[davidcotton]

Was just wondering what your turn around time was?  Been looking at silicone ciems in eu and having to make up my mind.

 

[rekondita]

  When I have some time, I'll compare how they sound with my iPod Classic and iPad Mini vs Fiio X5. Nowadays I use my M2 mostly with X5 or Sansa Clip+. I don't have X1 or any other iDevices, but in general, I'd recommend to check first how M2  performs with your current devices - I used them with Nexus 5 and they are more than acceptable for portable / on-the-street use in this setup... but if you are just looking for an excuse to buy a new player... go for it

That'd be swell, stefu.  Thanks.  Sound advice, to pair it with what I have in house.  As for the excuse to buy a new player?  I suppose you know me better than I know myself, as that very well could be the reason.*  It's hard to participate on this message board without wanting to buy something--well played, head-fi.
 
 
*insert obligatory sentence/paragraph that includes "long time lurker", "want to understand audiophilia better", "lover of music, not necessarily data".
 
Edit: because preposition

 

[nmatheis]

Hi all. I'm thinking of trying a CIEM and the CA M2 caught my attention as an option that might meet my needs - affordable, comfortable, durable, good sound, etc.

I've got experience with several mid-tier universals - Dunu DN1K, RHA MA750, Sidy DGS100, TPEOS Altone200, and Yamaha EPH-100 amongst others. Out of these, I'm really liking the Altone for their clarity, extension, and ability to really kick in the bass when needed.

I'm wondering which universal I've had experience with the CA M2 most closely resembles and if it's suitable for technically challenging music which requires extension and speed on both ends.

Thanks for any help!

 

[piotrus-g]

Hi all. I'm thinking of trying a CIEM and the CA M2 caught my attention as an option that might meet my needs - affordable, comfortable, durable, good sound, etc.

I've got experience with several mid-tier universals - Dunu DN1K, RHA MA750, Sidy DGS100, TPEOS Altone200, and Yamaha EPH-100 amongst others. Out of these, I'm really liking the Altone for their clarity, extension, and ability to really kick in the bass when needed.

I'm wondering which universal I've had experience with the CA M2 most closely resembles and if it's suitable for technically challenging music which requires extension and speed on both ends.

Thanks for any help!

RHA MA750 probably. M2 is not really that bass heavy.

 

[nmatheis]

piotrus-g: Thanks for the reply. I don't need or want bass heavy, but when bass is needed I do want it to be fast, punchy, and have good sub-bass extension. For me, MA750 meets all of those characteristics for me except for speed where it struggles a bit.

Would CA M2 keep up with fast double bass drum blastbeats common in aggressive heavy metal music?

Would CA M2 reach down low in sub-bass for electronic music like drum n bass?

Am I looking at the wrong CA CIEM for my musical tastes and needs? If so, what might be a better option?

Thanks again piotrus-g!

 

[piotrus-g]

@piotrus-g: Thanks for the reply. I don't need or want bass heavy, but when bass is needed I do want it to be fast, punchy, and have good sub-bass extension. For me, MA750 meets all of those characteristics for me except for speed where it struggles a bit.

Would CA M2 keep up with fast double bass drum blastbeats common in aggressive heavy metal music?

Would CA M2 reach down low in sub-bass for electronic music like drum n bass?

Am I looking at the wrong CA CIEM for my musical tastes and needs? If so, what might be a better option?

Thanks again @piotrus-g!

It is capable of pushing out a bit of sub-bas but it's not big or substantial. And armature driver is practically almost always faster in decay and speed than dynamic driver.
That said I'm a bit afraid that you may expect rumble that you won't get, as BA drivers are very different in this regard.
 
Have you ever tried any BA-based IEMs?
 
CA IEMs that would be capable of all those features and I would have no doubts about it would be Harmony 8 Pro, but that's 3x more expensive than M2.

 

[Barra]

CUSTOMART US CIEM Demo Tour - Including Harmony 8 Pro, Music One, Music Two, and Pro 330v2
 
The tour thread is now live and signing up US participants. For anyone interested in hearing these, you can find the tour signup thread here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/741770/customart-us-ciem-demo-lineup-tour-including-harmony-8-pro#post_11035309

 

[nmatheis]

It is capable of pushing out a bit of sub-bas but it's not big or substantial. And armature driver is practically almost always faster in decay and speed than dynamic driver.
That said I'm a bit afraid that you may expect rumble that you won't get, as BA drivers are very different in this regard.

Have you ever tried any BA-based IEMs?

CA IEMs that would be capable of all those features and I would have no doubts about it would be Harmony 8 Pro, but that's 3x more expensive than M2.

I've owned a few pairs of BA IEMs (2 single BA: MEE A151 & A161 + 1 double BA: FA DBA02). I doubt any of these were as carefully tuned as your CA CIEMs, though, and would bet yours have better bass extension and impact. You'd obviously know better than me, though.

In any case, I did sign up for the tour Barra is organizing and will hopefully have a chance to answer my questions pretty soon. Thanks to Barra for organizing the tour and to piotrus-g for providing the IEMs!

 

[piotrus-g]

I've owned a few pairs of BA IEMs (2 single BA: MEE A151 & A161 + 1 double BA: FA DBA02). I doubt any of these were as carefully tuned as your CA CIEMs, though, and would bet yours have better bass extension and impact. You'd obviously know better than me, though.

In any case, I did sign up for the tour @Barra is organizing and will hopefully have a chance to answer my questions pretty soon. Thanks to @Barra for organizing the tour and to @piotrus-g for providing the IEMs!

Well, ok so M2 has more bass then A151, A161 and DBA02...
 
Yes I saw. Thanks for signing up.

 

[tdweis]

I have a question:  joker's Multi-IEM review gave the Custom Art Music One his highest rating on isolation (5).  Because I'm seeing that the Music Two is vented, can anyone comment on the isolation of the IEM, as this is a very important issue for me.  It sounds as though the M2 improves on most/all other sound aspects of the M1.  I'd like to know (a) how good the isolation is in its own right, and (b) how good the isolation is in comparison with the Music One (if possible).
 
Many thanks.

 

[nmatheis]

The M2 is internally vented. There is no external venting that I've read about, so isolation should be the same between M1 & M2.

 

[tdweis]

Thank you nmatheis.  I did not see the part about the internal vent.  Anyone else?

 

[piotrus-g]

Thank you nmatheis.  I did not see the part about the internal vent.  Anyone else?

exactly as nmatheis has said. Our IEMs are equipped with vented drivers closed in solid silicone. Isolation is not affected by it.

 

[stefu]

(I wanted to send this out much sooner, but it felt through cracks)
 
I did a quick comparison between iPod Classic 160gb and Fiio X5 with Music Two. Conclusion is: you need an amp for iPod classic. Not because of not enough power, but because of high output impedance, which harms highs. So Fiio X5 vs iPod Classic unamped is unquestionable win for X5. When amped, iPod performance is close to X5, with X5 having an edge in resolution, which probably matters less than sound signature and this depends on the amp.
 
I tried iPod Classic with cheap Topping NX1 and Little Dot MKI+. Both, unfortunately, have quite a lot of background hiss when paired with M2, but putting this aside, I may prefer signature of amped iPod over unamped X5.

 

[stefu]

Per request of one of the forum member I did some more testing of M2, specifically, how siblant it is. I was suggested to use Lisa Simone 'All is well' album - as an example of siblant voice.
 
I used Gogole Music All Access on Macbook Pro with Dragonfly 1.0 as a source, with M2 connected directly to Dragonfly. I believe Google Music stream is 320kbit mp3. I started at much louder level then I usually listen to and indeed I could hear some siblance which was in few moments quite noticeable, but bearable - of course you experience may vary. After listening to the full album, it wasn't that much issue. Next I relistened first song (Finally Free) at my normal level and this was not an issue at all, so I decided to listen the first song again loud. Now it was noticable again, but less than before - my ears got used to the loudness.
Next I wanted to check how Roxannes will work with this song: Roxannes were very similar in siblance to M2 - maybe slightly less, but just slightly.
 
My conclusion: Lisa's vocals are siblant. Any good headphones will sound siblant with her... because it is how she sings. Putting this aside, I find M2 to reproduce her voice quite well and occasional siblance wasn't an issue for me. I was enjoying the music without being put of by sssssss.
 
I hope it is helpful.