[xer0x]

These earphones have brought me back to the world of Head-Fi... oh dear.
 
Got these from CDJapan after I recently lost my DBA-02. I must confess, I thought those were going to be the end of my portable audio journey for some time - back then the GR07 hadn't been released, the idea of a 'balanced' dynamic IEM didn't really exist, and to my ears the DBA-02 sounded better on balance than any of the other BAs out there.
 
So thanks heaps to Dsnuts and ericp10 for hyping these up! I guess hype is always more acceptable (?) when the earphone in question is inexpensive. Memory is a fickle beast, of course, but I don't find myself missing the DBA-02 often with these. The CKM500 present a very nice sense of space and even if vocals aren't quite as forward or thrilling as I remember them to be... they still sound pretty amazing, more realistic even. And now that I'm hearing music with deep bass and proper decay (even if it does get messy at times, as others have pointed out) I'm not sure if I can go back to that standard BA sound permanently.
 
Long story short: for those who like the CKM500 and have heard more 'top-tier' earphones at length than I have - what would be a good (hopefully also complementary) upgrade to the CKM500?
 
Is GR07 going to be a significant step up? e-Q5? Anything else?

 

[ericp10]

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Very interesting ericp10. How is comfort/fit, isolation, microphonics and build quality of the AF56?

 
Sweden, the AF56 is very comfortable. The body rests snugly in my inner-earlobe and if wasn't for the sound I would forget it's there. Unfortunately, microphonics is a problem with Adudiofly's beautiful cloth-covered cables (but I don't hear the microphonics when music is playing). Build quality is superb! Mine has an all-black rubber-like 3.5 mm straight adapter with a silver metal gripper ring around it. Coming out of the adapter is a dull-yellow (or tan) cloth-covered cable going into a navy blue phone button (I have the mobile phone model), navy blue mic, and finally, the cable going into a nice navy blue earphone shell with metal silver plating - and the Audiofly logo - on the front where there are several tiny sound vents. There earphone shell kind of looks like some vintage radio speaker covering from the '50s or '60s. Oh, the back of the shell is black. The more I listen to the AF56 the more it's edging out the CKM500. The AF56 is just more of a balanced sound compared to the CKM500. The AT can be too much of a good thing (kind of syrupy at times with too much bass). Don't get me wrong here, the CKM500 is still a very good IEM in my opinion and one of the best "bangs-for-the-bucks" that's out there, but the AF56's somewhat neutral sound with great sub-bass is more to my liking. And it has better clarity than CKM500. The CKM500 is just soooo thick and rich (almost too much). Both are too of the best IEMs I've heard in the $100 and under price categories (and really competing in the $150 - $200 categories). So don't think I'm knocking the CKM500 all of a sudden, I still like it a whole lot. It's just that the AF56 fits more of the sound signature that I like. I wished the GR07 (which I love) sounded more like the AF56.

 

[Cya|\|]

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Ah, CYAN captured what I am struggling with in these IEMs:
The mids feel too weak, which result in a "plasticky" feeling, and the highs are too harsh, so I cannot turn up the volume to remedy the problems with the mids.
Hopefully some more burn in will help fix this. My bass has already tamed down after a couple days.

 
How long have you been using/burning-in them?
I've burned them for at least 5 hours (they've been playing music non stop since before my post), and the bass seems already a little better. The mids still need to improve a lot though.

 

[dtomo]

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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.
 

I had this too, there is a rough ridge(?) in the middle of the tips that irritate my ears, changing to large tips seems to fix it for me. I have some T400s but will wait until burn in finish.

 

[Dsnuts]

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Hmm, I've been struggling with the CKM500.
Something about it is strange. There's something... off. I don't know what it is yet, but I suspect it has to do with the mids.
I am too inexperienced to name what it is -- perhaps "veil" is the word, or lack of detail, or too forward/bright? I don't know.
Even in my A/B comparisons between my CKM500s and Miles Davis Tribs, I can't quite put my finger on what's bothering me, and I can't even say I enjoy my MMDTs more. It's just that there's... something.
Well, I know that's not very helpful, but we'll see. Maybe it will be fixed with some more burn in? It's something in the mids for sure.
That being said, I do think they're pretty good. I just am not sure what it is, there's something weird that I can't put my finger on.

It's actually simple. You are too used to the MMDTs forward and very colored mid range. After a good burn you just have to start using the CKM500 more and they clearly have the better clarity and detail over the MMDTs.

 

[Cya|\|]

There is another pair of tips in the box. Are they the same as the mounted ones, for replacement, or are they different?
 

 

[xer0x]

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There is another pair of tips in the box. Are they the same as the mounted ones, for replacement, or are they different?
 

 
Shouldn't there be three pairs of spare tips...? They're the same, just of different sizes.

 

[Cya|\|]

Quote:

 
Shouldn't there be three pairs of spare tips...? They're the same, just of different sizes.

 
I've noticed only one. I'll check better later. It would be cool if they are of different size. Maybe a smaller pair will be more comfortable.

 

[Aaron126]

I'm sorry for the delay, but thank you all that replied to me and tried to help. Apparently these are totally different from EX600, which i'm totally fine with. Differend sound signatures. Fun! I had a EX500 (currently broken) and a CKM55 (currently broken)... loved them both, but EX500 was miles better than CKM55. From what i've heard people saying here, that the CKM500 goes neck to neck against EX600 and GR-07, I got my expectations up lol it's almost here... i'll probably get it tomorrow from CDJapan

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
Long story short: for those who like the CKM500 and have heard more 'top-tier' earphones at length than I have - what would be a good (hopefully also complementary) upgrade to the CKM500?
 
Is GR07 going to be a significant step up? e-Q5? Anything else?

 
B2 or EQ5.  

  GR07 was one of my favorite designed and fitting phones but the sound never really did it for me.
 
Quote:

It's actually simple. You are too used to the MMDTs forward and very colored mid range. After a good burn you just have to start using the CKM500 more and they clearly have the better clarity and detail over the MMDTs.

 
In a few days I'll have to revisit this as I also find the MDTs to have better mids.  Not sure if you had one of those veiled tip/fits or not.  I think what might help the CKM500 with clarity and separation might be hurting the mids/vocals.  A sort of overly thin delicacy that's somewhat unnatural.  I'll repost findings later.

 

[FieldingMellish]

I put Complys on my CKM500 and I am thinking it bloated the bass too much. Only reason for putting them on was trying to create more isolation, but it's coming at a sonic cost.

 

[compoopers]

It's actually simple. You are too used to the MMDTs forward and very colored mid range. After a good burn you just have to start using the CKM500 more and they clearly have the better clarity and detail over the MMDTs.

What sort of methods do you recommend for burning in?

In a few days I'll have to revisit this as I also find the MDTs to have better mids.  Not sure if you had one of those veiled tip/fits or not.  I think what might help the CKM500 with clarity and separation might be hurting the mids/vocals.  A sort of overly thin delicacy that's somewhat unnatural.  I'll repost findings later.

This is similar to what I'm finding, but I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt until "burn in" settles completely.

 

[Cya|\|]

I've changed from the default tips (the biggest, size 4) to the smallest ones (size 1). They are much more comy, but the bass has completely disappeared

.
I absolutely had to remove the iems after 1 hour of continuos wear with the default tips, as my ears started to unbearably ache. Now I'll have to see if size 3 offers me still good bass, without sacrificing comfort.

 

[compoopers]

hey Cyan, how does tip swapping affect the highs?

Edit: HOLY ****!!!! Pardon my language, but I switched my tips from size 3 (out of 4) to size 2, and not only is it way more comfortable, but the mids sound WAY better... holy crap!! YAY

No WAY! Not only are my ear canals way more comfortable now (my left ear was in a lot of pain after a long time with the size 3 tips), but the mids feel closer and the plasticky feeling is totally gone.

NICE!!

 

[jasonb]

There are 4 sizes? Which size are the default ones? Ive only used the tips they come installed with. They give me the sound and comfort/fit that i want.