[HiCZoK]

  I havent heard the CAL1 but my CAL2 is warm and bassy (not bass cannons). It is quite comfortable but I've changed the pads to HM5s which make them sound much better and much more comfy. I've also tried the HM5 velours but a lot of bass gets lost using them so I'm now back to the HM5 pleathers. I'm not sure what the original pads weren't but the HM5 pads just made them better, they were thicker and pushed the cans out a bit so it improved the soundstage without any sacrificing any bass. Plus the isolation improved 

Sorry I didnt updated. Decided to get HM5 and its fantastic. Love the sound and comfort.

 

[spurxiii]

Sorry I didnt updated. Decided to get HM5 and its fantastic. Love the sound and comfort.

 


Congrats. Good that you're enjoying them

 

[greaterworks]

After using iems and on-ear headphones for sometime, I've come back to the CAL!2 as my main driver, esp when I'm at home. Appreciate the comfort on these a lot more now, even with stock earpads. I might be considering to get the hm5 pads too, as the isolation is not great with stock.

Are there any other cheaper alternatives for a replacement cable? Preferably with braided fabric material.

 

[Quaresma]

After using iems and on-ear headphones for sometime, I've come back to the CAL!2 as my main driver, esp when I'm at home. Appreciate the comfort on these a lot more now, even with stock earpads. I might be considering to get the hm5 pads too, as the isolation is not great with stock.



Are there any other cheaper alternatives for a replacement cable? Preferably with braided fabric material.

 


Get the HM5 pads! They are so comfortable. But I didn't really notice better isolation:/

Also, get some dynamat and start modding. My CAL2s are fully modded with dynamat, and they sound so much better than stock. No exaggerated wobbly bass

 

[spurxiii]

 

After using iems and on-ear headphones for sometime, I've come back to the CAL!2 as my main driver, esp when I'm at home. Appreciate the comfort on these a lot more now, even with stock earpads. I might be considering to get the hm5 pads too, as the isolation is not great with stock.



Are there any other cheaper alternatives for a replacement cable? Preferably with braided fabric material.

 


Get the HM5 pads! They are so comfortable. But I didn't really notice better isolation:/

Also, get some dynamat and start modding. My CAL2s are fully modded with dynamat, and they sound so much better than stock. No exaggerated wobbly bass

I modded my CAL2s with dynamat and although the bass got tighter, the sound also got darker. 

 

[greaterworks]

Haha. Nah.. I'm not particular about the sound at all. I'm happy the way it sounds out of the box. And I don't intend to do any serious modding. At the most I will try the hm5 pads. Did u get the velour or pleather ones?

 

[spurxiii]

I upgraded mine with this cable
 
http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=3570

 

[spurxiii]

Haha. Nah.. I'm not particular about the sound at all. I'm happy the way it sounds out of the box. And I don't intend to do any serious modding. At the most I will try the hm5 pads.

Did u get the velour or pleather ones?

I think you lose too much bass with the velours

 

[greaterworks]

Are the earpads easy to remove and put on? Do u just rip them off the cup?

 

[spurxiii]

Are the earpads easy to remove and put on? Do u just rip them off the cup?

Yes pretty easy to take off and put on. Yeah just carefullt pull them off. Do one end part of the pad at a time and carefullt stretch it off

 

[greaterworks]

Yes pretty easy to take off and put on. Yeah just carefullt pull them off. Do one end part of the pad at a time and carefullt stretch it off

Okay thanks.

 

[Mangudai]

Got my CAL! 2 in yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about them just yet. I've never had a headphone that has the presentation they offer. It seems a bit odd to me, I imagine it was done this was to increase the amount of bass (compared to the CAL! 1) without negatively affecting the mid range. It does this successfully. It not as involving as the CAL! 1 when taking this, and the laid back treble into account. I've only used them for roughly 6-7 so far so it wouldn't surprise me if the sound changes over the next 15-20 hours of usage. The soundstage is wider than the CAL! 1 but on some songs where bass isn't important it can sound almost artificial(can someone share their experience with this?)
 
I think I'd enjoy them a lot more if the bass tightens up a bit and I could get a little more treble out of them. I think too the stock cable may potentially be holding them back. That said I like the increased clarity they offer which is a noticeable improvement.
 
Using these from a Fiio E17
 
 
Thoughts?
 
 
 
Edit:
 
Rookie mistake. Didn't realize I had the bass setting on my E17 at +6. Having put it back to 0 things now make sense. It sounds a lot more like the CAL! 1. But with these you get more clarity. The mids are still recessed, these are definitely focused on bass. But I would not call these headphones for bassheads at all. I still find the treble to be too laid back. With an EQ though I can increase the treble just a bit which helps give it more dimension. I don't dislike these headphones, im just not in love with the sound signature.

 

[spurxiii]

  Got my CAL! 2 in yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about them just yet. I've never had a headphone that has the presentation they offer. It seems a bit odd to me, I imagine it was done this was to increase the amount of bass (compared to the CAL! 1) without negatively affecting the mid range. It does this successfully. It not as involving as the CAL! 1 when taking this, and the laid back treble into account. I've only used them for roughly 6-7 so far so it wouldn't surprise me if the sound changes over the next 15-20 hours of usage. The soundstage is wider than the CAL! 1 but on some songs where bass isn't important it can sound almost artificial(can someone share their experience with this?)
 
I think I'd enjoy them a lot more if the bass tightens up a bit and I could get a little more treble out of them. I think too the stock cable may potentially be holding them back. That said I like the increased clarity they offer which is a noticeable improvement.
 
Using these from a Fiio E17
 
 
Thoughts?

The dynamat I put in the cups tightens up the bass slightly but makes them darker but the SPC cable I'm using balances back out again by making them slightly brighter so I get almost the same sound but tighter bass

 

[Mangudai]

Balances?
 
One thing I def don't want is the sound to get darker.
 
I'm curious, how common is the sound signature. It just seems odd to me to lead off with the sub bass the way these do. I guess ive become used to forward mids.

 

[greaterworks]

I realized despite the cal!2 being out for quite sometime, the cal! is still more popular. I don't see many youtube reviews on the cal!2. After using other pairs of portable on-ear headphones, I still go back to these for the comfort. Didn't really appreciate how soft the pads are at first, coz it's my first pair of headphones. Guess I didn't mess up in getting these for usd80 after all.