hi guys,
I am getting the AI-M9 and the RE-2 for around the same price (5$ difference here in India).
I listen via unamped Zune 30GB (first rev), Nokia N95 or my computer.
My music is mainly trance with a bit of jazz (and Yo Yo Ma) thrown in - all in FLAC.

Which of these do you recommend I should get ?

thanks!

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The Ai-M9. You can read the review in my sig for details, but basically the RE2 will not have the impact you're looking for for trance. The M9 aren't perfect, but they do quite well with trance/techno, among other things. Plus, they will sound nice and airy with Jazz, esp. live recordings.

thanks for replying...

Checking out your review thread, I find that AI-M9 gets rated very poorly for build quality.

How would you rate RE-2's build *as compared to* AI-M9. Since I'm not in the US, warranty exchange would be quite painful for me - and that's keeping me from picking up the AI-M9

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Supposedly, the Ai-M9 was set to receive a build makeover just like the Ai-M6. It was the last one Meelec did, so the pics on the site are not updated. If I were you, I'd shoot them an email and ask if the M9's they're shipping now come with the new (clear) cabling or not.

TBH the RE2s' build isn't stellar either and I've had a much better time with meelec's customer service than head-direct's. That said, my RE2s (the old, pre-sale version) lasted for a year and a half and were still going strong when I sold them. The M9's.... well... you read the thread.

Again, if they updated the M9 to the new cabling, I would feel much safer about buying them.

It depends whether you want a bassier, warmer sound signature, or a detailed, analytical sound signature. The M9 is the former and the RE2 is the latter. Both are great earphones, in their own right. I prefer the M9 currently since I love a fun sounding earphone, but I love both.


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Whoa, whoa. Hold on a second there. Head-Direct's customer service is consistently rated as one of the best, if not the best of any earphone manufacturer and seller. Though I personally haven't used the service (since the build quality is pretty good), I've heard many amazing things about Head-Direct's CS.

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You obviously haven't tried Meelec's cs. The turnaround time is amazing and they're very accommodating. I've had a hard time getting timely responses from head-direct - turn around time is usually 2-3 days. Both are good and get the job done, just saying Meelec is easier to deal with.

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No, I can't say I have. However, there seem to be somewhat mixed results with their CS.

Also, I'd rather have a well-built product and not have to go through CS.