[sq3rjick]

Introduced myself to Iain today and will be by tomorrow to test out RHA's new gear!

Iain's really great and is a lot of fun to chat with!

 

[nmatheis]

Iain's really great and is a lot of fun to chat with!

Good. Looking forward to spending some quality time there!

 

[showme99]

  I spent some time with Iain this evening at the RHA booth at RMAF.  I listened to the CL1 for a little bit of time.  I'll go back and listen to it more later tomorrow and Sunday (the show was closing down for the night, or I would have spent some more time there).
 
If you like the T20, you're going to love the CL1.  Build quality is top notch, as to be expected, and the cable DOES NOT twist around in the MMCX-type port.  Having removable cables will be very much appreciated.
 
I have only listened to them out of my DP-X1 on high gain.  It's true what was said -- they're very inefficient IEMs.  I had to bump up to high gain to get reasonable volume.  But the good news is that they sound fantastic, and you don't NEED to by the Dacamp if you already have a capable source for powering them.
 
Now, how they sound.  I'd best describe the CL1 as a more refined T20.  The CL1 is to the T20 what the T20 was to the T10.  It takes the basis of something great, refines it, and returns something that's a lot more polished than its predecessor.
 
Lows are still punchy, as to be expected, but they seem to have a little bit more depth to them.  The highs, due to the ceramic driver, are forward and engaging.  There's also a nice lift in the upper mids.  I think that the switch to the higher impedance was well worth it.  Seriously, I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow and giving them an even better listen.  Whereas the T20 treble can sometimes seem a tad uncontrolled, I didn't notice that at all in the CL1.  These are going to make a lot of people very happy.  I can't wait to hear them paired with the Dacamp.
 
Speaking of the Dacamp, it is really well built and quite substantial.  It doesn't feel like a cheap product -- it feels sturdy and premium.  If it sounds as good it looks and feels, I'll be very happy.
 
I'll post some more detailed impressions after I spend some more time with both products (and use them together). 

I'm really looking forward to these new RHA products.  Thanks for sharing your initial impressions.

 

[Deftone]

I spent some time with Iain this evening at the RHA booth at RMAF.  I listened to the CL1 for a little bit of time.  I'll go back and listen to it more later tomorrow and Sunday (the show was closing down for the night, or I would have spent some more time there).

If you like the T20, you're going to love the CL1.  Build quality is top notch, as to be expected, and the cable DOES NOT twist around in the MMCX-type port.  Having removable cables will be very much appreciated.

I have only listened to them out of my DP-X1 on high gain.  It's true what was said -- they're very inefficient IEMs.  I had to bump up to high gain to get reasonable volume.  But the good news is that they sound fantastic, and you don't NEED to by the Dacamp if you already have a capable source for powering them.

Now, how they sound.  I'd best describe the CL1 as a more refined T20.  The CL1 is to the T20 what the T20 was to the T10.  It takes the basis of something great, refines it, and returns something that's a lot more polished than its predecessor.

Lows are still punchy, as to be expected, but they seem to have a little bit more depth to them.  The highs, due to the ceramic driver, are forward and engaging.  There's also a nice lift in the upper mids.  I think that the switch to the higher impedance was well worth it.  Seriously, I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow and giving them an even better listen.  Whereas the T20 treble can sometimes seem a tad uncontrolled, I didn't notice that at all in the CL1.  These are going to make a lot of people very happy.  I can't wait to hear them paired with the Dacamp.

Speaking of the Dacamp, it is really well built and quite substantial.  It doesn't feel like a cheap product -- it feels sturdy and premium.  If it sounds as good it looks and feels, I'll be very happy.

I'll post some more detailed impressions after I spend some more time with both products (and use them together). 

thanks for the quick impressions, if you could, when you go back to test again can you let me know if the highs are smooth and if it's a balanced sound or v shaped?

 

[nmatheis]

I stopped by to visit the RHA gang today and grab a listen to the new IEM abs DACAMP, and I wasn't disappointed.


First up was the new 750, using my Lotoo PAW Gold (LPG) as the source. It's going to be an amazing buy at the $130 price point IMHO. It takes the old 750 to school, eschewing the older, more polite sound for a more energetic sound with greater extension. Punchier bass. Crisper highs. Very nice soundstage. Much improved cable. Good job RHA!

Next up was CL1 with LPG. This threw me for a loop. The pair was quite fresh, without much burn-in, and coupled with LPG they were just to crispy up top for me. Reminded me of HD800 treble but with more bass response and body than most of the HD800 setups I've heard. Not a good pairing for me.

Next, I tried CL1 + DACAMP with my phone as the source, using FLAC files. Whew, much better! You can tell these were tuned for each other, and I really liked that the DACAMP had three gain settings plus bass and treble controls. I set +1 Bass and -1 Treble and was impressed with the pairing. Much better than CL1 + LPG.

Final listen was the new 750 with DACAMP. Again, you can tell these were next to be paired. No bass / treble adjustment needed. Very nice.

Afterwards, I chatted with the RHA team for a bit. Good people!

 

[Mimouille]

Next up was CL1 with LPG. This threw me for a loop. The pair was quite fresh, without much burn-in, and coupled with LPG they were just to crispy up top for me. Reminded me of HD800 treble but with more bass response and body than most of the HD800 setups I've heard. Not a good pairing for me.

Too bad about the LPG...guess I will have to pair it with the Sony or the Mojo. Or I will have to get the DAC Amp, but I really don't need one (not that I need an extra iem either...)

 

[Deftone]

HD800 heh, i was hoping for something a bit more musical. MA750 treble is already pushing it.

 

[willywill]

RHA killing me, i should've had the CL750 by now am going to pair this with the IfI Micro iDSD

 

[nmatheis]

Too bad about the LPG...guess I will have to pair it with the Sony or the Mojo. Or I will have to get the DAC Amp, but I really don't need one (not that I need an extra iem either...)

LOL! Who amongst us really *needs* more gear, Mim

Given my (albeit limited) time with MOJO, I think that would be an excellent pairing. I think it would help tame CL1's highs if that's what you're looking for. Some people are going to love the highs. (edit in bold)

I've had a change to listen to the CL1 + L1 with a older iPhone as a source at CanJam Europe and the treble was also a bit too much for me. Turning the Treble back 2 notches on the L1 made then tolerable for me. Very good extension from low to high. Noise issolation was also very good (sillicone tips)
Untill CanJam Europe I'd only know RHA by name, never heard one of their products before. Really glad I did pay them a visit. Solid products for sure.

I quite enjoyed CL1 + DACAMP. When you say DACAMP with -2 Treble made CL1 tolerable for you, it doesn't sound positive. Just seeking clarification: Did you enjoy that pairing or was it merely tolerable? And did you try the new 750? I'm quite keen on that one and like Mim said above, I don't really need another pair of iem but they're tempting for $130. If they were out already, I probably would have purchased a pair just for kicks. I'd need a little more time to evaluate CL1 + DACAMP before purchase, though given that it's a more significant investment.

HD800 heh, i was hoping for something a bit more musical. MA750 treble is already pushing it.

Iain said RHA was going for a more extended, reference sound with CL1 and I think they delivered on that. And I don't want there to be confusion, so my reference to HD800 was when paired with LPG. Bad synergy for my ears. Paired with DACAMP, synergy was quite good. As with HD800, I think CL1 need a nice, warm source for good synergy. Just my two cents. Others might think differently. Hopefully we'll get more impressions soon. Personally, I think this is an exciting move for RHA!

 

[canali]

 
I think they are, RHA know how to build top notch headphone on top of that they have a 3 year warranty, am glad RHA is making headphone for people that use DAC/AMP, in the past every iem was make with a iPhone in mind.

Great to hear such

 

[maniac2003]

I quite enjoyed CL1 + DACAMP. When you say DACAMP with -2 Treble made CL1 tolerable for you, it doesn't sound positive. Just seeking clarification: Did you enjoy that pairing or was it merely tolerable? And did you try the new 750? I'm quote keen on that one and like Mom said above, I don't really need another pair of iem but they're tempting for $130. If they were out already, I probably would have purchased a pair just for kicks. I'd need a little more time to evaluate CL1 + DACAMP before purchase, though given that it's a more significant investment.

Tolerable is a bit too strong i guess. WIth the -2 setting they were fine for me, I listened for about 15 minutes. I'm certainly not a treble guy. Extension ok but I don't like bright treble. For me the treble of the CL1 was to much in your face. The treble was definitely beyond the signatures of the IEM's I own. 
Unfortunately I didn't try the new 750, was running out of time.

 

[canali]

has anyone tried the dragonfly red with the cl1 or 750 ?
(i will be using the mojo, too, which i'm confident is a good pairing).
 
also how do the 750 and cl1 sound sigs differ please?

 

[nmatheis]

Hopefully someone will A/B today and answer your question canali. From memory, they shared the same basic sound but CL1 had more expensive soundstage, tighter bass, and crisper highs. Basically, CL1 is to CL750 what CL750 is to MA750. It takes everything to a whole new level. But if you're looking for a taste of where RHA is headed, I think CL750 is an inexpensive way to dip your toes in the water and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

As an aside, both of these with DACAMP passed my electronic and metal tests. I always include those to see if bass extends low enough and is punchy enough for electronic music without being intrusive with other genres and to see if the upper end gets too piercing with metal music. If the setup passes those tests, I move on to more typical classic rock and jazz for testing. Given the short amount of time I had with this gear, I tested with FLAC files from the newest Meshuggah (metal) and Ruxpin (electronic) albums. If I'd had more time, I would've moved on to Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, John C travel and Miles Davis. Alas, there were too many things I washed to try and people I wanted to meet...

 

[RHA Iain]

Thanks for the impressions so far guys, much appreciated!
 

  has anyone tried the dragonfly red with the cl1 or 750 ?

 
@sq3rjick is on it right now...
 

 

[nmatheis]

@sq3rjick
 is on it right now...

Thanks for checking in Iain. I'm hoping you get a lot of people coming by to try goday. RHA was one of my favorite booths to visit at RMAF. Lots of fun chatting with you guys and trying out the new gear!