[Napilopez]

It's quite funny just how subjective it all is, not sure if we align or not, different viewpoints of the same subject I guess - most obvious difference between us seems to be our opinion on soundstage, I can hear it on the RE2000 don't get me wrong, but the airiness of the CL2 could well be distorting my opinion.

Us and our pesky different ears! Why don't we all have the same lobes and canals to eliminate this problem

And no, I totally get you on the CL2's airiness. I think I'd describe the CL2 as having less width but more depth than the RE2000. However, I also think the CL2s have a more variable soundstage - in a good way. Is the recording warm and intimate? The CL2 will show it off. Was it recorded in an airy open space? The CL2's will prove surprisingly expansive. It might be something about the ceramic. In this it reminds me of an old favorite headphone of mine, the Panasonic HJE900. Totally different sound signatures, but I recall that quality.

Curious about the RE2000's treble! They are very far from having harsh highs to my ears - I think the CL2s may be closer to harshness (although as much discussed, its more of an upper mids issue).

Very much agree about the bass though. I do miss a bit more impact on the CL2, but man is that bass textured.

 

[Kitechaser]

Us and our pesky different ears! Why don't we all have the same lobes and canals to eliminate this problem

And no, I totally get you on the CL2's airiness. I think I'd describe the CL2 as having less width but more depth than the RE2000. However, I also think the CL2s have a more variable soundstage - in a good way. Is the recording warm and intimate? The CL2 will show it off. Was it recorded in an airy open space? The CL2's will prove surprisingly expansive. It might be something about the ceramic. In this it reminds me of an old favorite headphone of mine, the Panasonic HJE900. Totally different sound signatures, but I recall that quality.

Curious about the RE2000's treble! They are very far from having harsh highs to my ears - I think the CL2s may be closer to harshness (although as much discussed, its more of an upper mids issue).

Very much agree about the bass though. I do miss a bit more impact on the CL2, but man is that bass textured.

If you dont mind me asking, what are you pairing the CL2 with?

 

[Duncan]

Curious about the RE2000's treble! They are very far from having harsh highs to my ears - I think the CL2s may be closer to harshness (although as much discussed, its more of an upper mids issue).

highlighted that part specifically... It is a back handed compliment to the RE2000, I don't mean it's bad, for those that listen as responsible volume levels, it is sublime, hence my point near the end of my post, however for those that listen at nearer 2 o'clock than 10 on the dial, the CL2 are way more forgiving, and less likely to make your ears ring...

Funny you mention the HJE900, I have a pair too, but the gauze filters fell off, and I was too nervous at the time (oh how cheap they were compared to today's IEMs, but felt expensive at the time) to use them for fear of getting debris inside them.

 

[SciOC]

Just got them. Popped then in my ears immediately because I really want to tell about the burn in effect...

First thing I noticed is how tiny they are compared to most of my IEMs. I feel like I could get this whole Iem in my ear canal if I tried. I wish the nozzle was longer, tiprolling is going to be essential because of this.

Second thing I notice, flat, no EQ, no mseb, they pair very badly with the hiby r6. They sound much better on my Cayin n3. I'm glad I have a new DAP pre-ordered. I'll never make this output impedance mistake again....

3rd, no doubt they need burn in. They sound very rough right now.... That said, the soundstage is there already. If it opens up from here, it'll definitely be the best soundstage I've heard on an IEM.

 

[Kitechaser]

London grammar. Their 2017 "Truth is a beautiful thing" album sounds incredible on the CL2.
Thanks again to Duncan.
Never would have found out about this band otherwise. .

 

[SciOC]

London grammar. Their 2017 "Truth is a beautiful thing" album sounds incredible on the CL2.
Thanks again to Duncan.
Never would have found out about this band otherwise. .

Ditto, listened to this this morning on my it04 and it was great.

2 hours in on my CL2 and it doesn't, uhh, sound as good as it did this morning. Very nice vocals.

There are only a few vocalists who I really like, but I can add one now. Damn British women.... If Ellie Goulding and lady gaga (not British, I know) sang some better music I'd be a happy camper.

 

[Kitechaser]

Ditto, listened to this this morning on my it04 and it was great.

2 hours in on my CL2 and it doesn't, uhh, sound as good as it did this morning. Very nice vocals.

There are only a few vocalists who I really like, but I can add one now. Damn British women.... If Ellie Goulding and lady gaga (not British, I know) sang some better music I'd be a happy camper.

Adele is another one.
You gotta break those puppies in. Leave them running overnight, pink noise and sine sweeps work really well.

 

[SciOC]

Adele is another one.
You gotta break those puppies in. Leave them running overnight, pink noise and sine sweeps work really well.

You just made me realize I forgot to plug in my DAP before leaving my office. I guess they'll only get about 12 of burn in time today.

Please tell me I'm going through the normal timeline of CL2 ownership and that everyone else had immediate regret before burn in?

The only other pair I've ever had that went from sounding bad to anything at all good are my akg k501s. Other pairs have improved somewhat, but this is going to have to be TOTALLY different for me to like it. For instance, with the ibasso it01 it sounds ok out of the box but much better after a few days. This sounds bad out of the box... Straight up bad, worse than any pair of KZ I own...

 

[Napilopez]

You just made me realize I forgot to plug in my DAP before leaving my office. I guess they'll only get about 12 of burn in time today.

Please tell me I'm going through the normal timeline of CL2 ownership and that everyone else had immediate regret before burn in?

The only other pair I've ever had that went from sounding bad to anything at all good are my akg k501s. Other pairs have improved somewhat, but this is going to have to be TOTALLY different for me to like it. For instance, with the ibasso it01 it sounds ok out of the box but much better after a few days. This sounds bad out of the box... Straight up bad, worse than any pair of KZ I own...

I'm not as big of a believer in burn in as many, but I definitely felt it with these.

That said SciOC, you might just not like them. Happens even with the best of headphones. While I don't hate the Focal Utopia, I don't love them nearly as much as many/most, even without considering the price. To my ear the focal clear is a more refined headphone, even if it doesn't pull out quite as much detail.

I think the CL2 or brilliant, but I don't think they have the most immediately welcoming frequency response, and they do seem to benefit from burn in. If asked RHA and they recommended 20 hours, but some here claim far more.

 

[kukkurovaca]

You just made me realize I forgot to plug in my DAP before leaving my office. I guess they'll only get about 12 of burn in time today.

Please tell me I'm going through the normal timeline of CL2 ownership and that everyone else had immediate regret before burn in?

The only other pair I've ever had that went from sounding bad to anything at all good are my akg k501s. Other pairs have improved somewhat, but this is going to have to be TOTALLY different for me to like it. For instance, with the ibasso it01 it sounds ok out of the box but much better after a few days. This sounds bad out of the box... Straight up bad, worse than any pair of KZ I own...

Will be interested in your eventual conclusion about the CL2. I love the idea of having an isolating planar IEM, but I really wish there was somewhere local I could try them out...

 

[Napilopez]

Accidental double post

 

[Kitechaser]

You just made me realize I forgot to plug in my DAP before leaving my office. I guess they'll only get about 12 of burn in time today.

Please tell me I'm going through the normal timeline of CL2 ownership and that everyone else had immediate regret before burn in?

The only other pair I've ever had that went from sounding bad to anything at all good are my akg k501s. Other pairs have improved somewhat, but this is going to have to be TOTALLY different for me to like it. For instance, with the ibasso it01 it sounds ok out of the box but much better after a few days. This sounds bad out of the box... Straight up bad, worse than any pair of KZ I own...

Yes....its normal. Most of us went through the same thing.
Hang in there

 

[HiFlight]

Agreed!

Would be interested in people's opinion on the treble on this track... Two weeks ago I would have said it was horrible, now, sounds exquisite...

Definitely think burn in and earhook removal were pivotal for me!

Sounds clear and crisp to me. No distortion that I can hear. Reminds me of the scenery in the video.

 

[HiFlight]

After a lot of experimentation with tips, cables, burn-in, etc, I have found that when I hear a harsh/overly bright sound in the upper mids/lower treble, invariably my volume is too high for a realistic presentation. It seems like there is a sweet spot where everything just falls into focus, sort of like using a telescope. I now just start low and raise the volume until the sound hits that sweet spot and life is good! Too high on the volume and they seem to lose refinement (and sense of realism)

 

[Kitechaser]

I love the CL2. Out of the box, first couple of hours, I wanted to return them. Badly.
So i can see why people have that reaction to them with limited hands on time.
Edit: I think you got lucky with the stock tips. .

This is my post from a few days ago.
@SciOC
Tips, tips tips. If you have any spiral dots use them.