UMERION
May 4th, 2020
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-IM40 REVIEW: FETISH FUEL
If the Sony MDR-XB50AP was my entry into the audio world, then the Audio Technica ATH-IM70 is my “respectable” entry into the audio world. As in, if I said I entered the audiophile sphere with some Beats-level bass earphones, most people who know anything or two about this stuff will laugh and cringe (not that the XB50AP was bad though, check my review of that for details). Whereas the IM70 is actually something that is properly marketed to the audiophile crowd, and tuned with actual consideration for other things beside just the low frequencies.
I had grown out of Audio Technica for awhile, until the purchase of a certain ATH-CKR9LTD. To be perfectly honest, the shape of the CKR9LTD and its striking Iron Man colors pulled me in; I’m usually not a sucker for looks and superficial paintjobs but this was an exception. And I was happy with the CKR9LTD’s performance too, if not for its horrendous fit which drove me away from it. I swear to god, you can not get a good seal on the damned thing, and if you can, it will unseat itself after at best 5 minutes. Despite that, it does hold a special place in my heart. Now mind you, I am not sure whether mine is real or fake, because I paid like 80 bucks for it, compared to the MSRP of 300 dollars if I remember correctly, so make of that what you will.
So when I saw Audio Technica took its guts, threw it into a shell that’s actually gonna be able to fit into human ears, all for about a Benjamin, hell yeah imma buy that ! With that long lead up story out of the way, let us see what this ATH-E40 can do.
UNBOXING
The ATH-E40 comes in a cardboard box, much like many other IEMs. The box’s size is unimpressive, probably a bit bigger than your average coffee cup, the poor thing is also pretty smashed up from the years left in storage before I picked it up. It's comprised of a white sleeve, with a picture of the E40’s left side printed on the front, some technical specifications and marketing information which I will proceed to affectionately call “filler text” on the sides and the back.
Sliding off the sleeve, we come to an even less impressive black cardboard box with a tab for you to open up and see the ATH-E40 laid flat on some foam cutouts with M size tips installed, its cable neatly tucked down below.
ACESSORIES
Removing this top compartment containing the IEMs, we find a pretty great hard case, the inside of it containing 3 pairs of Audio technica’s eartips in XS,S,L sizes and a quarter inch adapter.
This is actually an upgrade to the usual stuff Audio Technica includes in their IEMs; the case is a lot more useful than the IM70’s included pleather pouch (that frankly no one uses as well as being a bit too small for the IEMs they come with anyways) and the quarter inch adapter - while a pretty useless inclusion (for me because I don’t have anything that uses that connector) is at the very least something from the… nothing you get from Audio Technica’s usual array of accessories. Now, you know I always complain about the lack of accessories from these earphone makers, and that a wider variety of eartips should be included, but that will do pig, that will do.
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Ohh, there’s also some instruction manuals and warranty papers below the case, but that’s boring so who cares.
CABLE
The ATH-E40 cable is the same one you will see with the CKR9LTD, and the IM70, and…pretty much most Audio Technica IEMs. Its two strands of black rubber plastic joined together until the Y-split, where it becomes two strands leading into the left and right sides of the driver housings. The cable length is 1.6m compare to the usual 1.2m of most earphones so it can drag on the floor if you’re not careful. There are also memory hooks, which kinda just suck: they are a bit too stiff and while they hold the shape you mold them to, I can never get it to wrap my ears tightly. 10 years ago, this cable is servicable, but now when many chi-fi IEMs give you these fancy 8 braid thick cables with metal terminations and jacks, this cable is now pretty dated. The cable uses Audio Technica’s A2DC connector, which for me is better than MMCX. But since Audio Technica killed off their inverse 2-pin connectors from the IM series, I have a feeling this thing is gonna be phased out by the next generation, just a hunch. And because no one else uses this connector, good luck finding replacement cables.
APPEARANCE
The CKR9LTD’s standout paintjob and the Audio-Technica logo adorned right in the center has now been replaced for a more conservative matte black, and the circular housing is now a window with its transparent plastic, allowing you a glympse into the inner workings of the driver inside. This look is admittedly not striking as the CKR9LTD, but it definitely is still interesting and pleasing to the eye with that transparent window, and for the professional crowd Audio Technica tries to market the E40 to, this is indeed a more appropriate aesthetic. Think of it as the young, always partying CKR9LTD finally growing up, getting a job and wearing a business vest, if you will.
As much as I appreciate the IEM market starting to use more of those “semi custom” type resin shells that are so much more comfortable to your ears, I just don’t love the way they look compared to a more… industrial, steampunk-ish looking shell like the E40. The E40’s shell is essentially the CKR9LTD’ shell slightly modified to be worn over the ear with a longer nozzle to compensate for the short stubby one of the 9LTD which was just horrible. When I look at these housings, I can identify its shape: the E40 and CKR9LTD are basically circles containing those Push-Pull Dynamic Drivers inside, and there is just something so eye-pleasing about these designs – essentailly a geometric shape. I can look at this thing and identify its shape whereas with something like the “semi-custom” shells, what am I supposed to say ? A weird looking blob with one two bumps sticking out of it ?
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Although I like the shape of the ATH-E40, it certainly is a very fickle thing to wear. It’s definitely not the most comfortable thing ever, but you have to look at the CKR9LTD to appreciate the quality of life improvements added here. The longer nozzle helps it go deeper into the ear and the over ear wearing style help keep the housing in place. A lot of other reviews lambast the E40 for its ergonomics, but they have to realise that Audio Technica engineers had to somehow take the CKR9LTD- an absolute trainwreck in terms of fit and comfort, and making it actually useable. For me, the ATH-E40 is pretty easy to work with after having to wrestle with its predecessor, so I’ll give it a pass.
For eartip choice, I wandered around abit with some final E tips, some spinfit CP145s and even foamies but none of them really felt any better than the stock Audio Technica tips (not saying that the AT tips are any good). In my listening time, the AT tips are pretty much the best I can get the E40 to fit, other tips just changed the sound in a direction I don’t like or are just uncomfortable.
SOUND
Triumph over the mediocre fit, however, and you will be rewarded with the often lauded Audio Technica “house sound”. Now, if anyone actually uses the E40 for monitoring and music production like Audio Technica tries to cater it to, what with the longer cable and quarter inch adapter but man this is so not it. The E40 has a strongly colored sound, owing to the Push-Pull drivers from the CKR9LTD, which used to be tuned for EDM and more mainstream music. This sound is not ideal for the professional demographic but is a boon for us consumers, well, some of us anyway.
BASS
The E40’s Push-Pull drivers do a good job at presenting the low-end, though Audio Technica has definitely reduced its potency compared to the similarly equipped ATH-CKR9LTD, a bit too much perhaps. The E40’s bass has decent rumble, although it is shy to present itself and only comes out in more bass heavy songs. It is pretty tactile, more subbass than midbass focused and hits with relative authority, with a decay typical of a dynamic driver. Because of the way the bass is presented, many would even think the E40 is bass-light but make no mistake, EQ the E40 and you will see that the Push-Pull driver can still flex its muscles and give you a powerful low-end that has insane rumble and ready to tackle any heavy Dubstep track you throw at it.
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"Many would even think the E40 is bass-light but make no mistake, EQ the E40 and you will see that the Push-Pull driver can still flex its muscles and give you a powerful low-end"
MIDS
The E40’s signature is dominated by its upper mid frequency focus, which will either make or break the sound for a listener. This is what seperates the ATH-E40 from all the other average so-so 100 dollar offerings: the Audio Technica way of tuning mids. There is a peak at 2khz which gives the E40 a vocal bias. Anytime in a mix with the E40, you will hear female vocals over anything else. Female vocals stand out in a way that is very domineering and also full of life and detail, it gives the female singers an emotional, romantic quality that I have not seen with other IEMs; a heavenly performance indeed. Another interesting observation is that the E40 also plays well with some heavier EDM track or songs with “thrashier” drops, the mids presence just give the songs a meaty feeling, making it sound that much more expressive and powerful.
"Female vocals stand out in a way that is very domineering and also full of life and detail, it gives the female singers an emotional, romantic quality that I have not seen with other IEMs; a heavenly performance indeed"
It is not without fault however, as sometimes the overly-present mids are just too much to handle, making for shouty vocals and in some songs, the E40 just screams in your ears and harrasses your eardrums. Such a frequency response is also fatiguing, and I find myself needing to take the E40 off after an hour or two. This really is a tuning that you have to hear for yourself to believe. I personally love it, but I know I am in a niche for this one, and that the mids of the E40 are very much a “make or break” thing, as some ears can handle this tuning and love it while others will think of it as being overbrearing and even offensive.
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"The mids of the E40 are very much a “make or break” thing, as some ears can handle this tuning and love it while others will think of it as being overbrearing and even offensive"
HIGHS
To cover the highs of the E40 after its mid-range is like trying to follow up Martin Luther King after his "I have a dream" speech, as in it can’t keep up. Due to the apparent priority over middle frequencies, the E40’s highs are servicable at best: it’s a bit unrefined, becoming grainy in songs with shrillness being an often seen attribute. It is luckily mostly resistant to sibilance, though this doesn’t really excuse its below average performance. The combination of forward mids and a somewhat conservative treble means that some mixes just lack air and can feel quite congested, and makes the E40 look like it can’t resolve as much detail as other competitors (it can though, it just feels like that).
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"Due to the apparent priority over middle frequencies, the E40’s highs are servicable at best: it’s a bit unrefined, becoming grainy in songs with shrillness being an often seen attribute"
SOUNDSTAGE
The E40 also has a moderately wide soundstage, still mostly in your head but better than, say the Shozy Hibiki SE, Moondrop Starfield and even its own predecessor the CKR-9LTD.I would probably attribute this to the fact that the distance between the E40’s drivers and your eardrums are just further away from other earphones due to the long nozzle.
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"The E40 also has a moderately wide soundstage, still mostly in your head but better than, say the Shozy Hibiki SE, Moondrop Starfield and even its own predecessor the CKR-9LTD"
SONGS
EGOIST - Euterpe
This was the song that I tried the E40 with at the store, and was what drove me to buy them. That “meaty” feeling I talked about from before, the absolutely beautiful interpretation of the lead singer,… it all just made for one of the best renditions of Euterpe that I have heard. This song has been tricky on all of my other IEMs, being either lifeless, lacking dynamic range or just sounding boring. But with the E40, the female singer just sounds so lively and elegant, so… passionate, authorative and deliberate in her vocal inflections, just delightful. I have to give my props to Audio Technica, their tuning just make some songs so emotional, full of life and personality, as if it was given life compared to the disinterested, lifeless and unfocused presentations of other IEMs.
Code: Pandorum & London Nebel - Lightspeed
By all means, the E40’s tuning shouldn’t work for any type of EDM let alone Riddim, but my god does it work well. The skewed tonality of the E40 just works so well for this song, as it emphasizes the grungy drop, and the Push-Pull Drivers shows its wild CKR9LTD side with a thunderous bass response. See, I told you the bass was just shy and it isn’t afraid to show itself with some songs and bit of EQ. I guess by sheer luck or coincidence, Audio Technica managed to make a set that works great with these heavier genres, giving it what I can only describe as an “overdrive” sensation to songs, most evidently with Lightspeed. If you have a pair of E40s, listen to Code:Pandorum’s Videodrome EP and you’ll know what I mean, you’ll love the album if you haven’t heard of it and get ready to love it all over again if you have.
Mick Gordon - Hellwalker
Euterpe was tricky, but Hellwalker just sounds kinda bad with most of my IEMs. The best rendition of this song that I have ever heard is on a demo Dita Dream XLS unit (review not coming soon the thing is like 2000 dollars I’m poor lol).The Dream XLS had this mettalic twang in its sound along with a thickness and voracity that made Hellwalker sound like the best thing ever, especially the drop with that chainsaw synth which is just orgasmic, there is a visceral quality to the whole track that none of my IEMs can replicate. The IEMs I have make Hellwalker sound flat and the chainsaw sounds really soft and flabby. Well would you believe me when I say the E40 gets to about 70% of the Dream XLS in this specific song ? It does. The E40 lacks the technicalities and level of detail and refinement to get it to TOTL levels here but it captures the visceral headbang-inducing tone of the Dream XLS almost perfectly. This is the E40 at its finest, competing against what is for now my dream purchase the XLS, at one twentieth the price, in a genre that you would never think it could work for. Unfortunately, this song was the exception and not the norm, as the E40 performs middlingly for the rest of Mick Gordon’s compositions.
Porter Robinson & Madeon – Shelter (Seycara Ghibli Orchestral Version)
The suite starts off fine, though arguably the E40 doesn’t really do anything special here. The string-ish instrument is getting a bit annoying though. And then at about 2:20, where the song reaches its zenith that instrument from before just sticks out like a sore thumb and just grates your ears. It is as if the E40 was just piercing your eardrums, just absolutely uncomfortable and fatiguing. This is where the E40’s niche type of tuning reveals its weakness, making some songs offensive and downright unlistenable. If you can bear through that part of the song, then my hats off to you, because my tolerances for these things are very high, and I could not handle it.
COMPARISONS
Moondrop Starfield
This comparison really brings out the differences in different manufacturer’s way of tuning mids, and how different these tuning approaches can be yet can still envoke musicality and emotion all the same. If the Starfield has a reserved but refined and detailed midrange while not actively wrestling its position over other frequencies, the E40 eschews any limits and brings forth its mids with boldness and furvor, albeit with less control. Depending on the choice of music, the E40 will be the most emotional listening session ever or it will fall completely flat on the floor, whereas the Starfield doesn’t really reach the heights the E40 can but does justice to most tracks with its more universal crowdpleaser Harmann-inspired response. Other than that, the Starfiled edges out just slightly on the technicalities, and it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable to wear.
Audio Technica ATH-CKR9LTD
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You can look at the E40 as a natural evolution of the CKR9LTD, or even an all-round improvement in almost every metric. With the 9LTD, it feels like Audio Technica got close to their desired tuning, but fell through at the last minute, making the 9LTD have an exaggerated and peaky midrange, creating not beautiful but rather congested and nasal-sounding vocals. The 9LTD had really powerful bass however, reminding me of the “SOLID BASS” line of Audio Technica IEMs competing with Sonys’s “EXTRA BASS” line, and by all accounts, the bass is indeed “solid”: it is strong, fairly tactile with a fast attack and just enough decay to be impactful. The E40 finally completes the 9LTD signature, bringing you the heavenly mids that I’ve been raving about throughout this review, keeping the essence of the “SOLID BASS” from the 9LTD even if it is no longer as present as its predecessor. Keep in mind, you can EQ the CKR9LTD to sound close to the E40 and vice versa, they are pretty much the same driver after all, but the E40 is just the better option overall, with its better fit, cheaper price and no fear of counterfeits as well as a more mature tuning. Unless you really love the Iron Man paintjob, can overlook a lot of the 9LTD’s shortcomings, or are a collector, just buy the E40.
CONCLUSION
"A middle child between the old IM series and the new, in my opinion, overrated LS series; a mix and match of parts old and new, the E40 is not for everyone. Heck, some people will even hate it for its bizzare tuning and fitment. But to me, this is the quintessential set to introduce someone to Audio Technica, this is Audio Technica embodied in an IEM: archaic housings, dynamic drivers, and a tuning that foregoes the academic consistencies of Harmann and Diffuse Field and instead tries to convey a feeling to the listener, that is euphoria and dare I say bliss. Hence the title Fetish Fuel: certainly not for everyone, fit for a niche, a dirty secret. And when the E40 finds the person who loves it, it enraptures them in its sound. If you can find this unit for demo at a local store, give it a shot, you might have been missing out on something you will love all this time."