PhonoPhi
Headphoneus Supremus
Very good points.I wish I could handle the shrills from ZAX.... I am treble sensitive.
Have you tried Spinfit CP800? it extends the treble in CA16.
i used Comply Foam for ZAX to tone done the treble, but it is so uncomfortable
Tips can make a huge difference for fit, seal and tuning.
I do have my "drawer" of tips.
Having some technical experience with woodwind acoustic, especially clarinet barrels (talk about weird collections...), my preferred way way with the tips is to restrict minimally at the tips using wide bores, such as Spiral dots and similar.
I found for the narrow tip bores, the insertion depth starts to matter more (what is observed in measurements with couplers), so it is more sensitive in how it works.
Foam tips do not bode well with me.
Listening volumes also matter, as it was noted here.
I listen at low volumes, so treble is more tolerable (the Fletcher–Munson curves) and ZAX is more preferable to CA16.
At higher volumes it can be reversed. (My model case is Final E3000 - at my usual listening volumes, it is all about midbass... But then trying higher volumes, I can at least appreciate what others like about E3000 )
CA16 is definitely appreciably dampened by some filters based on its sensitivity values compared to ZAX and other KZ/CCA.
If treble is too much, it is always possible to dampen it with different foams - this site is a great resource for a practical advice on such DIY projects.
Dampening to your tastes is always easiee than to " undampen", IMO.