[rawrster]

A big problem with the RE0 was that there wasn't really any sub bass regardless of volume. I think bass light isn't that bad of a description. I find neutral to have a bit more bass than what the RE0 had even while amped. I did listen to them on relatively low listening volumes as well and found them enjoyable.

 

[Andrew H]

Warm. Neutral. Or thin.
 
You only get to pick one. (Or rather, somewhere in between two of them, since they're all different points on the same continuum.)

 

[Scott549]

Caution -- my opinion only ...
 
I've read this board quite a bit and tried about 10-12 different IEMs.  I think the RE0 is the single most overrated IEM I've read about here and heard.  I found them to be way too thin sounding.  The low end is just too big a part of the whole sound spectrum to be missing entirely, and I think any good set of speakers, headphones or whatever has to have some sense of balance.  The Phonak PFE and Sleek SA6 were similar.  Not enough low end to provide adequate balance over the sound spectrum.
 
I'll give the 2nd place overrated award the Klipsch S4.  People were going nuts over them (although about 100 posts were by one person cheerleading for them); I found them to be unnaturally muddy and bass-heavy.

 

[patalp]

Quote:

Warm. Neutral. Or thin.
 
You only get to pick one. (Or rather, somewhere in between two of them, since they're all different points on the same continuum.)

I love reading those reviews where something has emphasized highs, warm tone, and is neutral to top it off.
 

 

[savenger]

Quote:

 

---

Two things I would like to mention, but not particularly to the OP and more of a general observation:
 
One, always read review with a grain of salt. Even where there are a great number of so called rave reviews, it doesn't mean a particular IEM will be what you are looking for. I have yet to see one IEM that can does-it-all - individual IEM is often valued for a particular set of strength more than anything else. A neutral and analytical IEM won't appeal to a musical listener, vise versa. Like I always tell others, you will be better off with something that fits your taste than something that is considered good by others.
 
Two, do remember that RE0 is a 2 years old model (and most of the reviews are fairly old too). Though I can't say in certainty what the actual number is, the majority (like > 85%) of all the very active IEM discussions in forum now are IEM that are less than 1 year old since released. The one thing I often find people lose track of when reading reviews is the perspective of time. Back when RE0 was first released, the three universal IEM top-tier were TF10, SE530, and ER4S. Now? The number is pretty much tripled, if not more. If you read back the old ER4S review in 2001 / 2002 when Head-fi was born, people actually were comparing ER4S to top-of-the-line full sized cans because that was the only IEM in the market at that time. How many people will still compare ER4S to full sized in their review these days? The point is, when you are reading a review, it is not just a person's opinion regarding a certain object, but really it is a person's perspective of that object in a particular time and space. If you ignore the perspective of any review, you will never be able to read any review correctly.

I mentioned that I bought the RE0's almost a year ago. I'm sure a lot of people can relate when I say that I generally don't spend my time reading headphone reviews unless I'm making a purchase, so I'll be the first to admit that I'm out of the loop with the current IEM market.
 
It's really not my intention to detract from the integrity of anyone who might've made a positive review about these in the past, but the fact that there's been a startling lack of diversity in opinion about these is hard to ignore. Almost all the information available is in the form of glowing reviews from a minority of people who actually seem to like these for whatever reason... yet as far as I've experienced , preferring these particular iems over almost any other iem in a similar (or even cheaper) price range - irrespective of when they were purchased - is the exception rather than the norm.
 
I think if you're the sort of person who's been reading reviews on this forum it's kind of assumed that you understand that there is no such thing as a perfect headphone and that all have their pros and cons - I didn't buy these on the basis that they are perfect by any means, but I did buy them on the basis that they were supposed to be an excellent IEM, which were represented as 'a new contender for the best IEM' that 'really shines', 'probably the most balanced IEM ever' with 'good bass'. They are anything but that in my opinion, and my problem is that potential buyers would have absolutely no idea that there are people who think otherwise.
 
I've taken the word 'revealing' as being a polite, audiophile-friendly way of saying that basically everything sounds like lifeless, unenjoyable crap through these without them actually committing to being genuinely accurate. Perhaps this is viewed by some as a triumphant accomplishment when headphone specifications are valued more highly than musical enjoyment. I'm gonna go ahead and say that in my opinion, according to my personal preferences and ideas of what music should sound like - these actually sound pretty bloody awful with few redeeming qualities, except in the event that you're some kind of insane extreme upper treble enthusiast with bat-like hearing who derives most of your musical satisfaction from the 17 - 17.5 khz range. The fact that the build quality is also awful (I've had to superglue them back together twice after they've fallen apart whilst gently changing tips) really compounds this, and it's really hard for me to see how these are not just a fluffed up, cheaply manufactured chinese iem.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

... I've taken the word 'revealing' as being a polite, audiophile-friendly way of saying that basically everything sounds like lifeless, unenjoyable crap through these without them actually committing to being genuinely accurate. Perhaps this is viewed by some as a triumphant accomplishment when headphone specifications are valued more highly than musical enjoyment. I'm gonna go ahead and say that in my opinion, according to my personal preferences and ideas of what music should sound like - these actually sound pretty bloody awful with few redeeming qualities, except in the event that you're some kind of insane extreme upper treble enthusiast with bat-like hearing who derives most of your musical satisfaction from the 17 - 17.5 khz range. The fact that the build quality is also awful (I've had to superglue them back together twice after they've fallen apart whilst gently changing tips) really compounds this, and it's really hard for me to see how these are not just a fluffed up, cheaply manufactured chinese iem.

Oh, don't get me wrong on saying you are wrong. I think everyone here has the right to express he/she experience with any IEM. But here lies the problem, how do you know revealing is not enjoyable by someone beside you? How do you know being flat and neutral is not considered to be realistic by everyone? How can anyone be sure that a particular reviewer will share the same kind of listening preference as all the readers? I don't think anyone can be 100% sure one way or the other. However, I think this thread serves a good reminder that not everyone will like a highly prised IEM. even If you read all the current top-tier IEM threads, you will find disagreements among them. The important point is, as I have mentioned, is to find right IEM that fit a person's taste. One thing we can be sure of, is that you probably should avoid analytical, neutral IEM in the future. I have bought plenty of non analytical IEM myself to realize I am an analytical listener, I think the same principle applies to you and many members here as well. We all have the detour when we are trying to find one IEM we love. As for build quality, there is no denial that RE0 will never be able to match those of the big brands. It is fine if you want to call it a cheaply manufactured Chinese IEM based on your experience with it. As you are honest about your opinion, I am also standing up for the fact that my RE0 is 2 years old and still working fine as one of my reference IEM. As we have all expressed our opinions and experience, it is up to the reader to interpret what they have read, and that is the forum is all about.

 

[rawrster]

I think there to consider when reading a review. That is the preferences of the reviewer. I find more value in reviews written by those who either share the same preferences as me or have a good understanding of my preferences and can direct me in a way that will help me. Also ClieOS is definitely right about personal preferences. Just because an earphone is good does not mean it will be good for you if it does not match what you want.

 

[mythless]

I agree with both DaEMoNteNTAcLe and ClieOS.  Though, I will say that if you ever plug the RE0 into a tube or hybrid amp, it still sounds thin, but it has a nice warm and semi full-feeling.  Makes you think you're listening to a different set of IEMs.

 

[Pianist]

Ok can you guys please explain what you mean when you say that RE0 sounds thin? Because I don't really understand it. You can't mean that it is thin becuase it is slightly lacking bass, becuase mids can also sound full and I think they do on the RE0. I also don't feel that the bass on RE0 is so lacking that it can be called thin. Like I said, the mid and upper bass on RE0 are very close to neutral to my ears and sound quite full and enjoyable to me

 

[mythless]

Quote:

 they do not produce full and thick sounding note

Is what I understood for thin.

 

[albau]

I don't think quantity of bass fully controls perception of sound thinness or fullness. There are other major defining factors mainly related to imaging - soundstage width and instrument separation. For example I wouldn't say that Phonaks lack in bass (especially with black and green filters) but to me they still sound thin and lifeless.

 

[rroseperry]

I just got my RE0s yesterday and I've really been enjoying them.  I'm not a bass head and really enjoy the amount of detail they have. I'm still playing around with tips, but they do what I want: lots of detail, tight bass, strong mids and clear, but not strident treble.
 
I've been listening to a lot of western classical music. I'm not sure I'd be as happy with drum 'n bass, but time will tell.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Ok can you guys please explain what you mean when you say that RE0 sounds thin? Because I don't really understand it. You can't mean that it is thin becuase it is slightly lacking bass, becuase mids can also sound full and I think they do on the RE0. I also don't feel that the bass on RE0 is so lacking that it can be called thin. Like I said, the mid and upper bass on RE0 are very close to neutral to my ears and sound quite full and enjoyable to me

The way I see it, fullness can represent two kind of things:
 
First, a bump in the lower mid or upper bass (the so called mid-bass bump). By increasing the amount of mid-bass, it adds warmth and fullness to the overall sound. However, adding too much mid-bass creates excessive thickness and make the sound muddy or even veil (basically the mid-bass frequency begins to overflow and interfere with upper mid to lower treble).
 
Second, on a wider sense, it is the balance of transient, decay and harmonics. A fast attack gives a sense of realism, a good decay give a sense of good structure / body and a good harmonics show off the texture and depth. Together they make up the timbre. For examples, when there are fast transient but not enough decay and harmonics, it gives a lean note. When there are fast transient, good decay but not enough harmonics, it gives a note with no texture. When there are slow transient with too much decay and harmonics, it becomes muddy. As I have somewhat mentioned on my original review, RE0 bass is the kind with fast transient but not enough decay and harmonics. It has the impact, but not the body.
 
Hope these make sense.

 

[yooss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
The way I see it, fullness can represent two kind of things:
 
First, a bump in the lower mid or upper bass (the so called mid-bass bump). By increasing the amount of mid-bass, it adds warmth and fullness to the overall sound. However, adding too much mid-bass creates excessive thickness and make the sound muddy or even veil (basically the mid-bass frequency begins to overflow and interfere with upper mid to lower treble).
 
Second, on a wider sense, it is the balance of transient, decay and harmonics. A fast attack gives a sense of realism, a good decay give a sense of good structure / body and a good harmonics show off the texture and depth. Together they make up the timbre. For examples, when there are fast transient but not enough decay and harmonics, it gives a lean note. When there are fast transient, good decay but not enough harmonics, it gives a note with no texture. When there are slow transient with too much decay and harmonics, it becomes muddy. As I have somewhat mentioned on my original review, RE0 bass is the kind with fast transient but not enough decay and harmonics. It has the impact, but not the body.
 
Hope these make sense.

It does, actually this post is quite helpful. Thanks.
 
 
I am an RE-Zero user, but I agree that it sounds a little thin. However, it doesn't keep me from enjoying the music. 
The funny thing is I can imagine people not liking it because of its thin sound. For me, it's a wee bit thinner than what I would want, but I would rather say it's enough.

 

[swilly]

Same feelings as the OP. I got them due to the 'sale' that they had (now its the permanent price), and it was almost at the point where I was trying to force myself to like them based on reviews I've read. I know now to avoid analytical headphones, like Ety. Also, there was crackling whenever I moved the headphone jack (not the mp3 player's fault, as none of my other headphones made that sound when I jiggled it).
 
I ended up returning them. You learn from mistakes, after all.