MYER AUDIO CKLVX D62: Hi-Fi Sound Approved

Myer Audio is a Shenzhen-based audio company with some decades of experience as an OEM manufacturer. They have an extensive relationship with some of the well-known audio brands in the industry that makes them even more credible, and they have garnered some well-experienced audio engineers as they are striving for high quality standards of their products with thorough craftsmanship and aiming for more innovation on portable audio technology.

What I have here is their product that was released last year, the Myer Audio CKLVX D62 and it has a hybrid driver set-up that was housed in a resin shell casing with a detachable cable. And this one was priced around over US$200/£140 makes this set position itself within the initial-level midrange pricing section.

The D62 hybrid driver configuration consists of two dynamic drivers of varying size and six “custom” balanced armature drivers. The dynamic drivers that were used here are 8mm which specifically used on the sub bass section for a better deep reverberations and the 10mm which will handle the mid bass section and some parts of the midrange as it adds fullness and slam on its body, while the supporting custom-made balanced armature drivers will handle the midrange and high frequency for better dynamics and clarity on vocals and instruments, and detailed and sensitive treble response. The drivers were then connected to a four-way passive acoustic conduit for a purer, less distortion and clean along with a tiny active electronic frequency divider for less crosstalk issue on frequency bands and a more cohesive sonic quality.

The drivers were then encapsulated in a medical grade resin shell chassis and its overall profile is on the medium size for an IEM yet it is also quite chunky too and it takes in a UIEM-style shape as it was designed to be an all-rounder to almost all ear sizes. It has a semi precious gem-like design on its resin-laminated wooden faceplate and there's a single vent hole at the top part of the cavity base which allows it to escape some excessive air pressure that was generated from its dual dynamic drivers for less listening fatigue in long listening sessions. It uses a 0.78mm bi-pin connector for its interlocking mechanism for its detachable cable.

When it comes to wearability, due to its UIEM-style shell design, it offers a comfortable fitting as it secures well into my lugholes that it wont cause some discomfort. And with a firm fitting inside of the other ear canal, it will ensure a good passive noise isolation that enables to block unwanted external noises from the outside

The stock cable of the D6 seems to be of a premium quality as it has a thick profile, supple and flexible although it has less resistance from entanglement. The construction of stock cable is composed of a braided 4-core strands of high purity oxygen-free silver-plated copper wiring sheathed with PVC insulator coating as the it will ensure a seamless audio signal transmission for a less distortion, no microphonic effect for a pure and lossless sound quality output. Aside from its excellent build quality, it also features a modular termination in angular L-shaped form on its end in which you can easily swap with different plug sizes from 3.5mm single end up to the 4.4mm balanced.

The product packaging of the D62 has fully-packed with quantifying amounts of accessories and they are presented in an organised fashion inside of its packaging box.

Here are the following contents that were included inside of its packaging box:

• Pair of Myer Audio CKLVX D62 transducer pieces.
• Stock cable with modular termination plug.
• 3.5mm plug adapter
• 4.5mm plug adapter
• Circular PU-leather case
• Three (3) pairs of an opaque white balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Three (3) pairs of black coloured balanced bore Sony-like silicone earbud tips in different standard sizes.
• Pair of memory foam ear tips.
• Instruction manual.

When it comes to amplification, this set is quite sensitive enough that it can be driven by devices that were usually set in standard gain output like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Even with standard gain output level, this one will sound fuller and very dynamic that reaches the both ends of its frequency range.

As for its tonal profile, it appears that the D6 has a mild U-shaped sound profile in which it reminds me of a bit that Harman-esque tonal profile, its on between the Moondrop VDSF and Harman Target 2019 in as both are more focus on the sub bass presence and an emphasis of upper mids and presence section on the high frequency that makes them leaning towards a bit bright sound.

LOWS/BASS:

As I previously stated a while ago regarding on its tonal profile, it has more focus on sub bass presence as we will be able to perceive that rumble and reverberations that were generated from electronic, percussive and string instruments like synthesisers, drum machines, drum machines, pedal keyboards, bass guitars and double-basses. The mid bass somehow has a sufficient mid bass texture as it gives enough slam and fairly note weight on bass-clef instruments like bass guitars, double-basses and bass kick drums, and also on male vocals with low voice registers like bass and bass-baritones.

The bass guitars have a sustaining and menacing sound, while double-basses have a wafting and resonant sound, and then the bass kick drums have a thudding yet soft on every stroke. Meanwhile, on male vocals like bass and bass-baritones, as they have that deep resonating sound on them, however due to the lean texture of the mid bass, it sounds lacking of volume a bit feeble that it won’t sound dense and wooly. Overall the bass quality of this one is rumbly, incisive and quite on tighter response as it was only able to deliver just a decent impact and a scant punchiness despite its dual dynamic driver set-up.

 

MIDRANGE:

The midrange of this one is mildly recessed as it is noticeable on the low midrange as it seems to have less body and warmth that somehow influence the tonal colours on both male vocals and other instruments, like percussives, some strings and brasses as it sound less textured, less weighty and lacking of strength on its note weight. Even though with a bit leanness on the low midrange, it has a transparent, energetic and crisp due to its slight boost on the upper midrange that gives more openness and expressive sound on most female vocals, a vibrant sound on strings and more airy and sensitive sound on woodwinds.

On the male vocals, the baritones sound smooth but a bit light and sweet that makes it more ideal to light baritones and lyric baritones, while the tenors have a clear, ringing and a bit tinny as it will depict some accurate tonal descriptions for leggero, lyric and to some extend, spinto ones but on other tenor types like dramatic and heldentenors, they sound a bit less emotive due less robust on note weight and a bit inadequate of warmness, and then, the   countertenors have a tender, intense and emotive sound from their falsettos. When it comes to female vocals, the contraltos with their deep chesty voices, they sound less husky, less heavy and just lightly smoky but it has still that raspiness, whereas the mezzo-soprano have mild, fiery and a bit metallic resonance sound from its voices, and ultimately, on the sopranos, they have a shimmering, silvery and bright sound that soubrette, lyric and coloratura types will sound more organic on this one.

In reference with instruments’ sound quality of this set, on the string ones – guitars sound crisp, sustaining and bright on every plucking, strumming and picking on its note strings, violins have a vibrant, clear and flute-like sound on every bowstrokes, and then, cellos have a sweet, mild and lively on them. The woodwind instruments on how they sound accordingly, concert flutes sound brilliant and airy, piccolos have a clear and delicate sound with a bit piercing tone on them, clarinets have a bright and expressive sound, and the saxophones sound reedy with brilliant tones on them. As for brasses with the likes of trumpets, trombones and horns, they sound vivid, brilliant and intense respectively. Regarding percussives, snare drums sound bright and penetrating, tom-toms sound resonant and sharp with less warmth on every hitting on its drum head, field drums sound sonorous yet incisive, and kettledrums sound rumbly and dry. Pianos' sound leans toward a more brighter tone as it has delicate, crisp and vibrant sound on them.   

 

HIGHS/TREBLE:

This set is definitely attuned in a brighter side of tuning as it has a shimmering and vibrancy on it with an airy presence, that accentuated upper-mids and presence will somehow make some vocals and instruments sound more frontward to be perceived. And also it highlights the clarity and definition on the vocal articulation and a sharper attack on instruments, although with this type of tuning, there are some instances of a bit shrill, tinny and piercing sounds that might be bothersome to treble-sensitive listeners and there is a mild sibilance if we played a sibilant-laden tracks.

The brilliance section has an intense sparkle with a good amount of airy extension as it can present details on its harmonics and also to add more high fidelity presence. When it comes to treble-clef instruments, cymbals sound more bright and sizzling while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing and metallic tone that produces a more swish-y sound. Celestas have a shimmering sound and glockenspiels seem to sound more glistening with a tad shrillness.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The overall dimension of its perceived head stage has a fairly roomy sound field as it has a relatively wide lateral span, a good height reach ceiling and an acceptable depth. When it comes to its imaging aspect, it presents a concave-like stereo presentation in which I was able to locate the exact location of the vocals and instruments in a fairly decent layered soundscape but somehow it has good separation in which the spacing and isolation of each musical element is rather perceptible that playing back some complex multi-instrumental tracks would be an easy-peasy but take note that this is not quite a class-leading as I've heard  a bit better technical performance from other sets.

The coherency of its multi-driver set-up is excellent as I don't hear any phasing issues nor distortion as its dual dynamic drivers seems to have fast transient speed for bass definition as it harmonise with the balanced armature drivers which are known for their fast, precise and snappy performance for a clean, clear and detailed sound. In regards to its resolution capability, it has a pretty firm and less compressed macro-dynamics as it was able to emphasise the varying degree of loudness scale from the quietest up to the loudness on the  chorale sections and instrumental passages, while on its micro-dynamics, it has a sharp definition as it extracts a good amount of details, nuances and grains like vocal ends, notation textures and instrumental reverb tails from an audio track.

 

PEER COMPARISONS:

JUZEAR 61T BUTTERFLY

• It has a hybrid driver configuration just like the D62.
• Its multi-driver set-up consisted of one dynamic driver, two midrange Knowles BA drivers and and four “custom” tweeter BA drivers.
• Like the D62, it was also housed in a UIEM-type medical-grade resin shell chassis with a Polynesian-inspired design of its faceplate and it also had acoustic tubes that were connected to each driver's inside.
• This one is also full-packed with accessories, while it has a good quality cable but it doesn't have a  modular termination plug feature.
• This set has a warmish-neutral type of sound signature as it has more punchy and impactful bass response, a well-balanced with a bit warm midrange presentation for better textured and rich sounding vocals and instruments albeit there are some slight timbre inconsistency, and then a smooth and lustre treble response with good amount of air.
• When it comes to technicalities, this one has a moderately spacious head room, a 3D-like stereo imaging presentation with well-layered soundscape and detailed resolution capabilities.

AFUL PERFORMER 5

• AFUL's introductory model and it is also a hybrid driver IEM.
• This set has one dynamic driver and four “custom” BA drivers on each side.
• It was encapsulated in a UIEM-type resin shell chassis and aside from acoustic tubes for each driver, it has RCL technology which is an advanced frequency band rectifier to eliminate crossover issues.
• AFUL is known to be generous when it comes to product packaging as it is well-packed with accessories, and while it has a good quality stock cable, it doesn't have a termination plug feature.
• This one has a U-shaped sound profile as it has punchy but a bit sluggish bass response, a recessed but it has a bit warmer and energetic sound although this one has those tonal colour oddities on some vocals and instruments, and then a sufficiently bright but less airy treble response.
• As for its technical performance, this one has an average sound/speaker stage as it has a bit intimate presentation within my aural sphere but it has 3D-like stereo presentation and a delineating resolution capabilities.

APEVOIX GRIT

• This one is another introductory product from Apevoix, and it also has hybrid driver configuration.
• But unlike the D62, it has three driver technology consisting of one dynamic driver, four balanced armature drivers and one bone conduction driver.
• The drivers were also encapsulated in a resin shell albeit it has a larger and chunkier profile.
• This one is also well-packed with inclusions, while its stock cable is of  good quality, it doesn't have a modular termination plug.
• It has a U-shaped sound profile with a balanced-warmish tonality on it, and it has an impactful and full bass response, a bit recessed but it has warm and lushness on its midrange and a lustre treble response.
• When it comes to technical performance, it has an average-size soundstage projection in a typical two-dimensional stereo imaging, but it has a solid macro-dynamics.

BINARY CHOPIN

• BINARY's initial model and a hybrid driver configuration.
• It has a single cermet dynamic driver and four balanced armature drivers.
• The shell design of this is rather unusual as it has tear-drop shape and it also has acoustic tubes that were connected to the drivers in a 3-way system.
• This one is pretty well-packed with accessories and its stock quality is rather decent but it only has a 4.4mm balanced termination plug.
• This one has a mild U-shaped sound signature as it has a rumbly and precise bass response, balanced with enough warmth on its midrange that makes the vocals and instruments sound more natural and then, smooth and balanced treble response with just a moderate amount of airy extension.
• It has an above-average size soundstage in a concave-like stereo imaging with a well-layered soundscape, and a reasonable detail quality on its resolution capabilities.

In conclusion of this product review, the CKLVX D6 is pretty solid as it has a  well-built construction, offers more accessories and a sound quality that offers a mature tuning that hi-fi listeners would love to listen to. And it seems that the main focus of the one is certainly more appealing towards more critical listeners on how its sound profile delivers a crisp, brilliant and detailed sound due its accentuated upper mids and presence treble as this one aims to be a high definition sounding with precision, but for the bassheads out there, this one is quite lacking in the bass department. But overall, I think this set has its own potential that I will still recommend this one on to other portable audio enthusiasts out there due to its sound quality itself and also its fitting and comfort that it gives to my ears.

MYER AUDIO CKLVX D6 is still available on HIFIGO. Check out the link below if you are truly interested on this product:

HIFIGO LINK:

https://hifigo.com/products/myer-audio-cklvx-d62

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: MYER AUDIO CKLVX D62

IMPEDANCE: 29Ω

SENSITIVITY: 110dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 25KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE:  (MODULAR) 3.5mm, 4.4mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  2 DYNAMIC DRIVER, 6 DYNAMIC DRIVER(S)

PROS:

● Sturdy-built hypoallergenic resin shell chassis.

● UIEM-style shell chassis ensures a better fitting to all ear sizes and offers a better passive noise isolation.

● Fully-packed with quality accessories inside of its packaging box.

● The included storage case is pretty nifty at all.

● A high quality stock cable, and not just that, it has a modular termination plug feature.

● Easy to drive that a standard 3.5mm output from a smartphone will suffice.

● A mild U-shaped sound with upper mids and treble emphasis that will be more appealing on both some treble heads and hi-fi sound connoisseurs alike.

● Tight, rumbly and bass response

● Transparent, energetic and clear midrange.

● This midrange tuning will definitely excel of female vocals, strings, woodwinds and some percussives.

● The set is perfectly tailored for classical genres.

● Want bright and vibrant sounding pianos? this is the one you are looking for.

● Sweet  and airy sounding female vocals.

● Bright, shimmering and detailed treble response.

● Fairly roomy head stage projection.

● Well-delineated resolution capabilities.

CONS:

● Bass response of this one is noticeably lacking that of heft and authority, so definitely not recommended to bass heads.

● Lack of warmth for male vocals and instruments like brass and some of the percussives.

● Treble-sensitive folk might look somewhere else due its bright tuning, given their limitation threshold on treble boost sound profile.

● Instances of a metallic and shrill sound, specifically on sibilant-laden tracks.

TRACKS TESTED: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to MYER AUDIO nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to  MS. ALEX CHEUK of HIFIGO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.