Geek Wold GK10 Review (1) – With Love, From China
INTRO
Geek Wold GK10 is currently being hyped like no other, I actually jumped on these when I saw piezo hybrid prior to seeing any hype. Air and sparkle can be fun so they seemed interesting enough especially at their price tag.
You don’t see too many piezo hybrids sub $70 (Nicehck NX7 is the most inexpensive I know) this particular IEM is a 2DD, 1BA and 2 piezo hybrid. The titanium dynamic driver handles the bass, graphene (coated?) handles the mids, BA the lower treble and the ceramic piezo the upper treble.
The promoters set my expectations high, but is the Geek Wold GK10 a main act or the opening act? I suggest having a read through our past reviews of the Nicehck NX7 and BQEYZ Spring 2 to familiarize with what other acts might be competing for the top spot in the piezo hybrids.
Since the Olympics just wrapped up, I equate the Geek Wold GK10 to a long distance track runner with short legs, working real hard to keep up with the more majestic stride of the smoother runner.
It’s fun to watch but ultimately not going to end up on the podium. The reference here though is a $170 IEM to a <$50 IEM so it needs to be taken in context. Now that the real expectations are set, please have a look.
GEEK WOLD GK10 SPECIFICATIONS
- 1 balanced armature for high frequency
- 2 piezoelectric ceramic for ultra-high frequency
- 7mm graphene diaphragm dynamic for middle frequency
- 8mm dome titanium diaphragm dynamic for bass
- Panel: stable wood
- Shell material: ABS+PC
- Impedance: 8Ω
- Sensitivity: 106dB
- Frequency response range: 20-30kHz
- Cable material: 8-strand silver-plated
- Connector: 2pin 0.78mm
- Cable length: 1.2m
OUT OF THE BOX CONFESSIONS
Some of these are hard to classify as a pro or a con, so you get to decide.
- Connectors were hard to push in, made a creaking sound when I finally used enough force to insert the 2 pin. Afterwards there didn’t seem to be any issue removing and reinserting.
- Shells are on the lighter thinner plastic side, reminds me of some of TRN’s budget models IM series. It sacrifices premium build feel for a more practical lightweight disappears in your ears concept.
- Eartips, I had to go up a size from my usual medium and then the midbass nature makes an appearance.
- 6 ohms on the box, 8ohm listed on the web. Measurement below confirms 6 ohm if not closer to 5 ohm. High output impedance sources beware.
- The wood faceplate is unique as a snowflake and yes they are heart shaped. Love at first sight? The wood faceplate is offest, I did a double take thinking the faceplates had come off in shipment.
- The cable is of the tight twisted variety it is not afraid to show it’s kinky side.
- They stay put in my ears, but isolation is average.
PROS
- Unique wood faceplate
- Stays in my ear YMMV
- Smooth piezo tweeter implementation
CONS
- Low Impedance makes it susceptible to cable impedance and source output impedance
- Average isolation
- Bass tuning is centered high and wide
- Left vs Right level differences
GEEK WOLD GK10 PACKAGE CONTENTS
- Removable 2 pin cable
- 2 sets of eartips S/M/L
- Carrying Pouch
THE IMPORTANT SOUND STUFF
Equipment Sources LG V30 / Liquid Spark + JDS Labs Atom
The Geek Wold GK10 is a V shaped signature with bright treble and peaky bass centered in the midbass region. It roughly outlines the Harman curve expect for a few peaks in the response. I have seen the controversy about graphs and perceptions…more on that in a bit. I can only comment on the set received.
The bass has a quick decay but at the same time boomy and thick sounding. Lower registers drop quickly off only to come in later with a slight lack of control, be prepared for all vocals to sound boxy. But wait you say, my set doesn’t sound like that so yours must be defective? The plausible idea is that there is glue covering the vent hole altering the tuning giving them a unit to unit inconsistency.
The other possibility is something I have come across now twice recently, using certain sized tips the shell prevents deep penetration to get that seal needed for proper bass reproduction. What you end up with is a loose seal that helps mask the peakiness of the bass hump. The same result can be achieved by sticking something between the stem of the eartip and nozzle so that it “leaks”.
If comparing the other piezo hybrids, the Nicehck NX7 wins hands down with it’s sub-centric non-bleeding bass, while the BQEYZ Spring 2 comes in second only due to less quantity of the wide hump.
There is a third possibility, consider the fact the hump covers the whole lower octaves similar to trekking up a very long gradual hill to only realize later how tall that hill actually gets. Our brains work very well in relative terms, not so much in absolutes, in others words this rise can be masked.
Mids on the Geek Wold GK10 are pushed into the background with rockiness in the waters presenting some audible grain consistent with IEM’s in this price bracket. Females and male vocalists sound rather chesty as expected with such a midbass hump. I am also picking up some ever slight edginess as we move into the upper mids. The BQEYZ Spring 2 excel in the midrange over the Nicehck NX7 and the Geek Wold GK10 coming in third.
The upper mids and treble come in hot and heavy giving the old noggin a lot to process. They are lively and energetic with a peak near 5khz. Snares are soft and cymbals have no real wincing impact that can easily occur with the Nicehck NX7 leaving just the splash at the end-think shhh instead of catshhh.
The BQEYZ Spring 2 is cleaner and more cohesive. It’s easy to see the treble is the star of the show since it is not offensive. Many IEM’s in this price bracket have trouble controlling treble to extent that it is either piercing or subdued. It’s a tough call here, I prefer the BQEYZ Spring 2, but others might decide the softer presentation of the Geek Wold GK10 might be preferred. The Nicehck NX7 looses terribly unless you want to chase away a wild pack of wolves.
TECHNICALITIES
The Geek Wold GK 10 presents a wide stage with medium depth with only vocals sitting in the background. Separation of instruments is acceptable but easily bested by the 3 times as expensive BQEYZ Spring 2. I get the feeling there might be no crossover in these relying solely on driver overlap and natural roll off of the drivers.
I pick up smearing throughout the midrange so this is perhaps the reason. I might be mistaken but I did not find any literature that mentions a crossover division of frequencies. Geek Wold might want to mention that if it exists. If you didn’t want to spring for the Spring 2, this is an alternative with a recessed midrange in comparison.
Soundstage does present nice width and height with only a minor dip in depth through the mids. The piezo super tweeter adds some ambiance to give some air, but not to the level of the BQEYZ Spring 1 or 2.
OUTRO
The Geek Wold GK10 will enjoy the 15 minutes of fame until the next shiny toy comes out, there is currently no one else offering a hybrid with a ceramic piezo super tweeter at this price range. I have to be realistic, it is not a giant killer or something that can compete in higher price brackets.
Enjoy it for what it is, a sub $50 hybrid and pretty to look at less smooth Harmon tuned IEM heavy on the midbass. After some brain burn re-calibration, I have to let my hearing adjust back to my daily favorite, the Shozy Form 1.4.
GRAPHS
- Geek Wold GK10 Left vs Right
- Geek Wold GK10 vs BQEYZ Spring 2 vs Nicehck NX7
- Geek Wold GK10 Impedance Plot
DISCLAIMER
Hifigo kindly provided this set for no charge, for everyone else they can be found on Amazon on Hifigo’s store page. No affliate kickbacks, I pinky promise.
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
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