Upcoming Hifiman IEM's: RE-400 and RE-600 - Page 34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deni5 

 

 

Joker's review is probably coming any day soon. I guess 8+ (high 8 something) and would not be very surprised if it received a 9 (low 9).

 They're better than the FXT90 (8.9) but behind the RE-262.  9 would be reasonable.

Depends on how you look at it. Many IEM's do treble and mids very good but discard bass. Many can do bass and mids very good but discard treble. It is really hard finding the right balance with bass / mids / treble. For me all parts have to work somewhat well. And some of the 9+ IEM's I've tried don't imo.
 

That makes sense. Other than large sound stage what is Re-400 missing?
 

Can any RE-400 owners compare it to the GR07 MkII? In terms of neutrality, detail retrieval, instrument separation and end-to-end extension (both bass and treble extension are important to me).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techno Kid 

I'm really looking forward to hearing them as they might be the best $100 and under IEM you can get.  Your 7.5 rating and 5/5 sonic diamond is high praise though I don't expect them to sound as good as my e-Q5 because I think the e-Q5 sounds every bit as good as the SM3 V2 and is why I sold them which helped me get the RE and HE 400.

It a toss-up for me between e-Q5 and RE400. For overall presentation, I think I might prefer e-Q5 just a little more, but there are still things that are done better on RE-400.

And if we threw in the GR07 MkII into the competition? Sorry, I can't resist. 

GR07 is so worse enough than RE-400 it's not even a contest. Unless you like sibilant and "hot" treble, that is, or perhaps a bass boost. It is also not as extended in the highs or the bass. Timbre is a little dry/grainy and plasticky at times. Soundstage is nowhere near as 3D.

They have two things going for them: isolation and cable.

Also mind you, supposedly the parent company of VSonic has tanked, so there might be no more of their fine IEMs.

Ow, interesting information about the parent company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstralStorm 

GR07 is so worse enough than RE-400 it's not even a contest. Unless you like sibilant and "hot" treble, that is, or perhaps a bass boost. It is also not as extended in the highs or the bass. Timbre is a little dry/grainy and plasticky at times. Soundstage is nowhere near as 3D.

They have two things going for them: isolation and cable.

 

I beg to differ. One might prefer one over the other, but GR07 MK2 still able to stand up to RE-400 easily IMO.

That's just untrue. I don't know where you get those random info from but VSONIC doesn't even have a parent company and therefore it can't be 'tanked'. In fact, they just set up the new Singapore division to handle international sale like 2 months ago.

Thanks ClieOS. I apologise if I've asked you this before (I think I'm losing track of information, in this huge hurry I'm in to order in time for a friend to bring them down for me), but how would you compare the RE-400 and GR07, in neutrality of frequency response, extension, detail retrieval and also instrument separation? 

The GR07 MkII and RE-400 are pretty much tied in my eyes at the moment, I'm just looking to do the best I can under 200 dollars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS 

 

I beg to differ. One might prefer one over the other, but GR07 MK2 still able to stand up to RE-400 easily IMO.

 

 

 

That's just untrue. I don't know where you get those random info from but VSONIC doesn't even have a parent company and therefore it can't be 'tanked'. In fact, they just set up the new Singapore division to handle international sale like 2 months ago.

Haven't heard GR07 MkII but looking at Rin's measurements they look very similar in signature. GR07 MkII seems to have more treble in the upper region and bass.

More bass can sometimes be a problem if you require more detail as it can mask finedetails (you will have too much attention on the bass). There is fine line between too much and too little bass. Also distortion values seem better on the RE-400 - it will sound cleaner. There are mod capabilities with RE-400 that can change the sound.

But really why not buy the both of them? You surely won't go that far past your budget. Then you can decide which fits your criteria the best and sell the one you don't like. In the end you are still the winner. Taste is personal.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielKRego 

Thanks ClieOS. I apologise if I've asked you this before (I think I'm losing track of information, in this huge hurry I'm in to order in time for a friend to bring them down for me), but how would you compare the RE-400 and GR07, in neutrality of frequency response, extension, detail retrieval and also instrument separation? 

 

The GR07 MkII and RE-400 are pretty much tied in my eyes at the moment, I'm just looking to do the best I can under 200 dollars.

 

The lower end performance (quantity and quality wise) are similar between the two. The mid stands out more on RE400, more forwarded and textured. Up to mid range, RE-400 sounds more linear though GR07 MK2 isn't to far behind. Once pass the mid, especially on the lower treble, GR07 MK2 sounds more linear and extended. I do agree with AstralStorm that RE-400 has a more 3D like soundstage, but it is also more close-in. GR07 MK2 soundstage is less 3D like, but better expended in width. To me, GR07 MK2 is more neutral FR wise with better end-to-end linearity / extension. RE-400 is better at bass / mid detail while GR07 MK2 is better at treble detail. GR07 MK2 is slightly bright, but I personally don't find it to be on the level of being really hot (* a description I think better fit on many FAD models). RE-400 on the other hand has a slightly dampened treble. Neither is perfect in this case. I personally will rate GR07 MK2 just a little ahead of of RE-400, but the difference in performance isn't big enough to call out a clean winner between them without really consider what aspect of the sound is more important to the listener.

Now that the GR07 MkII has dropped to 139 USD (!!!) from LendMeUrEars, this may not be such a far-out option. It's still a somewhat unjustified expense for me personally though, especially since I have a lot of other things to buy (like a bicycle to get some exercise - the life of a musician in this day and age is primarily a sedentary one). Also, the two IEMs seem to be quite close overall in qualities and sound signature, so I think I'd end up feeling a bit wasteful. Still, I am very tempted to just snag both!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deni5 

Haven't heard GR07 MkII but looking at Rin's measurements they look very similar in signature. GR07 MkII seems to have more treble in the upper region and bass.

 

More bass can sometimes be a problem if you require more detail as it can mask finedetails (you will have too much attention on the bass). There is fine line between too much and too little bass. Also distortion values seem better on the RE-400 - it will sound cleaner. There are mod capabilities with RE-400 that can change the sound.

 

But really why not buy the both of them? You surely won't go that far past your budget. Then you can decide which fits your criteria the best and sell the one you don't like. In the end you are still the winner. Taste is personal.
 

Thank you ClieOS, that's the most detailed and in-depth answer I could have hoped for. I think I'll wait till the end of the day and then pull the trigger on either one of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS 

 

The lower end performance (quantity and quality wise) are similar between the two. The mid stands out more on RE400, more forwarded and textured. Up to mid range, RE-400 sounds more linear though GR07 MK2 isn't to far behind. Once pass the mid, especially on the lower treble, GR07 MK2 sounds more linear and extended. I do agree with AstralStorm that RE-400 has a more 3D like soundstage, but it is also more close-in. GR07 MK2 soundstage is less 3D like, but better expended in width. To me, GR07 MK2 is more neutral FR wise with better end-to-end linearity / extension. RE-400 is better at bass / mid detail while GR07 MK2 is better at treble detail. GR07 MK2 is slightly bright, but I personally don't find it to be on the level of being really hot (* a description I think better fit on many FAD models). RE-400 on the other hand has a slightly dampened treble. Neither is perfect in this case. I personally will rate GR07 MK2 just a little ahead of of RE-400, but the difference in performance isn't big enough to call out a clean winner between them without really consider what aspect of the sound is more important to the listener.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS 

 

The lower end performance (quantity and quality wise) are similar between the two. The mid stands out more on RE400, more forwarded and textured. Up to mid range, RE-400 sounds more linear though GR07 MK2 isn't to far behind. Once pass the mid, especially on the lower treble, GR07 MK2 sounds more linear and extended. I do agree with AstralStorm that RE-400 has a more 3D like soundstage, but it is also more close-in. GR07 MK2 soundstage is less 3D like, but better expended in width. To me, GR07 MK2 is more neutral FR wise with better end-to-end linearity / extension. RE-400 is better at bass / mid detail while GR07 MK2 is better at treble detail. GR07 MK2 is slightly bright, but I personally don't find it to be on the level of being really hot (* a description I think better fit on many FAD models). RE-400 on the other hand has a slightly dampened treble. Neither is perfect in this case. I personally will rate GR07 MK2 just a little ahead of of RE-400, but the difference in performance isn't big enough to call out a clean winner between them without really consider what aspect of the sound is more important to the listener.

is the lower end performance really similar? from other things i've read, it made it seem like the bass was significantly less than the gr07's. if that's the case, i might be more interested than previously thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisedbywolves 

is the lower end performance really similar? from other things i've read, it made it seem like the bass was significantly less than the gr07's. if that's the case, i might be more interested than previously thought.

The reason why RE-400 might be perceived as having less bass than GR07 MK2 has nothing to do with the actual quality / quality of the bass. It has more to do with the relative quantity between bass and mid. Because RE-400 has more mid, the bass seem lesser ratio wise. GR07 MK2 has lesser mid, so bass is more pronounced. But if you ignore the mid on both, the bass quantity and quality between the two are not the big of a difference.