[hentai]

Hi guys,

I am looking for an iem that is comfortable, excellent for vocal and balance sounding. I have tried the ck100 and it sounded quite lean.

 

[iponderous]

The SE530 is well regarded for its vocal presentation. Although it can be sibilant at times.

 

[kunalraiker]

CK 10 would be nice.

 

[iponderous]

^ Please tell me why you continue to recommend earphones that you have not heard yourself?

 

[playingwithfire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hentai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi guys, I am looking for an iem that is comfortable, excellent for vocal and balance sounding. I have tried the ck100 and it sounded quite lean.

se530 is definitely nice for vocal. The highs aren't the nicest but if that doesn't bother you it's not that big of a deal.

my current recommendation on all things comfy and balanced is the Westone 2, I think it just has a good amount of everything.

I do know somebody that has similar taste in HP who absolutely loves his new UM3X, so you can go that route if you can spend the extra money and don't care much for soundstage size

 

[mvw2]

I'm quite fond of the UM3X, however there are a lot of good earphones out there that are of very good sound quality and well balanced. At the very least give them a try. Find one used, try it for a month. If it's not what you want, sell it and pick up something else.

I haven't used the CK100, so I can't comment on which direction to to from there. I've used the SE530 and CK10 and a pile of other earphones. I could point you in a direction if I knew more about what kind of sound signature you were looking for.

Balance unfortunately doesn't mean much once you have EQing available. Depending on your audio source and EQing power, you might have a TON of good options to work with.

 

[hentai]

I did try the shure 530 and felt um3x's seperation was better. Haha I have listened to the um3x recently and it was enjoyable for my taste. Ck100 was a disappointment, like the ck10. Metallica sounded pretty good as well. So before i squeeze the trigger on um3x, I wanna listen to alternative views in headfi. I listen to japanese pop ( love japanese female vocal ) , metallica, jazz, rap, tool and many others....

Oh yeah , i am using just an ipod classic as the source and have no intention of getting portable amp.

 

[gameboy115]

You won't go wrong wiht UM3x ,if you are meant to find balanced, little warm ( using shure black foam) , emotional vocal, even its soundstage is small, instrument separation is top of hill among all flag ship IEM ,along with brilliant instrument reproduction which I think it is best I have even listened

Shame it is less dynamic than other top IEM.......

 

[mvw2]

I like the CK10. It's a good product at the $200 price point, but it does need to be EQed. There's a sizable peak at 12kHz that can be rather strong in some musical situations. J-pop could certainly be one of them. It tames out a lot with some EQing, however the response shape is a bit odd, more of a skewed triangle shape then parabolic and because of the response and level of detail it has on the top end, it's a bit sensitive to gettting it right. Without EQing, the CK10 can be a bit sibilant, lot of strong Ses lol.

I don't feel it's terrible, but like with most earphones, EQing can generally make them better. With some earphones, EQing can be a game changer, like my OK1 buds. The CK10 isn't amazing with soundstage either. Other earphones give a more spacious and layered experience.

Frankly, the UM3X is one of my favorite earphones and the only thing I've used that I kind of regret selling. There's only two earphones I've used that can really pull me into the music and provide a seriously emotional experience, my Ok1 buds and the UM3X I owned, but unlike the OK1s that benefits from a lot of EQing and a robust amp, the UM3X is well balanced out of the box and work off minimal power (although bass can be oddly muddy and incoherent off too little wattage). I keep trying to be a one earphone man, so the Ok1 stayed. I just keep buying new stuff though and weed through a pile of more products from time to time trying to find a sucessor. If I were to have two, the UM3X would be my other though.

Gameboy115, UM3X less dynamic? I haven't used another earphone that's had as much dynamic breadth and energy of note as the UM3X.

By the way I've been listening through a bunch of random j-pop as I typed this just to be in the mood, lol.

 

[hentai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like the CK10. It's a good product at the $200 price point, but it does need to be EQed. There's a sizable peak at 12kHz that can be rather strong in some musical situations. J-pop could certainly be one of them. It tames out a lot with some EQing, however the response shape is a bit odd, more of a skewed triangle shape then parabolic and because of the response and level of detail it has on the top end, it's a bit sensitive to gettting it right. Without EQing, the CK10 can be a bit sibilant, lot of strong Ses lol. I don't feel it's terrible, but like with most earphones, EQing can generally make them better. With some earphones, EQing can be a game changer, like my OK1 buds. The CK10 isn't amazing with soundstage either. Other earphones give a more spacious and layered experience. Frankly, the UM3X is one of my favorite earphones and the only thing I've used that I kind of regret selling. There's only two earphones I've used that can really pull me into the music and provide a seriously emotional experience, my Ok1 buds and the UM3X I owned, but unlike the OK1s that benefits from a lot of EQing and a robust amp, the UM3X is well balanced out of the box and work off minimal power (although bass can be oddly muddy and incoherent off too little wattage). I keep trying to be a one earphone man, so the Ok1 stayed. I just keep buying new stuff though and weed through a pile of more products from time to time trying to find a sucessor. If I were to have two, the UM3X would be my other though. Gameboy115, UM3X less dynamic? I haven't used another earphone that's had as much dynamic breadth and energy of note as the UM3X. By the way I've been listening through a bunch of random j-pop as I typed this just to be in the mood, lol.

Thanks , I think I will pull the trigger on um3x. Don't know if you are familar with the jpop group Globe. I am a fan of this group and its lead vocalist often sings at the highest freqency.Very few headphones can protray this kind of music well. Mids and highs must be very clear and smooth but not too forward.

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like the CK10. It's a good product at the $200 price point, but it does need to be EQed. There's a sizable peak at 12kHz that can be rather strong in some musical situations. J-pop could certainly be one of them. It tames out a lot with some EQing, however the response shape is a bit odd, more of a skewed triangle shape then parabolic and because of the response and level of detail it has on the top end, it's a bit sensitive to gettting it right. Without EQing, the CK10 can be a bit sibilant, lot of strong Ses lol. I don't feel it's terrible, but like with most earphones, EQing can generally make them better. With some earphones, EQing can be a game changer, like my OK1 buds. The CK10 isn't amazing with soundstage either. Other earphones give a more spacious and layered experience. Frankly, the UM3X is one of my favorite earphones and the only thing I've used that I kind of regret selling. There's only two earphones I've used that can really pull me into the music and provide a seriously emotional experience, my Ok1 buds and the UM3X I owned, but unlike the OK1s that benefits from a lot of EQing and a robust amp, the UM3X is well balanced out of the box and work off minimal power (although bass can be oddly muddy and incoherent off too little wattage). I keep trying to be a one earphone man, so the Ok1 stayed. I just keep buying new stuff though and weed through a pile of more products from time to time trying to find a sucessor. If I were to have two, the UM3X would be my other though. Gameboy115, UM3X less dynamic? I haven't used another earphone that's had as much dynamic breadth and energy of note as the UM3X. By the way I've been listening through a bunch of random j-pop as I typed this just to be in the mood, lol.

I see IE8/ TF10 pro more dynamic, but I guess it is source dependence and personal preference. TF10 pro really shines on my kenwood 30g which is not famous in the forum , but gain reputation in Asian community, actually it should trumps Sony X walkman easily according to different review.

I may over excited about talking thing out of topic here.

Anyway, Do you think Ck 10 is warm /cool IEM before Eqing? As I dont use eq most of time. Which vocal is better, UM3x or Ck10?

 

[KLS]

^ I am not mvw2, but I have a pair of CK10.

To me, CK10 is about neutral, if not a little cold.

 

[iponderous]

Dynamic, energetic, lively, are not words that I would use to describe the UM3X sound signature.

 

[mvw2]

Haha, that's a joke right?



Ck10, a little bright. It has a sizable bump in response around 12kHz. Once tamed, it's very well balanced. It's not bad unEQed though, very livable but still bright on the top end.

The IE8 and TF10 are less dynamic then the UM3X. The TF10's dynamic range is medium and medium-loud. It lacks both subtlety and explosiveness that the UM3X has, and while it has good energy and detail, the TF10 tops out early. The IE8 is slightly rounded off both in impact and note detail. Notes are slightly less agressive then you'd expect them to be. One could almost say the IE8 is slightly laid back.

Just a note, I owned all three of these at the same time, plus the SE530 for several months when I was trying them out and comparing them. My comments are from long term direct comparison use listening through hundreds of songs. I have a detailed comparison of these in another thread I made a little while back. It has observations, listening notes, and formal reviews of each. I'm just clarifying that I'm not making my comments lightly. The context of my words may vary from your context though. Dynamic range to me is the raw ability to get loud effortlessly, but also quiet is important. This isn't turn up the volume loud but rather showing the variation in the music effortlessly and preferably without limit. It's the ability to portray a whisper and a scream with appropriate intensity.

 

[iponderous]

^ Nope, and you should know that by now mvw2 if you've ever read my previous responses to your posts.

You claim that the UM3X is more "dynamic" than the TF10, IE8 and the SE530. Dynamics in music refers to the volume or level of sound produced. In otherwords, the transition from soft to loud in a passage of music. The UM3X did not reproduce these musical dynamics any more convincingly than the IE8, SE530 or the TF10 to my ears.

Moreover, the UM3X dulled the musical experience for me in a way that I have never experienced with an earphone or headphone before. It sucked the life, verve and sparkle out of my music collection, along with my enjoyment of it. It's sound signature is too warm to be described as neutral, and its soundstage is claustrophobically small even for an earphone in my opinion.