This is another review I did awhile back on another forum. Thought I would drop it over and see what you all think about the RHA CL750, has anyone tried them out?
I have been searching for an in-ear monitor that has a pure and clear sound. I have tried various in-ear options, AKG quadbeats, Pioneer SE-CL721-H, JVC Xtreme Xplosivs, Mee Audio M6 and various other cheap options that came with my Samsung and LG cellphones. I also have a pair of the RHA S500 and I really like those but I wanted an over ear cable and to venture into the $100+ price range. I only had a few must haves going into the search; clear highs, smooth mids, extended bass not muddy or over-emphasized, solid build and decent sound isolation. As my search extended into weeks, I kept going back to RHA. I liked the build quality of the S500 and the sound was pleasant for such a small device. I watched and read many reviews on any and all RHA models I could find. Then I heard about the CL1 and CL750 and was intrigued. After researching and deliberating between the two I decided on the CL750 as the price point was more to my liking and there didn’t appear to be much difference in sound to warrant the couple hundred extra in price. Journey ended, I purchased them and they arrived a week ago. Do they meet my expectations?
Build/Fit: If you have had any RHA product you know what to expect and these are built amazing. The stainless steel, Aerophonic design is small but durable. They are not light in the hand but in the ear they don’t feel weighted down or like they are going to fall out of the ear. The OFC cable is the nicest cable I have ever had on my in-ears, too bad it isn’t removable. It is a very light cable, with a rubbery material that can be a little spongy but I haven’t had any issues with it getting tangled. Also there is no noise transition when the cable is in motion when I am sitting in my chair or at my desk. I haven’t used them when walking or running, these aren’t really the IEM to use for that purpose. Walking down the hallway from cubicle to cubicle is fine but running at the park, not so much. The cable strains are small in my opinion but they will suffice in protecting the cable from bending too much. There isn’t any sort of memory to the cable so it sometimes will not fit around the ear and slips around. My right ear is smaller than my left and sometimes I have to readjust multiple times during a listening session. The slider on the Y is somewhat hard to manuever but it can be moved with some effort. They come with plenty of silicone and Comply tips. I found that the Comply tips fit me best, the double flange tip didn’t fit my ear proper so I found a triple flange tip from my Mee Audio M6’s that fit. The triple flanges in my opinion sounded the best but the Comply’s were better with isolation.
Sound: Most of my music source either comes from my LG V20 or my Microsoft Surface Pro 3 using the Tidal app or FLAC files saved on an external drive. I have my SP3 sourcing my Topping D30 dac into an A30 amp and also a Little Dot MKII tube amp. I mainly used the LG V20 as my source and dac for this review as these CL 750’s will be used as my portable source. I did also use a Topping NX3 amp for portable use.
Bass: The CL750 has a pleasing sound to the bass, not mega impactful like the Pioneers, not as recessed as the AKG’s and not as bloated as the cheap Samsungs. I really like the bass, it is accurate, extended and hits the sweet spot for me. Drums hit with enough of a thud to let you know that they are present but they don’t say it with authority. I wouldn’t say that they are recessed but they aren’t in the forefront. Personally, I don’t like a lot of heavy hitting bass where it overpowers everything else so this isn’t an issue. These are not for the bass head lovers!
Mids: I am in love with the mids on the CL750. They are well balanced and mix well with the bass and treble. They aren’t forward or recessed, they are right in the middle. Accapella music is just glorious. Classical is wonderful, strings are well defined. For your country, classic rock listeners, these do amazing on vocals and the guitars and pianos are beautifully presented.
Treble: I am not treble sensitive but if you are, you may want to steer clear of the CL750. These have bright highs that are clear and detailed. I love this sound signature very much, treble is awesome. On some music that have a lot of cymbals or ultra highs these will sound hot. But the treble is clean and doesn’t show any distortion, it is just smooth, clear highs.
Details: For an in-ear the CL750 has decent spacing and staging. You can tell if something is coming in from the left or right or is in the middle. There isn’t a lot “Wow, that was over my left shoulder” moments but you can hear the different areas when they are present. Details are very nice, you can tell the separation of instruments, no clutter or jumble.
Amp: Yes, you should adhere to the box that says:For use with amplifiers". If you have a LG V series or a phone with a built in dac/amp you can power them. I didn’t notice too much when using my Topping NX3 except that the bass boost added just a smidge extra to the music. When sitting at my desk, yes the Topping stack pushes the CL750 very nicely and with ease. Putting it on high gain, added some detail but also showed off some noise on bad recordings. The Little Dot MKII sounded great and did remove a little from the treble so they didn’t sound so hot on some songs.
Conclusion: The RHA CL750 checks the boxes that I had when I began my search. The build is excellent, the isolation is good not great, the sound is top notch, not bloated with bass, smooth mids and highs that make me smile. And on top of that I got them off Amazon for $100. Would I recommend them,absolutely but only if you are going to use them at a desk or during non-active moments. These are not in-ears for the gym. Also, I can recommend them if you aren’t treble sensitive. Are these worthy of the $100 I spent, yes. Are they worth the $140 that RHA is asking on their website, yes but I would get them on sale or on Amazon for cheaper price.