keanex
Keeper of The All-New Headphone Buyer's Guide
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- Feb 17, 2010
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Before I start this review I would like to thank Comply for giving me and a few others the opportunity to review their foam tips free of charge, class act there! I am reviewing the Comply T400 foam tips for my HifiMan RE0. The line I'm running this through is as such: iPod Classic 160gb -> FiiO L3 LOD -> FiiO E7 ->RE0. When the opportunity popped up I jumped on it. I have always had a deep love and hate of the RE0 for a few reasons and I had been thinking of trying Comply tips to see if they solved any of the issues I've had. Now it's time for the review.
Packaging:
The T400 come in a sturdy cardboard packaging wrapped in bubble wrap. The packaging includes a sample of the material used for the tips and I must say I believe that it feels amazingly comfortable to touch. On the back of the packaging is a rather large list of compatible IEMs. Once opened the package includes 3 sizes of foam tips. No frills, but it works. Everything looks rather classy and I give Comply some credit for keeping it minimalistic, in a good way.
Quality and Comfort:
The tips feel very comfortable to the touch and look like they'll hold up without any problems. One thing that saddens me though is that these aren't the kind with wax guards. I don't find wax guards necessary, but it definitely would have given me some more piece of mind.
Putting the new tips on was a bit awkward because you need to squish the memory foam which creates an odd shape when placing them in your ears, but instantly I noticed better comfort and isolation than the standard silicon mushroom tips included with the RE0. Comfort was a rather big problem I had with the RE0 so I'm glad that these fix one major problem holding me back from liking them. In-fact these tips just saved me $100+ dollars as they've turned my RE0 into the bassier headphone I was considering buying to compliment my Ad900.
Sound:
Now to the sound part, which is what I was most interested in. The thing I hated most about the RE0 was that they were entirely too analytical sounding. The lack of bass caused me to be distanced from the music, often putting me in a position of observing the music, rather than being a part of it.
Alanis Moressette - You Oughta Know
I chose this song because of the excellent blend of bass highs and mids, but I mostly chose this because with my standard RE0 tips this song just didn't have the umph from the kick drum, as well as the funky bassline was recessed. On first listen I'm not impressed at all. The sound now seems more muffled. The bass is improved, but too much. It's now slightly overpowering the mids and it seems a little bloated compared to the anemic bass I felt before. The mids seem recessed a bit, a bit distant compared to normal. The highs are still rather good, but possibly a tad too bright now. If I can liken this to anything, it reminds me of a slightly more bass oriented Denon D1001, which I wasn't expecting.
I shouldn't say that I dislike the change because that's unfair rather my ears aren't particularly accustomed to this sound yet.
Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies...
I chose this song because of it's lush production utilizing a prominent bassline, a wide range of instruments, and vocal prominence. It basically hits all marks. The first thing that disappointed me was that the song seems to have lost a lot of it's sparkle. I can still hear everything clear, but again everything seems a bit muffled. The highs are there, the mids are still there, though slightly recessed, and the lows are more prominent than ever, but everything seems veiled. The strings are what disappoint me most, they just don't have the prominence they once did, which changes the musical context of this song as the strings are highly important.
Herbie Hancock - Chameleon
This song was chosen due to it's incredibly funky bassline and excellent texture layering throughout the song. Unlike the past two songs, I'm actually getting chills listening to this. I'm hearing parts in the mid-range I've never heard before. The guitar riffs that are way in the background, also in the mid range, are brought up more than I recall, in a good way though. The bass isn't overpowering at all, it's perfectly in-line, as are the mids and highs. The hi-hat and cymbals are quite clear. Nothing seems overpowered or recessed. I don't think I'll ever listen to Herbie without the RE0+T400 again honestly. This is a whole new level of happiness.
Clipse - Grindin'
I felt the need to add some hip-hop into this to try to hit every genre. This song has a heavy kick drum rhythm and surprisingly it is not overbearing. The mids are not recessed at all, which is good because hip-hop vocals are as important as the bass. I'm liking these for this song.
Radiohead - All I Need
I chose Radiohead because I couldn't think of a better example of texture layering in music. They are huge on small unnoticeable sound effects throughout songs. This song also has heavy bass with some great highs at the end, while having a very important mid range. I expected the bass to overpower or sound bloated with the mids being recessed like the first two songs. Boy was I wrong. This song shines with these tips. The important part is the end though, when the piano and sound effects really come in. Sadly it doesn't completely give me the sound I wanted. I don't feel enveloped like I had hoped, but everything does sound very good.
Sara Bareilles - Come Round Soon
I chose this song on almost purely a vocal level. I had low expectations as I expected recessed mids. I was wrong, the mids, more particularly her voice, sound astounding. Sadly the other instruments sound a little muffled, but holy heck her voice sounds great. The big part of this song is the note she hits and holds and boy does it sound fantastic. The purely acoustic piano parts did sound very clear for what it's worth.
Overall:
As I said in one of my song reviews the Comply T400 tips gave me a very reminiscent feeling of listening to a slightly bass heavier Denon D1001. At times these tips made songs shine and other times I felt like things sounded a bit off. The comfort is definitely a step up, there is no doubt here. Would I recommend these for RE0 users? 100% if you want better bass or comfort. I don't think they are for everyone though, as I said some songs definitely sounded a bit off compared to what I was used to, but that may be likened to me still needing to accustom myself to the sound. I can't believe the amount of change in sound though from these, they've turned my RE0 from a rather flat headphone with a bass drop off, to a rather V shaped sounding headphone.
These headphones STILL sound great with acoustic stuff though, in-fact Norwegian Wood I just listened to was as clear as ever. I think that if you have the money and wanted to change the sound of your RE0, this would be the best way to do it. These are different monsters now that I am actually liking much more than I ever have.
Packaging:
The T400 come in a sturdy cardboard packaging wrapped in bubble wrap. The packaging includes a sample of the material used for the tips and I must say I believe that it feels amazingly comfortable to touch. On the back of the packaging is a rather large list of compatible IEMs. Once opened the package includes 3 sizes of foam tips. No frills, but it works. Everything looks rather classy and I give Comply some credit for keeping it minimalistic, in a good way.
Quality and Comfort:
The tips feel very comfortable to the touch and look like they'll hold up without any problems. One thing that saddens me though is that these aren't the kind with wax guards. I don't find wax guards necessary, but it definitely would have given me some more piece of mind.
Putting the new tips on was a bit awkward because you need to squish the memory foam which creates an odd shape when placing them in your ears, but instantly I noticed better comfort and isolation than the standard silicon mushroom tips included with the RE0. Comfort was a rather big problem I had with the RE0 so I'm glad that these fix one major problem holding me back from liking them. In-fact these tips just saved me $100+ dollars as they've turned my RE0 into the bassier headphone I was considering buying to compliment my Ad900.
Sound:
Now to the sound part, which is what I was most interested in. The thing I hated most about the RE0 was that they were entirely too analytical sounding. The lack of bass caused me to be distanced from the music, often putting me in a position of observing the music, rather than being a part of it.
Alanis Moressette - You Oughta Know
I chose this song because of the excellent blend of bass highs and mids, but I mostly chose this because with my standard RE0 tips this song just didn't have the umph from the kick drum, as well as the funky bassline was recessed. On first listen I'm not impressed at all. The sound now seems more muffled. The bass is improved, but too much. It's now slightly overpowering the mids and it seems a little bloated compared to the anemic bass I felt before. The mids seem recessed a bit, a bit distant compared to normal. The highs are still rather good, but possibly a tad too bright now. If I can liken this to anything, it reminds me of a slightly more bass oriented Denon D1001, which I wasn't expecting.
I shouldn't say that I dislike the change because that's unfair rather my ears aren't particularly accustomed to this sound yet.
Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies...
I chose this song because of it's lush production utilizing a prominent bassline, a wide range of instruments, and vocal prominence. It basically hits all marks. The first thing that disappointed me was that the song seems to have lost a lot of it's sparkle. I can still hear everything clear, but again everything seems a bit muffled. The highs are there, the mids are still there, though slightly recessed, and the lows are more prominent than ever, but everything seems veiled. The strings are what disappoint me most, they just don't have the prominence they once did, which changes the musical context of this song as the strings are highly important.
Herbie Hancock - Chameleon
This song was chosen due to it's incredibly funky bassline and excellent texture layering throughout the song. Unlike the past two songs, I'm actually getting chills listening to this. I'm hearing parts in the mid-range I've never heard before. The guitar riffs that are way in the background, also in the mid range, are brought up more than I recall, in a good way though. The bass isn't overpowering at all, it's perfectly in-line, as are the mids and highs. The hi-hat and cymbals are quite clear. Nothing seems overpowered or recessed. I don't think I'll ever listen to Herbie without the RE0+T400 again honestly. This is a whole new level of happiness.
Clipse - Grindin'
I felt the need to add some hip-hop into this to try to hit every genre. This song has a heavy kick drum rhythm and surprisingly it is not overbearing. The mids are not recessed at all, which is good because hip-hop vocals are as important as the bass. I'm liking these for this song.
Radiohead - All I Need
I chose Radiohead because I couldn't think of a better example of texture layering in music. They are huge on small unnoticeable sound effects throughout songs. This song also has heavy bass with some great highs at the end, while having a very important mid range. I expected the bass to overpower or sound bloated with the mids being recessed like the first two songs. Boy was I wrong. This song shines with these tips. The important part is the end though, when the piano and sound effects really come in. Sadly it doesn't completely give me the sound I wanted. I don't feel enveloped like I had hoped, but everything does sound very good.
Sara Bareilles - Come Round Soon
I chose this song on almost purely a vocal level. I had low expectations as I expected recessed mids. I was wrong, the mids, more particularly her voice, sound astounding. Sadly the other instruments sound a little muffled, but holy heck her voice sounds great. The big part of this song is the note she hits and holds and boy does it sound fantastic. The purely acoustic piano parts did sound very clear for what it's worth.
Overall:
As I said in one of my song reviews the Comply T400 tips gave me a very reminiscent feeling of listening to a slightly bass heavier Denon D1001. At times these tips made songs shine and other times I felt like things sounded a bit off. The comfort is definitely a step up, there is no doubt here. Would I recommend these for RE0 users? 100% if you want better bass or comfort. I don't think they are for everyone though, as I said some songs definitely sounded a bit off compared to what I was used to, but that may be likened to me still needing to accustom myself to the sound. I can't believe the amount of change in sound though from these, they've turned my RE0 from a rather flat headphone with a bass drop off, to a rather V shaped sounding headphone.
These headphones STILL sound great with acoustic stuff though, in-fact Norwegian Wood I just listened to was as clear as ever. I think that if you have the money and wanted to change the sound of your RE0, this would be the best way to do it. These are different monsters now that I am actually liking much more than I ever have.
