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100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Posts
- 157
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I've been searching for a pair of earbud-style cans for the past few weeks after I got my Zune 8. I've owned a pair of Ety ER6i's for about 2 years and love them to death, but I'm missing some of the warmth and "fun" that I get out of my Grados.
So a trek down to Jaben and Uncle Wilson and the guys have me sorted for a pair of Yuin PK3's. Honestly, not what I thought I would get. I had been looking at getting the ATH-CM700i's, but I gave the PK3's a demo and I have to say, I'm very pleasently surprised.
What's in the box?
Don't expect a standard plastic blister pack, as you've seen in other reviews, these buds are incredibly well packaged. The box is cute and probably will find another use storing cuff-links, but also included is a film-canister like container that's super sturdy and great for when you're treveling. There's also an 1/4 inch plug.
Did I miss anything?
Ohh yes, the buds themselves. Well what can I say, they're not going to win any fashion awards, very standard issue looking. That said, as earbuds go (and I do prefer them over IEMs) they are very comfortable. No sharp angles, no fancy protrusions, just a standard shape that kind of dissapears after you put them on. The j-cord is just OK, would be nice to get them in a y-cord style, but that's not a deal breaker. One nice thing, the cord is quite thick and doesn't appear to tangle so much so very happy about that. Overall, the construction on the PK3's can't be faulted.
Where these babys shine - the sound
So everyone has raved about the sound on these, so I was expecting big things when I demo'd them. These are initial impressions as I haven't burnt them in for very long (straight out of the box!)
Well they live up to that reputation. They are the best buds I've had. Period. I'll try to not wax lyrical and give a bit more info.
Overall I'm very happy with this unexpected purchace. For the price, these buds are quite exceptional. I've paid a lot more and gotten much less (earlier Sony IEMs for instance). If you're after a earbud style can, the PK3's are worth investigating, if you can get them shipped to you. One of the perks of living in Singapore
So a trek down to Jaben and Uncle Wilson and the guys have me sorted for a pair of Yuin PK3's. Honestly, not what I thought I would get. I had been looking at getting the ATH-CM700i's, but I gave the PK3's a demo and I have to say, I'm very pleasently surprised.
What's in the box?
Don't expect a standard plastic blister pack, as you've seen in other reviews, these buds are incredibly well packaged. The box is cute and probably will find another use storing cuff-links, but also included is a film-canister like container that's super sturdy and great for when you're treveling. There's also an 1/4 inch plug.
Did I miss anything?
Ohh yes, the buds themselves. Well what can I say, they're not going to win any fashion awards, very standard issue looking. That said, as earbuds go (and I do prefer them over IEMs) they are very comfortable. No sharp angles, no fancy protrusions, just a standard shape that kind of dissapears after you put them on. The j-cord is just OK, would be nice to get them in a y-cord style, but that's not a deal breaker. One nice thing, the cord is quite thick and doesn't appear to tangle so much so very happy about that. Overall, the construction on the PK3's can't be faulted.
Where these babys shine - the sound
So everyone has raved about the sound on these, so I was expecting big things when I demo'd them. These are initial impressions as I haven't burnt them in for very long (straight out of the box!)
Well they live up to that reputation. They are the best buds I've had. Period. I'll try to not wax lyrical and give a bit more info.
Bass
There's plenty here, even without the foam pads on. There is a certain pleasentness to the bass. It's impactful and not too muddy.
I will say one thing that sets these apart, and thats bass seperation. I guess that's technically part of the soundstage of the buds, but you can definitely tell individual snare hits over cymbals and bass drum. More so on metal tracks than techno (as dance tends to be seperated by default) The bass just hits you from different points of the soundstage, something I haven't noticed on my Ety's.
Treble
I'm a bit of a treble nut. I enjoy a can with slightly shrill highs (Listened to a Qualia once and it was heaven to me so that kinda sums that up). The PK3 has a good amount of treble. Certainly more than the stocks buds that came with the Zune and comparable to what I get from the Ety's. If you like your highs, you wont be dissapointed. If you're after something more mellow and laid back, these may be a bit hard to get used to.
Soundstage
I mentioned the bass soundstage earlier so you know the bass seperation is good. Overall the soundstage is fairly narrow, however it seems to be quite tall. This sounds strange, but it's the best way I can explain it. Bass and treble seem close, but ripple from under to over your ear. Again, not that airy, but a pleasent soundstage nonetheless. The attack of this phone is very good too (again, probably to do with the bass separation). It keeps up with dance and metal exceptionally well.
Overall I'm very happy with this unexpected purchace. For the price, these buds are quite exceptional. I've paid a lot more and gotten much less (earlier Sony IEMs for instance). If you're after a earbud style can, the PK3's are worth investigating, if you can get them shipped to you. One of the perks of living in Singapore