RHA CL750

It is with great pleasure, and with thanks to RHA (as well as nmatheis for helping to organize the North American leg) that I can say that I have been selected to take part in the RHA listening tour. During this tour, I have 10 Days to listen to & evaluate the CL750, CL1 ceramic earphones, and the Dacamp L1, a digital-to-analogue converter with class AB amplifiers. Although I am very grateful to be able to participate in this tour, I receive no compensation other than the joy of listening to these items in the comfort of my own home, and the following review is my honest opinion.
 
Here’s some info paraphrased from their website:
 
-Stainless steel housings for durability and longevity in addition to low internal resonance
 
-High conductivity oxygen-free copper cable, coated in durable TPE with stainless steel reinforced cable divide and terminations
 
-High impedance (150 Ohms), it is recommended that you use them with a headphone amp (such as the RHA Dacamp L1)
 
-3 year warranty, $139.95 (USD)


 
This is my 1st experience with any RHA products. RHA has a reputation for a robust build quality, and I can honestly say that the CL750 lives up to that reputation. The Stainless steel housings are striking, and their long term durability seems evident to me. They do feel heavy in the hand, but they never felt uncomfortable during any of my listening sessions. The cable is braided oxygen free copper, quite robust, attractive (IMO) and was mostly microphonic free during my listening due to the over ear orientation. As durable as the CL750 seems, there is an incident of note that needs to be mentioned. While shoveling snow, the volume in the right earpiece dropped to an unlistenable level. It seems likely that this was due to moisture since I was exerting myself, however the cause has not been diagnosed. This leads me to believe that these would not make good earphones to exercise with. I am not overly concerned since every manufacturer has problems occasionally, and I haven’t heard of anyone else having problems on the tour. The defective unit was quickly replaced so that the tour could continue.
 
Comfort was very good overall, with the housings sitting securely in my ears. The biggest problem for me comfort wise pertains to the size of the nozzle which exerts a little pressure with any tip I chose. This wasn’t enough for outright discomfort, but I was always aware that there was something stuck in my ear (more so than with some more comfortable IEMs I’ve used from Shure & Westone). I personally have a challenge with IEMs in general due to my left ear canal being smaller than my right, but I found a good fit among the abundance of tips provided by RHA. There are a good amount of accessories included with the CL750. There’s a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter, a truly generous amount of tips (11 in all, including 6 pairs in various sizes of single flange, 2 double flanged and 3 genuine Comply Tsx-200 ) a stainless steel holder for the tips, shirt clip, and a fairly large carry case.




 
Before I offer my listening impressions, I’ll start with a little about myself. I’m pushing 50 and have less than perfect hearing (50 is pushing back). I’ve been a music lover for as long as I can remember, and I learned to listen a little more critically during the few years I sold audio equipment (and the more I listen, the more I learn). My fascination/infatuation with headphones began about 4 years ago, and has only gotten stronger. The majority of my listening was done listening to FLAC, WAV & various MP3s with primarily RHA’s own Dacamp L-1, assisted by my Shanling M2, Fiio x3 (1st gen.) or my HP all in one PC  acting as a source. My tastes are fairly eclectic, but my listening centered on classic rock, folk, jazz, classical and various genres of EDM.
 
At 150 ohms and 89db sensitivity, The CL750 is not easy to drive. These earphones do best with a decent amplifier, whether separate or within a dedicated DAP. Plugged directly into my Samsung Galaxy S7, I could certainly achieve adequate volume and the dynamics didn’t suffer much, however I found my Fiio and Shanling to be a noticeable step up in fidelity. The Shanling sounded great at about 30-35 out of 60 on low gain, and when paired with the ALO National the CL750g faired even better. However when paired with the Dacamp L1 I found there was a certain synergy (no surprise there) which is why I did the majority of my listening with that combo.
 
The CL750 is endowed with a full and healthy bass that isn’t overly pumped for my tastes, and supports a fairly neutral mid bass, which is slightly elevated but not overdone. Listening to the song ‘Moorish’ by The Funky Knuckles, the synth intro & kick drum sounded rich with plenty of life, and never crossed into sounding boomy, which can happen on more bass oriented sets. The bass, while energetic enough for EDM, didn’t sound out of place when listening to classical or other acoustic music. Well done RHA.
 
Describing the midrange, the word ‘lush’ comes to mind. Vocals never fell so far back as to be called recessed, but there is a bit of a shroud that mid-heads would not appreciate. While on random, I came across George Thorogood singing ‘Purple People Eater’ of all things, and I found myself enjoying the song. To use this song as an example his voice, which sounds fairly neutral on, say, the HD600, sounds like he’s standing a step further back in the room with the CL750. A song like Madeline Peryoux’s ‘Instead’ sounded a bit more natural overall, even if her voice sounded a little less husky than I’m used to.
 
Moving into the treble is where we run into some potential issues. While I found the treble to be somewhat peaky I didn’t find it too bothersome. There is a little extra shimmer up top that some will find problematic, yet some will likely enjoy. The tone never sounded unnatural to me, but there were times I thought the treble was a little over energetic, again, without being annoying. The cymbals & high hats in Cheryl Crow’s ‘My Favorite Mistake’ took on a pleasant forwardness, and the strings in Zigeunerweisen Opus 20, (written by Pablo de Sarasate) had a wonderfully vivid presentation.  The biggest problem, though is that sibilance is present in the lower treble region, so be forewarned. The S’s in the MP3 I have of Valarie June’s ‘Somebody to Love’ is unpleasant at best. Letting RHA’s Dacamp L1 work its magic by decreasing the treble helped tremendously. Once I dialed it back to -2, the treble became much less obtrusive.
 
Overall, RHA did a heck of a lot right with the CL750. Whether you hold the driver problem against them or not, the build quality, from the stainless steel housing to the robust braided cable and steel termination suggests a product more expensive than its present price. The sound signature has a lot going for it, even if it's not for everyone.There is an issue with sibilance, and some will prefer the midrange to be more forward, but when you tally up a great build, excellent bass, decent midrange, and energetic treble and you have an IEM that I think is going to appeal to a lot of people.

Disclaimer
 
I got this unit as part of Australia/New Zealand tour arranged by @RHA Team, thank you very much for including me in this tour
 
Introduction
 
I am just another music fans in this world, I love listening to music, and that made me stumble into head-fi around 10 years ago when looking for the best way to listen to my music. I am not in anyway an audiophile, heck not even close, so please forgive any lack of details in my review. Most importantly this is my personal impression on the unit, most likely i heard things differently than you, my ears, my preferences, my brain
 
I've listened to RHA CL750 for about 4 days. I've used them with LG V10, Walnut V2 DAP, and through RHA DACAMP L1 . The source will be either my personal music or google play music.
 
Music preferences
 
My music preferences is mostly instrumental, whether it's Classical, Jazz, Celtic, New Age, etc. I also enjoy music with vocal on them, but my playlist is mostly instrumental. I would say around 80/20 mix.
 
Example of the music I listen (not limited to):
- Acoustic Alchemy
- Tony McManus, Soig Siberil
- Hawaiian Slack Key guitars
- Fusion Jazz (Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Fourplay, Special EFX, you get the idea)
- Akira Jimbo, Tetsuo Sakurai, Casiopea
- Incognito
- Europa Galante/Fabio Biondi, Musica Antiqua Koln, Rolf Lislevand
- Yoko Kanno
- Madonna
 
Sound signature preference
 
Hmm...not sure what my pref is, I enjoy Fostex TH-600 very much, It's one of the best headphone I've heard, so that make me a fan of U or V shaped sound signature.
 
Having said that I also enjoy ZMF Blackwood which have mid-centric sound sig compare to the TH-600, so i guess i am flexible
 
My typical listening gear is: Asus Xonar STU -> Project Polaris -> ZMF Blackwood
 
When travelling I usually use MEE P1 straight out of DAP/Phone.
 
Build Quality and Design
 
This is the first time I use RHA product, and I am quite impressed with the build quality of the CL750, the silver casing is pretty solid and smooth, and not heavy at all. I also like how they cover the cable with a transparent plastic tube/rubber?, no microphonic sound at all, although when it's tangled they kind of make them hard to untangle. The ear guide is ok, although i would prefer a more stiff ones.
 
Sound Quality
 
Ok the most important part for me, sound quality, so how do they sound? They have a classic V shaped sound signature, treble and sub bass is emphasized, mids is recessed but still enjoyable. Music sounds clear and crisp, but can sound a bit thin or hollow.
 
When I tried them the first time I have a bit of trouble with the fitting, apparently I push the tip too much and that stop them from getting a good fit on my ears, and without a good fit, they will sound very hollow with harsh treble and lacking bass, so if you tried them out and find them sounding bad, maybe it's not fitting your ears properly.
 
I listen to a lot of acoustic guitar music and I found CL750 sound sig quite enjoyable, string sound on higher frequency sound crispy and clear thanks to the elevated treble, however i did miss a bit more mid bass that will bring body to the string sound.  From my experience, instrumental music sounds great with CL750, even though the mids are recessed you can still enjoy them.
 
Hearing female vocal is a bit different, it's very dependent on the mastering (and maybe quality of the source as well), for example, I tried listening to Vanessa William - Colours of the Wind and the sibilance is very obvious. Madonna - Cherish is almost similar experience. From what I can hear both recording is a bit bright, and the CL750 sound sig just elevated them even more. However, not all vocals are sibilance, for example Orange Pekoe - oriental jazz mode sounded just fine to me
 
I do found solo piano to sound great with them, most of the solo piano recording i listened to tend to sound bit dark, so CL750 fits them well, in my opinion anyway.   
 
Having said that, if you don't mind using EQ, i find that lowering the treble really make them shine, with the treble reduced, you can hear the mids clearly and they actually sound very nice.
 
Comparison
 
RHA CL750 vs MEE P1
 
Coming from MEE P1, I can't help to notice the absence of the mids on the CL750, it's there but definitely outshine by the treble, it's bit shocking in the beginning. However as i used the CL750 overtime I didn't really notice the recessed mid as bad as before. The treble on the P1 is never sibilance, and in my opinion is perfectly balance with the mids. 
 
So MEE P1 have more balanced sound signature compare to CL750, with some slight mid-bass hump on them than given them a warm sound sig. I notice that CL750 have a bit more sub-bass (probably around 60hz region) while the bass on MEE P1 is more pronounced on the upper region (maybe around 110hz and above). 
 
If i have to pick it would have to be MEE P1 for it's more natural balanced sound, but with a bit of EQ CL750 is pretty close behind them.
 
RHA CL750 vs CL1
 
WHen i listen to CL1, i have and immediate feels that the CL1 is like the big brother of the CL750, very similar sound signature but more, specifically more bass and treble. More bass - great!, more treble - ah, not so great for me. CL750 alread a bright IEM by default, and CL1 somehow add even more trebles make them sounding hyper-clean and bright, while this might be favourable for some music, when you hit those bright recording it's really painful to hear them.
 
Again, with EQ they can be a better IEM, I prefer the bass of the CL1, but prefer the treble on the CL750, so a bit undecided here. However comfort and build wise CL1 is way better than CL750. 
 
Summary
 
If you read through my review, you might get the impression that I don't really like them, but the truth is I quite enjoyed them, I listened to them nonstop for hours on the Walnut V2 (great pairing here) and only if I compare them to the MEE P1 then I realized the recessed Mids.
 
If you like V shape sound signature, bright and clear sounding IEM, give RHA CL750 a try, they might be the right IEM for you.

Box & Accessories 

 
Was greeted by a high quality packaging , and the neatly arranged CL750  .
Under it was where the documents and accessories were stored . 
 

 
The quality of the entire packaging felt luxurious , what's included is a 1/4" jack , which has the same stainless steel case as the jacks , a high quality case which was padded and a significant improvement over the previous RHA case . The previous RHA case made of leatherrette peeled at the edges where they were most contacted with . Overall the new pouch looked like it could sure stand the test of time and daily torture . Like RHA products , they provide a vast number of silicone eartips from dual densities to foam , all at different sizes , so you'll never have an excuse on not getting the perfect seal ! 
 
Audio


 

RHA sent the review unit to me for demo , Do note that the review is done in no particular favor of RHA , and i do not get to keep them . What you are about to read would be an honest impressions from my point of view , however your mileage may vary . I did not went to read about the IEM before hand and have zero knowledge on the retail price or any technological "breakthroughs" to note . This is to keep the review as fair as possible , by just blind hearing them . 

My Current daily driver is the MA750i , it has been so for over a year , it was also the most interesting and forgiving IEM i have ever heard . At the MA750's price range , it was a sure-recommend for those who are looking for something musical and smooth after the lengthy burn-in period of about 3-4 months on listening . For those whom have not heard the MA750 , you should be informed that the sound fresh out of the box was harsh , metallic and emotionless , pretty much like the CL750 which i have now . A pity RHA did not burn in them before sales , because the MA750 is excellent after burn in , one of the most obvious improvements i have ever heard in an IEM , it was also the IEM that made me believe that burn in can be this drastic . 

So , being an avid fan of the MA750 + iFi iDSD Micro pairing , i could only expect the pricier , revised model to be better in every aspect . However , i was slapped with great disappointment . The CL750 was emotionless , harsh , metallic , a pain to listen to , and unfavorable with every ear , i went to pass around my group of audiophile friends , and every single one of them disliked it . if 2 of 5 of my friends liked it , the IEM stands a chance of being a love-hate IEM . However , 5 of 5 of my friends disliked it , this proved that the tuning was unattractive , that 100% of the people whom i passed it to , disliked it . 

I was really enthusiastic about this at first , hence i gave this a try before the CL1 and the L1 . The very moment i heard the sound from these , i wanted to send them forward to the next reviewer in the RHA tour , because i really did not want to write a negative review on their product . But since it has arrived , and i believe that everyone should be aware of their current sound before dropping your hard-earned money on this . I would seriously recommend every individual to give their product a try before purchasing it . Hate to say that one of the worst IEM (CL750) i have heard , and one of my most reccomended IEM (MA750) comes from the same company . 
 
A general description of it's sound would be , artificial sounding , poor acoustics , poor tuning , poor soundstage , poor instrumentations , poor instrumental positioning , lacks texture , lacks resolution , no amping potential , overly harsh in treble , suppressed bass , messy spectrum , lacks emotion , lacks natural warmth , noisy , uncomfortable sounding , it just felt like the MA750's traumatized antisocial younger brother . Every single thing was wrong with it . 
 
Pairing
Pairing with the DACAMP L1 with the 3.5mm was tragic . Overly bright , even with the treble turned down , it sounded unnatural . Everything sounded artificial and extremely unattractive . 
 
Honest Final Thoughts
The audio is terrible . Retailing at S$249 , is daylight robbery ,regardless of the research and material that went into it . Personally i rank IEMs based on their musicality and enjoyment , and completely disregard the price point or technology behind it . This was simply not musical nor enjoyable at all to recommend it to a friend , and i certainly would not pay for it . I would not use it even if it was given to me for free . I apologize to RHA for this frank review , but i believe the Head-Fi community deserves to know the truth . 

The RHA MA750i would still be a far better recommendation option for the price of only S$178 .