The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[SbassX]

Although very true, once you have read 15-20 reviews from a reviewer while having heard a few of the IEMs yourself, at least you get a pretty good idea about the differences between the IEMs. But if time and time again you don't agree with what that reviewer concluded it's better to move on and look for someone who seems to listen the same way you do and appreciates the same kind of tuning and/or technicalities.

drftr

Yeap, makes sense. Once you can "anchor" yourself with a reviewer it does help identifying the differences between IEMs as you sayy. comes in really handy when you are in a spot where you know how one IEM sounds like but dont have access to trying another one out.

 

[SbassX]

This is going to sound "grumpy old man", it seems like Ti in personal audio is bandwagon jumping. And I do not normally begrudge a choice "just because". Maybe an IEM will come along that changes my mind for why titanium makes sense.

In the wet shaving world titanium razors run for hundreds. I like the balance of lightweight and strength there is a handling sweet spot when shaving with titanium that is different to alu or stainless steel

Thats true! The titanium ones definitely are quite sturdy. But in shaving I find myself falling back into the SS ones, just because the weight on those helps with a more smooth stroke for me personally

 

[OneEyedHito]

If it is actually a placeholder for the possibility that a human being can make all their decisions in life without ever regretting one of them, well, THAT we know well enough to be impossible

There’s been a many famous “psychopaths” that didn’t regret a single decision made or action taken. Death row has many stories of defiance and disregard.

 

[Mageborn23]

That's exactly how I would describe Clara relative to Rn6.

Me as well

 

[Mageborn23]

So I had the opportunity to compare the Clara and Astrolith to my UM Amber Pearl (AP).

I tested them with various tips and ultimately settled on the Devinus Velvet (regular bore) for the Clara, and the Eletech Baroque for both the Amber Pearl and the Astrolith.


Fit:

The Clara fits like a dream—possibly one of the best fits I’ve ever experienced with any IEM. Truly impressive! The shell and cable are also beautifully designed.

In contrast, I didn’t enjoy the fit of the Astrolith at all. Despite trying several tips, I couldn’t get a proper seal, which could already be a dealbreaker for me.

The Amber Pearl has a decent fit but is highly dependent on the tips used. Its fit is comparable to that of the UM MM and the Annihilator.

Clara >> Amber Pearl >> Astrolith


Bass:

The Clara’s low end is outstanding. I preferred it over both the Amber Pearl and the Astrolith. While the Astrolith offers slightly faster bass with better decay, the Clara’s dual dynamic drivers deliver a satisfying sense of weight and impact.

The Amber Pearl’s bass, on the other hand, is tip-dependent. With a good seal, it has slightly better quality than the Clara’s, though with less quantity overall.

Clara > Amber Pearl > Astrolith


Mids:

The Clara’s mids feel slightly recessed compared to the Amber Pearl. Vocals on the AP are among the best I’ve ever heard, making it the clear winner in this category. However, the Clara still performs very well for its price point, with no bass bleed into the mids.


The Astrolith’s vocals were disappointing to me, although this could be due to the poor fit.

Amber Pearl >> Clara >> Astrolith


Highs:

The Clara’s highs are smooth and free of any harsh peaks, which I really appreciated.

The Amber Pearl extends further into the treble and sounds both cleaner and smoother to my ears.

The Astrolith, on the other hand, felt too shouty and lacked refinement in this area.

Amber Pearl > Clara >> Astrolith


Stage and Resolution:

The Clara performs decently in terms of both stage and resolution, especially for its price point. However, it doesn’t quite match the Amber Pearl or the Annihilator in resolution. The stage is also slightly narrower compared to the Amber Pearl.


Overall, i think the Clara is a really good IEM and plays well above his price point.

I actually have the pleasure of having a Amber Pearl on loan. And I compared them. And agree with all your points. The Amber Pearl is definitely better, But comparatively to the price of the Clara, it's simply outstanding. The Amber pearl is not $6k better. For long listening sessions I would actually choose the Clara over the pearl since UM loves not to put venting holes on their iems. It can get a little fatiguing for me.

 

[Mageborn23]

Hey man!

I personally prefer my CIEM Omnium still as its tuning is more what I look for overall in the mids and treble, but I’d give the Clara the upper hand in the bass as it’s more accurately bodied whereas Omnium is tuned for a leaner and deeper/more rumbly low end.

The mids are different. Clara I’d say is neutral in the low mids with a hint of warmth and it pushes female vocals quite forward but keeps the upper mid range more relaxed and not super clarify focused. Omnium is also say is neutral/warm in low mids but the upper mid range is quite a bit more emphasized with clarity so it can sound more vibrant and a little more resolving to me. I think both sets have really great vocals, but I prefer female vocal overall on Omnium as my library has a lot of vocalists that have a higher pitch.

Treble is probably where they differ the most. Clara to me is slightly soft and relaxed but doesn’t miss out in detail and extension. It’s quite fatigue free and tuned to be enjoyable over long sessions. Omnium is much brighter, more textured and gritty, and has more extension. If you are treble sensitive then Clara is the way to go but I think the Omnium treble is so well tuned that it gives you elevation, detail, a little spice, and extension but it doesn’t come off as peaky or uneven.

The biggest deal breaker for me, and the reason I plan to sell my Clara here shortly is that they’re just too damn sensitive for me (hello VE10 all over). Volume control is really important to me and Clara makes that quite hard to achieve. Even the Pilot 2 DAC it comes with makes it hiss like a mo fo and I literally have to put it on like 3% volume through my iPhone or it’s way way too loud.

Hope this helps.

I have the Clara regular on my 340 and i listen to it on mid gain at like level 30 and i have no issues with it being sensitve, mind you I've never used the stock cable. I got the Effect audio roots cable and never tried the stock. I'm not a stock cable user.

 

[aaf evo]

I have the Clara regular on my 340 and i listen to it on mid gain at like level 30 and i have no issues with it being sensitve, mind you I've never used the stock cable. I got the Effect audio roots cable and never tried the stock. I'm not a stock cable user.

We have very different listening volumes. For me low gain (amp) and high gain (DAC) with volume around 7 is plenty loud enough, which probably makes me more sensitive to amp noise and gives me less volume control than I like.

 

[NYanakiev]

I actually have the pleasure of having a Amber Pearl on loan. And I compared them. And agree with all your points. The Amber Pearl is definitely better, But comparatively to the price of the Clara, it's simply outstanding. The Amber pearl is not $6k better. For long listening sessions I would actually choose the Clara over the pearl since UM loves not to put venting holes on their iems. It can get a little fatiguing for me.

Well, you are comparing a specialist IEM in AP to a more generalist, more safely tuned IEM in Clara. I don't think that this is an apples to apples comparison as AP is incredible at what it does but simply doesn't work with all music genres.

I think Clara is excellent overall (briefly had Clara Ti over for a listen) as long as one owns a source, where finer volume tweaks are possible and there is no hissing. I found that it was all good with my Hugo 2 (with a bit of background hissing), Mojo 2 and DC Elite. What I found lacking in Clara was detail retrieval/resolution- I don't think the Ti is worth given the high price. I would have happily kept Clara had I ordered the resin version instead.

 

[Silverlinings]

We have very different listening volumes. For me low gain (amp) and high gain (DAC) with volume around 7 is plenty loud enough, which probably makes me more sensitive to amp noise and gives me less volume control than I like.

Wow that’s really low. I usually have the volume on 25-28 on low gain and high dac gain.

 

[aaf evo]

Wow that’s really low. I usually have the volume on 25-28 on low gain and high dac gain.

Obviously the music we listen to will play a role in this also. Anything with high dynamic range and more quiet passages will need more volume but I can’t imagine putting a Clara in my ear and pushing play at these DX340 volume #s or gain levels.

I’ve observed others’ listening levels at CanJam too and some people are constantly probably pushing out 90dB + levels easily at their normal listening volume. I’m not judging nor do I care how loud anyone wants to enjoy their music, but I like my ear health and I want it to last as long as possible.

I’ve always been pretty conscious about how loud I play music even when I was a kid so being 35 I’d say it’s paid off over time. I still have very solid upper frequency hearing too despite inevitable age related hearing loss.

 

[drftr]

Obviously the music we listen to will play a role in this also. Anything with high dynamic range and more quiet passages will need more volume but I can’t imagine putting a Clara in my ear and pushing play at these DX340 volume #s or gain levels.

I’ve observed others’ listening levels at CanJam too and some people are constantly probably pushing out 90dB + levels easily at their normal listening volume. I’m not judging nor do I care how loud anyone wants to enjoy their music, but I like my ear health and I want it to last as long as possible.

I’ve always been pretty conscious about how loud I play music even when I was a kid so being 35 I’d say it’s paid off over time. I still have very solid upper frequency hearing too despite inevitable age related hearing loss.

Would've loved to listen at 7 but nowadays need 70 to tune out tinnitus!

You should've told me earlier, I guess...

drftr

 

[Rockwell75]

Probably shared this here before but….such a great tune to greet the day with

 

[Takeda`1537]

Would've loved to listen at 7 but nowadays need 70 to tune out tinnitus!

You should've told me earlier, I guess...

drftr

I have it too... tinnitus is soo annoying..

 

[Mageborn23]

We have very different listening volumes. For me low gain (amp) and high gain (DAC) with volume around 7 is plenty loud enough, which probably makes me more sensitive to amp noise and gives me less volume control than I like.

I don't actually find the Clara to be that sensitive of an iem, I did start with low gain, at like 30, but it's just better at medium gain. I think the Fathom is way more sensitive than the Clara.

 

[gb78]

My Top Albums 2024 (released in 2024)

A bit late with my list…anyway

https://tidal.com/playlist/8c493b5e-6da9-4d2f-a5db-dfdd44441670