[Kitechaser]

Thanks for the "feedback". Why would I join a tour if I wasn't going to listen to the product as much as I possibly can when it's going to be around for a limited time? Use your head, bud. I leave discussion of 'burn in' out of my reviews for what should be obvious reasons. Visit the Sound Science section of the site to learn more. I only felt the need to mention how long it was used because it wasn't nearly as much time as I would normally spend with a product. Usually the case when it comes to tour units. And that was disclosed right at the beginning of the review.

Regarding wireless use, the source was my Shanling M0. The one mentioned in the area where I mentioned my sources. I didn't see the need to allude to it again in the Bluetooth section since I figured readers would put 2+2 together. My apologies for that assumption. You know what they say about assuming. And it wasn't difficult testing wired vs. wireless since I could swap cables within seconds, music playing through both, volumes matched with my iMM-6. Saying it retains the same signature is not the same as saying I can't tell a difference, or that they sound the same. It was just wholly average either way, and as noted it sounded best wired and through my TEAC. Don't put words in my mouth.

My reviews are my subjective experiences with a product. If you don't like them, wonderful. You don't have to. In the time I had the CL2, I didn't think it was all that great, especially compared to other products I have on hand in a similar price range. Or when compared to the CL1 or CL750 for that matter. I suppose I could have made **** up and shilled it, however, THAT would have been a disservice to this community. I write about what I hear, and what I heard was a decent headphone with some notable flaws. I pointed out what it did well, what it failed at, and gave it a score that I thought was fair. You own it and you clearly adore it. Congratulations. I'm happy for you. Looking forward to reading your in-depth review, whenever it comes to light.

Ps. My experiences aren't "at odds with what everyone else is experiencing". Just the impressions that line up with yours. You also seem to be overlooking that I enjoyed it and think it's a decent product, just not a shining example of what a flagship should be. No need to be offended.

I apologized to you on the other thread, and wanted to do the same here.
I was out of line, and should have measured my words more carefully to say the least.

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

@RHA Team thank you for your reply.
I just have one request, if it is even possible.
Would you be kind enough to provide a frequency measurement of a fresh CL2 out of the box , and again another measurement of the same CL2 after say 200 hours of burn in.
So we can maybe put to rest the argument that we are having.
Edit: or a frequency response for a new CL2, and another one with 100's of hours of use. Whatever would be easier for you.

I doubt that you'll be able to tell much from a frequency graph. Chances are that there is no significant difference at all. Other measurements, as I have mentioned, would maybe tell more. But even then, burn-in is a phenomenon often described but (supposedly) not so easy to document. But let's see how RHA respond.

 

[RHA Team]

Evening all

Would you be kind enough to provide a frequency measurement of a fresh CL2 out of the box , and again another measurement of the same CL2 after say 200 hours of burn in.

Probably in time; like I said, there's not many of these to hand; and obviously we'd need to wait 200 hours for the second reading, and control a bunch of other variables.

I'd be inclined to agree with The Man:

I doubt that you'll be able to tell much from a frequency graph. Chances are that there is no significant difference at all. Other measurements, as I have mentioned, would maybe tell more. But even then, burn-in is a phenomenon often described but (supposedly) not so easy to document.

and his 88 keys, but I'll still try get this for you (IMHO the impressions of CL2 users - how the product is performing out in the real world - are a lot more illustrative in this respect than graphs).

Warning: this'll probably take a while because there's not very many of us, not very many CL2s, and between the CL2, TrueConnect and the Holiday season, it has been Quite Some Time since we had a quiet day here!

Lastly, I'd like to (very arrogantly, probably) quote myself:

like many of you have mentioned, there is no objective truth re: perfect versus non-perfect sound; what some people find energetic and engaging, others might find harsh (others may find it not enough). Every company would like to claim they've made the perfect headphone for every ear, but that would assume that everyone is looking for exactly the same thing, which isn't how humans work.

Which is to say that all opinions on this thread, and in the reviews section, are valid. I've seen three well-researched, well-written and fair reviews, and nothing in them that's made me spit coffee across my keyboard. And I love a spit take.

Thanks,
Colum

 

[joshnor713]

I think it's pretty awesome having someone here from the company of the product who we can speak to directly and is actively providing feedback/responses. Kudos. Head-fi is a great place.

 

[Duncan]

Atlas is hella bassy but still quite resolving and a lot of fun to listen to. Driver flex/compression is an issue, but other than that they're outstanding. RE2000 Silver is my favorite of the three though. Most balanced and realistic sounding of the bunch. Build doesn't hold a candle to the others though. Feels a lot cheaper than either, despite being the priciest.

This tells me a lot, for which I thank you...

The RE2000 and CL2 are quite different, I listened to the RE2000 a couple of days back and found it quite a painful experience, so can envisage role reversal in full effect. Also the M0 partners poorly imo with the CL2, hence why I ended up with the Sony WM1A.

Every review has its merits if you have a baseline comparison which is provided, and means that it makes pretty much perfect sense to me.

 

[geagle]

Also the M0 partners poorly imo with the CL2

Why do you think so, if I may ask? 'cos both are on the more brightish side of the spectrum, or 'cos the M0 is not resolving enough? or for some other reason?

 

[Duncan]

Why do you think so, if I may ask? 'cos both are on the more brightish side of the spectrum, or 'cos the M0 is not resolving enough? or for some other reason?

It's an odd one, I have the AK T8ie mkii, and was driving that with the FiiO Q5, but that sounded dark, the M0, after I heard it at CanJam London was an instant win for the AKs, was like a breath of fresh air, however the CL2s were the other way around, somehow sounding cleaner through the Q5, so I'm guessing it is a power delivery issue in my case... By the by, the 1A superceded the Q5, and all is now good!

 

[Kitechaser]

It's an odd one, I have the AK T8ie mkii, and was driving that with the FiiO Q5, but that sounded dark, the M0, after I heard it at CanJam London was an instant win for the AKs, was like a breath of fresh air, however the CL2s were the other way around, somehow sounding cleaner through the Q5, so I'm guessing it is a power delivery issue in my case... By the by, the 1A superceded the Q5, and all is now good!

Yeah these have a great synergy with Sony Daps. Wonder why that is the case.
Power delivery, impedance? they sound decent out of my plenue d.
Edit: plenue D does not have a lot of the 3d holographic soundstage effects of the sony NW-ZX300 or the dynamics, separation etc.

 

[Duncan]

Yeah these have a great synergy with Sony Daps. Wonder why that is the case.
Power delivery, impedance? they sound decent out of my plenue d also.
Edit: plenue D does not have a lot of the 3d holographic soundstage effects of the sony NW-ZX300

I actually forget who I have to thank for emptying my wallet but making my ears rejoice, recommending / discussing the 1A I think it was your good self @Kitechaser

 

[Kitechaser]

I actually forget who I have to thank for emptying my wallet but making my ears rejoice, recommending / discussing the 1A I think it was your good self @Kitechaser

Hahahahaha you are welcome

 

[geagle]

It's an odd one, I have the AK T8ie mkii, and was driving that with the FiiO Q5, but that sounded dark, the M0, after I heard it at CanJam London was an instant win for the AKs, was like a breath of fresh air, however the CL2s were the other way around, somehow sounding cleaner through the Q5, so I'm guessing it is a power delivery issue in my case... By the by, the 1A superceded the Q5, and all is now good!

Oh, yeah, could also be a power/juice issue, had not thought about that

 

[SciOC]

One thing I can tell you almost certainly is that these don't play well with high output impedance, which doesn't surprise me given how my isine20 are....

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

@SciOC The CL2 impedance is rated at 15 ohms. If you go with the "one eighth" rule of thumb for amplifier output impedance, you need less than 2 ohms which limits the choice of amplification.

 

[SciOC]

@SciOC The CL2 impedance is rated at 15 ohms. If you go with the "one eighth" rule of thumb for amplifier output impedance, you need less than 2 ohms which limits the choice of amplification.

Yes, that's why the source I have pre-ordered is <.3 ohms.
Unbelievable of hiby to make the r6 with 10 ohm OI when it was targeted at IEM users.

I thought, based on the opinions of others, that the ifi iematch was essentially a perfect solution to the problem, but I find it to be very lacking. First of all, you just drastically cut the real power of the amp, second, I hate what it does to the soundstage....

I've tried it with the CL2 and again found it to be pointless.

 

[HiFlight]

@SciOC The CL2 impedance is rated at 15 ohms. If you go with the "one eighth" rule of thumb for amplifier output impedance, you need less than 2 ohms which limits the choice of amplification.

It is my understanding that planar diaphragms, having very little mass and a flat resistive load, require little if any, electrical or mechanical damping, so output impedance of the source should be of far less importance than phones with dynamic drivers or to an even greater extent to those phones with multiple balanced armatures.