Introducing CL2 Planar (Impressions Thread)
Aug 15, 2019 at 10:14 AM Post #2,597 of 3,158
I know it's called burn in. And believe in burn in. But for the sake of not offending anyone I left it as some mystery of nature! Lol
I think I read in earlier posts the moderator was going to shut down the post if we spoke of burnin.
Anyway. Love my CL2.

I think burn-in in the physical space is reasonable; it'd be sad if people were getting bashed for that. However, I've seen few claiming burn-in of digital components and that's kinda where I draw the line.

That said, I haven't seen night and day burn-in effects in my experience (I'm betting most of those claims are mental burn-in). With the CL2, tried it out of the box and it was way too metallic/dry between the upper mids/lower treble (everything else sounded fantastic though). But to give the benefit of the doubt, I burned-it in for 400-ish hours and paired with a pure copper cable. It was better but no way "night and day" - I could still hear the problem.

Really hope RHA fixes this with the CL3. I was really impressed with everything outside of this flaw; it's a shame really.
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 10:26 AM Post #2,598 of 3,158
I think burn-in in the physical space is reasonable; it'd be sad if people were getting bashed for that. However, I've seen few claiming burn-in of digital components and that's kinda where I draw the line.

That said, I haven't seen night and day burn-in effects in my experience (I'm betting most of those claims are mental burn-in). With the CL2, tried it out of the box and it was way too metallic/dry between the upper mids/lower treble (everything else sounded fantastic though). But to give the benefit of the doubt, I burned-it in for 400-ish hours and paired with a pure copper cable. It was better but no way "night and day" - I could still hear the problem.

Really hope RHA fixes this with the CL3. I was really impressed with everything outside of this flaw; it's a shame really.
What flaw?
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 10:27 AM Post #2,599 of 3,158
Aug 15, 2019 at 10:37 AM Post #2,600 of 3,158
Aug 15, 2019 at 10:52 AM Post #2,601 of 3,158
I don't hear that at all.

That's good then! I wish I didn't.

Actually, when I first demoed the CL2 at IFA last year I was blown away. Impressed me more than the IER-Z1R. Didn't notice any flaws then, but really it was only a 10-minute impression. When I got a retail pair was taken aback. Didn't quite sound like what I demoed (because of this flaw). Thought it could be burn-in, but I tried that. Or maybe it was the tracks they had me sample. Or maybe there's a variance between units. Who knows. I just couldn't live with the flaw. A/B'ing with my pair of IE800S, and it was night and day in this upper mid/lower treble region. IE800S sounds way more natural.
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 11:26 AM Post #2,602 of 3,158
Could be your source or your cable or your tips. The CL2 is super revealing...
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 11:35 AM Post #2,603 of 3,158
Could be your source or your cable or your tips. The CL2 is super revealing...

Trust me, I tried lots of configs. Source was Mojo, iFi Micro iDSD BL, Fiio M9, and LG V40. Lots of tips. And like I said, pure copper cable. The flaw in this region is not something that just goes away in my experience. Resolve is a separate point though. Don't disagree that the CL2 is super revealing. The tuning is a bit off IMO. RHA said themselves they wanted to push the driver to its limit - think they pushed it a bit too far, or maybe to a point where tolerance pushes it over the edge for some models.
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 8:54 PM Post #2,605 of 3,158
Out of the box they were a bit bass shy, I did not hear any metallic tones in the treble, so that's good.
These have to be the clearest monitors I have ever listened to, I can hear everything, and unless I am mistaken, they remind me of speakers, and do not really sound like other iems I have listened to,. The pair I have has already changed a lot in the hour that I have had them, so I will let them burn in for a few more days.
Pretty impressive so far.

Cables are extra long and uncomfortable, the Cl2 themselves are a phenomenal fit. .
 
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Aug 15, 2019 at 9:17 PM Post #2,606 of 3,158
Out of the box they were a bit bass shy, I did not hear any metallic tones in the treble, so that's good.
These have to be the clearest monitors I have ever listened to, I can hear everything, and unless I am mistaken, they remind me of speakers, and do not really sound like other iems I have listened to,. The pair I have has already changed a lot in the hour that I have had them, so I will let them burn in for a few more days.
Pretty impressive so far.

Cables are extra long and uncomfortable, the Cl2 themselves are a phenomenal fit. .
Let us know what you think of the treble once they are burned in a little...
 
Aug 15, 2019 at 11:34 PM Post #2,609 of 3,158
All copper Sony Kimber 4.4 cable. $150 on eBay. The perfect cable and the improvement is notable over stock. The quality of the cable is top notch. And the 45 degree angled 4.4 connection is the bomb
Thank you, I am definitely going to need a new cable for these. The Hooks pull the CL2 out of my ears if I turn my head too quickly.

I am hoping the bass opens up a bit more with burn in like others have said on this forum.
 
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Aug 16, 2019 at 12:27 AM Post #2,610 of 3,158
Thank you, I am definitely going to need a new cable for these. The Hooks pull the CL2 out of my ears if I turn my head too quickly.

I am hoping the bass opens up a bit more with burn in like others have said on this forum.

If you search this thread for "ourart" you will find posts where I provided links to a couple of SPC cables (8-core & 16-core) that I purchased and enjoy immensely. The 2 cables cost me $118 shipped. They sound great from nice deep low end to beautiful highs.

You do not need to buy super expensive cables to get amazing sound out of the CL2's. If you have the budget for higher end cables knock yourself out. Just saying though.
 

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