[tgx78]

I have been listening to R2A and R2PRO for about a week now. Without a doubt, these are pretty much what reviewers been saying: very full sounding IEM with quite amazing transparency. Because I am still in a new toy phase, I will not disclose which has the best soundstage but R2PRO positively beats IE800 in terms of tonal balance, bass quality, dynamics, mids, and highs. Only area they are close is the soundstage where IE800 may still sound slightly more fleshed out in large symphonics where R2PRO sounds more correct with better depth and height.

 

[LuckyNat]

  I am not entirely sure about the price. For the asked price, one could get something better, R2a costs about the same price as ie80 from sennheiser, and R2pro costs more than ie800. Why are they considered as good priced? They cost more than ie800 sometimes, and sure sound worse, not having the treble of a top tier IEM.

 
When I'm looking at prices for the IE800, I'm seeing around the £550 - £600 mark! At full RRP, the IE800 is about £650. At full RRP, the R2Pro is £400. Tell me which is cheaper.
 
The R2Pro has not been released yet - all you are going on is full RRP and yet that is still cheaper than the reduced prices of the IE800 which has been on sale for about 18 months already. Wait  18 months and see what price the Flares end up at after that time.
 
 
And having not heard the Flare Audio products, where are you getting your opinions of it from? You sound like you have some wierd grudge against an inanimate object?
 
If you read this reviewer's take on the R2A's treble: http://headfonics.com/2015/05/the-r2a-and-r2pro-iems-by-flare-audio/2/  you'll see that he compares it favourably against the JH16 (CEIM) but noting that it lacks the treble prominance of the JH16 which he is used to and so is expecting to hear... yet at the same time, states that the JH16 is fatiguing whilst the R2A is not. I guess then that he's discovering that the R2As sound more natural but he's never heard that natural presentation, instead always gone for wow-factor of an exaggerated top end . Shame then that he calls this a negative whilst I call that a positive.
 
I've not heard the IE800 but certainly my R2A and R2Pros are pulling things out of the bag spacially that I only get from my Acoustic Energy AE2 Reference speakers, not other headphones or earphones. It's not all the time of course as it depends entirely on the material - if it was all the time, it would be false.
 
Definately you should wait to hear the Flares for yourself before making judgement against them.

 

[LuckyNat]

I have been listening to R2A and R2PRO for about a week now. Without a doubt, these are pretty much what reviewers been saying: very full sounding IEM with quite amazing transparency. Because I am still in a new toy phase, I will not disclose which has the best soundstage but R2PRO positively beats IE800 in terms of tonal balance, bass quality, dynamics, mids, and highs. Only area they are close is the soundstage where IE800 may still sound slightly more fleshed out in large symphonics where R2PRO sounds more correct with better depth and height.

 
Hard to judge when you're in the new toy phase isn't it! I'm in that place too...
 
Here's a quote from the Headfonics review of the R2A/Pro:
 

 As far as stereo image size goes, I’ve not come across IEMs like this outside of the IE800 from Sennheiser (which has a setup similar to the R2Pro in my opinion).

 
So is pitting them side by side in terms of stereo image size.
 
Thing is once you get to a certain position, the width of soundstage is dicated by the music or sound source itself and then also the channel separation of your DAP/amp etc. And yet I often have DSP crossfeed switched on in my player software anyway (which causes less stereo width for the sake of taking the sound away from in between your ears and more infront of you).

 

[tgx78]

Yeah when we starting to talk about the forward projection, I still think Havi B3 pro1 is one of the best out there with convincing out of head experience.

Yesterday when I tried B3 after listening to R2Pro for few hours however, it was down right painful experience. Havi sounded so thin and artificial and this never happened before even after switching back from a smooth sounding Aurisonics Rockets.

 

[yangian]

Yeah when we starting to talk about the forward projection, I still think Havi B3 pro1 is one of the best out there with convincing out of head experience.

Yesterday when I tried B3 after listening to R2Pro for few hours however, it was down right painful experience. Havi sounded so thin and artificial and this never happened before even after switching back from a smooth sounding Aurisonics Rockets.

Thanks for the sober comments. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
When I'm looking at prices for the IE800, I'm seeing around the £550 - £600 mark! At full RRP, the IE800 is about £650. At full RRP, the R2Pro is £400. Tell me which is cheaper.
 
The R2Pro has not been released yet - all you are going on is full RRP and yet that is still cheaper than the reduced prices of the IE800 which has been on sale for about 18 months already. Wait  18 months and see what price the Flares end up at after that time.
 
 
And having not heard the Flare Audio products, where are you getting your opinions of it from? You sound like you have some wierd grudge against an inanimate object?
 
If you read this reviewer's take on the R2A's treble: http://headfonics.com/2015/05/the-r2a-and-r2pro-iems-by-flare-audio/2/  you'll see that he compares it favourably against the JH16 (CEIM) but noting that it lacks the treble prominance of the JH16 which he is used to and so is expecting to hear... yet at the same time, states that the JH16 is fatiguing whilst the R2A is not. I guess then that he's discovering that the R2As sound more natural but he's never heard that natural presentation, instead always gone for wow-factor of an exaggerated top end . Shame then that he calls this a negative whilst I call that a positive.
 
I've not heard the IE800 but certainly my R2A and R2Pros are pulling things out of the bag spacially that I only get from my Acoustic Energy AE2 Reference speakers, not other headphones or earphones. It's not all the time of course as it depends entirely on the material - if it was all the time, it would be false.
 
Definately you should wait to hear the Flares for yourself before making judgement against them.

Official ie800 never goes over 415 sterline pounds. 
 
R2pro price means it should beat se846, ie800, akg k3003 and other top tier premium IEMs. 
 
I am sure that I will not become fan of it, because it lacks the premium looks and feeling, and other stuff that you usually get for paying this  price. It looks rather cheap, and it costs the price of a good laptop, and two high end tablets. 
 
really, if someone independent makes a IEM and it is good, it should be cheap. Like dunu, it sounds top tier, but costs a rather lower price. It can be at the same level with akg k3003, where it costs 300$, and akg k3003 costs 1300$. This is why I would buy a dunu dn2000j, and would never buy a R2pro. I would never pay a premium price for a non premium product. 
 
About soundstage, no IEM can retrieve a perfect soundstage because no IEM can make soundwaves touch the outer ear, which creates reflections, and other stuff which contributes to soundstage. as far as IEMs go, Ie800 has enough soundstage, and I think that I can stop at a point from searching. 
 
Head-fi is not great for wallet, and after reaching one TOTL IEM, one should stop. 

 

[tgx78]

  Official ie800 never goes over 415 sterline pounds. 
 
R2pro price means it should beat se846, ie800, akg k3003 and other top tier premium IEMs. 
 
I am sure that I will not become fan of it, because it lacks the premium looks and feeling, and other stuff that you usually get for paying this  price. It looks rather cheap, and it costs the price of a good laptop, and two high end tablets. 
 
really, if someone independent makes a IEM and it is good, it should be cheap. Like dunu, it sounds top tier, but costs a rather lower price. It can be at the same level with akg k3003, where it costs 300$, and akg k3003 costs 1300$. This is why I would buy a dunu dn2000j, and would never buy a R2pro. I would never pay a premium price for a non premium product. 
 
About soundstage, no IEM can retrieve a perfect soundstage because no IEM can make soundwaves touch the outer ear, which creates reflections, and other stuff which contributes to soundstage. as far as IEMs go, Ie800 has enough soundstage, and I think that I can stop at a point from searching. 
 
Head-fi is not great for wallet, and after reaching one TOTL IEM, one should stop. 

 
To my ears, R2PRO beats SE846, IE800 and K3003 sonically. 
 
But you are right, it looks rather cheap and I've seen $50-$100 IEMS sporting better cable.

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
To my ears, R2PRO beats SE846, IE800 and K3003 sonically. 
 
But you are right, it looks rather cheap and I've seen $50-$100 IEMS sporting better cable.

Also, warranty would be a problem. The reason why akg and sennheiser can replace all problematic items is because they have big factories, and they afford to loose one item, while an independent producer will have much worse warranty. Combined with lower build quality, it could be a nightmare. 
 
I do belive that they can sound great though. Just, I am between those who stop after having enough.. You know, Greed can be seen even in audiophile realms. One will always use one IEM or one Headphone. I do not need more. 

 

[Jon Sonne]

Yeah when we starting to talk about the forward projection, I still think Havi B3 pro1 is one of the best out there with convincing out of head experience.

Could you please do a more in-depth comparison of the B3 vs. R2PRo in terms of soundstage? I mean describe layering, instrument placement, width, height and depth/ forward projection? I'm interested since I've also found the B3 to have the best forward projection of all IEM I've heard. 
 
Edit: What tips do you use for the R2Pro?

 

[tgx78]

Could you please do a more in-depth comparison of the B3 vs. R2PRo in terms of soundstage? I mean describe layering, instrument placement, width, height and depth/ forward projection? I'm interested since I've also found the B3 to have the best forward projection of all IEM I've heard. 

Edit: What tips do you use for the R2Pro?

I use comply medium (tx-200?) that came with the R2PRO. I lost my spinfit tips and replacements are not coming in until next week.

I just did a quick a/b between the two and I think they are very comparable. I feel R2Pro is very slightly wider in width than B3. Air between instruments pretty similar. Stage depth about equal. Stage height: R2Pro is better. Center imaging both very good. B3 you feel you are sitting at the 1st row back from the stage in concert. R2pro slightly closer to the stage maybe on-stage with musicians. For comparison, my heavily modded HE-560 puts me back into around 3rd row seating and with magnepan 3.6R (speakers) i am in between row 10 and 20 (optimal)

 

[yangian]

I use comply medium (tx-200?) that came with the R2PRO. I lost my spinfit tips and replacements are not coming in until next week.

I just did a quick a/b between the two and I think they are very comparable. I feel R2Pro is very slightly wider in width than B3. Air between instruments pretty similar. Stage depth about equal. Stage height: R2Pro is better. Center imaging both very good. B3 you feel you are sitting at the 1st row back from the stage in concert. R2pro slightly closer to the stage maybe on-stage with musicians. For comparison, my heavily modded HE-560 puts me back into around 3rd row seating and with magnepan 3.6R (speakers) i am in between row 10 and 20 (optimal)

Only for soundstage, how about R2pro to IE800? A well drived Ie800 is amazing on soundstage! It's so great to use it to listen to Beethoven's symphony 9! Just as someone said here or IE800's thread, its sound are from everywhere! It's like you stand at the position of the conductor.

 

[tgx78]

Also, warranty would be a problem. The reason why akg and sennheiser can replace all problematic items is because they have big factories, and they afford to loose one item, while an independent producer will have much worse warranty. Combined with lower build quality, it could be a nightmare. 

I do belive that they can sound great though. Just, I am between those who stop after having enough.. You know, Greed can be seen even in audiophile realms. One will always use one IEM or one Headphone. I do not need more. 

You are getting into totally different topic now so I will be very brief. I think I saw your post in IE800 thread where you are having a problem with your left side cable hardening or something right? Since you are sending it over to the Sennheiser to evaluate and fix the problem, let us know how the whole process went.

If something goes wrong with my R2PRO, I will report back how the Flare Audio accommodates my warranty as well. Apparently they will send me the whole new driver unit with cable attached, since drivers are user replaceable.

 

[Dobrescu George]

You are getting into totally different topic now so I will be very brief. I think I saw your post in IE800 thread where you are having a problem with your left side cable hardening or something right? Since you are sending it over to the Sennheiser to evaluate and fix the problem, let us know how the whole process went.

If something goes wrong with my R2PRO, I will report back how the Flare Audio accommodates my warranty as well. Apparently they will send me the whole new driver unit with cable attached, since drivers are user replaceable.

Then, I was wrong. 
 
Thing is, I am paranoid these days... 
 
Maybe it would be wiser for me to accept that r2pro could be a very good solution. It is just that I do not want to spend anymore money on audio, I am working at an audio related project [link in signature], and I have to invest more in my project, I need a laptop, servers, etc. This is why I ma trying more to cinvince myself to stay away from more IEMs. 
 
Sorry, I think that it is wrong of me to post anymore anything about any IEM or headphone that I had not tried. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Only for soundstage, how about R2pro to IE800? A well drived Ie800 is amazing on soundstage! It's so great to use it to listen to Beethoven's symphony 9! Just as someone said here or IE800's thread, its sound are from everywhere! It's like you stand at the position of the conductor.

My experience was similar. Though, I never heared sounds coming from behind me, it feels like that is a dead spot. 

 

[tgx78]

Only for soundstage, how about R2pro to IE800? A well drived Ie800 is amazing on soundstage! It's so great to use it to listen to Beethoven's symphony 9! Just as someone said here or IE800's thread, its sound are from everywhere! It's like you stand at the position of the conductor.

They are about equal.. I think listening very complex passage in a grand symphonic work, IE800 has slightly better perceived separation due to its leaner presentation, but that's about only positive thing I can say versus R2PRO.