Closer Examination

The Yuin PK1s look pretty boring. The design is similar to that of all the other generic earbuds you might find in your local hardware shop. The moment you get them out of the box you notice how tough the design is. They are rock solid and the shell is made from a very durable kind of plastic. If you roll them up tightly they fit in the small plastic carrying case, it is definitely a usable accessory since it helps to keep them safe when you are not using them.


The profile of the Yuins is pretty sleek. The insertion is really shallow and the body of the earbud is shaped so that it hugs the lower portion of your ear lap. This means that the fit is good almost no matter how your ears are shaped.


With a foam cover on the earbuds you can get a pretty comfortable fit. Yuin supplies two kinds of foam covers, one with a hole in the middle and one without.


The plastic cap in front of the driver on the PK1s has a lot of small holes that let the sound pass through. When you put on a pair of foam covers you actually dampen the high frequencies a bit. The foam covers with the hole in the middle do not cap the high tones nearly as much as the full cover foams. This is actually pretty neat if you have a CD that is sibilant, you can just put the non perforated foam cover on. It allows you to tailor the sound somewhat to fit your needs.


When it comes to design it is clear that Yuin has focused on keeping it very simple and functional. There are no flashy details or anything of the sort. The only small detail on the body of the earbuds is a small left and right sticker and some small Yuin labels.


The left and right indicators on the back of the stem are white which contrasts the black body nicely. It is very easy to see even from a distance and in a poorly lit room.


The mini jack connector on the end of the cable is quite sturdy and highly flexible. The jack is straight and features a small rubber stress relief. The cable has to my surprise been altered for this last iteration of the PK1 design. The old version had a nasty plastic like cable, but it seems that the new ones have the exact same cable as the OK-earphones do, which is really nice.


With every pair of Yuin PK-series earphones you get both stock earbud covers and some with a hole in the middle. The ones without the hole dampens the highs a bit whereas the ones without the hole just get you a more comfortable fit. Supplied with PK1s are three pairs of perforated foam covers and one without. This is all right since the ones with the holes are the most fragile ones.