[AManAnd88Keys]

I returned from my vacation yesterday late at night and have now finally had the chance to spent some time with my pair of CL2s.

Short first impressions:

Very (!) nice packaging and accessoires. With two very well made cables, lots of different tips, a pouch etc. I guess I don't need to buy anything additional, which is great!

I didn't expect a hand written thank-you card at all. It was a surprise in the best sense possible and a simple, yet beautiful gesture. Thank you very much, Rebecca!

So far I've listened to the CL2s with the silver symmetrical cable plugged into an iBasso DX150 (with the Amp6 module). What first struck me was how rich they sound. I mean RICH, in big big bold letters. Palpable. Sculpture-like. And transparent too, very much so. The bass is outstanding for my standards, it can be felt as much as heard. The overall sound signature reminds me of my time with the Audeze LCD 2.2, but with a voicing that is considerably less dark. Higher frequencies have more shine. For me it's a better, more realistic balance.

I will spend more time with the CL2 and am likely going to post an in-depth review after a while, but so far it seems that RHA has done a great, great job.

 

[davidmolliere]

So far I've listened to the CL2s with the silver symmetrical cable plugged into an iBasso DX150 (with the Amp6 module). What first struck me was how rich they sound. I mean RICH, in big big bold letters. Palpable. Sculpture-like. And transparent too, very much so. The bass is outstanding for my standards, it can be felt as much as heard. The overall sound signature reminds me of my time with the Audeze LCD 2.2, but with a voicing that is considerably less dark. Higher frequencies have more shine. For me it's a better, more realistic balance. I will spend more time with the CL2 and am likely going to post an in-depth review after a while, but so far it seems that RHA has done a great, great job.

Nice first impressions, keep them coming

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

Nice first impressions, keep them coming

I really like how easy it is to pick out the different notes or layers within chords. I am listening to Kenny Werner right now (solo album: New York - Love Songs), and he likes to use complex chords a lot. As a pianist myself, I could definitely use the CL2 for transcriptions of this type of music, to get a better understanding of what is going on on a conceptual and technical level.
I know that this is maybe not an exciting aspect for those of you who are not musicians, but for me it says a lot about the ability of the CL2s to resolve and differentiate.

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

I would like to add that it's not just about picking out the different notes. It's about touch, weight, decay, overtones... about the things that give a musical performance expressive depth. The CL2s are doing great, I am enjoying them a lot right now.

 

[davidmolliere]

I really like how easy it is to pick out the different notes or layers within chords. I am listening to Kenny Werner right now (solo album: New York - Love Songs), and he likes to use complex chords a lot. As a pianist myself, I could definitely use the CL2 for transcriptions of this type of music, to get a better understanding of what is going on a conceptual and technical level.

I know that this is maybe not an exciting aspect for those of you who are not musicians, but for me it says a lot about the ability of the CL2s to resolve and differentiate. I would like to add that it's not just about picking out the different notes. It's about touch, weight, decay, overtones... about the things that give a musical performance expressive depth. The CL2s are doing great, I am enjoying them a lot right now.

This is very helpful impressions and I can definitely get it, and now you got me sold on the CL2 as it's probably the very reason I am in this hobby

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

This is very helpful impressions and I can definitely get it, and now you got me sold on the CL2 as it's probably the very reason I am in this hobby

Great! And I see that you are residing in France? I am listening to Martial Solal right now ("Star Eyes - Hamburg 1983", with Lee Konitz, a great live album), I hope you consider him a national treasure just kidding. But for me he is a true virtuoso blessed with a particular sense for musical humour. It's like he has got all the technique and inventiveness in the world without ever taking himself too seriously.

On track 4 of the album I mentioned (jazz standard "Body and Soul"), during Martials Intro, there is a moment where someone in the club drops a glass, somewhere in the background to the left. Before the CL2 I never really noticed that it's not just one "crash", but several shards of glass bouncing off the floor after the glass has shattered. The resolution.......

(makes me think that I really need to optimize the acoustics in the room where my speakers are. I have invested much, much more money in that setup and I do not get this kind of resolution. I get other things that are inherent to speakers, but simply not this level of detail which is probably vanishing somewhere in the air due to room interactions)

 

[Kitechaser]

Great! And I see that you are residing in France? I am listening to Martial Solal right now ("Star Eyes - Hamburg 1983", with Lee Konitz, a great live album), I hope you consider him a national treasure just kidding. But for me he is a true virtuoso blessed with a particular sense for musical humour. It's like he has got all the technique and inventiveness in the world without ever taking himself too seriously.

On track 4 of the album I mentioned (jazz standard "Body and Soul"), during Martials Intro, there is a moment where someone in the club drops a glass, somewhere in the background to the left. Before the CL2 I never really noticed that it's not just one "crash", but several shards of glass bouncing off the floor after the glass has shattered. The resolution.......

Holy jesus. That was a great description.
You have convinced me that I made the right decision. 2 more days till I get my order.
Its gonna be a long 2 days.
Please keep the impressions and observations coming.
Very interesting read.

 

[McCol]

The man describing what I hear but in far better words!!!

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

Holy jesus. That was a great description.
You have convinced me that I made the right decision. 2 more days till I get my order.
Its gonna be a long 2 days.
Please keep the impressions and observations coming.
Very interesting read.

I am glad that you like my descriptions. Still, people have different ears and tastes and the CL2s will likely sound different to you. Maybe worse, maybe similar, maybe even better. Regardless of that, it's great to see that you are excited and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

 

[Kitechaser]

I am glad that you like my descriptions. Still, people have different ears and tastes and the CL2s will likely sound different to you. Maybe worse, maybe similar, maybe even better. Regardless of that, it's great to see that you are excited and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

If you get a chance, can you list some of the other iems you are using, and a brief idea of where this one sits, so far.
Not asking for a full out review.
Just trying yo get an idea of what's what out there.

 

[HarlanDraka]

OK It's been one week I've been listening to the CL2 and testing them with different DAPs (iBasso dx150+amp7, ipod touch+mojo, iPad), different tips and cables.

First, packaging.
Very nice indeed, plenty of accessories and the hand written card was appreciated.

The build qualiy of the CL2 and cables is excellent. The IEMs look gorgeous and they seem they can last forever as they are all ceramic and metal. I tested the CL2 with shure stock cable, ibasso mmcx cable (the one from it04) and campfire litz but I came back to stock copper cable as to my ears it just sounds better. Westone mmcx cables do not work with CL2.

Tips: I tested stock tips and many other tips (sony hybrids, jvc spiral dots, spinfits etc etc) but at the end I settled with....Shure small tips. I never expected they would be a good option for the CL2 but, to my ears, they are the best for sound and isolation. The bores of CL2 are bigger than the Shure tips though so it will tke some time to put them on. With the small Shure tips, the CL2 have a deep fit and excellent isolation. Also, they sound perfectly balanced with strong tight bass and sparkly treble. It was a surprise to me since I usually use medium to large tips for all my IEMs (Large sony hybrides for Xelento, Medium Large Spiral dots for Solar). The CL2 were meant to have a deep fit to sound how they are supposed to sound so my advice is to test many tips until you find the ones that work the best for you. The sound do really change with a deep insertion like night and day.

Now, how do the CL2 sound?
First of all I noticed they changed a lot with burn in, which I didn't expect. Treble became more controlled, bass became tighter and mids more precise.
I will leave to more expert reviewers to properly describe the sound.

What I can say is that I love how they sound and they are one of the best IEMs I've ever had (and I had a lot of TOTL IEMs like PP8, Galaxy i and ii, S-EM9, Vega, Oriolus etc.).

I find the CL2 with correct tips and deep fit to be balanced and fast. Bass is tight and hits hard but does not overpower the other frequencies. Sub-bass is very good as well. Mids are smooth and detailed.Treble is sparkly without sounding harsh. I find these IEMs to be balanced but very musical as well.Instrument separation is excellent. I was also very surprised that even if they are planar they are not hard to drive at all. I'm currently listening to them from an iPad and, while of course with the mojo or the dx150 they sound better and more detailed with a more open soundstage, I'm still enjoying them straight from iPad.

Well done RHA!

 

[davidmolliere]

OK It's been one week I've been listening to the CL2 and testing them with different DAPs (iBasso dx150+amp7, ipod touch+mojo, iPad), different tips and cables. (...)
Now, how do the CL2 sound? First of all I noticed they changed a lot with burn in, which I didn't expect. Treble became more controlled, bass became tighter and mids more precise. I will leave to more expert reviewers to properly describe the sound.
What I can say is that I love how they sound and they are one of the best IEMs I've ever had (and I had a lot of TOTL IEMs like PP8, Galaxy i and ii, S-EM9, Vega, Oriolus etc.).

I find the CL2 with correct tips and deep fit to be balanced and fast. Bass is tight and hits hard but does not overpower the other frequencies. Sub-bass is very good as well. Mids are smooth and detailed.Treble is sparkly without sounding harsh. I find these IEMs to be balanced but very musical as well.Instrument separation is excellent. I was also very surprised that even if they are planar they are not hard to drive at all. I'm currently listening to them from an iPad and, while of course with the mojo or the dx150 they sound better and more detailed with a more open soundstage, I'm still enjoying them straight from iPad.

Nice impressions Note that the iPad has much more power than a smartphone.

I am particularly interested in how you compare the CL2 to the S-EM9 since I have owned it and given the signature you describe for the CL2, comparisons to the S-EM9 are more relevant since the Vega is all but balanced

The S-EM9 have good sub bass, is the CL2 better? Also does it have has much mid bass as the S-EM9 (more on the fun side) or is it leaner?
The S-EM9 also have smooth detailed mids with a lot of clarity and good note weight. How do you feel the CL2 mids are compared to S-EM9?
Last but not least the S-EM9 have very detailed highs with a lot of sparkle, without harshness or sibilance. How do the CL2 compare to S-EM9?

Thanks!

 

[HarlanDraka]

Nice impressions Note that the iPad has much more power than a smartphone.

I am particularly interested in how you compare the CL2 to the S-EM9 since I have owned it and given the signature you describe for the CL2, comparisons to the S-EM9 are more relevant since the Vega is all but balanced

The S-EM9 have good sub bass, is the CL2 better? Also does it have has much mid bass as the S-EM9 (more on the fun side) or is it leaner?
The S-EM9 also have smooth detailed mids with a lot of clarity and good note weight. How do you feel the CL2 mids are compared to S-EM9?
Last but not least the S-EM9 have very detailed highs with a lot of sparkle, without harshness or sibilance. How do the CL2 compare to S-EM9?

Thanks!

Yes, Vega cannot be really described as balanced, I agree

From memory (so take it as a grain of salt), S-EM9 has more sub-bass but CL2 mid-bass hits harder and is tighter. Notes with the S-EM9 have less weight than CL2 so gives the impression of a more extreme instrument separation and even faster pace of the music than CL2. I find CL2 to be fast (but not as fast than S-EM9) and for sure more organic than S-EM9. Fit with S-EM9 with those short nozzle is more tricky as well.Isolation is better with CL2 also because to achieve the intended sound signature they need to have a deep fit. Highs are well extended with CL2 but they have slightly more ‘weight’ than S-EM9.To be honest, I prefer the CL2 music presentation but this is subjective CL2 are also smaller and come with quality cables while S-EM9, well, come with a very cheap cable that doesn’t do them justice. As for the future new buyers of the CL2: give them a good burn in and don’t give up after trying only few tips. The CL2 signature changes A LOT with different tips (deep fit for me made the trick) and after some hrs of burn in.

 

[davidmolliere]

@HarlanDraka81 Great thanks for the detailed answer I think I now have a fairly good idea of the CL2 signature

 

[NickyNose]

I just wanted to thank everyone on this thread for their first impressions. I also just ordered these IEM’s, as I already have 4 pair of IEM’s, 14 pairs of headphones some of them bluetooth, and a few that are planar I’m not sure I need them, but you have talked a good sale, and I’m weak.