[Jobbing]

Sorry for the late response. Working on the first impression part now, it will be up very soon and should address many if not all questions above.

 

[xoxiax]

Great!
 
Really waiting for it, especially for the new tonality description (knowing that is a preview, from memory, not definitive,without compromise and all that blah blah) .Thank you very much for all the effort, @Jobbing.

 

[willowbrook]

Any impressions on the flare isolate or is there any thread for earplugs?

 

[sodesuka]

  Any impressions on the flare isolate or is there any thread for earplugs?

I think I saw some people commented on them in the Canjam London 2016 thread.

 

[Jobbing]

>> First Impressions << posted on page #1, hope to be able to do a more extensive listen and share detailed information with you when FLARES are available for review. The early prototype surely did whet my appetite  

 

 

[Stuff Jones]

  >> First Impressions << posted on page #1, hope to be able to do a more extensive listen and share detailed information with you when FLARES are available for review. The early prototype surely did whet my appetite  

 

 
Thanks. Interesting that the new ones lack treble extension compared to the older version. That was my one complaint about the pros - that they lack a bit up top.

 

[Jobbing]

Thanks. Interesting that the new ones lack treble extension compared to the older version. That was my one complaint about the pros - that they lack a bit up top.

I remember that Flare Audio prior to the Kickstarter launch were hammering on the brain burn-in of their new R2 series (as well as their R1). The R2Pro to me did improve significantly, and I was a non-believer at that time.

Bearing in mind I auditioned to an early prototype and based on Davies comment to me saying:

"Hearing Flares HD quickly is great but once your ears/mind adjusts to the extra detail truly wonderful things happen......" ,

I do feel the prototype I heard was just a warming up. I can honestly say the FLARES HD were wonderful to listen to.

 

[sodesuka]

Ooh super nice impression. I can't imagine how much better it can be while retaining the fantastic timbre the R2Pro has. Not too sure about the reduction in the high, but it's probably more natural that way and I imagine it can be tuned with tips like it did with R2.x anyway. Very looking forward to it, the Kickstarter can't start soon enough!
 
 
Kinda disappointed about the loss of user-replaceable driver but I guess this means no more fiddling with the caps to get the right sound.

 

[holden4th]

I've got the R2As and am currently having shells attached. Back to my IE80s for a couple of weeks.
 
For a different sound I'll join the kickstarter campaign for the lower level titaniums (HD?). I don't need balanced connections at this stage but I must admit that the bluetooth/aptx function sounds interesting.
 
Reading the comments from the London Canjam the foamies that come with the R2s will need some work. Then again, I find the Spinfits far superior to the Comply's that came with my Flares.

 

[sgtbilko]

Are there any more details on the Bluetooth unit?
 
I'd be interested to understand battery life and unit size, plus what controls it will have. Also, any more details on the DAC chip in it?
 
I got the R2A's last time, but will definitely plump for the HD Pro if the BT unit doesn't detract from the SQ.

 

[barondla]

Is the Bluetooth/dac part an option on the HD Pro? I don't want to pay for that to get balanced earphones. Imho Bluetooth doesn't even belong on pro earphones. It's as bad as mp3.

 

[Jobbing]

@sgtbilko , @barondla :

No extra info on Bluetooth capabilities from my end. The notes from Naomi were received just when the impressions were about to be posted. Of cours she or @Paul Pabs are very welcome on this thread and happy to see them chime in if they can provide additional information.

@barondla :Having had my fair share of BT letdowns I wasn't interested at first either, then when I read Naomi stating "This module has a high quality DAC that allows the Bluetooth audio to be of the same audio quality as cabled." got me high hopes again.

 

[sodesuka]

I'm indifferent with the bluetooth thing since even though I can use it with my phone I won't use it much. I just hope that if they're going to bundle it with the HD Pro, the price won't be hiked too much, otherwise, I'd prefer they sold it separately as an option.

 

[brucew268]

Originally Posted by Jobbing /img/forum/go_quote.gif
FLARES HD is very smooth with well extended and fuller highs. I have to admit though that I did miss some of the sparkles and airiness in the upper highs, but it was more relaxing to listen to....
 
Like with the R2Pro the soundstage is out of the head, forward with great imaging and instrument positioning. It did sound to me though as if they made a sacrifice to the 3D imaging and airiness....  
...maintaining its natural sound signature, detail retrieval yet quite forgiving character to enjoy its musicality.

Good review, and I can imagine it could be frustrating to have people looking at every word with a magnifying glass... but that's what I'm doing.
 
One thing I was really looking forward to was a sound that had walk-through 3-dimensionality on the musical instruments. Also, I really wanted a balance between relaxed and forgiving highs while maintaining excellent nuance, detail, and even some sparkle. Those are qualities I prized in my old HiFiMan RE-262's and had a fair bit of in the R2A, though the R2A sacrificed the sparkle a bit in order to get those other qualities. Based on what you've written above, I wonder if the new FLARES will keep me satisfied.

 

[Jobbing]

  Good review, and I can imagine it could be frustrating to have people looking at every word with a magnifying glass... but that's what I'm doing.
 
One thing I was really looking forward to was a sound that had walk-through 3-dimensionality on the musical instruments. Also, I really wanted a balance between relaxed and forgiving highs while maintaining excellent nuance, detail, and even some sparkle. Those are qualities I prized in my old HiFiMan RE-262's and had a fair bit of in the R2A, though the R2A sacrificed the sparkle a bit in order to get those other qualities. Based on what you've written above, I wonder if the new FLARES will keep me satisfied.

 
 
Thanks for reading and commenting!
 
First and foremost I’d like to emphasize that it was an early prototype that was on display, not the product that will be offered on Kickstarter. CanJam show was an opportunity for Flare Audio to interact with the community in an open environment in their home country - far from ideal to do give them a proper listen and describe them in detail. Do think of it as an introduction to the new products they have been proudly working on to share with the public. It was fun!
 
It was clear to me they were offering people a chance to hear the improvement and progress that they have been made in just a few months after the appearance of their first iems. They were not selling anything, no slick talk. As a seasoned backer I can only give high praises to the Flare Audio team for revealing the FLARES under these circumstances, it's exemplary to get to listen to a future KS product in this stage, not even being at beta level, a very vulnerable situation they’ve put themselves into.  
 
The FLARES HD have made a great impression over the entire spectrum but especially in the mid and lower range. I could give you the sweet talk here, confirming that the highs are at least as sparkling and 3D effect (I rather call ‘out of the head’ effect), but I won't. To be clear, the highs were excellent and there was sparkling, yet they weren’t on exactly the same level as the R2Pro at that time. Call me a nitpicker, for all I know they were doing an experiment to see how listeners would respond to a closed setting of the back venting or to a non-burned in sample? I don’t know.
 
My ears are by no means of the golden type, but if you would read my community profile, reading between the lines of the early impression and the final thoughts, you will notice that I do like my trebles and I said I would choose the early prototype over my beloved R2Pro. - mind you I did not compare them to the R2A (aluminum) like you seem to suggest, it was the R2Pro (titanium) so I was comparing apples with apples -
 
Again, on the prototype without the brain burn-in (which definitely did bloom the R2Pro!) the improvement already made, to me evidently showed the ambition Flare Audio have with these and it was more than enough to convince me of the quality of what the final product will hold, right there on the spot. That does not exclude any evolving of the sound signature from that point forward as Naomi mentioned in her notes, these guys are on a mission for sure. I’d be more than willing to part from my R2Pro now, knowing what the successor will be capable of, just send me a PM with a reasonable offer and we will work something out
 
The ‘Early Impression’ is what it is. Others may think from it differently and undoubtedly there will be a number of opinions on these as soon as the beta version will be send out to professional reviewers, probably well in time before the project gets funded. I hope to receive one of those as well and report back to you. Until then, I consider myself fortunate to have gotten a sneak preview/listen on the FLARES HD as for what’s to come and to do a write-up as the first of many to follow. Meanwhile I hope it will encourage you and other people with the magnifying glasses to give their feedback here for Flare Audio to read, rather than dismissing the FLARES now bluntly based on my early report on the supposed ‘lacking’ of highs. That would be frustrating and a real mistake as I feel you’re ruling out a highly potential and versatile IEM when it arrives to the market by focusing on that, not only for you but to many potential buyers too. A lot of members from this community did so with the first Kickstarter campaign, they should not make the same mistake again.