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Thinksound Rain, VB Shroom or Head Direct RE0

post #1 of 12
7/31/10 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 
So I've been looking at a number of different reviews for my jump into IEMs and I've narrowed it down to 3 choices. Rain, Shroom or RE0.

My current set of cans are ATH-M50. I love them to death but I wish the bass had a bit more oomph. Also I don't want to carry them around everywhere for the rest of the summer. (But they do make good ear muffs!) My only other point of reference are PX100s, which had pretty nice low end but lacked a nice soundstage and treble clarity.

Anywho, I'd like to get a little more feedback on the options before I jump in :)
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Thinksound Rain 9mm Wooden, Noise Isolating Headphone blk/choc
Thinksound Rain 9mm Wooden Headphone slvr/chry
HEAD-DIRECT RE0 In-ear Headphones
post #2 of 12
7/31/10 at 8:15am
If you want more bass quantity than the ath-m50 in an IEM, I don't think you'll like the RE0. I havn't heard either of the others, but going from ClieOS's review of the Hippo Shroom, he said they were better than the Hippo VB, still retaining lots of bass quantity, perhaps not as much quality.



IEMs present bass differently than headphones, and certainly speakers. You can feel speaker bass, and it refracts around the room and off everything then back to your ear... Which is why I think a headphone has to produce more bass to sound the same... And an IEM even more than that to sound like it has decent bass. I like bass light headphones and bass heavy IEMs. Perhaps it's just me though.



I would suggest you might also try upping the sub bass frequencies for your m50... Like 100 and below to see if that's the oomph you lack, or you can eq the entire bass range to get the right quantity. If you care more about punchy, tight, controlled bass that's one thing. If you want some quality your bass lacks that's another.
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post #3 of 12
7/31/10 at 8:34am
Thread Starter 



 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimloki View Post

If you want more bass quantity than the ath-m50 in an IEM, I don't think you'll like the RE0. I havn't heard either of the others, but going from ClieOS's review of the Hippo Shroom, he said they were better than the Hippo VB, still retaining lots of bass quantity, perhaps not as much quality.



IEMs present bass differently than headphones, and certainly speakers. You can feel speaker bass, and it refracts around the room and off everything then back to your ear... Which is why I think a headphone has to produce more bass to sound the same... And an IEM even more than that to sound like it has decent bass. I like bass light headphones and bass heavy IEMs. Perhaps it's just me though.



I would suggest you might also try upping the sub bass frequencies for your m50... Like 100 and below to see if that's the oomph you lack, or you can eq the entire bass range to get the right quantity. If you care more about punchy, tight, controlled bass that's one thing. If you want some quality your bass lacks that's another.


 



Overall I'd say clarity and good soundstage are the most important. I wouldn't say I'm a bass head, like I said, I do love my M50s especialy for their neutral character and excellent clarity. The bass is quite good on them, but I wouldn't mind a bit more, as my M50s are more for studio monitoring.

 

So something that's relatively crisp and clear, with a little bit extra on the low end.

I also read that you can adjust bass accordingly on the VBs. I also read Rains are a good competitor to the RE0. I heard that the bass can extend down on the RE0 as well.

 

I'm going to be using these phones mostly with 320kbps mp3s on my iPhone without amplification as well.


Edited by lifestream - 7/31/10 at 8:37am
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post #4 of 12
7/31/10 at 8:39am

The RE0 can EQ for better oomph, but not out of an iPhone. You'll need a player that can do a 6-10 dB bump in the frequencies below 60-100Hz.

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post #5 of 12
7/31/10 at 9:00am
Here's the out of context plagarized response DKFT gave on the subject of the hippo vb and re0.. On anythingbutipod.

"The difference between the two isn't anything as huge as you make them out to be.

The RE0 have more midbass hump and roll off in the deepest octave, the VB have plenty of deep bass with an astonishing lack of midbass bloat. The RE0 have slightly more refined treble than the VB, but not that much. Midrange and soundstage is about equal on both. Both are good phones for their price range, just a matter of preference."

I like DKFTs opinions on stuff. They seem well thought out and balanced with a kind of Austrian pragmatism. You may check out that whole thread. I personally rank mid bass bloat or humps as one of the highest evils in IEMs because I like lot of music with detail in the bass. People would flip if their beloved treble had a huge bulge in their frequency response. Do they care if my bass does? No. Treblists.
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post #6 of 12
7/31/10 at 10:25am
Thread Starter 

Could you send me a link to DFKTs thread? :)

 

Well if that's the case I'll just take a flyer on the VBs most likely, I'll just take a quicker look over DFKTs experience on it. I like an analytical sound, but I have my studio monitors for absolute neutral fidelity. I wouldn't mind a little bit more pop.


Edited by lifestream - 7/31/10 at 10:33am
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post #7 of 12
7/31/10 at 10:56am
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50629

that's the discussion. You can find DKFTs review of the Hippo VB on there if you try.
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post #8 of 12
8/1/10 at 3:10am

x2
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by semisight View Post

The RE0 can EQ for better oomph, but not out of an iPhone. You'll need a player that can do a 6-10 dB bump in the frequencies below 60-100Hz.

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post #9 of 12
8/5/10 at 10:03am

Even with the EQing, if you find m50s to lack oomph, the RE0s are going to feel as if there is no bass to be had whatsoever.  They are not a basshead phone by any stretch of the imagination.

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post #10 of 12
8/5/10 at 10:37am

Thats weird.. the only complaint Ive sometimes heard about the m50s bass was that it was too much, not the other way around.

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post #11 of 12
8/5/10 at 12:22pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dev Avidon View Post

Even with the EQing, if you find m50s to lack oomph, the RE0s are going to feel as if there is no bass to be had whatsoever.  They are not a basshead phone by any stretch of the imagination.


x2. If the M50 lacks oomph stay far away from all Head-DIrect earphones and also the regular Shroom (haven't tried the Shroom EB). Look at the FA Eterna, Hippo VB, Xears TD100, ViSang R03. Just not the RE0. I don't think it's anywhere as close to VB as dfkt makes it seem.

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post #12 of 12
8/5/10 at 1:33pm

I have the Rain and RE0.  They are pretty different sounding.  The Rain, once you plug the tiny port below the nozzle, is a very full, warm, fun, musical earphone that will get your head nodding and toe tapping.  The RE0 is very clean, detailed, even across the spectrum, but can almost sound clinical because without a good amp and some EQ, it just doesn't have as much musicality to it.  The Rain doesn't have quite the detail level of the RE0 (85-90%), but it is very engaging.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Thinksound Rain 9mm Wooden, Noise Isolating Headphone blk/choc
Thinksound Rain 9mm Wooden Headphone slvr/chry
HEAD-DIRECT RE0 In-ear Headphones
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