In fact, this review should have come out early, and not even for one month. I was confused by Ostry, who suddenly announced a price reduction (which is always good) and a change in packaging. While I waited for them to change there in the box, it turned out that they did not intend to change anything, so the text did not even have to be changed, but it came out with some delay, however, the headphones also just got to the stores.
I think it will not be a big exaggeration to say that Ostry models KC06 and KC06A have become a real legend in the countries of the former USSR. The headphones quickly gained popularity, combining good design, good sound quality and affordable cost. Further experiments of the company in the field of inserts were not very popular (although the model was OK), so the developers returned to the IEM form factor.
The KC09 model was originally planned for release at a price of $ 200, and even in that segment it was very competitive, but the treacherous Ostry decided to dump on the full and cut the price tag 2-fold, turning a potentially good model into a hit (as I zapoyleril, eh? ).
Well, judge for yourself: high-quality headphones, with sound from Ostry and interchangeable wires at the price of most Chinese hybrids from the second echelon of manufacturers - is this not a dream?
Specifications
- Emitter: dynamic, 10 mm
- Sensitivity: ≥101 dB
- Impedance: 32Ω ± 15%
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Distortion: <1% @ 101 dB
- Channel imbalance: <1.5 dB
- Rated Power: 10mW
- Cable: interchangeable, with MMCX connectors, 1,3 m
- Plug: 3.5 mm TRS
Packing and delivery kit
If I was a company distributing design bonuses, then, perhaps, would give out KC09 at once a couple, and one - for the next year. In the packaging of these headphones Ostry managed to demonstrate both style and restraint. The box, sealed in a film, is made of simple recycled cardboard, its halves are held by magnets, and the metal plate with the company logo complements the look. Inside, everything is divided into three compartments, in which lie: headphones, interchangeable attachments and cable. Nozzles in a set of three types:
- Ordinary single-flange silicone, three sizes
- Nozzles with a filter, average size
- Nozzles made of "sticky" silicone, two sizes
By the way, the latter are very good, they provide a very tight fit of the headphones with an ideal fixation and thus improve both the noise insulation and the sound of the headphones.
Design and comfortable wearing
Needless to say, but Ostry made a model unlike other headphones. Metal cases with chrome-plated design have an unusual shape, perhaps the best pictures are transmitted. External panels (faceplates) are decorated with leather, there are options with black and brown insert (in my opinion, black is better, but it's a matter of tastes). The headphones are full of interesting design findings like marking channels with the help of small colored "serpics". Of course, with all this, the "nine" are qualitatively assembled and adjusted, and the massiveness of the metal adds a sense of reliability.
Earphones are primarily designed for breezing, you can put them down with a cable, although it will not be very convenient. Dimensions KC09 are small, which provides a comfortable fit, even for owners of small ears. Sound insulation - a little above average, especially if somewhere to pick up to them dvuhlancevye nozzles.
The model wire is made replaceable, MMCX-connectors of good quality are used (I judge by the strength of fixation). MMCX plugs are decorated in the same style with headphones, although due to their shape it is a little inconvenient to take fingers to disconnect (however, it's correct - do not pull them back and forth here and there). The wire is made in a fabric braid, it is of medium stiffness, so in fact it would not be hampered by zahushiny with the effect of memory - sometimes it falls off the top of the ears, although I do it infrequently. The wire does not harden in the frost and gets confused a little, the microphone effect is not expressed much, the breech landing allows to reduce it practically "to nothing".
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening.
- Yulong DA9 and Resonessence Labs Concero HP as DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2016 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Lotoo PAW Gold, theBit OPUS # 2 and iBasso DX200 and others as portable players
- High Definition Records in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were warmed for 48 hours.
If to say "in general", then the sound of nine develops the ideas that the buyers liked in 06A - a departure from traditional accents for LF and HF in favor of a slightly darkened sound with an emphasis on the lower half of the range. Naturally, this does not mean that these headphones are devoid of high-frequency (on the mountain sufferers from "sawing"), and does not mean that the bass dominates them as in the standard basshead models. Moreover, KC09 make a significant step forward in the speed characteristics, which is in favor of a general perception of their filing.
The bass here is very characteristic for a quality dynamic radiator. He is not dry, he does not try to play super-fast and give out excessive barking, but there is no need to complain about the lack of permission. LF in these headphones are accented, and the amount of this accent can be changed with the help of baits, picking up the level to your tastes. I decided on the filter version, since it is with it that the bass lift reaches an ideal value for me: it is enough to create a realistic weight effect, but not enough to prevail over the rest of the frequency range.
The midrange can also be called perfectly balanced, KC09 is not a headset with an emphasis on micro-contrast, they serve the material in one piece, but at the same time, naturally, there is no sense of lack of detail. "Overboard" are mostly flaws in the recording and other similar problems, so that non-audiophiles will not lose anything of value, but rather even gain. The ability to listen to not the best records without accentuating problems is a very important plus. It's surprisingly good headphones build an imaginary scene, sometimes even slightly "subdividing" it in width. This does not always sound natural, but in combination with the emphasis of low frequencies - very impressive. The depth of the imaginary scene is roughly average, but the development of the plans is very good. The character of the instruments is transmitted normally for a given price category, and the vocalists receive a small (very small) "increase" in emotionality.
The HF range was also slightly adjusted compared to the previous model of the company. While maintaining the general resolution and working out plans for HF (not ideal, but for its price is good), in KC09 slightly reduced the aggressiveness of attacks on HF, which was beneficial to their naturalness and perception. In general, despite the good resolution and lack of attempts to "pin down" the RF, they sound comfortable and do not strain the hearing (well, at least mine).
Since there are a lot of models in a similar price range, but unfortunately I do not have infinite time - the comparison section will be brief enough.
MEEAudio P1 . Another model that has won massive popularity. Of course, the price of P1 is higher (although the Massdrop version is close to the price tag for KC09), but here we compare by sound. And according to this parameter they have a cardinal difference in their approaches. P1 is more neutral, with a slightly higher resolution and longer HF, while KC09 offers more emotion and a more comfortable sound, especially on poor-quality tracks.
FiiO F9 . Another competitor in the price niche. Here the difference in sound is directly due to the design: F9 are hybrids, so they have better resolution for midrange and high frequency, but they have a noticeable peak on the high frequency, and on the whole they sound "drier" due to the reinforcement emitters. KC09 is more "merged" in its essence and offers an exchange of a bit of a microcontrast for comfort and integrity of perception.
Whizzer A15 Pro . Despite the dynamic design, the sound "Wizzers" is also reminiscent of hybrid models with accents for LF and HF (in the non-Pro version this similarity is even greater). Compared to KC09, they offer more biting NPs with slightly smaller corporeality and more accented HF with more dynamic attacks. The average frequencies of the A15 are slightly more secondary, but in general the drop is better in resolution.
Simgot EN700 Pro . The Simgot headphones are another small step towards the "relaxed" sound: slightly smoother than the attack, slightly less resolution, slightly higher than the slice, in general - one more step from listening to audiophile "detail" to the music-wise whole perception.
Compatibility
The headphones have the "right" impedance and sensitivity - they do not make noise with powerful players, but at the same time it's quite possible for modern smartphones. Although, of course, the latter will not disclose the full potential of this model to the full. The optimal source for it is the players of the initial-middle segment or so.
Genre KC09 is very versatile, and their manner of making makes the headphones a good option, even for a priori of poorly recorded styles such as a variety of strings. To the quality of the recording they are very tolerant, somewhere 6 points on the 10-point scale of "capriciousness".
Traditionally, a few tracks in the role of example
Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas . The most famous composition in the repertoire of the famous musician, and generally well-known jazz thing for fans of "unintelligent" jazz with KC09 sounds great. The slightly enlarged scene adds a track of realism, and the beautiful bass base makes the instruments very "tangible", which is also perceived very effectively.
Clutch - Firebirds! . I really do not know who introduced this fashion, writing modern "hard" is dirty and called it "vintage sound" (in the 70's the opposite was fought as they could), but this harmful belief is hampered by a lot of good teams, including and Clutch. Luckily, KC09 is good and with such tracks - quite low, but without busting, spectacular midrange, but realistic, normal HF, without accent - as a result they give "what you need".
David Bowie - Suffragette City . A fine example from 1972 also bears the imprint of recording technologies of that time, on many headphones turning into a scattered mess of weak bass and friable HF. I think I will not reveal a big secret if I say that everything is very good and balanced with KC09, starting with the vocals and ending with all the nuances of the HF, which often lose other headphones.
conclusions
Headphones, which had all the chances of success at the original price, but sold for half the price, is it not a dream? Especially if everything is in order with sound, design and ergonomics, and with this Ostry never had problems.
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The article is based on materials .
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