HifiMan RE3 Canalphones Review

[Ubijza]

I was REALLY looking forward to these, but- what is the point in IEM with little isolation?

So many companies seem to miss this trick! Current portable audio zeitgeist is all about people on the go, those who listen to music while commuting, traveling etc. Not ones seating in an armchair in a quiet room. I have only chosen my Westone UM3x IEMs over their competition because of the isolation they provide. Ridiculously overpriced American IEMs have VERY little competition purely because nobody else seems grasped their major selling characteristic - great sound + GREAT ISOLATION.

The "great sound" tick can be put on quite few portable phones (RE0, RE3, OK1, PK1, IE8, etc), but!!!!!the "great isolation" tick- missing, missing, missing

To compete with Americans, Head Direct needs to address this. In their next IEM, unfortunately

[insomniax]

we agree to disagree.

I believe it still boils down to a matter of preference.
Some people would rather hold conversations with their IEMs still in (albeit impolite). Others hate the feeling of being run over by a speeding truck when they're having out of this world isolation. And there are some who agree that while an open-design IEM offers poorer isolation, it gives improved lateral soundstage width(by impression at least).

Of course there are others like yourself who prefer watching the world go by while the music's playing. All's well and good. Not that Head-Direct needs to do superb isolation to compete; just that they cater to different demographics and needs. Point being, IEMs with poorer isolation are not necessarily getting the short end of the stick.

[tstarn06]

To me, the isolation is not as bad as one might think. I wore them two days walking the dog on busy city streets, and no problems with iso. It's a non-issue to me, as they seem to isolate nearly as well, but not quite the same, as the Westones. Just one person's POV. Tony might feel otherwise. Certainly, they are more isolating than the IE7s/IE8s were for me (I never dabbled in tip modding much), or most of the other canal phones I've owned, FWIW.

[antonyfirst]

As I already stated, I think isolation is more than fine when walking around. Not so anymore if your main use involves noisy public transports: for example, here many train are still the "old" style, without air conditioners, and in summer, to refresh the environment, all "windows" of the train are kept open. You can imagine how noisy it is: enough to swallow any lower frequencies in them music. This is a non-issue when using the newer trains, which use conditioned air, or during winter since train windows would be closed. So it all boils down to what environments one would have to use these in, not just personal preference.

Btw Tom, how is the sound of your RE3 shaping?

[antonyfirst]

So, some news: the sound to me isn't changing anymore. Playing around with the cable, I decided that it can be "looped" over the ear, in order to have it more firm, and not to need the shirt clip anymore.

[tstarn06]

Shaping up nicely, but to me, they could use a little more bass kick, so I EQ them a very small amount (on the Sony, Clip or Touch) and that's all they need. I know some prefer no EQ, but to me, it's not a big deal using it. I am burning them in right now, so they are at about 20 hours, should be enough.

I will write up a review, but hard to top what you've said already. I'll represent the "everyman" perspective, which means the non-audiophile POV. On balance, I really do like them a lot, but I don't mind the form at all, so no need for over the ear in my case. And they are very easy to remove/replace, which I like too.

Agree on iso. For plane engines and loud trains, I know what you mean. But in normal noise conditions, they are more than enough.

[pyrokid]

I'm quite happy to say that I'm not interested in these at all. They look great and all, but My RE0s are all I'll be needing for a long time. (I just have to decide whether or not to buy a back-up pair now, because this price is amazing.)
Hopefully by the time I do feel the need to upgrade, these will also be on sale.

[Keithpgdrb]

Got to listen to the re3 at a meet yesterday. I'll be keeping my re0. The new design does not allow me to get a good seal, and that's what all the re series cans require. If they rerelease it in the typical re design, I'll give it another shot. But from what I heard at the meet, the re0 is the can to beat. It's A shame Shure chose not to come to the meet. They missed a great opportunity.

[tstarn06]

Can't comment on the RE0, never owned it. Tony, any comments on the fit issue and the RE0 vs. the RE3 SQ. Stands to reason that if you can't get a good fit, the RE3 will not sound better than the RE0 (figuring you do get a good fit wit it).

I am still trying out the RE3 in terms of fit, and will report on it soon. As far as SQ, it delivers a very detailed, positive listening experience, with, as Tony noted, a focus on mids, but not in a bad way at all.

[antonyfirst]

Well, to me, against and ideally combined best in IEM world, the RE0 showed its limits in three areas: the mids weren't as lively as I would like with rock and vocal-based music; the soundstage was pretty small, due to them being the first Head-Direct attempt to make a closed IEM; bass wasn't extended enough in the deep frequencies (midbass and upper bass, although light for some people, were very fine for me).
Treble was exceptionally extended and equally smooth.

The RE3 improves in bass extension and similar speed and definition; treble is as good as the RE0; soundstage doesn't leave anything to be missed. Midrange is not objectively better than the RE0, just very different and not still as natural as I'd want. The upper mids are peaky and make for stridency with older music. To even out that area you might want to lower volume and lose bass in noisy environments.

Neither is perfect but the RE3 has a minor quantity of shortcomings. If one can live with either presentation, it depends on music he listens to.
My ideal trade off would be a RE3 with more even upper mids, or an Apuresound Ety with more upper bass and lower midrange, or a Westone 3 with LESS upper bass and lower midrange, and so on. The way each earphone's suboptimal characteristics will sound to the listener needs to be experienced.

People not using pure lineouts can also use EQ to make the sound closer to their expectations: I obtained good results by using subctractive equalization with Westone 3, and the RE3 follows this rule.

Btw: I think that the RE3 is more resolved than Altec iM716, and that the very Altec doesn't approach ER4's in ability to scale with better sources.

[tstarn06]

Okay, since Tony has already pretty much summed up the RE3 pre-production experience, and done it in a much more audiophile style than I could hope to deliver, at the outset I have to say I agree with the majority of his observations.

Design-wise, the R3s is a sleek looking canal phone. However, I notice in Tony’s photos the arm extension, which is on the north side, is outside of his ear. At least it looks that way. When I wear them, I tuck the arm inside the upper part of my ear, and it provides a way to secure the phones (which is why it exists, of course). Just check the photo Fang posted on page one. That’s the good news, because of all the canal phones I have used, the RE3s are as easy to seat and unseat as it gets.

On the downside, while the extension arm is rubbery and soft, it does push against the ear, even if lightly, and with extended use, it creates a sort spot, much like an ear bud does to my ears (mainly because my ears are too small for buds when it comes to long-term wear).

So that’s an issue, albeit a minor one. The sore spot isn’t really obvious until you take the phones out, and you can feel it. For whatever reason, they don’t really hurt when in the ear.

As Tony noted, the final version is going to have a softer driver shell as well, but that’s not a problem for me, it’s the little arm thingie. I am almost tempted to remove it with a knife, since I am not sure I need it to secure the phones. Still thinking about that. Tony reported he now loops the wire over his ear, but not sure if that means the positioning of the arm extension is any different.

As for the cable, it’s a fabric, as Tony noted. I think the Klipsch Custom 3 also has a fabric cable, but that is from memory. It is very easy to untangle and not noisy at all, though I still use the included shirt clip (just a habit).

As far as tips, as I mentioned, as soon as the RE3s arrived, I took off the included medium silicones and replaced them with my favorite canal phone tip, the Sony hybrid (large). Not sure why, but the Sonys just seal perfectly for me. I use them on the ADDIEMs, and also used them on other canal phones I have own and sold or gave away. To me, there is no comparison.

Example: I tried all the standard silicone sizes that came with the RE3, as well as the biflanges (the smaller, not the gargantuan ones). None of the included tips worked. Anything but the large single flanges leaked and totally lost any bass response, even the biflanges. Also tried Comply foamies, but as Tony noted, they completely demolished the sparkle these phones can toss off. Muffled is the way to describe it.


The RE3 are very easy to drive on the Sony, Zune and Touch players, but the Clip seems to need nearly full volume. Since I normally have the T4 velcroed to the Clip, that’s no issue.

Sound quality
Tony’s email above, comparing the RE3 to the RE0, especially nails this phone’s sound signature. Midrange rules, for the most part. And as he says, certain instruments and vocals can be somewhat aggressive. Especially with poorly recorded, older tracks (rock mainly), harshness can rear its ugly head. However, on jazz, vocal and instrumental track, or any well-mastered/recorded tracks, the RE3s really shine.

(All those who absolutely refuse to use EQ, avert your eyes). Having said that, the RE3 respond extremely well to EQ. On the Sony A818, for example, you can bring down the mid frequencies for a tiny correction.

On the bottom end, IE8/ FX500 fans probably will not care for the RE3s. Much like the PFEs (though I think the RE3s are, on balance, a preferable phone), the RE3s deliver quality bass, articulated and extremely defined. But while Tony hears both quality and quantity, my ears felt there was some quantity problems. Again, a tick or two on the Sony Clear Bass EQ and most bass fans should be happy. It works for me.

I guess at this point, you can get the sense that I am a fan of the RE3, provided you use the right tip (for me, the Sony hybrid), and the right player. Sometimes, I think certain phones just don’t match up as well with certain players.

I do like the RE3s with the Touch, but because of the Touch’s limited EQ potential, not as much. Same with the Zune, which has no EQ potential. Not saying the RE3s sound bad with those players, but I just feel they need some EQ tweaking to perform at the max, and those players can’t deliver that option. Don’t get me wrong, I could live with the RE3 and any of those DAPs, but the added dimension of the more flexible Sony and Clip EQ is nice to have.

Treble is excellent, as is detail and instrument separation.

Again, as Tony and seem to I agree, sometimes an older track can come on and all of a sudden, the midrange can get a little harsh (he calls it honking). My EQ efforts seemed to have stunted that possibility, without negatively affecting the overall excellent sound the RE3 can pump out.

On a final note, I did some brief comparison with the Westone 3, and while I still favor the W3 as my everyday in-ear phone, the RE3 isn’t too far behind (and I still think the ADDIEMs are an amazing value as the third string). The Westone bass and treble really deliver a fine listening experience for me, and I expect it will only get better when I finally succumb and buy the UM56 sleeves.

As for pricing, etc., no doubt that will be available in the Head-Direct sponsor forum soon enough.

[antonyfirst]

Well, I did something to my tips in order to reach the seal perfectly with zero pain. I used some prolongments to the earphone nozzle. Nothing magical: for example, adding the plastic tube of UE foam tips to the RE3 nozzle, and then fitting biflanges to that plastic tube, adds more distance from the rubber arm and strain relief, minimizing any fit issues. It's a 2 seconds tweak.

Being crazy, I tried a more "balls to the wall" approach with a self made distancing tube, that projects the biflanges even farther, and the earphone "arms" don't even touch my ear. But I did this since my right ear canal is larger than the left one, due to some differences in shape, and the right biflange needed to be inserted further than the left one.

[MaoDi]

hmm weird to now it goes RE2, RE1, RE0, then RE3....what an awkward naming and rating system...

[antonyfirst]

If I had to bet, I'd say it went this way:
-there were Pk1, Pk2, Pk3
-then, there came Ok1, Ok2, Ok3

The the RE series entered with two models:
-RE1 and Re2. Only two were designed initially, and I guess the "1" head to mean it was the flagship model.
Then Fang designed the RE0 model, probably the most appreciated 'till that moment.
I guess he didn't find a good idea to start using negative numbers, so named the new flagship the RE3.

[tstarn06]

Maybe he should just rename them all, something like RE Bunny, RE Antelope, RE Jaguar and RE Tiger.