[Photofan1986]

Hi!

Just got my girlfriend some Head Direct RE1 for a good price, and was testing them for a while now (2 or 3 hours). Geeze, those sound good when amped!!
And I must even say that I'm using my system's amp, that is not designed for headphones. Yes, they are very power hungry, so using them out of my cowon i7 does not give fantastic results. But when amped (and I just can't imagine how good they must sound with a PROPER amp!!), they sound really great!
I mean, they give my IE8 a run for their money!
Here are my first impressions, amped (to be taken with a grain of salt, I am that impressed

)

Bass: The bass is amazing. It extends very (very) low, I would say way better than my IE8. Also, it hits hard and fast. No midbass hump to talk about (take that, IE8!

).

Midrange: that is the weekest part. It is good, but IE8 are great: more lush, natural, uncolored mids. I can feel a little bit of coloration, but it sounds interesting, and I quite like it.

Treble: amazing: they extend even further than IE8! Well, at least, they are less recessed at the very end of the spectrum. Very nice and natural.

Unamped, they sound much less impressive, but ok nonetheless.
I am really wondering if I will give them to my girlfriend, as she really isn't able to make a difference between ep-630 and IE8^^

I will post other impressions later, after some burn-in and listening.

 

[bcpk]

You don't really hear much about the RE1s... people seem to just recommend the RE0s instead even though they sound quite different. Good to know the RE1s are up to the same standard.

 

[Hentai11]

It boggles me that the RE1 gets slept on so much, given the widespread unhappiness with the RE0's bass extension.

They're a b*tch to drive, and you'll need a solid amp, but if you have one...big, big sound, more than you deserve at that price.

 

[Photofan1986]

Haha, could not agree more about the "b*tch" part ^^

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hentai11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It boggles me that the RE1 gets slept on so much, given the widespread unhappiness with the RE0's bass extension. They're a b*tch to drive, and you'll need a solid amp, but if you have one...big, big sound, more than you deserve at that price.

Yeah, the bass quality on RE0 could use some work, but the mids and treble are much improved over the RE1 - so much that they are actually a worthy upgrade IMO. The bass on RE0 becomes good enough with amp. It's also easier to drive than RE1 and sound much better out of MP3 player or cheap soundcards. RE1 sounds like poo unamped.

 

[brendon]

Hey glad you liked it. One area where the RE1s really kill the RE0s is soundstage. The RE0s have a more in your face presentation while the RE1s have a rather expansive (for an IEM) soundstage (when amped of course).

I really love mine but I am surprised at your comment of deep bass as my RE1s (amped with Meier Corda Porta III) have much less bass as compared to my Hippo VBs and Crossroads Woodie 2s. Maybe I need to upgrade my amp ? More unpleasantness for my wallet.

 

[Photofan1986]

Wow. After several hours listening, I can say that bass has more impact/is faster than IE8, that feels a little bloated in comparison. Highs are not bad at all, but overall they are quite dark sounding. Low mids could be a bit more present and upper mids are a bit harsh at times. All in all, a very good performance, considering I paid them less than 1/4th of IE8 price.
If IE8 had its bass impact, for me, it would be the perfect phone (maybe a tad less bass also).

 

[james444]

Just a friendly bump to this thread saying that the RE1 are the best matching IEMs to the infamously hissy AMP3 I've heard to date (and I've tried a lot). Still some hiss, but only very faint. At first they seemed a bit dark, but after swapping the stock filters for cotton swab I really like them. Quite flat, detailed and non fatiguing - highly recommended!

 

[Photofan1986]

Cool! I just received my Musiland DAC, and I am looking forward to test my GF's RE1 with it ^^ I will post my impressions then.

 

[brendon]

Wow ! With the Ibasso P3+ the RE1s have come alive ! They had a nice wide presentation with the Corda but the bass was strictly decent. With the P3+ its become really tight and deep. Not as heavy as the bass on the Hippo VB but its very fast and has great impact too boot. Really loving the RE1s even more now.

If I break the wire I am going to turn these into custom IEMs from Unique Melody as I really love the sound.

 

[Photofan1986]

Glad to see I am not alone to like their sound, esp. the bass! So punchy, almost incredible for a dynamic, and way faster than IE8's bass, which has more weight to it.

 

[Shauntell47]

still have my RE1s, but recently got a pair of Phiatons PS200...

while being overall worse than the PS200s, the RE1s definitely has the bigger soundstage & has its own special sound...

however, detail-wise, the PS200s are a huge step up, the RE1s do sound a bit blurry on complex passages...

for movies & some types of music, these are really good...

got to try that "cotton swab" mod...

 

[james444]

^ Please try that "cotton swab" mod, I've had the same blurry impression with stock filters. Just clip off the topmost part of a q-tip above the stem and use it as a filter.

 

[Albinoni]

Hi just re these Re1's:

1. How comfortable are they ?
2. Are they a close or open back?
3. How many Ohms/Impedence?
4. Are they a product of HiFi Man ?

Thanks

 

[Albinoni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hentai11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It boggles me that the RE1 gets slept on so much, given the widespread unhappiness with the RE0's bass extension. They're a b*tch to drive, and you'll need a solid amp, but if you have one...big, big sound, more than you deserve at that price.

Will a CMOY drive these, my CMOYS will drive between 0 to 300Ohms headphones?