Disclaimer: I would like to formally thank Karisma from Clear Tune Monitors (CTM) for graciously providing us with the CE320 for review. I am not affiliated with CTM, and the views shared below reflect my honest thoughts surrounding the product.
Kevin
Pros:
- Comfortable for long-listening sessions
- Excellent passive noise isolation for outdoor usage
- Romanticised tuning for smooth and carefree listening
- Natural mid-range and low-end performance
- Dynamic-driver-like cohesion across the frequency band
Cons:
- Not-so-inspiring build quality
- Nostalgic sound signature marginally sacrifices micro-dynamic detail
- Slower transients result in muddiness in macrodynamic presentation
- Imaging suffers from the low-to-midrange veil
Introduction
In 2018, I had the privilege of visiting the CanJam Singapore show floor in the capacity of a “VIP”. Needless to say, that was my personal “renaissance year” in the audiophile hobby. Perusing the Pan Pacific hotel show floor, commiserating with international vendors and like-minded hobbyists, and demoing unreleased prototypes — this is the jam-packed itinerary to be anticipated when you visit the annual Canjam zeitgeist (I implore everyone to visit should they have the chance).
Reminiscing aside, it was at this event I was introduced to Clear Tune Monitors, an Orlando-based company specialising in CIEMs for musicians, both burgeoning and established.
Cesar Milano, sound engineer cum founder of CTM, cut his teeth in the USA professional audio after migrating from Venezuela. Naturally, there is a coincidental intersection where professional audio and prosumer audio markets meet. Soon after, the American-based company found itself broadening its target demographic to accommodate the latter. CTM’s appearance at CanJam cemented their enduring commitment to the democratisation of pro-audio for audiophiles.
At the time, I was allowed to test their latest flagship IEMs, the “Da-Vinci X” and “Da-Vinci IX”. Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed by what they had on offer.
Fast forward 5 years later, and I have formally returned to the titular brand to review their CE-320, a 3-balanced-armature universal IEM designed exclusively for studio monitoring. The CE-320 is currently priced at USD 249 and available in “Smoke” and “Clear” colourways on their official CTM website.
Unboxing
The CTM-CE320 comes in an “impossible-to-miss” cardboard box and sleeve. What I mean by that is its outer sleeve is adorned with the company’s snazzy yellow branding. Talk about making a lasting impression! The product’s specifications and featured selling points accompany the rest of the outer sleeve’s text.
Upon unsheathing the rectangular box from its sleeve, you’ll be greeted by the CE320 earphones themselves hidden beneath a frosted plastic cover, followed by a CTM-branded round carry case and 2-pin detachable cables neatly stowed away in a moulded piece of felt-finished cardboard. A miscellaneous mix of S, M, and L ear tips in silicone and foam, and a 6.5mm jack adapter are neatly stashed away in the provided case.
CTM’s packaged inclusions provide the user with the necessities for immediate, out-of-the-box usage for studio engineers, musicians and audio enthusiasts alike.
Design, Comfort, and Durability.
The CE320’s chassis is fabricated from clear plastic (for the clear option) and translucent grey (for the smoke option). Users can see the internal cross-over between the 3-balanced armatures, conveniently situated near the spout of each channel. From my subjective POV, I appreciate the unobstructed view of its inner workings and unassuming aesthetics.
Their mid-length spouts are machined from an attached piece of anodised aluminium for heightened resistance to wear and tear, each equipped with fine meshes to prevent earwax buildup from obstructing their sound paths. Each channel receives a 2-pin connection, and the supplied dual-braid SPC earphone cables are terminated in an unbalanced 3.5mm right-angled connector.
Comfort-wise, the CE320’s silhouette bears resemblance to Shure’s signature SE215, with soft contours, free from blemishes or sharp edges. As expected, the CE320 sits comfortably in my ears during long-listening sessions without any modicum of discomfort. Moreover, their spouts are adequately sized for my ears, and their ultra-lightweight polycarbonate shells are hardly noticed in everyday usage.
Their included cables retain little-to-no memory save for the preformed heat shrink at their 2-pin ends. Its pre-contoured ends sit comfortably behind the helix of each ear, placing negligible pressure on them. More importantly, the cables are exceptionally soft and supple, making them simple to coil and store in the provided case.
Passive isolation is near-perfect. By being an exclusive balanced armature IEM, there are no pin-hole-sized vents on the CE320’s chassis. Extraneous ambient noise from my daily commute on public transport is barely perceptible, requiring a marginal increase in volume from my Colourfly CDA-M1 DAC/Amp.
However, polycarbonate is a soft material susceptible to hairline scratches or cracks. To its detriment, the CE320’s material of choice does not instil great confidence in its expected longevity. Despite their studio engineering moniker, I would not recommend being too rough with the CE320s. But what it lacks in heft, it makes up for long-lasting comfort.
Onto the next page for details on sound…
