What are replacement for ATH-CK10 ?
Dec 19, 2021 at 1:35 AM Post #16 of 19
Cheers. I remember reading a couple reviews and head-fi threads about the CK100 years ago that put me off them. Can't remember why but I'll check them out. The most important aspect of the CK10 for me is the treble sparkle. I didn't mind the inferior bass (though appreciated the punchy, fast quality) and just added bass on my EQ. Sounds like the CK100 could be the one to try but I guess this is also out of production, right? As is the CK100Pro?

There's a guy on Amazon selling a CK100 for $450 with one monitor dimmer than the other. So I guess a functional set will be decent money.
 
Dec 19, 2021 at 11:56 AM Post #17 of 19
The CK100 is similar on treble, the CK100 Pro is brighter and more analytical. It's also not in your face than the CK10 and CK100 and doesn't do sense of space as well.

As far as IEMs I own that I consider better than the CK10, it's the Blessing 2 (super tough to beat on a budget) and the UE18+ (I have v2 molded in a universal format and apparently v3 is not well liked). The best IEM I own is the UE18+. There's a slight aggressiveness that the CK10 has that nether of these have.

Although people like to hate on the Shure 846, it actually has some of the better higher frequency detail in the IEMs I own, but in a way that's not excessively harsh or analytical. But they also throw a lot of bass at you too, and it's somewhat loosely controlled bass too, even amped. You can tune it with filters between warm and bright. Tonally, it sounds like it was originally configured warm as it has the most consistent response though the frequency range. And the the other neutral and bright filters just deviate from that. It's one of the few IEM I have with really good level of detail of you're aiming for that while not being offensive. It's a very good, slightly imperfect IEM. It feels like a lot of R&D time went into it, time selecting and tuning, but then the end result wasn't quite right. It's weird. You start listening and instantly recognize the work put into the sound but also realize it's also just a little bit off. It might have been the drivers they had available at the time of development and the intended goal of the product. It's a product that needs a modern refresh. That's really what it needs, a fresh look at drivers and tuning and make a V2 of the product.

However, I'm curious if some other products might do better. I still want to try the Moondrop S8, and I'll probably pick up the new Monarch MK2 early next year. There's a LOT of products I haven't tried. I've leaned pretty heavily on crinicals IEM list for a lot of my modern purchases and basically grabbed everything good on it sub $1k that looked interesting. I was only disappointed by the IER-M9. It's technically quite good, but it's not a product I want to listen to over other stuff. He also ranks the SE846 kind of low, and I think it's better than the ranking shows. This is especially true on build and construction. I don't own a better constructed IEM than my Shures. But the guide has steered me mostly right. There's just a LOT of IEMs.

For the closest option to the CK10 in tone and character, I'd point you to the Blessing 2 and the UE18+ (specifically v2, not v3), two price points for two very good sounding IEMs that I consider are similar in character but holistically better to the CK10.
 
Dec 19, 2021 at 2:43 PM Post #18 of 19
Cheers for the info man. Just a few more question based off of that. Is there enough of an improvement over the Blessing to warrant the extra bucks that the UE18+ V2 will take? Don't have a problem throwing down the $1K for it but just wondering what you think.

I'm actually tempted to take advantage of UE'3 30 day guarantee but I presume this applies to the current version on their website, which I presume is not the V2 (says it's the CSX): https://custom.ultimateears.com/products/ue-18?variant=17325738688569 . So if I want the V2 then I take it I will need to source a universal molded set on the resale market or maybe UE have a few in their warehouse that they could custom for me? Gonna shoot them an email. Or would you also recommend the CSX (is that V3 or maybe V4)?

You say you have the universal version - did you mold these yourself or did UE directly sell you the universal as opposed to the molded? Didn't see an option for universal when I went through their ordering process just now. Also, do the UE or Blessing need an amp? I don't have one so that would be a consideration.

I see the Andromeda is also on crinicals list...have you tried that...thoughts? I was underwhelmed and returned it after a month but I did not use it intensively. Compared to my (at at the time functional) CK10, it was just a bit dull. I dunno...maybe too neutral but I don't have the audiophile lingo down well enough to explain my thoughts properly. But head-fi was unanimous in its praise for that IEM, which is why I went for it.

I'm more of a one IEM kind of guy. Went through a reasonable amount of them until I found the CK10 in 2011, then I was happily contented and completely off the market until my final CK10 pair broke a coupe years ago. Didn't help that an ex GF very likely stole my back-up pair in addition to a third set with one broken monitor. Only realized months after we broke up when I went to my IEM box and they were not there. 100% sure she did it because nobody else had free roam of my place when I wasn't there and I'd talked to her at length about the CK10. Plus, it ultimately fit her character, which only revealed itself late in the game. Be careful who you hang with.
 
Dec 19, 2021 at 10:54 PM Post #19 of 19
I have not used any of the Campfire stuff. I never quite bought into the hype, and Moondrop just seemed to be the better pick for how people were reviewing stuff. Usually when something is very good, is pretty universally praise. When it's just decent, the reviews/comments are mixed. The Campfire stuff always seemed to be mixed. Plus I saw a lot of people selling them. You don't really see people mass selling great stuff.

For the price, the Blessing 2 is extremely good. For any price, it's extremely good. It's pretty easy to recommend that.

My UE18+ was a classified sale. I'm at least the second owner of not later. I just lucked out on the sale and it being a universal that I didn't have to reshell.

It's the UE18+ worth it? I mean, it's better. It's not like it's light-years better though. The issue is you're getting to the point where you actually are tossing down big cash on stuff that is just sightly better.
 

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