I’d like to extend a special thanks to Andrew at Musicteck along with Canpur for arranging and providing a sample CP74E for this review. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Canpur seems to have exploded onto the portable audio scene from nowhere, earning wide acclaim for its ‘Canpur Performance’ (CP) series of IEMs over the past year or so. Charting the course is the company’s flagship, the still-popular ‘flagship’ CP622B, followed up by its warmer, more accessible-sounding sibling, CP54E.
With the release of the new CP74E, named for its configuration of seven Sonion balanced armature and four Sonion electrostatic drivers, Canpur is presumably aiming for a combination of the two – the flagship’s high-resolution, technically advanced sound, with the 54E’s warmer, punchier tuning.
Retailing at $2,899, CP74E is by no means ‘cheap’, but is priced on the ‘right side’ of the $3,000 line that seems to divide today’s flagships from the rest of the luxury IEM crop. As such, if you expect it to have fewer whiz-bang features and tuning tricks in its arsenal compared to its larger and more expensive forebear, you’d be correct.
But in exchange, you get an IEM that’s every bit as polished, with a presentation, build and configuration that looks to be just about as good as it gets, minus a touch of the exotic. Considering how many listeners quicky tire of novelty tunings, and how many more conventional IEMs have lasted the test of time, could Canpur’s CP74E be the one that stays on in more collections for longer? Let’s find out.
Packaging and accessories
While I haven’t yet had the pleasure of testing CP622B myself, I’m told by my colleagues that CP74E has the exact same packaging and accessories bundle that adorns the flagship. That’s no small thing either; this has to be one of the classiest and most well considered unboxing experiences I’ve had in the hobby – and I’ve had a few.
Inside the silkscreened cardboard sleeve you’ll find a very solid-feeling leather-clad box, complete with a magnetic lid no less. Opening the lid reveals a stylish rectangular carry case adorned in the same leather (or at least leather-like) material, and beside it, a leather-wrapped ‘display stand’, for want of a better description, that holds the earpieces aloft, a round cable holder below, and a kickstand for setting the IEMs and cable on a desk.
The cable provided is custom-made by our friends at Eletech, which means you won’t need to go looking for an aftermarket alternative. Its 4-wire monocrystalline copper construction reminds me of an all-copper Raphael, though this one is slightly girthier and softer to the touch. The tips are also of the name brand variety, Symbio, but appear to be a silicone-only version without that brand’s famous memory foam inserts.
Overall, this is exactly the sort of clean yet substantial packaging and accessories complement I’d expect from a luxury IEM, and other than the usual tip-rolling for fit, you get everything you’ll need for optimal performance right in the box.
Design and fit
On the whole, most IEM manufacturers seem to have a handle on ergonomic design by now, and Canpur is no exception. That said, I heard mumblings about the 622B’s large and awkward fit by some, and was concerned the 74E might have similar issues.
Thankfully, it does not. The earpieces are made from medical-grade resin that’s smooth and silky to the touch, inlaid with a faceplate made of various crystal layers that sparkle with earthy purple and amber hues when turned into the light. I’d say the earpieces are of average size, not too large and not too small, and the average-sized nozzles fit my smaller ear canals like a glove.
Apparently, the design is aggregated from a database of thousands of ear impressions, but whatever the case, these should be uber comfortable for just about anyone.
The only downside of the slick surface is that it lacks any sort of grip, which unfortunately makes CP74E incompatible with ear tips like Sony’s EP-EX11 and Final Type-E. Never mind fishing these ear tips out of your ears – they simply won’t stay on in the first place. That said, alternatives from Azla, Spinfit, and Eletech work fine, so even if you don’t want to use the stock tips, you won’t be short of options.
Tech and specs
As mentioned earlier, and as you can glean from Canpur’s straightforward naming convention, CP74E houses 11 drivers in each earpiece, all made by Sonion. These comprise of seven dedicated balanced armatures (made up from a combination of Sonion 38D2XJ007Mi-8c, Sonion 28UAP01, Sonion2389 and Sonion E500T0005 drivers), and quad Sonion EST650B01 electrostats.
At a glance, you can see that CP74E lacks CP622B’s dual Sonion bone conduction drivers, and doubles up on the electrostat driver count, which at the very least hints at a more conventional tuning profile with possibly less holography but more treble air and extension. Like its larger sibling there’s no dynamic driver for bass, but balanced armature bass has at least advanced to the point where it makes a passable impression, if the tuning allows for it.
With an Impedance of 9.4 ohms @1khz and sensitivity of 107.7dB @1khz, CP74E is very easy to drive, and doesn’t need powerful amping to reach its potential. That said, as with most higher-end IEMs, it does appreciate more quality power, and in my experience, adding an amp does improve some sonic traits like note and stage size, though I wouldn’t say it’s anywhere like the difference you’d hear from a more power hungry IEM.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably thinking CP74E has all the makings of a very good but also very conventional IEM. It ticks all the boxes of today’s luxury hi-fi IEMs, including professional build, design, driver complement and accessories. That it doesn’t seem to have any standout features might dissuade buyers who look for more excitement at this price tier, but let’s not jump to conclusions and first see how it performs and compares to its contemporaries.
Continue to sound impressions…
