[ANOpax]

For me it's a great cover of a pretty timeless song

If you like the song, try this cover. For me it captures the essence of the original with a more louche harmony and arrangement.

 

[ANOpax]

1) Lower the volume.

Kitechaser is bang on with this.

The CL2 is a master reference quality IEM. It doesn’t take kindly to being driven too loudly because you’re searching for extra bass. I myself have been guilty of doing this, especially on plane travel where ambient background NVH is high and the bass gets lost.

Trying to listen on the plane, I find that that vocals become harsh and hollow. And then I realise that my volume setting is 35% higher than normal...

 

[ANOpax]

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

I didn’t get any sibilance or harshness in the first track.

But the strings on ‘You Cut Her Hair’ sent shivers down my spine. The timbre of them was perfect (I used to play viola). IMO, this is what the CL2 is all about.

 

[ANOpax]

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.

Could it be that you’re hearing the room as well when you’re listening to your speakers?

I don’t perceive any difference in dynamic range between my CL2s and my Quads. The Quads are particularly good at not exciting the room as planars have a dipole radiation pattern and the lack of cabinet means that there is no omnidirectional energy coming from a cabinet either.

 

[Trebor1966]

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 .

I see you also own FD01 - the frequency chart is similar to CL2 (big emphasis of 14dB in the mids at 3khZ).
Can you please give me a small comparison of both mids?
I definitely like it - several people tame it with strips of alcohol swab

 

[Kitechaser]

Kitechaser is bang on with this.

The CL2 is a master reference quality IEM. It doesn’t take kindly to being driven too loudly because you’re searching for extra bass. I myself have been guilty of doing this, especially on plane travel where ambient background NVH is high and the bass gets lost.

Trying to listen on the plane, I find that that vocals become harsh and hollow. And then I realise that my volume setting is 35% higher than normal...

Would you believe it that I listen to my CL2 with my windows rolled down as I drive my car. I spent over a 100 dollars trying different tips, and the Medium small deep insertion Spiral dots fit so well and "deep" that the isolation I get is on the level of ear plugs. I don't have to touch my volume dial, that stays on 90/120 low gain on a ZX300 even on a plane. It sounds incredible.
Even at the gym, with these in my ears, I don't hear people dropping weights on the floor. I can't say enough about how important tip rolling is for this iem.
The CL2 to my ears does not sound like a normal speaker, it sounds like I am standing on the stage as the performance is going on. Bells, chimes, and cymbals sound so real (with the much hotly debated frequency bump) I have to remind myself at times that I am listening to an iem. I miss them very much when I switch over to another headphone.
Needless to say, I think it's pretty awesome.

My landlord is selling the house that I am living in, and I am having to move at the end of April, I'll be getting the quads at the new house. With the moving costs and a fat deposit, I will not have very much money left over for audio equipment.
Before the end of summer, those 2905s will be hanging out in my living room

 

[Layman1]

Kitechaser is bang on with this.
The CL2 is a master reference quality IEM. It doesn’t take kindly to being driven too loudly because you’re searching for extra bass. I myself have been guilty of doing this, especially on plane travel where ambient background NVH is high and the bass gets lost.

Yes, I agree! I think because of my personal unusual sensitivity to certain aspects of treble etc, I am finding the CL2 to be uncomfortably shrill on certain tracks.
In those cases especially, and also generally, I am doing exactly what @Kitechaser said and cranking up the volume in search of MOAR bass (or generally just a more richer, deeper sound)

I also suspect, as he later said, that finding a more suitable set of ear tips is going to alleviate or eliminate this issue.
I'm not sure if I've got any Spiral dots or not. I generally ignore silicone tips and go straight for foams (except when I've got Symbio hybrids, where I ignore both).
So I've got a bunch of tips from various IEM boxes stuffed away in a drawer under the bed. Will have to have a rummage around
Any pics of Spiral dots to help me identify?
I might be mixing them up with Spinfits lol

 

[toranku]

If you want more bass, use tips that are taller and have more depth. Spiral Dot is not one of them unless you somehow achieve a really powerful seal. Tips like Radius Deep Mount, Final E and Acoustune AET08 tips are way better at sealing and potentially reducing upper frequencies as well.

 

[geagle]

I see you also own FD01 - the frequency chart is similar to CL2 (big emphasis of 14dB in the mids at 3khZ).
Can you please give me a small comparison of both mids?
I definitely like it - several people tame it with strips of alcohol swab

I'm out for a couple of days, and don't have both here with me now, so I can't do an actual comparison at the moment.

From memory, and my own thoughts on how they compared when I used them side-by-side, the JVC FD01 (with the copper tube and a pure copper cable) and the RHA CL2 (with a pure copper cable and tips that facilitate a deep insertion) are actually quite similar, they share the same kind of general sound signature/tuning and DNA (though the underlying technologies are obviously different). The CL2 are faster and a (little) bit brighter overall, and the FD01 are a bit more forgiving (which is saying a lot ) on that upper-mids peak.

I personally think that the CL2 are better, and I use (and enjoy) them more - but they are certainly NOT 3-4 times as better as one might desire given the difference in price. Anybody who likes and enjoy the FD01 could enjoy the CL2, seems to me, and I don't see somebody who did not manage to like the FD01 ever managing to much like the CL2 .

As an aside, and to provide a sort of additional data point on the similarities I saw, for the longest time I actually did NOT like the FD01, I started liking them only when I used a good pure copper cable on them: neither the stock SPC cable nor a silver cable sounded good to my ears with them (and I'm very much a silver cable kind of guy on most everything), they always sounded a bit off, like there was something wrong in their timbre - and I think that @Kitechaser said something very similar about his experience with the CL2 themselves . With the CL2 I only ever used a pure copper cable (given what I read here), so I managed to totally skip that phase.

 

[Trebor1966]

I'm out for a couple of days, and don't have both here with me now, so I can't do an actual comparison at the moment.

From memory, and my own thoughts on how they compared when I used them side-by-side, the JVC FD01 (with the copper tube and a pure copper cable) and the RHA CL2 (with a pure copper cable and tips that facilitate a deep insertion) are actually quite similar, they share the same kind of general sound signature/tuning and DNA (though the underlying technologies are obviously different). The CL2 are faster and a (little) bit brighter overall, and the FD01 are a bit more forgiving (which is saying a lot ) on that upper-mids peak.

I personally think that the CL2 are better, and I use (and enjoy) them more - but they are certainly NOT 3-4 times as better as one might desire given the difference in price. Anybody who likes and enjoy the FD01 could enjoy the CL2, seems to me, and I don't see somebody who did not manage to like the FD01 ever managing to much like the CL2 .

As an aside, and to provide a sort of additional data point on the similarities I saw, for the longest time I actually did NOT like the FD01, I started liking them only when I used a good pure copper cable on them: neither the stock SPC cable nor a silver cable sounded good to my ears with them (and I'm very much a silver cable kind of guy on most everything), they always sounded a bit off, like there was something wrong in their timbre - and I think that @Kitechaser said something very similar about his experience with the CL2 themselves . With the CL2 I only ever used a pure copper cable (given what I read here), so I managed to totally skip that phase.

Thank you for your feedback - i own the FD02 and use it balanced with Nobunaga Labs pure cooper cable balanced with AK SE100
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B07FCVM8RV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
From frequency chart the share the same DNA with CL2
So CL2 is more brighter and have a few dB more emphasis on upper mids - the same story with FD01/02 people mod them with alcohol swab to reduce the peaks

 

[Kitechaser]

Yes, I agree! I think because of my personal unusual sensitivity to certain aspects of treble etc, I am finding the CL2 to be uncomfortably shrill on certain tracks.
In those cases especially, and also generally, I am doing exactly what @Kitechaser said and cranking up the volume in search of MOAR bass (or generally just a more richer, deeper sound)

I also suspect, as he later said, that finding a more suitable set of ear tips is going to alleviate or eliminate this issue.
I'm not sure if I've got any Spiral dots or not. I generally ignore silicone tips and go straight for foams (except when I've got Symbio hybrids, where I ignore both).
So I've got a bunch of tips from various IEM boxes stuffed away in a drawer under the bed. Will have to have a rummage around
Any pics of Spiral dots to help me identify?
I might be mixing them up with Spinfits lol

The spiral dots are also shallower than other eartips, so they allow the stem of the iem to go deeper into the ear canal. Opening is 5.5mm after the stem, so soundstage is not crowded like symbios.
Also just by the construction of it (material used), the isolation it provides is better than other eartips, at least for me.
Bass response went up for me quite a bit, and micro details were more audible.
I gave a pair of medium dots to @cj3209 , it would be interesting to hear his take on them too.

 

[cj3209]

The spiral dots are also shallower than other eartips, so they allow the stem of the iem to go deeper into the ear canal.
Also just by the construction of it (material used), the isolation it provides is better than other eartips, at least for me.
Bass response went up for me quite a bit, and micro details were more audible.
I gave a pair of medium dots to @cj3209 , it would be interesting to hear his take on them too.

The spiral dots provide similar isolation/seal as my Symbio Wides but are more comfortable. Sound-wise, it's similar as well.

 

[cj3209]

Interesting review:
https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/01/cl2-planar/amp/

 

[Tragic]

Interesting review:
https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/01/cl2-planar/amp/

Well he’s obviously not an “audiophile” as he didn’t follow the standard CL2 review template and go winging on about the “unfortunate” treble spike.

 

[cj3209]

I think the CL2s are actually priced too low. People in other forums don't take them seriously because they aren't $2k like EE or 64 audio models. They're missing out..

I tell the guy to look into the CL2 (especially as it's on sale) or Xelentos because, IMHO, a $2,500 iem isn't automatically better and he goes off and buys a Jomo Trinity for $2,800...doesn't even acknowledge the CL2s as he's clearly looking for >$2k iems.

I love America...