Yg carmel 2 owners

A5 vs Vantage would be more comparable

Maybe price wise, but not performance. The A5 is in another realm, and as time goes by,  I only realize it more. Typically I start to hear the issues and get restless, didn't happen yet. YMMV.

I am a Carmel 1 user who currently have the Carmel 2 on loan from the dealer in Singapore. The 2s are way above the 1s. The first thing I noticed was the clarity and details. I thought the 1s were excellent in imaging and separation but the 2s brought this strength to a new high. Background darkness is even darker and there is more bite and attack. Unfortunately for me, I listen to a lot of black and thrash metal and the 2s being more unforgiving, can't do it for me. Really heartbreaking for me but for most audiophiles, this would not be an issue

No surprise - the Carmel 2 is bright compared to the rest of the line. It wasn’t voiced right. 

It all depends on the amplifiers used.  We have heard them with Mola-Mola amps and our Class A tube amps.  The tube amps had deeper bass.  They are not bright sounding with the correct components.

Happy Listening.