[Kitechaser]

Add: As far as the Hybrid cable is concerned, unless the timbre improves, it is going back into the box, and is going to get shipped right back to China.
I'll give it a full 100 hours of cascade noise files, but as of right now, the ALO pure copper Cable has a significant advantage on the timbre side of things, and also the weight of the cable itself.
The 24 gauge is heavy and stiff.

 

[waveSounds]

Purely out of interest, how does a planar magnetic diaphragm loosen up over time? I, to some extent, can understand this principle being applied to dynamic drivers, but planars are suspended in a magnetic field so how is that applicable here?

 

[Kitechaser]

Purely out of interest, how does a planar magnetic diaphragm loosen up over time? I, to some extent, can understand this principle being applied to dynamic drivers, but planars are suspended in a magnetic field so how is that applicable here?

The diaphragm (don't know what the material is) is 16au thick, with use it becomes more flexible, and in turn becomes more responsive to electrical input.
That is what I am guessing, haven't looked inside the housing to give definite answers.

 

[Layman1]

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!

 

[Layman1]

Here's the song I referred to in my previous post! I found the piano and percussion were presented very well with the CL2, but the vocals hurt my ears at various points with this IEM, especially from around 1 minute in and onwards. Hopefully this will be subject to change though.

As a brief aside, this rather jaunty and uplifting song is an utter contrast to the stuff on his first album.
Here's a "cheerful little number" from that first album; compare and contrast



NB: am now listening to Journey "Don't Stop Believing" (HDTracks 24/96).
It is sounding very good on the CL2

 

[antdroid]

Here's the song I referred to in my previous post! I found the piano and percussion were presented very well with the CL2, but the vocals hurt my ears at various points with this IEM, especially from around 1 minute in and onwards. Hopefully this will be subject to change though.

As a brief aside, this rather jaunty and uplifting song is an utter contrast to the stuff on his first album.
Here's a "cheerful little number" from that first album; compare and contrast



NB: am now listening to Journey "Don't Stop Believing" (HDTracks 24/96).
It is sounding very good on the CL2

You aren't the only one who find them that way. If you do decide to keep them, try bumping down the 3-5KHz range down 4-6dB using EQ as a start. The peak there is quite large compared to most headphones.

 

[Kitechaser]

1) Lower the volume.
2) if you have spiral dots, use them. Deep insertion gives the best seal, and really pushes forward the lower frequencies, cancelling out the perceived peak.
3) use the copper cable, even if you are not using the balanced out. The tonality of this iem is one of its strongest points for me, and that shines with a copper cable.
4) try high resolution tracks, they sound especially good on this iem. As a matter of fact, I have next to zero flacs in my library now. High res, especially DSDs sound incredible.

Just play around till it hits the sweet spot for you.

 

[SciOC]

I've ordered the fearless audio S6Rui to see how it compares. One thing I'm running into with IEMs and the CL2 is that I just don't think they get dynamic range right compared to a good speaker system. Mt it04 is a step or two behind the CL2 in clarity.

But I think it does dynamic range better. I think the CL2 just caps out a bit lower in volume due to it's inefficiency. I have a ton of power driving them, and I really can't get them loud enough to really replicate a good Soundstage. That being said, best IEMs I've heard by a easy margin. But I've got the bug again....

 

[Kitechaser]

I've ordered the fearless audio S6Rui to see how it compares. One thing I'm running into with IEMs and the CL2 is that I just don't think they get dynamic range right compared to a good speaker system. Mt it04 is a step or two behind the CL2 in clarity.

But I think it does dynamic range better. I think the CL2 just caps out a bit lower in volume due to it's inefficiency. I have a ton of power driving them, and I really can't get them loud enough to really replicate a good Soundstage. That being said, best IEMs I've heard by a easy margin. But I've got the bug again....

Try the Vega. It's got that impact and speaker feel. Would be a good companion to the CL2.
I Don't think a BA iem will get you there.

 

[antdroid]

I've ordered the fearless audio S6Rui to see how it compares. One thing I'm running into with IEMs and the CL2 is that I just don't think they get dynamic range right compared to a good speaker system. Mt it04 is a step or two behind the CL2 in clarity.

But I think it does dynamic range better. I think the CL2 just caps out a bit lower in volume due to it's inefficiency. I have a ton of power driving them, and I really can't get them loud enough to really replicate a good Soundstage. That being said, best IEMs I've heard by a easy margin. But I've got the bug again....

Im getting the S6 as well for review purpose anyway.

If you want the dynamics, look at Focal Elex/Clear/Elegia/Utopia - they sound like speakers on your ears.

 

[Kitechaser]

I am returning the DUNU cable. Timbre for the hybrid cable is off, takes away a lot of the CL2 magic for me. Also that cable raises the noise floor, sound on the ALO cable comes out of blackness, really helps with the illusion of a live performance.
I will be sticking with the ALO Audio pure copper 28awg cable, the sound and flexibility of the cable is damn near perfect for me.
I am using the CL2 at the gym, and a cable that is any stiffer will be a giant pain in the @$$ to deal with, so......I am staying put

 

[geagle]

@Kitechaser dang, pity about that... returning items is always a bit of a PITA. Very good to know for the rest of us, though

With my own CL2 I'm using #125 (in the MMCX/4.4mm variation) out of Hakuzen's list here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/low...uck-cable-thread.891911/page-19#post-14637360 (it's the best cable he measured, resistance-wise), and I'm liking it quite a bit. I WAS lucky in that it had absolutely no problems (Hakuzen got a faulty one, and warned about the possibility). Also, the MMCX one I'm using with the CL2 is very well made and looks real nice, while I later got another one for a 2 pin earphone, and this was braided slightly less well, near the final connection (guy who made it missed one passage, so in the final 10-15mm near the 4.4mm connector thee's 2 parallel threads and 2 braided ones, instead of a perfect braid), so there's definitely some variation in how these cables are manufactured (2 pin cable was perfectly functional though, just a bit less pleasing aesthetically). If you have any kind of interest, in the spoilers down the list Hakuzen has some link to several Aliexpress shops who sell it (though it will obviously be cheaper when some occasion is on, like 11.11 etc - I paid around $80 for it, myself)

 

[geagle]

And here's how mine looks with the ZX300A:

 

[Kitechaser]

And here's how mine looks with the ZX300A:

That's a sweet looking cable. I am going to have to look into that. How supple is it, and does it have a black background? What about timbre?
I don't know how much of a bump in SQ the jump in gauge is going to be, won't know till I do some AB testing.
I am pretty active with the CL2, so manageability with the wire will also be a big consideration for me.

 

[geagle]

How supple is it, and does it have a black background? What about timbre?

Gauge's big (as anyone can see), but it's supple enough: coils easily, as you can see here:



Though winding it in MUCH smaller loops would be a problem - and if you do not coil it too well it can sort of "rebel", as the "erection" here shows, lol:



As for sonic characteristics, I'm really liking it - it conducts very well, and, to my ears, it's like it's not there (so I'd say that background is very black, and timbre is very natural).

I have of course no idea how it might compare to what you're using now...

For sheer suppleness, cable #053 in hakuzen's list is a lot more supple (and it's 8 core vs 4 core). Cable 053 is another good cable, BTW... I think #125 is (a bit) better, though.

Here's a last comparison pic of #125 and #053 side-by-side - different beasts .