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Clear Tune Monitors CT-500 Elite Review Thread
Feb 9, 2015 at 6:16 AM Post #16 of 95
Feb 19, 2015 at 1:44 PM Post #17 of 95
Feb 20, 2015 at 9:47 AM Post #18 of 95
Feb 28, 2015 at 3:22 PM Post #20 of 95
jazzgroover said:
What cables work well with the CT-500? Moon Audio Silver Dragon, Whiplash TWag v3, or something else?
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I'm using a DHC Symbiotic SP V2 type-4 silver litz on my CT-500s.  I went with an 8-braid, give-it-the-beans version with a 2.5mm TRRS balanced plug for use with my AK240.  Obviously the cable is thicker than the stock and that takes some getting used-to, but it's quite comfortable and beautiful to boot.  
 
Sonic differences?  Like taking a wet blanket off of Luciano Pavarotti:  the highs, which are already very solid, tighten and clarify; the lush mids gain a slight tightness around the edges--they speed up to the highs and synch perfectly; and the lows gain some attack and transparency, where the old cable made them a bit opaque and flabby in the lowest registers.  
 
For my ears, I really love what the silver does to the CT-500s versus copper.  If like some others you find the CT-500s a tad too bright, clinical or brittle with the stock cable, a fusion or blended copper/silver might be a good option.   
 
Mar 1, 2015 at 5:40 PM Post #23 of 95
proedros said:
   
these seem great CIEMS - how do they compare to say JH13 or K10 ?
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I'd call both the CT-500 and the JH13Pro excellent.  Sonically The JH13 has a touch more sub bass extension and is possibly a little more coherent but the CT-500 is more fun and has better (more musical) mids. I've been listening to both lately and I find myself happy with either.  The truth is had I heard the JH13pro before I bought it I might not have spent the money; I already had the CT-500 and the JH13pro is not measurably superior (to my ears).
 
Mar 3, 2015 at 8:01 AM Post #25 of 95
Mine arrives this week :) started a new thread for it now...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/757224/clear-tune-monitors-ct-6e-elite-flagship-thread#post_11374879
 
May 3, 2015 at 9:26 AM Post #26 of 95
Been listening to my CT-500s this morning, having not used them for a few weeks while awaiting some DHC adapters and the return of my AK as a RWAK240+.  Adapters landed and I'm still taken with these CIEMs.  It's a beautiful morning, my coffee is piping hot, I'm smoking a 1980s Davidoff Mouton de Rothschild, and listening to this:
 
https://echospacedetroit.bandcamp.com/album/a-gentle-embrace-cv313-rewire 
 
Deep ambient techno.  So much air and depth that the CT-500s render beautifully.  I can think of few better ways to start my day than like this.  
 
May 3, 2015 at 12:49 PM Post #27 of 95
Got a chance to demo the CT-500 at CTMs shop in orlando it was deffinetly a joy far beyound anything ive ever heard no close second. Which isnt saying much as thats the first piece of audio gear ive ever heard over $250 US but i was deffinelty impressed. here is a repost of what i hear in the CT-6E thread
 
So i finally got a chance to go to Orlando and get impressions done and demo some of the units
 

I was a kid in a candy store 
tongue_smile.gif

 

sadly no CT-6E demo unit was available it was flown out on Monday to Frankfurt Germany for a venue
 
However...

the CT-500Elite was so there for me to enjoy and compare to the 200,300, and 400 so my impressions are on these models
 

volbeat- a broken man and the dawn 
 

Flembaz-Oito
 
My 2 primary test track are volbeat- a broken man and the dawn and Flembaz-Oito the first was 320kbp the last was FLAC but i generally listened to FLAC out of my phone these two tracks are just what i use to see what a head phone can do
 
The 200
It was clear and had a pretty flat presentation. Very fast and not really emphasizing anything and very easy to listen to. Clarity as it seems was the main focus on the sound here and it was the most clear of the lower models even just a tad clearer to my ear than the 400
 
The 300
This was a surprise to me as it was my least liked of the group there. It had alot more grunt in the low registers but it lost the depth and detail the 200s had and it also seemed to me alittle rolled off in the treble but over all it definitely had a more solid performance in bass but it fell short of what the 200s did well in
 
The 400
These were pretty good the speed was definitely up there handling my fast paced psytrance with easy and had good depth it seems alittle U shaped in its response but very competent. I like this just as much as the 200 and preferred its sound over the 300 and though it was great.As i previously mentioned it seems to loose just a hair of clarity but gains a much more fully fleshed out sound representation that the 200s just cant do with 2 drivers.
 
The 500
These come at a steep price yes but from listening to it its price is completely justified. It sounded over all like a 200 on steroids. More speed more detail more clarity more separation and an almost effortless layering these had me smiling alot. The most striking aspect to the 500s is how full and meaty the sound is while being so Crystal clear it made the other models seem veiled and muddy in comparison.
 
Overall the 200 and 500 had me very impressed. The 200s are a mind blowing value given the price and put most iems in the $350 bracket to shame now the 500s were of such a high caliber compared to anything i have ever hear that I'm just simply blown away. The 200s had the sound preference that i enjoyed down solid and the 500 just seem to mirror those efforts for the flattish sound and just improve upon it tremendously. The sales rep/store keeper/audiologist owns a 200 himself and echoed my thoughts on the 500. Now i did asked about his experience with the CT-6E demo unit and to him he feels it extends the clarity a bit and gives a very interesting soundstage while keeping the 500s Hallmark mids intact.
 
This journey on headfi started for me back in 2006 when i was still in high school and i have always wanted CIEMs of my own and the one i truly wanted wasn't available for audition and it made me pretty bummed but i have alot of faith for CTMs ability after i demoed there units in the shop. I still ordered the CT-6E! I have always been a head-fier who wasn't been afraid to take the path less traveled and i feel CTM is doing great things here in Orlando and they truly know what they are doing and will continue to grow in the head-fi community. These folks at CTM are a humble small group but these folks know there stuff.
 
My unit will be here in about 5-6 week unfortunately and the wait is going to drive me nuts but I'm looking forward to it!
 
edited for my super bad spelling
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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May 5, 2015 at 1:58 PM Post #28 of 95
Is kinda disheartening to listen to the one CIEM that finally blows your mind due to its crazy price/performance ratio and i only find a 2 page appreciation thread about it. Haha.

Had a chance to try the CTMs locally, and im pretty much head over heels for the 500's. Plays any genre i throw at it, and a fun dynamic sound very little other CIEMs have. I know its not the last word in airy mids (VE6 X1 takes the cake for that), nor does it have liquid cohesiveness like the wonderfully dark SE5 Ultimates, nor does it have head shattering bass like the Lear 4.2 or W500. But at half the price it runs the competition pretty scarily close (seeing the vE6 is 8000 bucks of my local currency and 8 months of my part time job sacrificed and the CT500 is about 1/3 of that.) to a point im happily going to get one for myself.

Question though, what cables work for the CT500? Copper, Copper/Silver Hybrid, SPC or Pure Silver? Im currently looking at the HPL Carbide Hybrid and the Null Audio Lune Silver cables. Something that punches way above its price range like the HA2 i own and the CT500 im keenly looking at. Not keen on the fancy $300-800 ones cuz the 3.6x exchange deficit will make it pointless for me.
 
May 5, 2015 at 4:48 PM Post #29 of 95
sentinel92 said:
Is kinda disheartening to listen to the one CIEM that finally blows your mind due to its crazy price/performance ratio and i only find a 2 page appreciation thread about it. Haha.

Had a chance to try the CTMs locally, and im pretty much head over heels for the 500's. Plays any genre i throw at it, and a fun dynamic sound very little other CIEMs have. I know its not the last word in airy mids (VE6 X1 takes the cake for that), nor does it have liquid cohesiveness like the wonderfully dark SE5 Ultimates, nor does it have head shattering bass like the Lear 4.2 or W500. But at half the price it runs the competition pretty scarily close (seeing the vE6 is 8000 bucks of my local currency and 8 months of my part time job sacrificed and the CT500 is about 1/3 of that.) to a point im happily going to get one for myself.

Question though, what cables work for the CT500? Copper, Copper/Silver Hybrid, SPC or Pure Silver? Im currently looking at the HPL Carbide Hybrid and the Null Audio Lune Silver cables. Something that punches way above its price range like the HA2 i own and the CT500 im keenly looking at. Not keen on the fancy $300-800 ones cuz the 3.6x exchange deficit will make it pointless for me.
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It's not really disheartening.  Consider yourself one of the elite few who aren't purchasing based on overblown hype and/or popularity.  The CT-500 is a top tier performer and a good deal at it's price point.
 
As for the cable, I've stuck with the original as that was how the CIEM was voiced in the first place.
 
May 5, 2015 at 5:13 PM Post #30 of 95
deviltooth said:
 
It's not really disheartening.  Consider yourself one of the elite few who aren't purchasing based on overblown hype and/or popularity.  The CT-500 is a top tier performer and a good deal at it's price point.
 
As for the cable, I've stuck with the original as that was how the CIEM was voiced in the first place.
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file under : JHA Layla.
 
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