Hi all, and apologies in advance for the somewhat epic post!
So, the CL2 from the UK/EU review tour just arrived with me.
I understand there was an unfortunate delay. I think they had around 120 hours of burn-in on them prior to the last reviewer receiving them, but no idea how many more hours have been added? Perhaps whoever it was can chime in with an update?
So, initial impressions:
As I suspected from following the thread, I think these are going to take some work on my part.
I am autistic, which may or may not be related to the fact that I do have a known sensitivity to certain frequencies or sounds.
High pitched or sharp noises, percussion such as cymbals, piercing vocals and so on.
I am finding that, regrettably, the CL2 are definitely hitting those 'sour spots' for me (opposite of sweet spots lol).
I initially took a pair of Symbio hybrid wide bore tips (M size) from my own IEM's and put them on the CL2.
However, I noticed that the stem of my IEM's seem to be wider in diameter than the CL2; as a result, they slid straight down the CL2 stems until the mesh tips of the stems were pushed right up against the opening of the Symbios (much more so than on my other IEM's).
When I first put them in my ears, my initial feelings were "Ugh! Tinny! Argh! uncomfortably piercing! Soundstage seems much smaller!".
Not ideal, right?
I changed to the included spherical foam tips (M size again).
This has improved matters. I'm still getting the 'sour spot' hits from certain vocals and sounds though.
Not sure what tips would suit me best, given the aforementioned issues?
I usually only use Symbio hybrids or if not, then foam tips of some kind. Never really liked the feel/fit of silicone-only tips much, but am open to trying out suggestions (especially for ones included in the box with the review tour unit).
I have the iBasso DX200 and DX120.
I've never used EQ in my life; does anyone here know how to use it on either/both of these DAPs?
Colum from RHA suggested EQ'ing in the 2k and 5k regions.
Any further advice on this (for example how much to reduce by as an initial starting point) would be appreciated!
I'm currently using the DX200 with AMP8 and the silver coloured 2.5mm cable plugged into an iBasso 4.4mm adaptor.
I would like to try the copper cable included, but since it is 3.5mm, the only source I could use it with will be the SE output of my DX120, which, whilst decent enough, is going to be a significant drop in sound quality from the DX200 with AMP8.
I have an iBasso CB13 copper and silver hybrid cable and a CB12 copper and silver-plated copper cable.
If their MMCX adaptors fit with the CL2, I'm open to giving them a try, although with MMCX I prefer to avoid much cable rolling unless I feel there's likely to be a noticeable improvement. Again, comments welcome.
On the plus side, I've noticed that with the piano in a song (Bright Lights by Tom McRae), the timbre with the CL2 is noticeably good, and it separates out the sound of the notes such that I can distinguish more easily between left and right hand playing and the individual notes.
So detail, separation and timbre are all impressing so far!
To add, I've spent a lot of time reading this thread and following the various reviews, tips and feedback.
I'm aware of how much tweaking many of you have done in order to find set up's that work well for the CL2 with you.
I'm very much of the positive mindset that I want to give these the best possible chance to shine and for myself, to get the most out of them that I can as I've been mightily looking forward to trying these!
With this in mind (and hopefully without having to go back and re-read the entire thread!), all suggestions most appreciated!