The discovery thread!

[MrEleventy]

Flip the T90s for an easy 300-400?

 

[Exesteils]

Flip the T90s for an easy 300-400?

That's what I was thinking too. They even throw in a pair of Beyer DX160ie which I have been interested in for awhile now. Might get someone to chip in if they want the T90s so we both win.

 

[kamcok]

Alrighty folks, I just received my spiral dot tips with the tenores.
I'm typing with them in my ears right now.
I first tried the tenores right out of the box without changing the tips and thought wow these sound pretty damn good for the price.
However, I noticed that there was a mid treble spike that made it sound a bit too "crisp" which i'm not a big fan of.
 
After a while, I changed it to the spiral dot tips and guess what ?
It smoothed down the treble instantaneously.
The effect is not subtle, you don't have to listen hard to notice.
It just makes the whole spectrum much smoother
I LOVE IT !
 
tenores + spiral dot tips > KC06
hands down.

 

[kamcok]

The spiral dot tips are really worth a shot. At first I looked at the tips and thought.... the spiral dots aren't even all that prominent, this is probably just some placebo effect kicking in place.
But nope, the effect is really there, this is a real surprise to me.
 
I won't be buying a new IEM for a while now

 

[Dsnuts]

Singolos been in my ears for the greater part of the evening. I am very impressed with these. These would actually be the upgrade to the tenors..Similar sound tuning to the Tenors actually.  I know many of you guys just got the tenors but the sound of the Singolos seems to hone down what makes the tenors so nice. I like em both actually but for a single BA these have one of the most complete sounds I have heard.. Zero Audio does it again..
 
CKR5s. Need burn in but they have a very similar sound balancing to the CKR9s. AT phones you can't judge from open listen or even a 24 hours of burn. They need minimum of 1 week straight to actually hear what they are really like. These will be no different. I am impressed with these as well and these will get better and better and show me what they are about but only with a good driver beat down.. Will have some more thoughts on these later.
 
CKR9.. Absolute raw drivers out of the box. Lol.. Yet more phones that must be burned in before they sound correct.

 

[vlenbo]

  Singolos been in my ears for the greater part of the evening. I am very impressed with these. These would actually be the upgrade to the tenors..Similar sound tuning to the Tenors actually.  I know many of you guys just got the tenors but the sound of the Singolos seems to hone down what makes the tenors so nice. I like em both actually but for a single BA these have one of the most complete sounds I have heard.. Zero Audio does it again..
 
CKR5s. Need burn in but they have a very similar sound balancing to the CKR9s. AT phones you can't judge from open listen or even a 24 hours of burn. They need minimum of 1 week straight to actually hear what they are really like. These will be no different. I am impressed with these as well and these will get better and better and show me what they are about but only with a good driver beat down.. Will have some more thoughts on these later.
 
CKR9.. Absolute raw drivers out of the box. Lol.. Yet more phones that must be burned in before they sound correct.

Looks like my ckr9s were already burned-in.
the ckr9s may not be so good out of box is it?
 
I'm very glad that the singolos are an upgrade, i'm buying that instead of the tenores, though I won't discoutn the tenores to be honest.
 
the ckr5s are interesting, can't wait to hear your impressions.

 

[Dsnuts]

That weirdness in the treble region when you first described it is on my pair as well..That is going away already after 24 hours but if these were preburned in by the factory that would not exist. The rest of the sound is smooth enough but I can tell these will get much better after a week or two of burn in.

 

[vlenbo]

  That weirdness in the treble region when you first described it is on my pair as well..That is going away already after 24 hours but if these were preburned in by the factory that would not exist. The rest of the sound is smooth enough but I can tell these will get much better after a week or two of burn in.

Whew, thought I had some sort of outlandish ckr9.
 
Looks like they're similar pre-burn in. Thanks dsnuts. I hope you enjoy the singolos for a LONG time while waiting.
 
Hopefully the ckr5s do punch above their price point. A 4 star review has been uploaded on kakaku, they enjoy the heck out of it.
 
 
After you get the highs fixed up with burn-in, the mids will be a bit more cleaner, detailed, and more creamier than before, similar to the ckm500s imo.
 
 
The bass though, watch out! That improves quite a bit, and the spacing between instruments and stage also gets better. Happy listening.

 

[ericp10]

The Tenore might be the BEST earphone I've heard for under $50 though. And I think it's one of the best under $100. I still need more burn-in on it to see what it can do. I have it with me today while my CKR9 burns-in. It still hasn't convinced me yet that it's better than the Doppio. The Doppio is a neutral detail monster with lots of clarity and transparency. This opinion, however, takes away no shine from the Tenore. It's a very nice sounding budget earphone. Is it a giant killer as some have suggested? No it isn't in my humble opinion (no comparison to something like the FX850), but you may not be able to find much better if you're on a tight budget. 

 

[ericp10]

  That weirdness in the treble region when you first described it is on my pair as well..That is going away already after 24 hours but if these were preburned in by the factory that would not exist. The rest of the sound is smooth enough but I can tell these will get much better after a week or two of burn in.

 
 
I'm having a different experience with the CKR9, buddy. While I can tell there is much more improvement to come with burn-in, I actually thought these babies sounded pretty good out of the box. I put about five hours burn-in on them yesterday, and when I get home they should have over 30 hours. I don't find them as full-sounding as the FX850 (or it's little brother, the Ath-IM70). It is, however, more refined than the IM70, and rich with details. The bass is kind of stunning (still not equaling the FX850 yet to my ears). Then again, I have this Fiio upgrade silver-plated copper cable that pushes the FX850 more forward to my ears but keeps the wide soundstage. And it adds even more clarity to the whole sound signature. Clearly a great time to be in this hobby!! 

 

[ericp10]

Okay, thanks to a buddy head-fier (two actually), I have the the KC06 in my ears to try. Nice!! Wow, this under-$100 market isn't playing. Can't say the Tenore is better or vice versa. Different sound signatures, but both are great. More bass in the KC06 to my liking, but the Tenore has enough to satisfy. Tenore wins on vocals though, but KC06 is fuller sounding. I don't think I need more bass than this if the KC06 has more. I will also be hearing the the Philip 9710  and FX650 shortly. 

 

[Baycode]

  Okay, thanks to a buddy head-fier (two actually), I have the the KC06 in my ears to try. Nice!! Wow, this under-$100 market isn't playing. Can't say the Tenore is better or vice versa. Different sound signatures, but both are great. More bass in the KC06 to my liking, but the Tenore has enough to satisfy. Tenore wins on vocals though, but KC06 is fuller sounding. I don't think I need more bass than this if the KC06 has more. I will also be hearing the the Philip 9710  and FX650 shortly. 

 
You should try the Havi B3 Pro1's as well ericp10.
 
Great for acoustic, vocal, rock, unplugged, etc...
 
They are the only iems I got pleasure while listening to jazz for example...  Excellent separation, imaging, soundstage and clarity...
 
I sold my KC06 because B3 is better for my tastes...

 

[kamcok]

  Okay, thanks to a buddy head-fier (two actually), I have the the KC06 in my ears to try. Nice!! Wow, this under-$100 market isn't playing. Can't say the Tenore is better or vice versa. Different sound signatures, but both are great. More bass in the KC06 to my liking, but the Tenore has enough to satisfy. Tenore wins on vocals though, but KC06 is fuller sounding. I don't think I need more bass than this if the KC06 has more. I will also be hearing the the Philip 9710  and FX650 shortly. 

I personally find the KC06 having more sub bass whilst the tenores have more mid-bass

 

[ericp10]

 
 
You should try the Havi B3 Pro1's as well ericp10.
 
Great for acoustic, vocal, rock, unplugged, etc...
 
They are the only iems I got pleasure while listening to jazz for example...  Excellent separation, imaging, soundstage and clarity...
 
I sold my KC06 because B3 is better for my tastes...

 
 
I will get around to those too. Thanks for the suggestion Baycode. 

 

[ericp10]

  I personally find the KC06 having more sub bass whilst the tenores have more mid-bass

 
 
At this point I think I agree with you.