I first heard these headphones at the recent NJ meet. They were paired with the HiFiMan portable music player and thought the combo sounded amazing. Near the end of the meet, I asked Fang (Nankai on the forums and owner of head-direct) if I could borrow the prototype pair. He agreed and here we are.
I gave these a long listen since I recently came back from a vacation requiring two 9 hour train trips. I mostly listened through the ipod 5G headphone out but tried them with an ipod/XP amp combo as well as straight out of my Lenovo's headphone out. I did not try them will my full size rig (Accuphase DP-500, M^3 with STEPS) because it did not seem reasonable that they will ever be used that way.
The RE252 has a very different structure then most IEMs, mostly due to the little rubber part sticking out of the casing. This seems to me to stabilize the IEM in your ear, making it less likely for it to fall out or move around. After 3+ hours of it in your ear, it does hurt slightly but Fang has reassured me that in the newer models, a softer silicone will be used to reduce that sort of pain.
The RE252 has a very balanced sound. The bass sounds full without being boomy, the mid range is clear and the treble is soft. Overall the sound signature reminds me of my Audio Technica ESW9. The soft treble reduces sibilance but loses extension.This is unlike the RE-01 where the treble was basically gone. The bass is full and authoritative, unlike the RE-02 which has wimpy bass.
Overall, I'm not completely sure how much this will cost, but it competes pretty well with most IEMs that I've heard.
UPDATE:
I got the RE-0 for comparison and man are the RE-0s some nice IEMs. The RE-0 seems more neutral and toned back then the re-252 without losing detail. One part where the re-252 is not matched is the soundstage. The re-0 has much smaller soundstage and it is very apparent right away.
The main differences ins sound come down to the tonality. The re-252 is more fun sounding while the re-0 is more subdued. Depending on what genre you listen to most, you might prefer one over the other. Right now, I'm leaning toward the 252 due to better fit and more engaging sound with rock.
I gave these a long listen since I recently came back from a vacation requiring two 9 hour train trips. I mostly listened through the ipod 5G headphone out but tried them with an ipod/XP amp combo as well as straight out of my Lenovo's headphone out. I did not try them will my full size rig (Accuphase DP-500, M^3 with STEPS) because it did not seem reasonable that they will ever be used that way.
The RE252 has a very different structure then most IEMs, mostly due to the little rubber part sticking out of the casing. This seems to me to stabilize the IEM in your ear, making it less likely for it to fall out or move around. After 3+ hours of it in your ear, it does hurt slightly but Fang has reassured me that in the newer models, a softer silicone will be used to reduce that sort of pain.
Headphone in ear
The RE252 has a very balanced sound. The bass sounds full without being boomy, the mid range is clear and the treble is soft. Overall the sound signature reminds me of my Audio Technica ESW9. The soft treble reduces sibilance but loses extension.This is unlike the RE-01 where the treble was basically gone. The bass is full and authoritative, unlike the RE-02 which has wimpy bass.
Overall, I'm not completely sure how much this will cost, but it competes pretty well with most IEMs that I've heard.
UPDATE:
I got the RE-0 for comparison and man are the RE-0s some nice IEMs. The RE-0 seems more neutral and toned back then the re-252 without losing detail. One part where the re-252 is not matched is the soundstage. The re-0 has much smaller soundstage and it is very apparent right away.
The main differences ins sound come down to the tonality. The re-252 is more fun sounding while the re-0 is more subdued. Depending on what genre you listen to most, you might prefer one over the other. Right now, I'm leaning toward the 252 due to better fit and more engaging sound with rock.
It fits me very well and the pain is the same pain I get with most IEMs if I have them in my ears for an extended amount of time
