[chipstjuven]

Are these IEMs very bright?

 

[jasonb]

Are these IEMs very bright?

They arent bright, but they arent anywhere near dark either. They are definitely more on the neutral side, but with a bit more bass than a true neutral.

 

[chipstjuven]

Quote:

They arent bright, but they arent anywhere near dark either. They are definitely more on the neutral side, but with a bit more bass than a true neutral.

Thanks.
 
They seem interesting. I will order them and perhaps use as a backup for my EPH-100.

 

[FieldingMellish]

I had fit issues with EPH-100 and had to return them. I found the CKM-500 fit and seal well out of the box with the mounted tips. 

 

[Dallasa]

Got mine today. I'm using them to listen to metal and replace my Sony MDREX (the cheapo ones), which I used for casual listening. However I'm comparing these to my Audeo PFE 112, which are around $100 more expensive than these CKM500s. Also I'm not pretending to be an expert nor objective in any way. I'm just going to describe the sounds and instruments I hear because like I said I'm no expert with "golden ears" (as you will soon find out as I try my best to vocalize what I hear).

 
First things first, I stuck on some Sony hybrid tips because the stock tips were uncomfortable for me. For my first listen I put on a song which consists of nothing but bass guitar, drums, and vocalist. Holy bass, my head was rumbling and it was all a bit too much for me!! (Remember that I'm coming from the very neutral PFE though). Next I put on a very technical guitar-based track and it was a bit of a blur of noise for me. I was sort of worried after hearing that, but after fiddling with EQ a tiiiiny bit and playing a bunch of other albums, everything is great. Aside from that one track, the guitars are up front and very nice and crunchy, but without sacrificing globs of detail. The bass guitars chug alongside nicely, and I can always hear them perfectly separate from the rest of the instruments, which I sometimes had trouble doing with the PFE. Drums and percussion are orgasmic, perfectly placed around my head with satisfyingly solid and physical impact. Vocals are somewhat hit and miss for me: they sound fantastic, but sometimes they get drowned out a bit much for my liking by the up-front guitars and bass (especially lower-range vocals). I had this same issue with the PFE, so I'm sure it's just a matter of fiddling around with EQ settings a bit (which I've been too lazy to do much). Instrument separation, while not really coming close to the PFE, is more-or-less clear enough. As I mentioned at first, a tiny minority of tracks are too muddled and noisy but most are fine. It's a similar situation with detail: these definitely pick up less detail than the PFE, however I feel that suits the CKM-500 well and is not a detriment. After all, the PFE to me is more for critical listening while these are more for casual and fun listening.
 
So I'm very happy. While in my opinion these can't match up to $150+ headphones (although the new sound signature that I am not yet fully used to may contribute to that opinion), who would expect them to?? They can be found for $60 and they are GREAT for that price. Thanks Dsnuts for bringing these up, I'm going to have a lot of fun with these!!!

 

[elvergun]

Quote:

Oh I don't know about the CKM500 not holding their own against the TF10. I own the TF10s. Just my opinion but I think they are way over rated. If you listen to forward vocal tracks on the TF10 they start to muffle the vocals in the mids. The old design is showing its age on the TF10s. I prefer the highs and mids on the CKM500 way more than the TF10. In the bass department guess which one wins out.
 
The CKM500 has the better SQ to be honest. Again I own the TF10s. I have no idea why people like them so much..Throw on some Diana Krall and listen to her on the CKM500s. Ask your buddy if you can hear his TF10s. Listen to the same track on his TF10. I am willing to bet you will hear which one will have the better sound. In fact. You should borrow his TF10 and get familiar with your CKM500.
 
Listen to how the sound is portrayed on the TF10. There is something off in the sounds. The mids for me I know poeple say V shape but to my ears they are overly forward which muffles vocals..I have a perfectly working pair and that is how I hear them. I can clearly understand why people reshell them.
 
This may sound whack but I actually prefer my $21 JVC FX40 over the TF10s. Again this is all just my opinion. I do know people have completely different taste than I do so I can respect folks for loving their  TF10s.

Yesterday I received my TF10s.   I have been switching back and forth between those and the CKM500 and I still believe the TF10s are better...but not by much.
 
 
If the sound quality of the TF10 is a 9, I would say that the CKM500 are an 8.7 or so.  Not bad for a headphone that is less than half the price of the Ultimate Ears, huh?  And like I mentioned before, the CKM500 is more comfortable.  The TF10 does isolate better, if that is what one is looking for.
 
 
The important thing is that I'm still enjoying the CKM500 very much.  When I put the CKM500s on after listening to the TF10s I don't think, "the sound quality just decreased".   Actually, what i usually think is, "these things are great"...and then I smile. 

 

[Kyon Thinh]

 
Right out of the box, that's what you will get. I'm sorry because I dont have a proper studio to take picture, and the only one with white color is my bed...
After a little bit burn in, it sounds better.

 

[Dsnuts]

Happy to hear you guys are getting some value from these. At the end of the day if the earphones you hear puts a smile on your face. That is what is it all about. Happy listening fellas and enjoy them earphones.
 
@elvergun I might have sounded kinda harsh on the TF10s but they are enjoyable and I can understand why they have a big following. I don't expect the CKM500 to have the following those have. Lol. But glad you got them and enjoy both..It is fun to change up sound signatures that is for sure.

 

[Decipiens]

Hello everyone, first post. Cdjapan has these on a 2-4 week shipping delay, but I know some have already ordered and theirs shipped within a few days, so can anyone confirm whether there actually is a 2-4 week delay?

 

[elvergun]

Hello everyone, first post. Cdjapan has these on a 2-4 week shipping delay, but I know some have already ordered and theirs shipped within a few days, so can anyone confirm whether there actually is a 2-4 week delay?

I purchased mine on a Monday and I got an email infoming that they had shipped on Friday.

 

[Decipiens]

Thank you, I still haven't decided between these or the i version with the controls, but for sure will try these out.

 

[Ghostfit]

Quote:

Happy to hear you guys are getting some value from these. At the end of the day if the earphones you hear puts a smile on your face. That is what is it all about. Happy listening fellas and enjoy them earphones.
 

 
Mine has about 40+ hrs burn on them, sneak a listen last nite, my face didn't even get a chance to smile!  ...the eyes rolled inwards and froze with a kinda "brain freeze" expression when the musical flow penetrated the cortex region of the brain.

 

[Seijuro808]

Got them in today, Ordered a pair for me and my friend just getting into hi-fi audio.

Off the bat, the low end was really booming, and the vocals were really lively. The highs need some breaking in from what I can tell. There's a lot of sibilance when they're fresh. Even with my FLAC files.
Placed the order on the 1st, got them in on the 8th from Tokyo to Hawaii. Pretty fast, as they only physically shipped them out on the 5th.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, everyone. Really enjoying them!

 

[Decipiens]

Would you mind saying where you purchased them? That's very quick shipping, sounds like Expedited shipping

 

[Seijuro808]

Oh yeah, forgot to post that I ordered them from cdjapan. I was hesitant to order from them at first because I didn't have any experience with them before. But after a few head-fiers reported back with smooth transactions, I pulled the trigger. I kinda wanted the smartphone version from ebay, but they only come in Red/White/Black and costed $20 more.
 
Here's the link to the CKM500s on cdjapan's site:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/search3.html?q=ath-ckm500&media=&r=any&step=20&order=score
 
 
Edit: Ordered them with EMS shipping.