CVJ x R2E3 Mermaid 2 Review
Hello audio lovers, I’m back for a review, and this time with the beautiful-looking CVJ x R2E3 Mermaid 2. It’s a single dynamic driver in-ear monitor IEM with a neutral sound signature yet filled to the brim with energy.Disclaimer
This was sent to me by CVJ HiFI in exchange for my honest review, and you can rest assured that anything I say here is my thoughts and opinions. No money has changed hands in the process.
Price $89-
Introduction
CVJ is not a new company to me, I have been hearing good things about them since I started in this portable audio hobby, a couple of years ago.
There was not much information that I know about them, but as far as I can tell, they are a company based in Guangdong, China that offers IEM earphones and other add-on accessories at decent prices, yet with high-quality products. And based on the Mermaid 2 that is in this review, I can vouch for their claim of decent price with high-quality products.
R2E3 Acoustics is a Japan-based audio company. It is known for its collaborations with other audio companies, but there is not much I know about them.
The CVJ x R2E3 Mermaid 2 IEM is a child of the collaboration effort between CVJ HiFi and R2E3 Acoustics, and I can attest to this as it sounds different from the usual sound of CVJ that I have heard before. I speculate that it’s the sound tuning of R2E3.
Will this collab effort, IEM, sound good enough for the current situation of the portable audio market, which is cutthroat and very demanding? Find out in my review below.
Features
It has CNC-machined aluminum alloy shells that house a 10mm beryllium-plated diaphragm driver with a dual magnetic circuit motor system that can reach a magnetic flux density of 1.5 Tesla in the magnet gap, which is very high, as far as I know.
There are cool-looking vents around the shell, one near the nozzle, two near the 2-pin connector, and one on the faceplate. They tune the sound of the IEM, but most importantly for me, is the vent near the nozzle, not only does it tune the bass, but it also serves as pressure relief for the ear canal.
I love the very nice-looking four-core modular cable, as it matches the aesthetics of the IEMs well, and it includes both a 3.5mm and a 4.4mm user-replaceable plug.
Design
The gold-accented black-color themed set looks nicer in person than my ability to make it appear in my photos. It has a kind of look of expensive IEMs coming from boutique brands. Simple and elegant.
There is a gold-accented carved-out design in the faceplate that resembles the head of a deer. I don’t know what that means, but it must be coming from R2E3, as I never found it in any of the CVJ IEMs.
Packaging & Accessories
The box is simple and utilitarian in design. It is tightly packed, so I found it difficult to open the first time. But I like the efficiency in its use of materials.
It includes the manual, 9 pairs of ear tips, a modular cable, and the IEMs. The packaging is simplistic, but I like that it includes 3 kinds of ear tips, especially the yellow and clear tips that you can see in the photos.
Have you noticed what’s absent? It’s the carrying case, but if they have to do it to lower the price while not compromising on the production quality, then so be it.
Synergy
I used various dongle DAC/amplifiers and digital audio players in my possession, and on no occasion did it present any difficulty. It was driven by all of them easily.
However, I find that the Mermaid 2 is finicky when it comes to source pairings for it to sound its best. It could sound cold when paired with bright and thin sounding sources like the Shanling M3x, and boring when paired with flat sounding DAC/amplifiers like the Topping G5.
It sounds very neutral with the TRN Black Pearl dongle DAC, and very musical with the Celest CD-2 and iBasso DC Elite dongles, which are both very musically engaging DAC/amplifiers.
Testing condition
I used both the Celest CD-2 and the iBasso DC Elite for this review, as I found the Mermaid 2 to sound best with them.
Of the 3 types of ear tips, I found the clear silicone tips to sound the best, however, I found that it does not seal easily to my ears, I have to find the sweet spot every time I insert them, and the thin flange collapses easily.
I hope CVJ makes a thicker version of the clear silicone ear tips to make them easier to seal.
I ended up using the small, clear silicone ear tips as I found it easiest to seal. I usually use the medium or large size on other ear tips.
And of course, the excellent stock modular cable was used, as there was no need to change it.
I did about 12 hours of burn-in, but in retrospect, 8 hours should be more than enough.
Graph analysis
There is a moderate boost of 6 dB in the bass that glides down up to 650 Hz and them comes back up to a 10 dB hump centered at 2.5 kHz, which forms the necessary pinna gain, to make the IEMs sound natural.
A measurement-induced peak at 8 kHz is not audible, it’s an artifact of the tool used to measure it. The treble extends to the top with another peak at around 15 kHz, giving the Mermaid 2 its airy sounding treble.
Please note that the curves starting from 7 kHz to 20 kHz cannot be relied upon, as they are mired with resonances and artifacts from IEM’s interaction with the measurement tool.
Sound Signature
It’s a very energetic near-neutral tune with a hint of mid-centric sound signature that renders the music with an excellent amount of musical information and toe-tap inducing energy.
Bass
Mildly boosted with a remarkable speed, articulation, and clarity, while having enough presence in the mix to avoid rendering the music sounding thin. It has a very even-sounding bass that lets every detail be heard, and the energetic presentation adds to the listener’s musical engagement.
Midrange
It has excellent clarity with a hint of mild forwardness, making the presentation bold and vivid, which lets all the details be heard, and makes the music so engaging, especially if you are the type who likes to sing along with the song, it feels like jamming with the band while doing it.
Treble
Very smooth, yet open-sounding, with a lot of details and micro details presented in equal amounts. An indicator of a very well-tuned and calibrated IEM.There is a lot of air and shimmer to the sounds that gives an illusion of an unlimited treble extension, and thus, giving it a very natural sounding treble. The details are delivered with balanced amount of gentleness and grit, and they are never forced in or laid back in character.
Technicalities
It is very dynamic, yet well-tempered at the same time.It has great separation, resolution, imaging, sound staging, layering, macro/micro dynamics, and holography. But doesn’t present itself as such; it's not the first thing you’ll notice about the Mermaid 2, it’s the musicality of the sound. After the burn-in, of course.
Just like its sound signature, the technical capability is very even-handed and presented.
It might not be the best in every category among other sets in its price range, and I might even say it is a jack of all trades but master of none, but they are all very well executed, so it is certainly above average in every category, a win in my opinion.
A note on macro and micro dynamics, as this is not often discussed in reviews. Macro dynamics is the difference between silence and loudness in the music, while micro dynamics means the minute difference in loudness between each hi-hat hit or cymbal splash while the music is playing. Very few single DD IEMs below 200 dollars are clear-sounding enough that you can hear the microdynamics.
Selected Comparisons
Dunu Titan S2 ($89)
It’s a single DD IEM with the same price, but it includes more ear tips and accessories. It uses a high-rigidity composite dome diaphragm of undisclosed material. But I would speculate it is similar to the Mermaid 2’s diaphragm in rigidity.It has a faceted shape shell with a mirror-like chrome finish and a circular candy red accent in the faceplate. Which looks stunningly futuristic.
It has a neutral sound signature with an elevated upper midrange region, which gives it good imaging performance, but at the expense of potentially sounding fatiguing, too mid-centric, or sometimes boring. While the Mermaid 2 has a similar sound signature, it sounds more dynamic and smoother.
When it comes to technicalities, they both have a wide soundstage and similar imaging performance, but the Mermaid 2 goes deeper in the stage and has a cleaner background decay.
Moondrop Starfield 2 ($130)
It’s a single DD IEM that uses a high-tech dome material of Magnesium and Lithium alloy in its diaphragm, which should be excellent with details and resolution.It has a nice blue colored finish with gold accents and a design that represents the night sky with star trails, which I find attractive.
It has a more vivid sound than the Mermaid 2, due to its more elevated upper midrange and lower treble. But it could cause fatigue in long listening sessions. The upper treble in the Starfield 2 is more rolled off in comparison.
Technically, Starfield 2 wins in imaging and holography performance as it has more defined imaging, but Mermaid 2 wins in sound staging.
NF Acous NA20 ($120)
It’s also a 10mm single DD with a rigid beryllium-plated diaphragm, which is not dissimilar to the diaphragm used in the Mermaid 2.It has a polycarbonate shell with an elaborate and patented tuning system they call SRA (Selective Reflection Adjustment). Which is supposed to reduce the reflected sound, making the sound cleaner by 5 air pressure controlling damping nets and 2 tuning sponges.
I prefer the metal shell on the Mermaid 2, but both are high-quality.
It has more bass boost than the Mermaid 2, and in terms of sound signature, it is V-shaped, with the NA20 having a deep V-shape. While the Mermaid is near flat neutral.
And in terms of overall technicalities, they are about equal in performance, both deliver clean and engaging sound.
CVJ x R2E3 Mermaid 2 Technical Specifications
Product Name: CVJ X R2E3 Mermaid 2 EarphonesModel: Mermaid 2
Type: IEM
Cable Length: 1.2m ± 3cm
Wire type: 1016 cores
Jack Type: 3.5/4.4mm
Impedance: 22 ohms
Sensitivity: 108dB per milliwatt
Frequency Range: 20-20KHz
Driver type: Dynamic
Unit Diameter: 10mm
Cable: 4 Core OCC + OFC Silver Plated
Pros
Excellent sound clarity.Very good resolution and detail retrieval.
Very engaging sound.
Cons
Needs careful source matching to sound its best.The lack of a pocket-friendly carrying case.
My Verdict
One thing I can say is that the collaborative effort between CVJ Hifi and R2E3 Acoustics paid off, as the sound I’m hearing from Mermaid 2 is not only different from other CVJ IEMs I’ve heard in the past, but it is also better sounding than many sets I’ve heard in its price class.
With that said, I’ll add that I’m not implying that it sounds good for the price, merely, I’d like to say that it sounds good regardless of price or the type of IEM.
I’m also not saying it is perfect either, as it can sound flat and cold with the wrong source pairing. And the slight forwardness in the midrange will stave off people who are very sensitive to midrange frequencies or people who don’t like neutral sound presentation.
So, if you love the neutral sound signature and are willing to experiment with different amplification sources to get the best sound, then you will be rewarded with excellent sound quality, and I highly recommend the CVJ x R2E3 Mermaid 2 to you.
Happy listening!
Bass:
Mids:
Treble:
Mermaid is a beast of an iem imho.