[nicoial]

These are pure gold lol. Love em!

 

[Duncan]

@Kitechaser hit the nail on the head with the previous post - personally (and this is all a personal journey), the Cowon D2 put me off of EQ for life - so, yup, if that house has got bright pink walls, as long as I can sleep in a comfy bed, I'll buy it.

 

[Kitechaser]

Okay, so where do I start. Met with @cj3209, cool dude to say the least. We spent a few hours at my house going over different cables and gear.
Right off the bat, I have to say that the CL2's change sound with cables tremendously. Source makes just as big on an impact as anything else, file quality is paramount. I tried the PlusSound cable Gold/Silver mix, the resolution went up, and treble was accentuated, the highs were airier, a brighter signature compared to my copper cable. Drums sounded off, the impact and thump was missing, I felt it took too much away from the lower frequencies. To my ears not the best combo with the CL2, but maybe burn in could fix some of the issues.
2nd cable was a lionheart Copper hybrid of some sort, @cj3209 would be able to add in what exactly the metal on the cable was. I thought it was a good half way point between my cable and the before mentioned plussound cable. Drums had a nice impact, and the highs were still bright and resolution was top notch.
Of the two cables, that lionheart would be my choice.
Now @cj3209 made an observation that when he used my cable, to him it would feel like sometimes he did not have a proper seal. He is 100% correct, the difference is not the actual seal, but the fact that the soundstage with a copper cable is deeper, and notes come out of true blackness. Took me till after he left to properly articulate that.
My ears are used to the pure copper cable, and the sound as he heard it was a bit jarring to him to say the least. I will let him explain what exactly he heard.
The CL2s change sound with different cables like no other. I can't think of another iem, that changes signatures as much as this.

The change in DAPs also impacts the sound very much.
I got to try out the AK1000Cu, soundstage compared to the ZX300 felt wider, the player had better instrument separation, and really good detail retrieval.
Just a very good match with the CL2, synergy is high here.
I would say very comparable to the WM1A, can't go wrong with either player.
I had an extra pair of Spiral Dots laying around that I gave to @cj3209 , it was a really good fit for him, would be interesting to hear his take on the differences in the tips from his old ones.

 

[masterpfa]

Yeah, for sure, I was really enjoying the cowon, then I decided to do more AB testing with it and the R6. Totally ruined it for me.

I would have been happy not doing that.... But then again, it gives me $800 back to spend on another DAP and makes it likely I'll at least make it into February before spending this year's audio budget.

You have an Annual Audio Budget?
Now that is control. Come to think of it, so do I. I call her Shirley. She controls my credit card spending

 

[Kitechaser]

Got to try out the KSE 1200, connected directly off the analogue signal out of the AK player, and bypassing the shure DAC, what a difference that made for me.
The KSE 1500 as I heard it before was just torture, barely recognizable as an iem playing music. That sounded grainy, joyless, just a tragedy to my ears. Haha not exaggerating.
Here I heard an iem that is actually quite good, its brighter than the CL2, has good bass impact, and nice separation. The tuning is balanced, and I would enjoy listening to this very much.
The quickness of the driver is very similar to the CL2, to my ears the CL2 has the edge on timbre and realism, and its holographic soundstage, I prefer the CL2 tuning over the KSE1200, but I can definitely see why people like this iem as much as they do. Overall the KSE1200 is a very pleasing, quality sound. CL2 to me is still the benchmark
Was not expecting that after my run in with the KSE1500.

ADD: the hooks on the KSE cable are just stiff, comfort would be an issue, it is definitely NOT portable.

 

[Kitechaser]

Could not get a good seal with the LCDi4. So can't say much about them.
Will have to do a repeat session.
And my CL2 are definitely more burned in, the EDM method worked, it would be interesting to hear what @cj3209 thought of the difference.
I'll let him fill in the blanks on that one.

 

[masterpfa]

KSE1200 is a very pleasing, quality sound. CL2 to me is still the benchmark
ADD: the hooks on the KSE cable are just stiff, comfort would be an issue, it is definitely NOT portable.

Funny you should say that, my KSE1200 (bought just before the CL2 were even announced) are my commute IEM's and I love them, the hooks, personally, are just fine with no discomfort or fatigue at all.

I was at CanJam London and spent quite sometime at the RHA stand but they never mentioned the pending CL2. Had I known I might not have bought my KSE1200 at the time.

 

[Kitechaser]

Funny you should say that, my KSE1200 (bought just before the CL2 were even announced) are my commute IEM's and I love them, the hooks, personally, are just fine with no discomfort or fatigue at all.

I was at CanJam London and spent quite sometime at the RHA stand but they never mentioned the pending CL2. Had I known I might not have bought my KSE1200 at the time.

They would pop out if I moved my head too quickly.
For comparison, I am using the CL2 at the gym, full on workouts. Our definition of portable is different in that sense.

Add: I lucked out , I was on the market for a new iem right around the time these were coming out. Perfect timing, but I still came very very close to not getting these. . That would have been a tragedy. .

 

[masterpfa]

They would pop out if I moved my head too quickly.
For comparison, I am using the CL2 at the gym, full on workouts. Our definition of portable is different in that sense.

I agree for other uses I have a set of RHA MA650 Wireless but mostly for connecting to my phone. As I am doing nothing more exerting than walking upstairs My KSE1200 and Stack of choice is fine.

Plus I have custom tips on my pair so not likely to fall out at all

 

[Azanulimbar]

After some more testing, using the EQ to remove that midrange bump by -5db at 2 and 4 khz made the CL2 completely NEXT LEVEL. I can't believe my ears. Much more enjoyable!
Simply put, this planar driver takes you there... It's unlike anything I've heard so far.
@Kitechaser try using this EQ on your ZX300, curious to hear your impressions!

PS#1: The bass reproduction reminds me of the Sennheiser HE-1, so deep yet so non-intrusive (DISCLAIMER: some users may find this comparison disturbing )

PS#2: The DM6's sound fake in comparison. Pure copper cable, same source. Just lacking the coherency and the realism... Treble in DM6 sounds way fake..

 

[Duncan]

Whilst I’ve personally never heard the HE1 (for fear of wanting a set - could never justify that expense) - I have to say that I don’t think I’ve heard better bass from any gear I’ve ever owned, compared to the plucky little CL2

 

[Kitechaser]

After some more testing, using the EQ to remove that midrange bump by -5db at 2 and 4 khz made the CL2 completely NEXT LEVEL. I can't believe my ears. Much more enjoyable!
Simply put, this planar driver takes you there... It's unlike anything I've heard so far.
@Kitechaser try using this EQ on your ZX300, curious to hear your impressions!

PS#1: The bass reproduction reminds me of the Sennheiser HE-1, so deep yet so non-intrusive (DISCLAIMER: some users may find this comparison disturbing )

PS#2: The DM6's sound fake in comparison. Pure copper cable, same source. Just lacking the coherency and the realism... Treble in DM6 sounds way fake..

I tried the -5db, for me its makes the mids recessed, bass is too prominent, I also listen to a lot of instrumental music, guitars in particular lose that crispness that is the signature of the CL2 for me. Soundstage depth is better on the stock tuning in my estimation, works really well for Jazz and Classical.
For my tastes I like the Direct Sound on the ZX300, but there is no right or wrong here, if you prefer the EQ option, there is nothing wrong with going that route.
This driver responds to EQ very well anyways.
Now about the DM6: Welcome to the club, I don't like BA drivers because to my ear all BAs sound fake, they all have that Plasticky timbre, and coherancy is a major problem (with hybrids it's even worse, they have gotten better lately) the music is weightless. The DM6 does get better after a long burn in, the sound changes with tips and cables, but at the end of the day it is still a balanced armature sound. Not a fan of the Andromeda for the same reasons.
I got the DM6 for my sister, but she ended up preferring the convenience of the RHA Truconnect. So it came back to me for a few weeks, I sold it a couple of days ago.
I am going to be getting my WM1A next month, and based on how it feels in my pocket at the gym, I may or may not keep the ZX300.
By the way @cj3209 thought the ZX300 was a great bang for the buck, and had very high SQ even compared to the AK player.
This player is a little beast.
I want that wider soundstage though, I'd rather spend money on an upgrade player instead of buying other iems.
The CL2 is worth building whole systems around.

 

[Duncan]

FWIW, I’ll probably be incognito for a few days, my new TV should be rocking up in the morning, and having full HDR (rather than a 1st gen Samsung panel with an upgraded One Connect Box, so HDR Lite), I’ll be undoubtedly catching up with all the visual stimulation I’ve been missing...

Exciting times! (Must connect the WM1A to the TV actually - see how movies sound on the CL2)

 

[wenbinbin2010]

After some more testing, using the EQ to remove that midrange bump by -5db at 2 and 4 khz made the CL2 completely NEXT LEVEL. I can't believe my ears. Much more enjoyable!
Simply put, this planar driver takes you there... It's unlike anything I've heard so far.

I also EQ out the 2-4 Hz spike, but I agree with @Kitechaser that too much cutting can make certain instruments like guitar sound pretty lifeless. Instead of cut a significant amount of mids, I've been just keeping it on the border of bearable and unbearable, and then eventually my ears adapt during a listening session.

 

[lithiumnk]

Got labkable supernova mkIII UPOCC copper cable ... 8 wire with 2.5mm AK connector ... they sound so much better than stock cables ... tonality corrected to a great extent... just mesmerizing