The RE262 requires an amp.. to shine. Remember that before ditching the very DAP-friendly FXT. Also, my comparison between the two phones was primarily in the midrange, I didn't comment about any other areas of the frequency curves. Both phones are colored.. one more than the other.. but also colored differently. That's the primary reason why I plan on keeping both. They're different flavors & I can enjoy both. Just cause I praised the RE262's technicalities.. doesn't make it a more enjoyable phone.. if it was all about technicalities, the ER-4P/S would be the king of head-fi. Notice in my response to your RE262 impressions, I never once said the RE262 is a BETTER phone than the FXT? Why, cause that is a purely subjective opinion. We can argue technicalities all day long, but "different ears = different gears" at the end of the day.
The RE262 doesn't have nearly the bass punch or volume the FXT possesses. That's a very big point, IMO. The RE262's bass is deep and well textured, but it's impact is softer in nature.. limiting it's versatility with some more aggressive genres than demand a more visceral low end response. It doesn't have the grunt that a lot of popular music demands.. unlike the FXT.. which is very versatile. While the RE262 is technically superior in places, it's also a pickier phone genre-wise, IME. That just seems to come with the territory (i.e. like the HD800).
Like the GR07, I see the RE262 as being an excellent compliment to the FXT. While technically inferior in some places, it certainly doesn't lose to the RE262 is sheer listening enjoyment, which frankly is what matters most. The technical capabilities are a lot closer than you make it out to be, too. Both phones have beautiful midranges. In fact I'd put both on the same level as far as sheer enjoyment. As we get into the $150-200 phones, the technical differences, frankly, take a back seat to how cohesive sounding a phone is to me.. in many cases, you're pulling at straws to determine if this aspect of X phone is better than Y phone. It's much more about cohesion and personality, for me, in the mid-fi category.
As I've listened to more and more phones.. what I've come to appreciate is the overall tuning of a phone more than any specific technical achievement. I take a holistic approach to determining if I like a phone or not.. its about how well put together a phone is for me more than anything.
