Audio-Technica ATH-CKM50A In-ear Headphones

There are quite a few offerings available in the sub-$100 headphones market, and to differentiate themselves Audio-Technica has gone with an unconventional design for its latest set of portable in-ear headphones - the ATH-CKM50A. The design style, which is dubbed the “direct diaphragm mount”, is aimed to provide increased audio fidelity and acoustical impact. Along with a reasonable MSRP of $79.99 USD, these portable in-ear headphones are available in standard black color as well as in red or in white. We take a listen to the latest in-ear model from Audio-Technica today – read on for the results.

Design

The unique design of the ATH-CKM50A is clearly apparent when you open the package and get a chance to take a 360 degree look at them. The “direct diaphragm mount” is essentially a different shape to the ear-buds that allows the entire driver to be angled in such a way as to fit inside your ear canal. The result is a very snug fit for the earbuds inside your ear. Included with the headphones is a set of small, medium and large ear tip pieces to allow you to find the best fit for your ears.

The ATH-CKM50A’s use 12.5mm rare-earth drivers, which are slightly larger size than most in-ear headphone drivers. The .6m (2 ft) cord is a bit of an awkward length, as it is too short to use with the music source anywhere other than in a shirt pocket, so the included 1m (3.3ft) extension cord comes in very handy for day-to-day use.

Features

• Direct diaphragm mount for precision audio reproduction
• 12.5 mm rare-earth drivers
• 2 ft (0.6 m) cord with 3.3 ft (1.0 m) extension
• Gold-plated 3.5 mm stereo mini-plug
• Includes pouch and S/M/L earpieces
• Available in black (BK), white (WH) and red (RD) models
• 2-year warranty

In the Box

The test unit came in black and included the following:

• ATH-CKM50A in-ear headphones
• 1m (3.3 ft) extension cord
• Soft carrying pouch
• S/M/L silicone ear-tip pieces
• Warranty card

Sound Quality Performance Testing

The sound quality performance evaluation using the ATH-CKM50A was performed by listening to MP3s and FLAC music stored on my Sansa Fuze MP3 player. I listened to a number MP3s with bit rates of 128kbps and 320kbps, as well as lossless audio tracks in FLAC format. A wide selection of classical, rock, alternative and hip-hop music was used in the evaluation.

First impressions revealed that the ATH-CKM50A’s produce a very detailed and in depth listening experience – for all types of music. The in-ear headphones did an excellent job with all types of music including rock, hip-hop, jazz and classical. Separation of instrumental sounds was very good, and tonal balance of the singing voices was on-par with headphones even above the $100 price range.

Bass notes were impactful as well, which is largely due to the direct mount design of the earphones as well as the slightly larger sized drivers. Warm, rich bass was evident in all types of music. Even hip-hop and rock had a good amount of punchy bass from the ATH-CKM50A’s, without getting muddy or bloated sounding, which is no small feat for such a small set of headphones. The lowest frequencies do trail off a bit toward the bottom end of the spectrum, but the low-end produced by these headphones is unquestionably a strong point.

Mids and high frequencies were also clearly produced and pleasant sounding, with the high end showing no signs of brassy or harsh tones. Voices of the singers were smooth sounding and blended well with the rest of the music without intruding on the instrumentals.

The only real sound quality complaint that I have with these in-ear headphones is that they need to be firmly placed in your ear canal to sound their best. If they become slightly dislodged while you are moving around, or if you don’t get them placed fully inside your ear canal, you will quickly notice the degradation in sound quality. Since I mainly performed my listening sessions while sitting at the computer, this did not cause me a whole lot of trouble. But I would be hesitant to recommend these if you are constantly on the move or expect to use them while exercising at the gym.

Portability

The small size of the ATH-CKM50A’s make them easily portable using the included soft drawstring pouch. Both the earphones and the extension cord easily fit inside the pouch, and I tossed them into my computer bag where they easily fit inside. You could also easily fit the pouch in a pants pocket or a backpack pocket, so there is no reason to not take these with you wherever you normally bring along your MP3 player.

Comfort

The direct mount design of these earphones takes a little bit of time to get used to, especially if you are not used to in-ear headphones. I used the Medium sized ear-tips to achieve the best fit for my ears, and they fit very snugly inside my ears and gave the best sound quality results. The tight-fitting design did a great job of blocking out external noise - almost to the point where I could become oblivious to my surroundings.

I did find that I needed to take a break during long listening sessions to let my ears “breathe”, so I would not say that these are the most comfortable set of in-ear headphones on the market. If you like to listen to MP3s for hours and hours on end, I would look into getting a set of over-the-ear headphones or on-ear headphones instead.

Audio-Technica ATH-CKM50A In-Ear Headphones

The Audio-Technica ATH-CKM50A in-ear headphones offer exceptional sound quality at a reasonable price, and come in a few different color choices to match your MP3 player. The bass response is really a strong point of these in-ear headphones and is a step above most other headphones in this price range. Easy portability and overall excellent performance are the highlights that these headphones have to offer.

The tight-fitting design and fickle sound quality with respect to the in-ear placement are the only real drawbacks of the ATH-CKM50A’s. Some people may not find the in-ear canal placement very comfortable, especially for long listening sessions, but it really is a personal preference. If you are comfortable with in-ear canal headphones, then the ATH-CKM50A’s are an outstanding choice for a new pair of sub-$100 headphones.

Pros: Superb sound quality, easily portable, reasonably priced, 2-year warranty.

Cons: Tight in-ear design may not be comfortable for some, sound quality is dependent upon in-ear placement.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

www.audio-technica.com