never seen such a dreary non maintained and just nasty room ever in my life. The amount of thick dust that was all over the place I bet was mixed with cat hair. The smell almost made me gag.  I asked her about the cats all over the motel. It turns out that cats that are no longer living with their owners end up at her Motel. Yes gents. We are talking wild cats and not just a few either. I have no idea who in their right mind would stay at such a place but hey if you can put up with cat odor all night and sleep with cats mating outside your motel room. It might be the place for you.
 
Now that I am back I hope to maintain an informative, good natured and fun thread. I do appreciate every one that contributes to this thread and enjoy a great sounding earphone in the process.. We have the CKM700s which I hope will come out sooner than later to look forward to but for now...I was blasting Stair way to heaven standing on an out crop overlooking the Canon using my CKM500 and my Z1060. It just didn't get any better.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Stupid cdjapan

. "Payment finalized" for the past two days, still no shipping. waaah I'm gonna cry.

Shoot them an email.  They replied the next day and shipped the same for me.

 

[cute]

Quote:

Just briefly off of subject, cute, but did you ever hear the 1.2 revision of the ASG-1? 

I  have a feeling something coming down the pike from Aurisonics that will blow your socks off...
 
Anyway, I was going to put the CKM500s in my ears tonight, but realized I haven't give my headphones any love. Listened to the ATH-M50  a few days ago and wasn't too impressed with it (anymore)... But I forgot I still own the Fischer FA-011. Whoa!!! The love hasn't left me. I love the Grado sound in headphones. This is like the Grado (great mids, bordering on harsh but not quite highs) sound, but with BASS. A lovely headphone (not for portability as it's a very open headphone)...

 
I am keeping an eye on Aurisonics....Audio Technica on the brain right now!  I have found the sound I was looking for in IEM's with the headphones in my sig.  The cable upgrades that I did, and the mods to my W1000X have me "totally" engrossed in my music.  The CKM500's were a pleasant surprise, retaining that Audio Technica house sound in the vocals, my main reason for giving them a try!  The money into the IEM's in my sig + the CKM500's is less than $150....all told I think I have my money's worth.  Not looking for anything new for quite a while!

 

[jarrett]

Quote:

Well, to consider, each impression is relative. Jarrett's benchmark was the GR07, I presume you have a different one, different ways in which statements are coming from and things to consider. 
 
He mentions a lack subbass in comparison and the CKM500's bigger midbass boost. Now a response that gradually boost as it goes lower is going to be give you better perception of subbass regions, this is the GR07, similar to this [not a GR07 graph, just an example]. 

 
 
Now it's likely that CKM500s isn't lacking in subbass but there is a masking effect by the midbass. So even though the response may not be significantly lower in the subbass regions, it is harder to perceive due to the midbass/subbass balance and interaction. Similar to below [not a CKM500 graph, just an example]. 

 
Thus the impressions. 
 
Jarrett's statement can be taken out of hand. Nowadays, it's harder to find an IEM that's lacking subbass than one that isn't, don't think these are lacking in subbass (as in significantly dipping below 100hz), I presume this because that in itself is a rare case (significant dipping below 100hz) IME, specially with dynamics. It's that midbass/subbass balance that changes the perceptions. 

 
Yeah a better way to say it would be masking because I wasn't able to actually hear or get much out of it due to the midbass boost.
 
P.S. My GR07 statements are from the first revision. I bought them back in July 2011

 

[Dallasa]

Quote:

Stupid cdjapan

. "Payment finalized" for the past two days, still no shipping. waaah I'm gonna cry.

Same here. Looking at the product page it now gives the shipping estimate as "2-4 weeks," so they must have run out of stock. I'm sending them an email to see if they managed to get my order in before that happened, but I imagine there'll be a bit of a wait now.

 

[compoopers]

Same here. Looking at the product page it now gives the shipping estimate as "2-4 weeks," so they must have run out of stock. I'm sending them an email to see if they managed to get my order in before that happened, but I imagine there'll be a bit of a wait now.

Let me know what they say okay buddy? We're in this one together ^_^

 

[TemplarUK]

Quote:

Stupid cdjapan

. "Payment finalized" for the past two days, still no shipping. waaah I'm gonna cry.

The way I read what they do and what they said to me, is they don't actually have stock, it takes them a few days to get the item, then when they do they ship pretty quickly, and if EMS it will be quick, unless your customs gets in the way.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

 
I am keeping an eye on Aurisonics....Audio Technica on the brain right now!  I have found the sound I was looking for in IEM's with the headphones in my sig.  The cable upgrades that I did, and the mods to my W1000X have me "totally" engrossed in my music.  The CKM500's were a pleasant surprise, retaining that Audio Technica house sound in the vocals, my main reason for giving them a try!  The money into the IEM's in my sig + the CKM500's is less than $150....all told I think I have my money's worth.  Not looking for anything new for quite a while!

Yes cute, despite of its flaws, the CKM500 is still and addictive IEM, and I still say is better sounding in some ways than the the technically better GR07. Burn-in helps a lot. I've been listening to the W4 a lot lately (still missing my ASG-1), but late last night and this morning I popped the CKM500 back into my ears, and the sound is sweet like one of your favorite candies. The vocals are this IEM's strong suit. Nice smooth extended highs and good weight and reverb on the hitting of drums. Yes, it can become a bit congested in the mids, but these IEMs are so musical. Even with the details the CKM500 can produce, the IEM makes you want to listen to the music in a more cohesive way. You want to take in the whole sound, not really nitpick instrumentation here and there as you might have been so inclined upon first listen, or with other IEMs. So yes, I still say these IEMs can compete with some IEMs costing $150 to $200. I have yet to hear one IEM that does everything well for my ears. And I still acknowledge that this sound signature will not be everyone. I keep reading over and over how technically brilliant the DBA-02 is, but I can't stand its sound signature. So I understand those of you who have heard but don't like the sound of the CKM500.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

Yes cute, despite of its flaws, the CKM500 is still and addictive IEM, and I still say is better sounding in some ways than the the technically better GR07. Burn-in helps a lot. I've been listening to the W4 a lot lately (still missing my ASG-1), but late last night and this morning I popped the CKM500 back into my ears, and the sound is sweet like one of your favorite candies. The vocals are this IEM's strong suit. Nice smooth extended highs and good weight and reverb on the hitting of drums. Yes, it can become a bit congested in the mids, but these IEMs are so musical. Even with the details the CKM500 can produce, the IEM makes you want to listen to the music in a more cohesive way. You want to take in the whole sound, not really nitpick instrumentation here and there as you might have been so inclined upon first listen, or with other IEMs. So yes, I still say these IEMs can compete with some IEMs costing $150 to $200. I have yet to hear one IEM that does everything well for my ears. And I still acknowledge that this sound signature will not be everyone. I keep reading over and over how technically brilliant the DBA-02 is, but I can't stand its sound signature. So I understand those of you who have heard but don't like the sound of the CKM500.

 
As much as I enjoy the CKM500, wait till you hear the vocals (AND THE BASS!!! 

) on the rev 1.2 ASG-1.
 
As for the CKM500, I'm glad I got it in red. It's beautiful in person. It's the color of a candied red apple, gorgeous.
 
I'm definitely not keeping the FXT90. It's like a less refined GR07, and doesn't have the awesome sub-bass of the GR07.
 
@Inks, there is a clear distinction between the lower and upper bass of the CKM500. There is very little, if any, masking going on. 

 

[Carlsan]

Did I read in this thread or elsewhere that the "CKM" line of earphones is for consumer listening?
That helps explain why they are so much fun to listen to. They are meant to be enjoyable, not for instrument separation and detail retrieval as stage monitors may be.
 
I enjoy mine a lot, especially given the price point. 

 

[FieldingMellish]

Dang it, guys. I'm trying to quit getting IEM's and now I'm suddenly interested in Aurisonics rev 1.2. 

 
And my CKM500's are no where near burned in as yet.

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

 
As much as I enjoy the CKM500, wait till you hear the vocals (AND THE BASS!!! 

) on the rev 1.2 ASG-1.
 
As for the CKM500, I'm glad I got it in red. It's beautiful in person. It's the color of a candied red apple, gorgeous.
 
I'm definitely not keeping the FXT90. It's like a less refined GR07, and doesn't have the awesome sub-bass of the GR07.
 
@Inks, there is a clear distinction between the lower and upper bass of the CKM500. There is very little, if any, masking going on. 

eke2k6, how did the FXT90 stack up against the FX40??

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

Dang it, guys. I'm trying to quit getting IEM's and now I'm suddenly interested in Aurisonics rev 1.2. 

 
And my CKM500's are no where near burned in as yet.

 
Welcome to Head-Fi 

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

eke2k6, how did the FXT90 stack up against the FX40??

 
Sorry, didn't see this. I'll check later tonight because my woman took my FX40. From memory, they sound FAR too familiar to have such a large price gap.