CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone Measurements => Topic started by: ultrabike on April 05, 2015, 09:07:30 AM
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Got these while attending briefly Cash-Jam (2 day multipass OC edition). The packaging is not much to write home about. No endangered three species wood. No diabolical signs. Oh Well. I think they look alright tho ...
(http://img5.pcpop.com/ProductImages/Original/0/790/000790760.jpg)
Box says "Bio Cellulose Drivers", just like the R10s! The cups say "Creative" and daz dat. Unlike the boobs-like R10s, the CAL! cups feel sort of cheap. But the build of these headphones is not bad at all. The cushions seem resistant (unlike the HD202s which over time peel), and the plastic materials (other than the cups) feel sturdy. Box also claims there are light weight. This is not BS, they are featherly. I do wished the headband was a bit wider for comfort, but not bad as it is. I have no problems fitting my ears inside the cups.
So wattabout the sound? Awesome. These provide quite a bit of impact and more than reasonable treble extension. Mids might be a little wonky relative to good open cans, but less so than many other much higher priced closed cans. Very open sounding, and don't seem to leak too much sound. There is warmth to these cans and definitively provide generous amounts of bass. IMO this does not get in the way. Liking "Gangsta's Paradise" by Robyn Adele Anderson on these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rve03u7oEvI
Piano and wind instruments sound pretty clear and open to me. Original Gangsta's song sounds decent to me as well on these:
Colio's Gangsta's Linky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14dodIVBWGI)
(within watever youboobs limitations of course)
Given it's characteristics IMO these are great for movies as well. One of my fav tracks is "A Dark Knight" by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, and these cans deliver.
"A Dark Knight" Linky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ2EQpRq-G8)
If you are into the Jazz-y side of things, I think "Old Love" below sounds a bit edgy and forward, but it could be more a function of the recording itself than the cans. For example, Nirvana's "Come as You Are" sounded K to me with these so that's that.
"Old Love" Linky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mskpAoDh808)
So measurements...
Frequency Response
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9172;image)
Distortion Right
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9174;image)
Distortion Left
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9176;image)
CSD Right
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9178;image)
CSD Left
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9180;image)
VS (HD600 & M50s)
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2271.0;attach=9182;image)
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Interesting to see the measurements. I own a pair of these, and basically like them. I feel like the overall tonality is great, and they do have an open feel to them. A little bit of extra mid bass, but it's pleasant. My only complaint is that they don't sound very resolving to me, not great on detail.
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Yes. They may not be the most resolving cans around. But IMO they have a high fun factor to them w/o damaging ones ears on relatively long listening sessions. They managed to stay in my head for quite a while.
The openness and impact these provide is surprising. I was expecting a something else completely judging by the looks of them.
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Yeah, I 2nd all of that. They are so light that they feel kind of cheap, but really surprise with such a pleasant sound.
I use these for my closed cans at work.
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Oh, I'm curious to hear opinions about how these compare to the m50(x)s. They are much less expensive, but do they hold their own against them?
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Don't have the M50s in-front of me, but going by memory, they definitively hold their own. Both have IMO similar impact, but I don't recal the M50s being these open.
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These were one of my first headphones ever. After a few weeks I could no longer stand them though.
The measurements show what my ears told me. Lowered midrange contrasted with increased highs and I tend to detest the headphone. I like my midrange to sound more present than the highs. After the CAL! I had a stock HD428 which I liked more.
These headphones are fun and better than the stock M50 in sound in my opinion. The M50 midrange dip was almost intolerable for me. For the CAL! do consider a re-cable as the stock cable reacts to the cold.
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LOL! Man would you have some strong feelings about the DT990s! :)p13
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Lowered midrange contrasted with increased highs and I tend to detest the headphone. I like my midrange to sound more present than the highs...
I can relate to this - I like a forward midrange. It's why I like the srh840, and didn't like the he-400 without eq for the 2-5k range.
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Glad to see the CAL! getting some more attention, finally. They're pretty good stock for the price. They really open up with some basic mods! My only complaint is that they start to fall apart at high volumes, largely due to distortion. But, as a counter to that, they do work really well at low volumes in that they keep most of the good technicalities and have the sort of frequency response that works well for low level listening. Awesome for a work environment if you want to listen quietly without bothering others and not have too much isolation, and they're lightweight enough to be fairly comfortable.
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LOL! Man would you have some strong feelings about the DT990s! :)p13
I saw the measurements. I do not consider that headphone as something I would buy, ever...
After the Sony brightness and the DT48 weirdness (they are!) I found AKG smoothness. That vintage AKG midrange simply makes me listen to more music.
For an alternative to the KSC75 the CAL! is very good for the right price.
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Yeah, good little headphone...too bad they screwed up the CAL!2.
Oh, BTW, these are the same as the Denon ADH-D1001.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/creative-aurvana-live-classic-reincarnate
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These are pretty good relative to other stuff out there IMO. Not perfect of course, but I found it really nice for movies. I like the looks of it too and the price is decent.
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Yeah, good little headphone...too bad they screwed up the CAL!2.
Oh, BTW, these are the same as the Denon ADH-D1001.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/creative-aurvana-live-classic-reincarnate
I am a big fan of the D1001. They are even better for me than the d2000 which sounded more sterile and hollow.
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Yeah, good little headphone...too bad they screwed up the CAL!2.
Oh, BTW, these are the same as the Denon ADH-D1001.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/creative-aurvana-live-classic-reincarnate
Are the new ones that much worse? What a shame.
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Yeah, quite a bit worse.
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I picked these up for a bit less than fifty bucks once upon a time. I personally liked them better than the M50s, vocals were much more pleasant to listen to. I kind of regret selling them, they were nice to have around. The build quality made me afraid to commute with them though, the cable didn't exactly inspire confidence.
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I personally likied them better than the M50s,
Wow, two people have said they like these better than the m50's. Given that some people have said the m50's should go on the leaderboard, I'm wondering if it should be these instead. I feel like there is a dearth of closed cans on the leaderboard.
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Wow, two people have said they like these better than the m50's. Given that some people have said the m50's should go on the leaderboard, I'm wondering if it should be these instead. I feel like there is a dearth of closed cans on the leaderboard.
hello,
the only issue is that these are OOP.
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Really? How do you know?
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Really? How do you know?
hello,
my bad, still listed on the Creative website...sorry. facepalm
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If you have to have a CAL! get two. One for modifications.
Once that treble range is smoothed out :)p2
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Wow, two people have said they like these better than the m50's. Given that some people have said the m50's should go on the leaderboard, I'm wondering if it should be these instead. I feel like there is a dearth of closed cans on the leaderboard.
The Denon D1001 was definitely better to me than the m50s or the Shure SRH840 so if the CAL! is the same then there you go... Leaderboard Material
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It is the same as the Denon. I think somehow the manufacturing might have some minor differences as I seem to remember Tyll showing that it measures slightly better than the Denon.
I own both the CAL! And the srh840. The CAL! has a slightly more pleasant tonality, but I think the Shures are much tighter, cleaner, and more detailed. I prefer the Shures by a wide margin, but they also cost more than twice the price.
So, it does seem that the CAL's should be considered for the leaderboard, as they seem to perform way above price.
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There's also this (http://kotori.fostex.jp/201).
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Specs look pretty close! (Kotori 201) Fostex 40mm biocelullose driver, and very similar shape... $260 is kind of highish tho and seems it's only available in Nippon.
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I thought they were 14,000 ¥ (~120 USD)?, I'm sure there are many import services, plus O GAWD THE KOLORS ARE AWSOME!1
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I have seen this fostex model being sold for 8-10k yen, always assumed that it was the original from fostex on which the denon and CAL were based.
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That's not too bad a price actually. We'll see if it makes it overseas and at what MSRP... Got the $260 from a couple of sites like this:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/02/kotori-201-headphones-are-attention-seeking-and-expensive/
... actually, can buy now from here (gizmine) it seems:
http://www.gizmine.com/gztm/kotori+201+headphones/kotori-201-headphones.shtml
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...that some people have said the m50's should go on the leaderboard...
Really?
Here is just one of the few places that I thinkg people don't like it at all.
It has even "lost" to the XPT100/HM5 on the cheapo headphone extravaganza
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That's not too bad a price actually. We'll see if it makes it overseas and at what MSRP... Got the $260 from a couple of sites like this:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/02/kotori-201-headphones-are-attention-seeking-and-expensive/
... actually, can buy now from here (gizmine) it seems:
http://www.gizmine.com/gztm/kotori+201+headphones/kotori-201-headphones.shtml
Jesus, that's a stupid price to ask.
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Quote from: lmader on April 08, 2015, 06:58:14 PM
...that some people have said the m50's should go on the leaderboard...
Really?
Here is just one of the few places that I thinkg people don't like it at all.
It has even "lost" to the XPT100/HM5 on the cheapo headphone extravaganza
Yeah, for reals. Here's a quote, admittedly about the newer m50x:
Reactions to this headphone were ho-hum. It's good - OK. Better than old M50. Note that we've dropped this headphone on the new leaderboard. At least I would hope we did. They are on the pricey end of the spectrum for this comparo: $169 at Amazon.
Having never heard the m50s, I'm always curious to hear what people think. Someday I'll have an opportunity to give them a listen.
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I tried a pair of CAL and they sounded pretty good, but their poor isolation defeated the purpose of settling for a closed in the first place.
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So I got these from Amazon damaged box for $50. The headphones themselves were brand new.
Bargain of the century.
So ya compared them to MDR-1R, Momentum, M50X, and Vmoda M100 since those are much higher priced and very popular headphones. CAL! more than held its own, it is a little v shaped but due to midbass lovebump they don't sound too recessed in vocals, added warmth helps; and the treble is a little messy but it's not like those other headphones don't have their faults. CAL sounded the most open and even tho the highs are kinda bright the soundstage has good depth so it's not an assault on the ears. m50x for example has more subdued highs but them shits Tickle my ear and the midrange is like coming from across the hall so I have to turn them up louder and then I die so fuck that.
Anywho these aren't just good for the price they stomp on some higher priced stuff. But no they aren't perfect. Terrific for movies and decent all rounder.
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Still some acoustic fill inside the cups, and line with one layer of cheap TP. Treble becomes less bright. Bass becomes less boomy.