[huhwhat]

Head-direct ships fast - I got my Pk1 in 3 days.

The cable is indeed soft. My concern for my Pk2's hardening cable was valid. *Sigh* And recabling doesn't seem to be an option with these babies.

But that aside, I'm in pure audio heaven!

 

[qscq]

I made new thread about this but it didn't get any attension, so maybe better luck here:

I have had PK1's for about ½ year, bought from head-direct. Lately I have noticited very annoying humming crackle (proper english?) on particular places of certain songs. Most detectable it's in The Last Samurai, track 2, Spectres In The Fog, time 1:40- when there is use of some echoing bass (single "booms" of drums). It feels like something is moving in the left ear piece, maybe driver isn't fully attached? This is very case relevant, many other songs with deep bass (but not same nature as this) do not cause this humming crackling noise. So it's pretty hard to prove something is wrong without right sound samples. Anyone else experienced something like this?

To previous post: the cable has indeed stiffened on short lenght starting from the point of attachment on the earpiece and it might become a problem since there seems to be a minor damage caused to one point. If bended I think the cable would crack. I assume this isn't the most usual behavior since this would be pretty expensive problem to YUIN if within every 12months a repair/exchance is required.

Does hardened cable produce some other problems then high risk of breaking?

 

[huhwhat]

I had a pair of Shure E2c with hardening cables, though it never reached the point of breaking/snapping. What happened was micro cracks appeared on the cable and green stuff started oozing out. The opaque plastic housing of the E2c also allowed me to see that the cabling/driver inside are stained green as well. Never did find out what happened. I guess the cracks allowed oxidation and my skin oil caused some chemical reactions. But then Shure has never been known for their cables' quality - just look at threads with people having problems with their Shure E4's and E500's. Luckily my warranty was still valid and I got them replaced.

Well, my Pk2 is also half a year old and are used at least 4 hours daily, so I'll give Yuin the benefit of doubt until another six more months pass.

As for the crackling, I have no idea, though I could venture a guess. Since you did say other songs do not have the same problem, then it could be the source causing the problem - with the Pk1's detail resolution capability, bad recordings, low bitrate files and damaged CDs/mp3s are 'punished'.

 

[touchzen]

What is your player? I had smiliar problem when using foobar2000, and fixed the problem by disabling all DSPs.
Quote:

Originally Posted by qscq /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made new thread about this but it didn't get any attension, so maybe better luck here: I have had PK1's for about ½ year, bought from head-direct. Lately I have noticited very annoying humming crackle (proper english?) on particular places of certain songs. Most detectable it's in The Last Samurai, track 2, Spectres In The Fog, time 1:40- when there is use of some echoing bass (single "booms" of drums). It feels like something is moving in the left ear piece, maybe driver isn't fully attached? This is very case relevant, many other songs with deep bass (but not same nature as this) do not cause this humming crackling noise. So it's pretty hard to prove something is wrong without right sound samples. Anyone else experienced something like this? To previous post: the cable has indeed stiffened on short lenght starting from the point of attachment on the earpiece and it might become a problem since there seems to be a minor damage caused to one point. If bended I think the cable would crack. I assume this isn't the most usual behavior since this would be pretty expensive problem to YUIN if within every 12months a repair/exchance is required. Does hardened cable produce some other problems then high risk of breaking?

 

[qscq]

"What is your player? I had smiliar problem when using foobar2000, and fixed the problem by disabling all DSPs."

I have tried with meizu m6, MediaMonkey, windows media player, all the same problem. DSPs are not the origin of the problem here.

"As for the crackling, I have no idea, though I could venture a guess. Since you did say other songs do not have the same problem, then it could be the source causing the problem - with the Pk1's detail resolution capability, bad recordings, low bitrate files and damaged CDs/mp3s are 'punished'."

Recording is perfect from CD with shure E4's and grado sr60 with/without Meier Move (and was with PK1's too unknown time ago).

I don't think there many options here but none can be confirmed without opening the earphones and ending warranty. Well, it seems that best course of action would be to return them with specific sound sample if necessary.

 

[philthy]

I read all 49 pages and everybody seems more than pleased with their PK1s. I'm planning to get a Caffeine Ultra Pro amp soon and I was wondering how the PK1s sound with hip-hop and R&B music. I heard that it was lacking bass, but I'm not too much of a basshead.

 

[kaushama]

It doesn't lack bass. With amplification it just gives correct amplitude of bass. Perhaps it lacks a little in extension down to deepest notes! Certainly it is not for people who like exaggerated bass. PK1 is neutral and natural sounding!

 

[tstarn06]

I have a Penguin Classic (pre-caffeine) and it matches up well with the PK1s. I am a major Roots fan, and they sound great with the Penguin/PK1 combo. I think you'll find them great, as long as you use your amp.

 

[huhwhat]

I would say the bass is just nice and tight - and that's my impression right out of the box without an amp. The KSC75, in comparison, feels bloated in the bass department, even after many hours of burn-in.

I don't listen much to hip hop or R&B, but listening to Juno Reactor (electronic/trance) through the PK1 is a real pleasure.

But hey, I'm not the type who likes skull-thumping bass.

I don't think you'll regret getting a PK1, and if you ever do, you'll find plenty of people willing to buy it off from you.

 

[SBD]

I remember pushing my ibuds to my ears and hearing tons better sound which is why I came here to look at iems. Then someone said these sound like full headphones but these aren't and they're still almost the same air distance apart from your eardrums.
so how would these compare to my grado sr60s?

 

[NeObliviscaris]

I'd rate these higher than my SR80s, they are absolutely freakn amazing buds!

Straight out of my Tomahawk or Little Dot Tube they are wonderful, and I still can't believe how they sound for so small!

 

[huhwhat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qscq To previous post: the cable has indeed stiffened on short lenght starting from the point of attachment on the earpiece and it might become a problem since there seems to be a minor damage caused to one point. If bended I think the cable would crack. I assume this isn't the most usual behavior since this would be pretty expensive problem to YUIN if within every 12months a repair/exchance is required. Does hardened cable produce some other problems then high risk of breaking?

Scratch what I said earlier about giving Yuin the benefit of doubt. The cable on my Pk2 is pretty much rigid on the earpiece end - cable breakage is a real fear now. The short length of wire extending from earpiece is hard enough that earbuds popping out of my ears just because I moved my shirt has become a common occurrence.

Note: These experiences are from indoor usage only. Nothing to do with the frigid winter weather.

Lucky I have a Pk1 to cure my addiction. What exactly is the warranty on these earbuds?

 

[SBD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FeedMeTrance /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd rate these higher than my SR80s, they are absolutely freakn amazing buds! Straight out of my Tomahawk or Little Dot Tube they are wonderful, and I still can't believe how they sound for so small!

thanks for that bit. It'd be perfect to get these then and get customs some years later. maybe I'm the only one that prefers the "in-ear" sound though...

oh yeah and I kind of like the ghetto look after having grados

 

[stevea8]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on either the PK1's or the ATH-ESW9's. Can anyone do a direct comparison of these two? ...it sounds like they would be similar in quality, but it's hard to tell reading everything (everything) here whether the ESW9's would definitely be worth the extra $$ (although amped the PK1's come close price wise). Given my listening habits--mostly classical/jazz, but also really pretty much everything, they both seem like they're very musical and would work well for the music I listen to. (Which would be best for choral music and piano??) ...this is my first plunge into the audiophile world, and I'm stoked about it.

I would be amping the PK1's, probably with the Caffeine Ultra, but would like other suggestions for inexpensive amps to drive them (seems like they aren't picky...they just need a boost).

Thanks in advance!

 

[qscq]

My previous posts about left driver producing humming crackling noise has been solved. I blew air from the backside of the earphone few times and the problem seems to be eliminated. I did this from the frontside before but it didn't have any effect so I figured it isn't any trash. It seems I was wrong.

Still, the cable is a concern.