For this review, I wanted to start off in an unusual way. While I could write a typical introduction, I found it a rather boring approach. I thought “what is the reader most interested in?” and I found a simple answer. It is the central question of all audiophile inquiries: how does it sound? So the largest part of my review focuses on how the RHA CL2 perform as in-ear monitors. After the listening impressions I also shortly discuss the aesthetic design and the stock cables the CL2s ship with, before coming to my conclusion.
This review does not provide any measurements or technical details that the manufacturer, RHA, does not already provide on their website.
Music selection
I chose the following five albums as the main listening material for this review:
(Artist: album)
Hans Zimmer: Interstellar (original movie soundtrack)
Herbie Hancock: Round Midnight (original movie soundtrack)
Kenny Werner: New York – Love Songs
Sade: Diamond Life
Zawinul Syndicate: World Tour
All albums are 44.1khz / 16bit (redbook) flac files that originated as CD rips.
I also listened to high-resolution audio tracks, but did not find that they offer a better insight into the capabilities of the CL2 than the standard redbook format.
Sources + amplifiers
iBasso DX150 portable digital audio player, with amp6 amplifier module
DDDAC 1794 (see profile for details about configuration) + Corda Jazz headphone amplifier
Listening impressions
Sade - Diamond Life
A classic of the 80s, Sades “Diamond Life” is not only full of hit tracks, it’s also to this day a well recorded and produced album. I have a weak spot for women with lower voices and for those who don’t sound “girly” (no offense to women who have a different kind of voice, but when it comes to singing, I have my preferences and I offer zero apologies), and the CL2 makes this album sound as seductive as it possibly can be. Drums and percussion have a nice punch to them, making me move with the rhythm while I write these lines. From the album opener – famous “Smooth Operator” - to the last track (“Why can’t we live together”), the CL2 are capable of portraying the music with excellent detail and “snap”. Even without measurements, I am confident in my assumption that the CL2s have very good impulse response.
Herbie Hancock - Round Midnight
Herbie Hancock fully deserved the success he had with the “Round Midnight” movie soundtrack. It’s recorded and mixed pretty much perfectly and composed in a way that both the layman and the expert jazz listener can appreciate it.
On “Body and Soul”, the CL2 deliver the music as if I was at a private concert. Instrument size is very realistic and the tone is beautiful. I suspect that writing more would just distract from the fact how great this album is over the CL2s. I have a hard time bringing my thoughts to paper as the music grabs all of my attention again and again.
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar OST
Listening to "Mountains" was an absolute thrill. The ticking "clock" sounds very tangible, the tension of this piece rising with every "tick... tock.." as the music goes on a more and more frightening pace. When it unleashes all its glory at around 2:02, it's a jaw-droppingly majestic moment.
On lesser setups, this track sounds forceful, but often somewhat muddy and congested, portraying brutality rather than overwhelming greatness. Over the CL2, it's a shockingly captivating sound, giving me goose bumps every single time.
Kenny Werner - New York / Love Songs
On "First Light / East River", the album opener, it's oddly not the music that grabbed my attention at first. The CL2s are so resolving that I can perfectly hear Kenny Werner inhale before he starts to lay his hands on the keys. On other setups I wasn't even able to realize that this can be heard so clearly before the piece begins. Once the CL2s allowed me to expand my attention on those before unhead details, it became a very intimate listening experience - more than it already was before.
"New York - Love Songs" is a great study in complex harmony and chord voicings, as Kenny Werner is a masterful improviser with decades of experience he acquired on his own personal journey. The CL2 portray this complexity with ease and give each note its space. The insight and coherence are as good as it gets.
Zawinul Syndicate – World Tour
The album title “World Tour” cannot only be interpreted as a simple description of the nature of the recording – live concerts from a world tour, obviously – but also as a summary of its musical content. To this day, and 11 years after his death, Josef Zawinuls music is maybe the best example of what can be called “world music”. Loaded with complex rhythms and captivating melodies, calling this album “groovy” would be a silly understatement. This is the kind of music that happens when artists of the highest caliber from all over the world get together, led by a genius musician and composer, to make music that is beyond categories. The CL2s were able to deliver all the joy and passion that is on this album. From the first track on, it’s a sound that makes you move and enjoy yourself with its powerful drive. Later, on tracks like “Success” - what an extremely realistic presentation of church bells! – or “Sunday Morning / Sunday Evening” with its gorgeous synthesizers and passionate vocals, “World Tour” becomes an outright spiritual experience. The CL2s did not falter even a bit. They allow a clear, broad window into the music, being so carefully voiced as to never distract from it. I’m deeply impressed.
Deeper down the rabbit hole...
When I was thinking about how I wanted to approach this review, I was afraid that the reader might find it it not informative enough. The main reason being that I do not have a lot of audio gear that works with the CL2. At first, all I could offer was a detailed description of how it sounds with the iBasso DX150. Luckily, I soon realized that I actually have another option available, and that is connecting the CL2s to my standalone DAC, a version of the DDDAC1794 (have a look at my profile for more information about the configuration),via the Corda Jazz headphone amplifier. While not absolute top of the line, we are now talking about switching from a – very good – 500€ portable source to a 2000€ NOS DAC and a 345€ solid state headphone amplifier with switchable crossfeed. As I see it, it’s safe to say that this is certainly not a weak setup. Cables were a pair of Sommer Cable “Epilogue” RCA interconnects. Due to the how the Corda Jazz is built, I had to use the standard 3.5mm copper cable - plugged into a 6.3mm adapter - for the CL2s.
With the “big” DAC and the Corda Jazz, the CL2s sounded bigger and bolder in almost every aspect. Bass was now remarkably authoritative, with a strong grip, while I could listen into the most minute details of the music. Chords were wonderfully rich, with individual notes colliding with each other in colourful layers and textures. My head seemed to be enveloped in sound. Electrostat-like clarity but with more flesh on the bones, to sum it up in a few words. I honestly enjoyed every moment.
The CL2s are already very convincing driven by the DX150, but with the DDDAC and the Corda they clearly played in a different league. I realized that these IEMs are worthy of excellent companions, even if they cost considerably more. To put it in other words, in my opinion they are a realistic option for a high-end desktop setup.
Listening sessions: summary
The CL2s are faultless. I do not mean “absolutely perfect in every objective way”, but faultless in the sense that I have not discovered any issues with the sound. The sound is detailed, rich, tangible, wide, deep… whatever audiophiles usually look for. It’s so good that I genuinely don’t care about better options. The CL2s tick all boxes.
BONUS: PCM and DSD comparison
Given that the DX150 is able to play both PCM and DSD natively and the CL2 are so resolving, at some point I got intrigued by the idea to do a comparison of both formats. For that purpose, I downloaded two free tracks from the “test bench” of 2L (http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html?), namely “Et Misericordia” of Arnesens “Magnificat” in 24bit / 192khz PCM and DSD128, and a piano solo arrangement of “Ubi Caritas” by Ola Gjeilo in 24bit / 192kz PCM and DSD64. The latter is not available in a higher DSD format.
2L records in DXD, which means 24bit / 352.8khz PCM, and “cuts” all other formats from the original DXD file. As it is PCM, it can be assumed that the different PCM resolutions available through the test bench are closest to the original recording, with 24bit 352.8khz being, I suppose, identical to it. Nonetheless, I found it interesting to see if DSD sounds any different from PCM at all with the DX150 + CL2 setup. So I carried out a blind test in "abx" stlye.
I found no difference whatsoever. With my current listening abilities, using the DX150, playing those two tracks from 2L, my guess did not differ from random chance. I simply couldn’t tell which file format was playing during the blind test. This result does not mean that there is no difference in sound quality between PCM and DSD at all, as people with different gear and/or different ears could be able to reliably distinguish both formats. At the time of this review, both are equal to me.
Look and feel
The CL2s have a small form factor. RHA uses zirconium as the shell or housing material, resulting in an IEM that is durable and lightweight. My (cheap) kitchen scale tells me that each IEM only weighs around 8-10g, while touching them feels as if they had been made out of stone. This sensation, combined with the smooth, glossy surface reminds me quite a lot of obsidian (“volcano glass”).
The CL2s aestethic design can be described as sober and straight forward. In my eyes, it’s actually pretty timeless. I can imagine these IEMs to look just as good in many, many years as they do now. RHA cleverly avoided any current trends and designed an IEM that is not an eye-catcher by itself, but one that goes well with basically every outfit and style.
Insertion
The Cl2s are deep-insertion IEMs. I probably got lucky, as the tips that are on them when you first open the box proved to be also pretty ideal for my ears. So I never had to go through much trouble to find the right tips, but my case is quite a rarity. RHA includes a nice array of tips and most customers will probably be satisfied with this selection. If not, there are many third-party options available on the market that will absolutely not break your budget. A good, tight seal is essential for every IEM and on the CL2s it greatly affects the low frequency performance. So take your time and try out different configurations until you are satisfied, otherwise you are definitely not going to hear what the CL2s really can do.
Cables
I have just realized that I completely forgot about bluetooth. I must admit that I am not very interested in it, but since the CL2 comes with a bluetooth option, I might edit in a paragraph about it soon.
A quick look tells you right away that the stock cables are certainly not cheap. For an IEM, both cables – copper for the 3.5mm plug and silver-plated copper for the 2.5mm balanced connection – have a seriously thick diameter, about 2.5mm for each channel. Many full-sized headphones do not come with cables that are as “hefty” as those of the CL2. While they are chunky, they do not tangle much and feel nice to the touch. RHA also did not opt for a simple memory wire, instead both cables have a – I believe more reliable - “memory spring” on each individual left and right end of the cables. In summary I consider these to be excellent stock cables, and so far I have not had a single thought of buying any aftermarket cables. It also means that this review does not discuss any other type of cable than the two that come with the CL2s.
Stock cable comparison
For the purpose of a comparison between the two stock cables, I attentively listened to Cherry Pie by Sade (from Diamond Life) and First Light / East River by Kenny Werner (from New York – Love Songs), both 44.1khz/16bit flac rips of the original CD albums. The Amp 6 module of the iBasso DX150 allowed me to use the exact same source for both cables.
To my ears, there is a small difference between both cables. Because of the absence of other cables with MMCX connectors in my collection, I cannot tell whether it is due to the different materials or the way how the CL2 is driven by the DX 150 depending on the output (not counting the decibel difference, which is simply a matter of adjusting the volume by 12 steps, as 12x0.5db equals 6db, the standard offset between single ended and balanced outputs on most gear).
With the copper cable, highs are a tad smoother and bass feels slightly looser, resulting in a sound that seems just a little bit mellow – which can be a good thing depending on your musical taste. In all other aspects I cannot detect any noteworthy changes. The CL2s still sound excellent with the copper cable and I find the presentation just as enjoyable as with the balanced cable. I don’t think that one can effectively change the whole sound signature by switching stock cables, but it is possible to tune the sound slightly.
What might seem a disappointing realization at first is actually a compliment to the engineers at RHA, who managed to give the same excellent sound to every customer, regardless of output options. Users who do not have a 2.5mm balanced output available don't really miss out on anything, and that’s how it should be.
Cable update, december 2018 (copied from the CL2 introduction thread)
Since the original publication of this review I have done a comparison between the Null Audio Vitesse (8 wires of OCC cryo copper, with upgraded mmcx connectors and 3.5mm plug), the stock copper cable and the stock silver-plated copper cable using my iBasso DX150.
The bottom-line result, ranked by sound quality from best to worst: Null Audio Vitesse > stock silver-plated copper > stock copper
Audio material:
"I.G.Y." by Donald Fagen, from "The Nightfly" album, and - as we are in mid-december- "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" by Ryuichi Sakamoto, from the "Three" album. All 44.1khz / 16 bit flac CD rips from my collection.
Some notes on each cable:
The stock copper cable is kind of "easy" on the ears, it's got a nice voicing but sounds also a bit dull, veiled and muddy. Bass has the least impact and there's a lack of overall detail. It performs best in the lower mids, piano chords hit with a good amount of weight.
The silver-plated copper cable is much closer to the Vitesse in detail retrieval and articulation. There's clearly more power in the low frequencies compared to the stock copper cable. It's slightly bright in general and sounds exciting at first, but becomes a bit fatiguing over time.
The Vitesse is clearly the best cable out of the three. It sounds like a superior cross-breed between the stock copper cable and its silver-plated sibling: it's just as comforting as the copper and as detailed and exciting as the silver-plated cable, but without the imprecisions and lack of involvement of the former or the annoying sharpness of the latter. It's imaging is bigger and more accurate than what both of the stock cables can deliver, and it brings out great overtones and articulation in all instruments. It's also more comfortable around the ears and more flexible, so it's the obvious winner in this comparison.
Generally speaking, the stock cables are not bad though. None of what I have written in this update should lead you to believe that the CL2 is horrible with them on and I still think that RHA did a good job in that regard. It's just that the CL2 is so damn revealing that it can improve considerably with better cables.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun writing this review. Sometimes, even as an amateur reviewer, after a while you risk losing interest in what you are actually reviewing. With the RHA CL2, the opposite took place as I was more and more convinced of their qualities.
The CL2s are a potential modern classic to me. Now, I realize what a bold statement that is, but their clever aesthetic design and excellent sound at a below 1.000€ price point make them attractive to many customers - while being a serious threat to the competition.
When I preordered my pair of CL2s, I was ready for everything. For me, it wouldn’t have been the first time that being an early adopter actually means “early disappointment”. Not this time though.
RHA hit the bulls eye.
I will keep my pair of CL2 for a long time. In fact, I am now seriously thinking about building a high-end desktop system around them. Here on Head-Fi, we like to answer such statements with “sorry for your wallet”. I believe the CL2s are worth it.
This review does not provide any measurements or technical details that the manufacturer, RHA, does not already provide on their website.
Music selection
I chose the following five albums as the main listening material for this review:
(Artist: album)
Hans Zimmer: Interstellar (original movie soundtrack)
Herbie Hancock: Round Midnight (original movie soundtrack)
Kenny Werner: New York – Love Songs
Sade: Diamond Life
Zawinul Syndicate: World Tour
All albums are 44.1khz / 16bit (redbook) flac files that originated as CD rips.
I also listened to high-resolution audio tracks, but did not find that they offer a better insight into the capabilities of the CL2 than the standard redbook format.
Sources + amplifiers
iBasso DX150 portable digital audio player, with amp6 amplifier module
DDDAC 1794 (see profile for details about configuration) + Corda Jazz headphone amplifier
Listening impressions
Sade - Diamond Life
A classic of the 80s, Sades “Diamond Life” is not only full of hit tracks, it’s also to this day a well recorded and produced album. I have a weak spot for women with lower voices and for those who don’t sound “girly” (no offense to women who have a different kind of voice, but when it comes to singing, I have my preferences and I offer zero apologies), and the CL2 makes this album sound as seductive as it possibly can be. Drums and percussion have a nice punch to them, making me move with the rhythm while I write these lines. From the album opener – famous “Smooth Operator” - to the last track (“Why can’t we live together”), the CL2 are capable of portraying the music with excellent detail and “snap”. Even without measurements, I am confident in my assumption that the CL2s have very good impulse response.
Herbie Hancock - Round Midnight
Herbie Hancock fully deserved the success he had with the “Round Midnight” movie soundtrack. It’s recorded and mixed pretty much perfectly and composed in a way that both the layman and the expert jazz listener can appreciate it.
On “Body and Soul”, the CL2 deliver the music as if I was at a private concert. Instrument size is very realistic and the tone is beautiful. I suspect that writing more would just distract from the fact how great this album is over the CL2s. I have a hard time bringing my thoughts to paper as the music grabs all of my attention again and again.
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar OST
Listening to "Mountains" was an absolute thrill. The ticking "clock" sounds very tangible, the tension of this piece rising with every "tick... tock.." as the music goes on a more and more frightening pace. When it unleashes all its glory at around 2:02, it's a jaw-droppingly majestic moment.
On lesser setups, this track sounds forceful, but often somewhat muddy and congested, portraying brutality rather than overwhelming greatness. Over the CL2, it's a shockingly captivating sound, giving me goose bumps every single time.
Kenny Werner - New York / Love Songs
On "First Light / East River", the album opener, it's oddly not the music that grabbed my attention at first. The CL2s are so resolving that I can perfectly hear Kenny Werner inhale before he starts to lay his hands on the keys. On other setups I wasn't even able to realize that this can be heard so clearly before the piece begins. Once the CL2s allowed me to expand my attention on those before unhead details, it became a very intimate listening experience - more than it already was before.
"New York - Love Songs" is a great study in complex harmony and chord voicings, as Kenny Werner is a masterful improviser with decades of experience he acquired on his own personal journey. The CL2 portray this complexity with ease and give each note its space. The insight and coherence are as good as it gets.
Zawinul Syndicate – World Tour
The album title “World Tour” cannot only be interpreted as a simple description of the nature of the recording – live concerts from a world tour, obviously – but also as a summary of its musical content. To this day, and 11 years after his death, Josef Zawinuls music is maybe the best example of what can be called “world music”. Loaded with complex rhythms and captivating melodies, calling this album “groovy” would be a silly understatement. This is the kind of music that happens when artists of the highest caliber from all over the world get together, led by a genius musician and composer, to make music that is beyond categories. The CL2s were able to deliver all the joy and passion that is on this album. From the first track on, it’s a sound that makes you move and enjoy yourself with its powerful drive. Later, on tracks like “Success” - what an extremely realistic presentation of church bells! – or “Sunday Morning / Sunday Evening” with its gorgeous synthesizers and passionate vocals, “World Tour” becomes an outright spiritual experience. The CL2s did not falter even a bit. They allow a clear, broad window into the music, being so carefully voiced as to never distract from it. I’m deeply impressed.
Deeper down the rabbit hole...
When I was thinking about how I wanted to approach this review, I was afraid that the reader might find it it not informative enough. The main reason being that I do not have a lot of audio gear that works with the CL2. At first, all I could offer was a detailed description of how it sounds with the iBasso DX150. Luckily, I soon realized that I actually have another option available, and that is connecting the CL2s to my standalone DAC, a version of the DDDAC1794 (have a look at my profile for more information about the configuration),via the Corda Jazz headphone amplifier. While not absolute top of the line, we are now talking about switching from a – very good – 500€ portable source to a 2000€ NOS DAC and a 345€ solid state headphone amplifier with switchable crossfeed. As I see it, it’s safe to say that this is certainly not a weak setup. Cables were a pair of Sommer Cable “Epilogue” RCA interconnects. Due to the how the Corda Jazz is built, I had to use the standard 3.5mm copper cable - plugged into a 6.3mm adapter - for the CL2s.
With the “big” DAC and the Corda Jazz, the CL2s sounded bigger and bolder in almost every aspect. Bass was now remarkably authoritative, with a strong grip, while I could listen into the most minute details of the music. Chords were wonderfully rich, with individual notes colliding with each other in colourful layers and textures. My head seemed to be enveloped in sound. Electrostat-like clarity but with more flesh on the bones, to sum it up in a few words. I honestly enjoyed every moment.
The CL2s are already very convincing driven by the DX150, but with the DDDAC and the Corda they clearly played in a different league. I realized that these IEMs are worthy of excellent companions, even if they cost considerably more. To put it in other words, in my opinion they are a realistic option for a high-end desktop setup.
Listening sessions: summary
The CL2s are faultless. I do not mean “absolutely perfect in every objective way”, but faultless in the sense that I have not discovered any issues with the sound. The sound is detailed, rich, tangible, wide, deep… whatever audiophiles usually look for. It’s so good that I genuinely don’t care about better options. The CL2s tick all boxes.
BONUS: PCM and DSD comparison
Given that the DX150 is able to play both PCM and DSD natively and the CL2 are so resolving, at some point I got intrigued by the idea to do a comparison of both formats. For that purpose, I downloaded two free tracks from the “test bench” of 2L (http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html?), namely “Et Misericordia” of Arnesens “Magnificat” in 24bit / 192khz PCM and DSD128, and a piano solo arrangement of “Ubi Caritas” by Ola Gjeilo in 24bit / 192kz PCM and DSD64. The latter is not available in a higher DSD format.
2L records in DXD, which means 24bit / 352.8khz PCM, and “cuts” all other formats from the original DXD file. As it is PCM, it can be assumed that the different PCM resolutions available through the test bench are closest to the original recording, with 24bit 352.8khz being, I suppose, identical to it. Nonetheless, I found it interesting to see if DSD sounds any different from PCM at all with the DX150 + CL2 setup. So I carried out a blind test in "abx" stlye.
I found no difference whatsoever. With my current listening abilities, using the DX150, playing those two tracks from 2L, my guess did not differ from random chance. I simply couldn’t tell which file format was playing during the blind test. This result does not mean that there is no difference in sound quality between PCM and DSD at all, as people with different gear and/or different ears could be able to reliably distinguish both formats. At the time of this review, both are equal to me.
Look and feel
The CL2s have a small form factor. RHA uses zirconium as the shell or housing material, resulting in an IEM that is durable and lightweight. My (cheap) kitchen scale tells me that each IEM only weighs around 8-10g, while touching them feels as if they had been made out of stone. This sensation, combined with the smooth, glossy surface reminds me quite a lot of obsidian (“volcano glass”).
The CL2s aestethic design can be described as sober and straight forward. In my eyes, it’s actually pretty timeless. I can imagine these IEMs to look just as good in many, many years as they do now. RHA cleverly avoided any current trends and designed an IEM that is not an eye-catcher by itself, but one that goes well with basically every outfit and style.
Insertion
The Cl2s are deep-insertion IEMs. I probably got lucky, as the tips that are on them when you first open the box proved to be also pretty ideal for my ears. So I never had to go through much trouble to find the right tips, but my case is quite a rarity. RHA includes a nice array of tips and most customers will probably be satisfied with this selection. If not, there are many third-party options available on the market that will absolutely not break your budget. A good, tight seal is essential for every IEM and on the CL2s it greatly affects the low frequency performance. So take your time and try out different configurations until you are satisfied, otherwise you are definitely not going to hear what the CL2s really can do.
Cables
I have just realized that I completely forgot about bluetooth. I must admit that I am not very interested in it, but since the CL2 comes with a bluetooth option, I might edit in a paragraph about it soon.
A quick look tells you right away that the stock cables are certainly not cheap. For an IEM, both cables – copper for the 3.5mm plug and silver-plated copper for the 2.5mm balanced connection – have a seriously thick diameter, about 2.5mm for each channel. Many full-sized headphones do not come with cables that are as “hefty” as those of the CL2. While they are chunky, they do not tangle much and feel nice to the touch. RHA also did not opt for a simple memory wire, instead both cables have a – I believe more reliable - “memory spring” on each individual left and right end of the cables. In summary I consider these to be excellent stock cables, and so far I have not had a single thought of buying any aftermarket cables. It also means that this review does not discuss any other type of cable than the two that come with the CL2s.
Stock cable comparison
For the purpose of a comparison between the two stock cables, I attentively listened to Cherry Pie by Sade (from Diamond Life) and First Light / East River by Kenny Werner (from New York – Love Songs), both 44.1khz/16bit flac rips of the original CD albums. The Amp 6 module of the iBasso DX150 allowed me to use the exact same source for both cables.
To my ears, there is a small difference between both cables. Because of the absence of other cables with MMCX connectors in my collection, I cannot tell whether it is due to the different materials or the way how the CL2 is driven by the DX 150 depending on the output (not counting the decibel difference, which is simply a matter of adjusting the volume by 12 steps, as 12x0.5db equals 6db, the standard offset between single ended and balanced outputs on most gear).
With the copper cable, highs are a tad smoother and bass feels slightly looser, resulting in a sound that seems just a little bit mellow – which can be a good thing depending on your musical taste. In all other aspects I cannot detect any noteworthy changes. The CL2s still sound excellent with the copper cable and I find the presentation just as enjoyable as with the balanced cable. I don’t think that one can effectively change the whole sound signature by switching stock cables, but it is possible to tune the sound slightly.
What might seem a disappointing realization at first is actually a compliment to the engineers at RHA, who managed to give the same excellent sound to every customer, regardless of output options. Users who do not have a 2.5mm balanced output available don't really miss out on anything, and that’s how it should be.
Cable update, december 2018 (copied from the CL2 introduction thread)
Since the original publication of this review I have done a comparison between the Null Audio Vitesse (8 wires of OCC cryo copper, with upgraded mmcx connectors and 3.5mm plug), the stock copper cable and the stock silver-plated copper cable using my iBasso DX150.
The bottom-line result, ranked by sound quality from best to worst: Null Audio Vitesse > stock silver-plated copper > stock copper
Audio material:
"I.G.Y." by Donald Fagen, from "The Nightfly" album, and - as we are in mid-december- "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" by Ryuichi Sakamoto, from the "Three" album. All 44.1khz / 16 bit flac CD rips from my collection.
Some notes on each cable:
The stock copper cable is kind of "easy" on the ears, it's got a nice voicing but sounds also a bit dull, veiled and muddy. Bass has the least impact and there's a lack of overall detail. It performs best in the lower mids, piano chords hit with a good amount of weight.
The silver-plated copper cable is much closer to the Vitesse in detail retrieval and articulation. There's clearly more power in the low frequencies compared to the stock copper cable. It's slightly bright in general and sounds exciting at first, but becomes a bit fatiguing over time.
The Vitesse is clearly the best cable out of the three. It sounds like a superior cross-breed between the stock copper cable and its silver-plated sibling: it's just as comforting as the copper and as detailed and exciting as the silver-plated cable, but without the imprecisions and lack of involvement of the former or the annoying sharpness of the latter. It's imaging is bigger and more accurate than what both of the stock cables can deliver, and it brings out great overtones and articulation in all instruments. It's also more comfortable around the ears and more flexible, so it's the obvious winner in this comparison.
Generally speaking, the stock cables are not bad though. None of what I have written in this update should lead you to believe that the CL2 is horrible with them on and I still think that RHA did a good job in that regard. It's just that the CL2 is so damn revealing that it can improve considerably with better cables.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun writing this review. Sometimes, even as an amateur reviewer, after a while you risk losing interest in what you are actually reviewing. With the RHA CL2, the opposite took place as I was more and more convinced of their qualities.
The CL2s are a potential modern classic to me. Now, I realize what a bold statement that is, but their clever aesthetic design and excellent sound at a below 1.000€ price point make them attractive to many customers - while being a serious threat to the competition.
When I preordered my pair of CL2s, I was ready for everything. For me, it wouldn’t have been the first time that being an early adopter actually means “early disappointment”. Not this time though.
RHA hit the bulls eye.
I will keep my pair of CL2 for a long time. In fact, I am now seriously thinking about building a high-end desktop system around them. Here on Head-Fi, we like to answer such statements with “sorry for your wallet”. I believe the CL2s are worth it.
