NEW! harman/kardon CL by HARMAN headphones unboxing, review to come

[HiFiInsider]

These are brand new from HARMAN. I like the way they look and it's very comfy. Take a look and stay tuned for the "shootout" review against the Monster Inspiration & B&W P5.

 

[dalethorn]

I had them from the Apple store and gave them away. The sound is clear and although the bass is lean it's very detailed. Unfortunately the balance is off and they aren't close to hi-fi - very colored, but not in a pleasant way.

 

Edit: The B&W P3 from the same store is colored also, but more pleasantly, has similar bass and highs, looks and feels much better. Then the vmoda M80 for the same price beats both of those by a mile - better bass, smoother and more neutral mids, similar highs.

[HiFiInsider]

What do you mean by balance issue. Are you talking about tonal balance or channel balance? I noticed a slight channel balance issue. Left side is slightly louder than Right.

[dalethorn]

What do you mean by balance issue. Are you talking about tonal balance or channel balance? I noticed a slight channel balance issue. Left side is slightly louder than Right.

 

Tonal balance. The highs of the CL and the B&W P3 (its closest comparison) are both weak, the bass of both are comparable and lean, but where the mids of the P3 are slightly dry and somewhat emphasized around 900 hz or so, the CL had that plus a coloration an octave lower that wouldn't correct as well with a simple EQ.

 

The P3 looks good I think for men and women, very natty and smart looking, but the CL is rather ugly and boxy and would not appeal to females because of its spaceman kind of appearance. I think Harman/Kardon missed the boat on this one. The new white v-moda M80 looks so much better (and the old black/red isn't bad), plus it sounds so much better too with far better bass, for the same price.

[HiFiInsider]

Thanks for clarifying. I agree the M-80 is a far better headphones. I have to do more listening on the CL & P3.

[dalethorn]

Thanks for clarifying. I agree the M-80 is a far better headphones. I have to do more listening on the CL & P3.

 

The mids of the P3 and M80 are so different from each other, if I switch between those two it takes a couple of minutes to make the mental adjustment. I don't have the CL anymore. I took a bag to my favorite coffee shop a couple of days ago containing the Pioneer 591, the H/K CL, the iStreamer DAC, and the Objective2 headphone amp, and exchanged all of that for a couple slices of really good pizza.

[HiFiInsider]

LOL.... I hope you had a hand crafted beer to go with the pizza.