[Kitechaser]

Next was the KSE1500. Tried them with the spinfit 240 eartips.
Not my signature at all. I thought the resolution, tonality, and separation were much much better on the CL2.
the highs were harsh, and it lacked the fun musicality of the CL2.
Everything sounded pushed back, farther away from me.
On a technical merit, I could make a case for the electrostats, maybe, but it didn't wow me, or grab me in the least.
Again, this is a limited audition, and my ears would have to adjust to the signature, but I would have a hard time seeing myself investing 2500 dollars in that setup.
Let's put it this way, if the signature of the CL2 is to your liking, it is technically just as proficient as any other iem on the market.

@csglinux had a fun experiment planned. He had an eq setting on the Shure that mirrored as much as possible the CL2.
I blindly ended up much preferring that to the stock tuning.
My ears prefer that CL2 sound

 

[Kitechaser]

Tried the Focal Utopia.
Man it sounded harsh. I didn't have a long enough audition with it to really break down its sound signature, but it sounded grainy, and tonality was off.
Everytime I took them on and off, my ears had to adjust to the sound.
Not a fan.
The CL2 WM1A combo, to my ears, was much much better.
Not even taking into account the Sony TA-ZH1ES. That made me wanna invest into a desktop setup.
The CL2 sounded sublime.

 

[Kitechaser]

Again thank you to @csglinux , I got to check out some really really nice gear, got to make some new friends, and overall it was a really fun day.
Looking forward to meeting up soon, and trying out some more iems.
We really do have different preferences, and on some gear, hear things very differently.

I really liked the FLC8S, I thought they sounded great, awesome separation, great sound signature. Very easy on the ears, and balanced.
Also loved some Shozy earbuds, forgot exactly which model, but damn they sounded great. Really surprised how good these old school buds performed.
Made me wanna get a pair.

 

[Kitechaser]

One last thing, we tested my CL2 and the bass response on my left pair is off by 4db. The mids and Highs match perfectly, except for the bass.
So will contact @RHA Team to see if I can get them replaced.
After seeing it on the graph, I am now hearing it. It is obvious.
Further proves, graphs can make you hear things, that otherwise your brain would just compensate for.
Despite the bass imbalance, I didn't hear anything today, iem or full size headphone, that made me want to upgrade, or turn in my CL2 for something else.
Next time I will be sure to check out the LCDi4, saw it sitting in the little cabinet, but didn't have enough time to get to it.
The day just flew by

 

[autosleeper]

After seeing it on the graph, I am now hearing it. It is obvious

Mmm hmm

@candlejack Let's all bow down to half baked pseudo-science that is parading around as the absolute authority on all things subjective.
Ever heard of established science being wrong?
Yeah ,Welcome to the entirety of human history you stick to someone else's graphs, and I'll stick to my ears.
Thank you very much.

 

[geagle]

Nice impressions there @Kitechaser, thanks for posting. I like the FLC8s a lot too... don't really use them much, at the moment, but they were my go-to IEM for a very long time (with the red-nothing-nothing combo).

Also looks like I may have to keep an eye out for some good bargains on a WM1A, lol

And sorry to hear about the bass imbalance on your own CL2s.... will suck to have to do without them, for a while. BTW, this means that your left piece has more/less bass than the right? Meaning the overall brain "gestalt" picture will maybe be warmer/brighter than for a matched pair? (I'm assuming that's what would happen - but maybe it won't, lol)

 

[Kitechaser]

Mmm hmm

Not talking about the sound signature, talking about the imbalance in the left right buds.

 

[Kitechaser]

Nice impressions there @Kitechaser, thanks for posting. I like the FLC8s a lot too... don't really use them much, at the moment, but they were my go-to IEM for a very long time (with the red-nothing-nothing combo).

Also looks like I may have to keep an eye out for some good bargains on a WM1A, lol

And sorry to hear about the bass imbalance on your own CL2s.... will suck to have to do without them, for a while. BTW, this means that your left piece has more/less bass than the right? Meaning the overall brain "gestalt" picture will maybe be warmer/brighter than for a matched pair? (I'm assuming that's what would happen - but maybe it won't, lol)

My left bud has about 4db less bass than the right. Rest of the frequency response is spot on.
It's not that big of a deal honestly, @RHA Team has great customer service, they'll sort it out quickly. I had to go through them for T20's once, it was quick and painless.
That WM1A combo is awesome, I was intent on buying the 1Z, so I just saved 1500 dollars

 

[toranku]

4dB of channel imbalance is a lot. Amazing how human ears can compensate for it

 

[geagle]

It's not that big of a deal honestly, @RHA Team has great customer service, they'll sort it out quickly. I had to go through them for T20's once, it was quick and painless.

Nice !!

 

[Kitechaser]

4dB of channel imbalance is a lot. Amazing how human ears can compensate for it

Yeah you'd be surprised. The CL2 sounds just as good as it did yesterday, but now I can spot the bass center leaning to the right side of the soundstage.
A new pair will hopefully sound fuller, even more to my liking.

 

[cj3209]

Next was the KSE1500. Tried them with the spinfit 240 eartips.
Not my signature at all. I thought the resolution, tonality, and separation were much much better on the CL2.
the highs were harsh, and it lacked the fun musicality of the CL2.
Everything sounded pushed back, farther away from me.
On a technical merit, I could make a case for the electrostats, maybe, but it didn't wow me, or grab me in the least.
Again, this is a limited audition, and my ears would have to adjust to the signature, but I would have a hard time seeing myself investing 2500 dollars in that setup.
Let's put it this way, if the signature of the CL2 is to your liking, it is technically just as proficient as any other iem on the market.

@csglinux had a fun experiment planned. He had an eq setting on the Shure that mirrored as much as possible the CL2.
I blindly ended up much preferring that to the stock tuning.
My ears prefer that CL2 sound

Kudos to @Kitechaser for the very informative posts comparing the CL2 to other IEMs. I certainly appreciate his opinions.

I wanted to share my thoughts and comments as I own and use the KSE1200 which is basically the KSE1500 minus the DAC. I have found that most IEMs and headphones have strengths and weaknesses and a few are so well balanced that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. I believe the CL2s are one of those well balanced IEMs.

I did some A/B'ing for the past hour with the CL2 and KSE1200. I didn't want to spend that much time fiddling with the setup so I simply used a LG G7 using UAPP (I upgraded for the paid MQA version) and TIDAL HI-FI and MQA files connected directly to both IEMs. One thing to note is that the KSE's have an amp so has the advantage of greater driving ability in comparison to being dependant on the driving power of the G7 amp with the CL2s. CONCLUSION: they sound different - clearly different. The KSE's strength is it's ability to transport you to the recording studio or concert; I feel like I am 'there' with the artist and I can almost 'touch' the sound - I think this is why they are relatively expensive. Also, the KSE's clearly excel with acoustic guitar (it is very accurate and sounds live) and piano music (it sounds like a live piano). Their weakness is listening to rock/pop with hard-hitting electric guitar rifts and percussion sound too laid back, without any emotion. On some music types, the treble is bit too much as well and the bass can be a bit lacking.

On the other hand, the CL2s take the same electric guitar rifts and really hits it HARD; I feel it, my head sways and my legs move. The bass is quite satisfying as well. The CL2s generally play all types of music well. Some weaknesses, in comparison to the KSE1200, are that pianos don't quite sound real and I feel like I'm further back in the audience.

This may not be a fair comparison as the CL2s are relying on the LG G7's amp which is clearly not as good as the KSE's amp so I'll do a comparison using a DAP next, like the AK SP1000.

All-in-all, both IEMs are great but the CL2s are a bargain, I think, in comparison to the price/cost of the KSEs.

EDIT: I wanted to add that tips are pretty important for both IEMs and I was using wide Symbios and a modified Symbio-type tip for the KSEs.

Back to the music!

 

[geagle]

Excellent and very interesting comparison @cj3209 . What it would seem to boil down to is sort of "horses for courses" , or synergy/paring. In this case, synergy with music type/instruments, with you hearing the CL2 being "better" (at least to your ears) with some specific instruments/music genre, and the Shure being "better" with others.

And since I actually like rock/metal more than piano/acoustic guitars I guess I can push back my plans to spend some money on the electrostats .

 

[geagle]

A new pair will hopefully sound fuller, even more to my liking.

That sounds like you'll be angling for an exchange, rather than a retune... which means you'll lose the 800+ hours of burn-in on them, and will have to go through that process again. Which sounds... NOT something to look forward to ? I mean, it will take quite a long time before they'll sound the way you're used to, no?

 

[Kitechaser]

Personally I love acoustic guitars on the CL2. They sound incredible.
Will definitely check out more pianos the next time I get my hands on the KSE1500.