Upcoming Hifiman IEM's: RE-400 and RE-600 - Page 27

My experience with RE-400 is too short to say, however with RE-272 and RE-ZERO latter series it seems there's nothing you can do. The cable itself does not crack, but it presupposes the cable to break at the end of the strain relief. This had happened with my first pair of RE-272. RE-ZERO look "bent" at this point too. Not to mention the resulting springiness makes the cable hard to coil.

More on topic: Ok, these have bit more low bass than RE-ZERO and actually hit exactly as hard. Leckerton really exposed the bass potential of these while having more refined treble and causing these to control their highs reverberation a bit or smooth out some highest end peak or improve the extension. Not that they sound bad without amping.
Audiotrak Prodigy Cube does not have the same effect on highs, but has something similar with bass. The highs are definitely more refined with the higher end amp.

The only thing these lack is the amount of air that was in RE0. Perhaps a trivial tweak such as removal of the paper filter will fix it. If RE-600 will be any better at this... well...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heartsmart 

Maby this is of topic, but I wonder what happens when the cable gets hard around the ear on some Hifiman IEM s. Does it crack? If so, is it anything I can do to avoid that to happen?

Personally, I've never had that happen with any of my HiFiMan IEMs. My RE0, RE-ZERO and RE-262 are all perfectly fine to this day, having had them for almost 2 years (RE-ZERO, RE-262) and nearly 3 years (RE0).

Different skin oils most likely. The cables do not get as hard as some other ones I had (Ultimate Ears, Sleek Audio), but still they don't remain supple. Funny thing is, Westone cables and Brainwavz B2 cables don't have this issue at all.

Hey guys! How does the RE400 compare to the JVC HA-FX700 or the Audio Technica CK10? I am close to purchasing these. Love the price point. 

Also will Joker be reviewing these anytime soon? Interested to see his point of view on them after reading his reviews on prior HiFiman sets.

Thanks in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heartsmart 

I only had my 262 a couple of month before the cable got hard behind the ears. I really love the sound of the 262 and dont want them to broke. Especially as they now is out of produktion. It feel like the cable will crack easily.

Do you know anyone with the same problem who had the hard cable for a long time without the cable crack? Maby I worry without reason?

I've had the RE-ZERO for a little more than a year now, and symptoms of cable-hardening showed up within the first 3-4 months. I always shower before using IEMs/headphones and never work out or run with them, so I don't understand how sweat could've affected them. But yea, it's been ~10 months now since the cable hardened and I don't think they'll crack. However, the strain relief is starting to loosen 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heartsmart 

Ok, thank you for your input

Sure thing 

Oh also, if I try to ease/straighten the cable, it slowly softens before hardening again - so I'm not worried they'll crack. Concerning the loose strain relief, it was already slightly loose when I first bought it, so it's only natural this will happen. I've owned the RE-262 for a short while and I believe its strain reliefs are much sturdier than my RE-ZERO's.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/651419/hifiman-re-400-review

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/651419/hifiman-re-400-review

Thanks for the review. I must say, I definitely don't understand the logic of creating multiple threads devoted to an exact same model.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktan3142 

I've had the RE-ZERO for a little more than a year now, and symptoms of cable-hardening showed up within the first 3-4 months. I always shower before using IEMs/headphones and never work out or run with them, so I don't understand how sweat could've affected them.

So it's very likely heat then and whatever the sheath the cable uses had cured.

I do agree that these are way better than RE-272. Better than RE-ZERO as well. However, the only balanced sounding configuration is the shallow fit with the huge tips. It's only somewhat stable.

The only tiny issues are the small bit of high frequency grain - sounds kinda crunchy, so it's probably around 4kHz. Much less annoying than the GR07's ringing though.

Of course if you hate plate reverb, you probably should avoid all kinds of metal IEMs. The RE-400 have it at high frequencies - sounds very similar to a medium size room.

marketing tactics , imho - besides if something sells you don't discontinue it 1 year after it's been released

also, if they were better than 262/272 they would sell for at least 200$ and not 100$

mr fang may be a terrific iem maker but he is no filanthropist - in any way he should say what he thinks will maximize his selling possibilities

i haven't heard them though , but atm i am very happy with the 272 and i won't shell another 100$ for the re-400

and like i said , if the re-400 > re-272 , they wouldn't sell for 100$....

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by supracrazy_tommy 

Hmm some reviews on here say that the re-272 is better than the re-400. That's funny because even the CEO of hifiman, Fang mentioned in an interview that these should be superior to the re-262 and re-272. That is the reason he decided to discontinue them. I have the RE-0 and I was considering the re-400 but the reviews are a bit mixed .

Quote:

Originally Posted by proedros 

marketing tactics , imho - besides if something sells you don't discontinue it 1 year after it's been released

 

also, if they were better than 262/272 they would sell for at least 200$ and not 100$

 

mr fang may be a terrific iem maker but he is no filanthropist - in any way he should say what he thinks will maximize his selling possibilities

i haven't heard them though , but atm i am very happy with the 272 and i won't shell another 100$ for the re-400

and like i said , if the re-400 > re-272 , they wouldn't sell for 100$....

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by supracrazy_tommy 

Hmm some reviews on here say that the re-272 is better than the re-400. That's funny because even the CEO of hifiman, Fang mentioned in an interview that these should be superior to the re-262 and re-272. That is the reason he decided to discontinue them. I have the RE-0 and I was considering the re-400 but the reviews are a bit mixed .

I'm sure no one is losing money on any of these transactions, but the IEM market seems to have changed a bit over the past year. There are very tolerable sets for under $10, decent sets for under $50, and I think expectations are shifting regarding what a $100 or $200 IEM should sound like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootsit 

I'm sure no one is losing money on any of these transactions, but the IEM market seems to have changed a bit over the past year. There are very tolerable sets for under $10, decent sets for under $50, and I think expectations are shifting regarding what a $100 or $200 IEM should sound like.

My thoughts exactly.

HiFiMan's fame came from their ability to deliver top tier performance at mid tier prices, right? Maybe they're still trying to push that envelope.

I haven't compared them directly with the RE-262's yet but I'd say these are easily better than the RE0 and ZERO.