November 24, 2009 at 23:41Armature in the ears
“ Respect and respect to the bear that has stepped on Bumburum in the ear ” - I still will not forget this phrase) always causes a smile.
In every possible way I try to catch up. Today we are talking about some interesting reinforcing headphones - I want to share my impressions ... well, to discuss musical matters) Welcome to cat.
Audio-Technica CKM90 belong to the class of plug-in reinforcing headphones designed for portable players and designed for extremely accurate sound transmission in the base frequency range. In the class of reinforcing headphones digging AT, CKM90 penultimate in the ranks, second only to the premium model, CK100 .
A box with headphones is slightly larger than the box for audio cassettes - the headphones themselves and 2 pairs of silicone ear cushions are fixed in solid foam form (S and L; another pair, M, is worn on the headphones initially).
Behind this form is a case with ties, operation papers and a meter extension cord - a nice bonus, given the length of the Y-shaped ears of 0.6 meters. On the adapter, by the way, is an L-shaped connector.
The headphone design is as simple as the world, however, there are nuances. The elongated straight "cups" (on which the logo is applied) are made of titanium - I am convinced of the reliability of this metal every day by the example of a ring and a case for a flash drive. Thanks to this, holding the wire you feel the pleasant “heaviness” of the headphones, however, they are not heavy - the total weight is only 5 grams. In general, all this looks very attractive and inspires confidence (I do not even want to touch some plastic plugs).
There were no cracking frosts yet, so it was not possible to evaluate the wires to the fullest extent. But at -5 they remained flexible, not dubey. I prefer not to carry out crash tests with the zipper of the jacket, but in this case (as in all others)) the cable was jammed a couple of times - without consequences.
Headphones are held firmly in the ears - even on the largest nozzle, there is no discomfort, the ears do not hurt after prolonged wear. Easy morning jogging or jumping through the turnstiles in the subway is easy. Almost all the time I listened to those seals that were originally worn - with them there was a pretty good tightness.
Sound insulation is average - some of the sounds from the "outside" disappear, but you will definitely hear the approaching train in the subway. However, it is quite comfortable to listen at medium volume. By the way, I listened only to two players - Cowon D2 + and Cowon S9 (mainly on the BBE Headphone 2 preset).
The sound of the headphones is likely to be quite unusual for almost all music lovers - not only those who are used to the usual dynamic plugs, but also connoisseurs of fittings.
On the one hand, the “reinforcing” detail has not gone anywhere and is fully present - musical instruments do not merge into one pile, “sounding” distinctly and separately. On the other hand, the disadvantage inherent in almost all fittings - compression of audio information - is almost absent here. The sound is “lively” and dynamic - the quiet sounds on the records do not tend to reach the same level as the main characters of the musical narration, while the peak signals “breathe” at full strength, and do not humbly stop reaching a certain limit. That is, in this vein with headphones, everything is OK. But there is no perfection in the world, and SKM90 do not strive to become one, remaining just just good reinforcing headphones. IMHO, their main problem is a very uneven tonal balance.
A very high level of bass, as well as the lowest part of the middle frequencies, is adjacent to the failed “middle” and ambiguously demonstrated high frequencies.
Being already a little familiar with the sound of different headphones (and I heard, by the way, not much else), I was somewhat surprised by the SKM90 model. Each company almost always has some signature style - Audio-Technika has so far demonstrated a smooth and vibrant sound. And SKM90 against the background of other headphones of this company looks a little black sheep)
But, again, the ears act out well and generally left positive emotions.
By the way, during the time of use I managed to identify the following trifle - because I usually carry the player in my trouser pocket, then you can listen to it only through the extension cord (since the headphones themselves are only 60 cm long), and it, in turn, is unreasonably long (1 m) and has an L-shaped plug at the end. For the same S9, a direct connector is preferable (if you put the player in the pocket of your trousers upside down, the wire will not bend), while for D2 + it’s more convenient to use the L-shaped one (because the player was placed horizontally in the pocket and the direct connector is constantly bent, which will negatively affect the survivability of the plug).
Due to the fact that I prefer S9 (for ease of operation), I first wound the extension cord onto the player, and then completely abandoned it and listened from the inside pocket of the jacket. So the problem “either listen from the breast pocket or from the belt, or wind the extension cord and listen from wherever you want,” is the place to be. A trifle, but the sediment remained)
Pros
- Durable titanium headphone housing;
- Extension cord (1 m) and interchangeable ear pads (3 pairs) included;
- Reliable fit in the ear + lack of discomfort with prolonged wearing;
- High-quality sound with some reservations.
Cons
- Short Y-shaped wire (60 cm);
- Average sound insulation;
- High price.
By the way, what kind of reinforcing headphones are cheap and play the whole spectrum? )
As for the price - in Yandex.Market it ranges from 5086 to 7050 rubles, but on average it is 5200. They are sold in 7 locations, all of which are located in Moscow.
Price dynamics:
First, the headphones bribed with their reliability. Then - unpretentious behavior, being in the ears. Then ... they created twofold feelings - joy for melodious tracks (and for some, even pride) and almost complete disappointment from dynamic tracks with deep bass. Oh, and I wanted to listen to all the music uploaded to the player ...)
Therefore, headphones can be used by amateurs of instrumental compositions, as well as simply melodic musical directions. Well, that musical material, in which vocals dominate. Fans of electronic music (especially bass), as well as all kinds of "gravity", these headphones will not be the best choice.
Everyone has different ears and ears, so I won’t advise anyone. More precisely, I’ll be the best to take a walk to the store and listen on your own, as close as possible to the conditions in which you will listen further (player, music). Only in this way can you really buy what you want.
And next time I’ll talk about the Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000 monitor headphones - you can talk a lot about them, but it’s most pleasant to listen to them;)
During the tests, not a single live ear was hurt. Well, a link to Twitter )
Good luck!
In every possible way I try to catch up. Today we are talking about some interesting reinforcing headphones - I want to share my impressions ... well, to discuss musical matters) Welcome to cat.
Audio-Technica CKM90 belong to the class of plug-in reinforcing headphones designed for portable players and designed for extremely accurate sound transmission in the base frequency range. In the class of reinforcing headphones digging AT, CKM90 penultimate in the ranks, second only to the premium model, CK100 .
A box with headphones is slightly larger than the box for audio cassettes - the headphones themselves and 2 pairs of silicone ear cushions are fixed in solid foam form (S and L; another pair, M, is worn on the headphones initially).
Behind this form is a case with ties, operation papers and a meter extension cord - a nice bonus, given the length of the Y-shaped ears of 0.6 meters. On the adapter, by the way, is an L-shaped connector.
The headphone design is as simple as the world, however, there are nuances. The elongated straight "cups" (on which the logo is applied) are made of titanium - I am convinced of the reliability of this metal every day by the example of a ring and a case for a flash drive. Thanks to this, holding the wire you feel the pleasant “heaviness” of the headphones, however, they are not heavy - the total weight is only 5 grams. In general, all this looks very attractive and inspires confidence (I do not even want to touch some plastic plugs).
There were no cracking frosts yet, so it was not possible to evaluate the wires to the fullest extent. But at -5 they remained flexible, not dubey. I prefer not to carry out crash tests with the zipper of the jacket, but in this case (as in all others)) the cable was jammed a couple of times - without consequences.
Inside
Headphones are held firmly in the ears - even on the largest nozzle, there is no discomfort, the ears do not hurt after prolonged wear. Easy morning jogging or jumping through the turnstiles in the subway is easy. Almost all the time I listened to those seals that were originally worn - with them there was a pretty good tightness.
Sound insulation is average - some of the sounds from the "outside" disappear, but you will definitely hear the approaching train in the subway. However, it is quite comfortable to listen at medium volume. By the way, I listened only to two players - Cowon D2 + and Cowon S9 (mainly on the BBE Headphone 2 preset).
The sound of the headphones is likely to be quite unusual for almost all music lovers - not only those who are used to the usual dynamic plugs, but also connoisseurs of fittings.
On the one hand, the “reinforcing” detail has not gone anywhere and is fully present - musical instruments do not merge into one pile, “sounding” distinctly and separately. On the other hand, the disadvantage inherent in almost all fittings - compression of audio information - is almost absent here. The sound is “lively” and dynamic - the quiet sounds on the records do not tend to reach the same level as the main characters of the musical narration, while the peak signals “breathe” at full strength, and do not humbly stop reaching a certain limit. That is, in this vein with headphones, everything is OK. But there is no perfection in the world, and SKM90 do not strive to become one, remaining just just good reinforcing headphones. IMHO, their main problem is a very uneven tonal balance.
A very high level of bass, as well as the lowest part of the middle frequencies, is adjacent to the failed “middle” and ambiguously demonstrated high frequencies.
Being already a little familiar with the sound of different headphones (and I heard, by the way, not much else), I was somewhat surprised by the SKM90 model. Each company almost always has some signature style - Audio-Technika has so far demonstrated a smooth and vibrant sound. And SKM90 against the background of other headphones of this company looks a little black sheep)
But, again, the ears act out well and generally left positive emotions.
Own cockroaches
By the way, during the time of use I managed to identify the following trifle - because I usually carry the player in my trouser pocket, then you can listen to it only through the extension cord (since the headphones themselves are only 60 cm long), and it, in turn, is unreasonably long (1 m) and has an L-shaped plug at the end. For the same S9, a direct connector is preferable (if you put the player in the pocket of your trousers upside down, the wire will not bend), while for D2 + it’s more convenient to use the L-shaped one (because the player was placed horizontally in the pocket and the direct connector is constantly bent, which will negatively affect the survivability of the plug).
Due to the fact that I prefer S9 (for ease of operation), I first wound the extension cord onto the player, and then completely abandoned it and listened from the inside pocket of the jacket. So the problem “either listen from the breast pocket or from the belt, or wind the extension cord and listen from wherever you want,” is the place to be. A trifle, but the sediment remained)
Weighing
Pros
- Durable titanium headphone housing;
- Extension cord (1 m) and interchangeable ear pads (3 pairs) included;
- Reliable fit in the ear + lack of discomfort with prolonged wearing;
- High-quality sound with some reservations.
Cons
- Short Y-shaped wire (60 cm);
- Average sound insulation;
- High price.
By the way, what kind of reinforcing headphones are cheap and play the whole spectrum? )
As for the price - in Yandex.Market it ranges from 5086 to 7050 rubles, but on average it is 5200. They are sold in 7 locations, all of which are located in Moscow.
Price dynamics:
* - The average price chart for the model is calculated on the basis of all product offers of stores located on the Market for the last six months and delivering goods to the specified region.
A curtain
First, the headphones bribed with their reliability. Then - unpretentious behavior, being in the ears. Then ... they created twofold feelings - joy for melodious tracks (and for some, even pride) and almost complete disappointment from dynamic tracks with deep bass. Oh, and I wanted to listen to all the music uploaded to the player ...)
Therefore, headphones can be used by amateurs of instrumental compositions, as well as simply melodic musical directions. Well, that musical material, in which vocals dominate. Fans of electronic music (especially bass), as well as all kinds of "gravity", these headphones will not be the best choice.
Everyone has different ears and ears, so I won’t advise anyone. More precisely, I’ll be the best to take a walk to the store and listen on your own, as close as possible to the conditions in which you will listen further (player, music). Only in this way can you really buy what you want.
And next time I’ll talk about the Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000 monitor headphones - you can talk a lot about them, but it’s most pleasant to listen to them;)
During the tests, not a single live ear was hurt. Well, a link to Twitter )
Good luck!