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Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Audio Technica ATH-CKS50
| Caractéristiques | |||
| Headphone Type | Semi in-ear | ||
| Frequency Response | 5 Hz - 24 kHz | ||
| Speaker | Dynamic transducer | ||
| Impedance | 16 ohms | ||
| Sensitivity | 104 dB SPL | ||
 Show all specifications
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| Cable Length | 1.2 m |
| Weight | 8 g |
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Tristan François
Translator: Catherine Barraclough
Test date: January 21, 2011
Translator: Catherine Barraclough
Test date: January 21, 2011
One Tip, Two Positions
The Audio Technica CKS earphones have a new feature called the '2 Position Post'. The idea is simple: there are two different circular ridges to grip onto the silicone earbuds.
This apparently improves sound insulation and comfort.
We couldn't really hear any difference in insulation, but the option of positioning the silicone tip less far into the ear could prove more comfortable for users who don't have very wide ear canals.
This apparently improves sound insulation and comfort.
We couldn't really hear any difference in insulation, but the option of positioning the silicone tip less far into the ear could prove more comfortable for users who don't have very wide ear canals.
Audio Technica has a well-established reputation for keeping the bass in check in its products. It was therefore not too surprising to see the brand let rip with a range of speciality bass-boosted products.
Hardware & Design: bulkyThe CKS50 headphones rather remind us of Sony's popular in-ear models, except that these guys promise boosted bass, and there's only a limited number of ways of achieving that! To enhance the bass, Audio Technica has used big resonance chambers in these headphones and you can feel the difference in design as soon they're in your ears!
Although they're relatively straight-forward to get into position and actually quite comfortable to wear, the CKS50 can be a little bit painful when used for long periods of time. Plus, users with smaller ears might not like them so much.
Accessories are a bit thin on the ground, with just three different sets of silicone earbuds and a soft case supplied.
Sound Quality: bring on the bass
Relative frequency response centred on the level measured at 1 kHz
Vertically, one square = 5 dB, red line = -3 dB - ideally the frequency response curve would be flat, at 0 dB
Here, we can see the frequency response starts to drop at 5 kHz and drops under -3 dB (red line) at 11.5 kHz
Vertically, one square = 5 dB, red line = -3 dB - ideally the frequency response curve would be flat, at 0 dB
Here, we can see the frequency response starts to drop at 5 kHz and drops under -3 dB (red line) at 11.5 kHz
With the word 'bass' splashed all over the packaging (alongside a whole load of other over-exaggerated adjectives) we were obviously expecting these headphones to be heavy on lower frequencies. And they are just that, with a bass that's pretty in your face (or in your ears!), but which is fairly consistent. Thankfully, this heavy bass is well-managed and it won't disappoint if you like that kind of thing.
The bass overdose trails off in the lower mediums, before the frequency response jumps back up in the treble to balance out the heavyweight bass. Unfortunately, this cuts out at 5 kHz, after which the frequency response drops off completely with just a slight flickering at 10 kHz. You therefore can't expect to hear the presence or positioning of individual instruments particularly well, and the sound won't sound airy and open. However, the overall output is pretty clean.
The Audio Technica CKS range of in-ear headphones promise 'Solid Bass' and live up to expectations. On the whole, the CKS50 are decent enough quality, but they're only really suitable for bass-hounds.
Pluses
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Decent build quality
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Heavy but well-managed bass
Minuses
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Accessories a bit thin on the ground
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Bulky: take up a lot of room in year ears
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High frequencies cut out too soon
Fans of bass-heavy sound will like the Audio Technica CKS50 for their clean, crisp output—something that can be quite rare in bass-boosted headphones.
