[LuckyNat]

Clarity and "realness" are definately what the Pro is all about. Image width is a funny thing as it depends so much on the material and spreading your soundstage wide as a recording engineer is just going to make things a bit odd for most music..
 
That youtube video I posted up of binaural recording of a specially written "play" recorded in a concrete bunker in Sweden kind of makes that point. When the door slams creating the reverberent bass, it spreads wide as you would hear in real life, whilst the rest is more pin point.

 

[LuckyNat]

This one:
 
Quote:

  Here's a realism test for your R2s to show off their natural response (and deep bass from the room reverberations!) :
 

 
A kind of play/scenario played out in a decommissioned nuclear facility and recorded by students in binaural stereo (a dummy head with ears and microphones placed at the ear canal points).
 
Best listened to laying down!

 

[Jobbing]

It's unique capability is to reproduce the soundstage of a medium sized concert hall where the artist is actually somewhat in front of me as it should be and not 'above' or 'in' my head like the other iems I own. Because if this the Pro's have a very natural projection of the stage.

 

[james444]

Ok, I've got a pair of R2PROs a few days ago and I've been putting quite a few hours into trying different tips, playing with fit, etc...
 
Out of the 100+ IEMs I've tried, these are probably the most tricky ones to assess, since their sound varies a lot with tips and insertion depth. Heck, they can even tilt inside the ear canal, due to their diminutive size... meaning, that even with the same tips and insertion depth, two consecutive insertions won't necessarily yield the same sonic results.
 
So, here's my humble 2c on how they sound at best:

1. Fairly well-balanced from deep bass throughout the midrange, but with a pronounced 6-8kHz spikiness on top.

 
And here's my humble 2c on how they sound most of the time:

1. A little boomy, due to slight upper bass elevation
2. Oddly skewed in the mids, due to a noticeable 1.5kHz dip followed by a 2kHz resonance
3. Very laid-back in lower treble (guitars lack bite, cymbals sound subdued)
4. Spiky and mildly sibilant in the 6-8kHz range

 
At the risk of me eating my words later on (in case I discover the "magic fit"), so far these are interestingly different in some way, but no threat to top-tiers in my book. 

 

 

[LCfiner]

I think that if you're getting different results when inserting the Flares at seemingly the same insertion depth that there's some fit/seal issues.
 
My ears do agree with a slight recession in the treble (although I'm still very happy with the presentation of violins, cymbals, guitars) but I don't have issues with boomy bass or wonky mids. I also haven't noticed any sibilance but that can be just because I haven't tried the same recordings as you have.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Impressions based on silicon tips. Rolled through several of them. The Flares are EXTREMELY sensitive to fit I think. I've been talking to James444 a lot about them on the side, as we're both trying to understand this weird phone, but my impressions are fairly similar to his, although he's much more down on them than I am. He's mentioned highly varying impressions even on the same pair of tips, which I can understand since he has bigger ears/canals. The Flares are so minuscule that any variance in angle would likely affect the FR. As it stands, I think I'll have to defer to Rockets as being a much more evenhanded take on the micro driver/titanium shell phone. 

The Flares sound quite unlike anything else I have on hand, including Rockets. As LCFiner's mentioned, there is the distinct feeling of a forwardly projected soundstage. To illustrate this, I'm gonna borrow James' little picture: 

the Flare sounds more like the IE8 in that diagram, with the soundstage appearing as though it were in front of your face. It's purely psychological, but on some recordings, it can feel very convincing in a way I haven't personally heard since the 1Plus2. Vocals, guitars, drums... things seem to just float in front of your face in distinct layers from background to foreground. A very unique and holographic feel. 

How I personally hear it is: 

Emphasis in the bass from 100-250 Hz, pretty flat mids (although I'm perceiving some suckout in the upper mids, that oddly enough, doesn't seem to register when I run sine sweeps), within the mids though, there's a noticeable dip at about 1 kHz, followed by a bump at 3 kHz, and then it's fairly even until a big treble spike at 8.5-9 khz. 


I don't get the subdued cymbals like James, but sometimes, the cymbals would come across as sort of etched and sharp, other times, it comes across very convincingly. Some vocals would come across as teetering right on the cusp of sibilance. It doesn't actually ever veer into full blow 'Ssss" but on harsher consonants, you can get just a taste of it. The bass sounds quite flat most of the time, until that weird bass hump causes certain things to come across with uneven emphasis. I guess if you wanna feel the kick drum or the bass lines in EDM it's pretty awesome. Highly textured and tight. I honestly get the same quality of bass in something like the Angie or UERM, but the quantity is much more tasteful (don't get me wrong, Angie still kicks and thumps with force aplomb, I just don't get fatigued in the same manner as the R2Pro), and those phones don't tend towards congestion like the R2Pro does. On some recordings, I can definitely feel the driver being strained. It just sounds murky to me in a way that never crops up on the Angie/UERM, like things are just blurring together cause everything's scrunched. 

I also find that things sort of lack body and edge on the R2Pro. I especially notice this on vocals and guitar. There's noticeably more depth and body to the notes on the Angie/UERM. The R2Pro actually sounds quite good if I listen to it in isolation, but the moment one of my other phones enters the equation, all bets are off. That and I find its overall performance to be kind of erratic, sounding really nice on certain things, and worse on others. This isn't especially surprising to me given how evenly the UERM measures (it sounds very similar to a smaller version of my Stax 207, which again, measures very evenly). That and, I think I'm just too used to the timbre of BA based phones these days. I was joking with James that I'd almost forgotten what dynamic drivers sound like, as the only DD phone I still use is the FX850 for classical and solo piano (and no, the R2Pro doesn't sound more convincing to me there either)

 

[Bananiq]

  Ok, I've got a pair of R2PROs a few days ago and I've been putting quite a few hours into trying different tips, playing with fit, etc...
 
Out of the 100+ IEMs I've tried, these are probably the most tricky ones to assess, since their sound varies a lot with tips and insertion depth. Heck, they can even tilt inside the ear canal, due to their diminutive size... meaning, that even with the same tips and insertion depth, two consecutive insertions won't necessarily yield the same sonic results.
 
So, here's my humble 2c on how they sound at best:

1. Fairly well-balanced from deep bass throughout the midrange, but with a pronounced 6-8kHz spikiness on top.

 
And here's my humble 2c on how they sound most of the time:

1. A little boomy, due to slight upper bass elevation
2. Oddly skewed in the mids, due to a noticeable 1.5kHz dip followed by a 2kHz resonance
3. Very laid-back in lower treble (guitars lack bite, cymbals sound subdued)
4. Spiky and mildly sibilant in the 6-8kHz range

 
At the risk of me eating my words later on (in case I discover the "magic fit"), so far these are interestingly different in some way, but no threat to top-tiers in my book. 

 

 
 
What Tips have you find to provide best fit to you? (Also were used for the sound evaluation).
 
Thanks

 

[Selenium]

 

[Bananiq]

Finally I am listening to R2A,
 
initial impressions is that comply tips will not live long in my case I suppose. - Has anybody took them down without braking them?
What bi-flanges do you guys recommend?
 
I must spend more time with these. Listened only with included complys, and the initial thought was like they sound like matured Havis. Advanced in those aspects which Havi is famous for. However so far mids did not impress me. The vocals seem to be "behind" of other sounds. Probably silicone tips can bring it forward?
Treble is good, it is there with some crispness but never fatiguing.
Bass reminds me my modded Mikros 90. I need more tips and more time for detailed observation
 
 

 

[Deviltooth]

  I'm glad to see some balanced assessments of the R2 Pros.  I do think Flare has created a good earphone, but I don't think they're playing near the top tier.  They're certainly not on par with quality CIEMs.
 
The good news is cheaper universals seem to be getting closer to higher end CIEMs every year.... The level of improvement is amazing.  Gotta love technology.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

LOL. I've talked to LC about it on the side as well, and... I might have inadvertently talked him into a pair of the Pro haha. I think I told him that these were probably destined to be polarizing phones. I'm glad they work out very well for him though, as he's been through a lot of stuff, and these seem to tick off a lot of boxes for him at a great price. I really like how tiny they are, but I'm growing to dislike the gigantic Y splitter btw. Will probably take a screwdriver to it later. I'm unsure as to whether I'll keep these, since they do offer a really neat presentation, but I have a Liquid Carbon I need to pay off :l 

 

[LCfiner]

I thought that was funny how it worked out. You were really hyped up on them for a while and are (I think its safe to say) disappointed with the sound.
 
meanwhile, I had just found out these existed a week ago - got lucky to get a pair cheap within Canada - and love them!

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Haha, true enough. At least one of us is sated James was joking about it as well since I was quite amped up due to being an early backer and was busily dissecting every piece of info I could get my hands on. He said something along the lines of "enjoy the thrill of anticipation while it lasts, there's nothing quite like it." Truer words. Never spoken. 

 

[james444]

  I think that if you're getting different results when inserting the Flares at seemingly the same insertion depth that there's some fit/seal issues.
 
My ears do agree with a slight recession in the treble (although I'm still very happy with the presentation of violins, cymbals, guitars) but I don't have issues with boomy bass or wonky mids. I also haven't noticed any sibilance but that can be just because I haven't tried the same recordings as you have.

 
Yep, I agree with the first part, that's why I mentioned they may tilt inside the canal (at least inside bigger ears/canals). A tilted earpiece's nozzle is not properly aligned with the canal axis, and as a result, sound may change. The heavy Y-splitter pulling down on the cable is actually doing more more bad than good in that regard.
 
As for sibilance, here are two of my test tracks: the first one is rather benign and the second one quite a bit nastier. The R2Pros pass the first test, but I notice mild sibilance with the second one, which coincides with the 6-8kHz spikiness I hear with test tones.
 

  "Ssso many Ssstars..."
 

 
 
"The sssea frozzze off the coassst of Franccce..."
 

 
 

  The Flares sound quite unlike anything else I have on hand, including Rockets. As LCFiner's mentioned, there is the distinct feeling of a forwardly projected soundstage. To illustrate this, I'm gonna borrow James' little picture: 

the Flare sounds more like the IE8 in that diagram, with the soundstage appearing as though it were in front of your face. It's purely psychological, but on some recordings, it can feel very convincing in a way I haven't personally heard since the 1Plus2. Vocals, guitars, drums... things seem to just float in front of your face in distinct layers from background to foreground. A very unique and holographic feel.

 
Agreed, but lets not forget that the IE8 effect is mainly due to recessed mids. We tend to associate forward vocals with closeness / intimacy, and recessed vocals with distance / forward projection. The R2Pro's upper mids are quite recessed imo, which makes (particularly female) vocals sound a little warmer and more distant / forward projected than usual.
 
 

  What Tips have you find to provide best fit to you? (Also were used for the sound evaluation).
 
Thanks

 
I've tried at least 5 different silicone tips so far, plus the included Complys. To me, the best fitting/sounding are the Sony hybrids. However, because of the mentioned tilting issue, I'm currently trying to use a second pair of (wide-bore) silicons mounted on the housing, to achieve better axial alignment and more consistent sound:
 

 

 

  I thought that was funny how it worked out. You were really hyped up on them for a while and are (I think its safe to say) disappointed with the sound.
 
meanwhile, I had just found out these existed a week ago - got lucky to get a pair cheap within Canada - and love them!

 
Me too. I think we may have had the same source.

 
 

  I really like how tiny they are, but I'm growing to dislike the gigantic Y splitter btw. Will probably take a screwdriver to it later.

 
 
Later? 

  Btw, note how they not only made the splitter annoyingly heavy, but also squashed the cable sheath in the process (see arrows):
 

 

[LCfiner]

Just listened to those two test tracks. no noticeable sibilance on the first. very tiny amount on the second. Maybe I’m more tolerant of it?
 
to give my baseline: My test track is Matt Costa’s “Wash Away”. can’t find a youtube version that isn’t compressed and garbage. i have the track on iTunes match. incredibly sibilant all the way through with nearly every “sss” sound. 
 
"Float downsssstream”…  
 
Very, very sibilant on headphones that have pronounced 6 to 8k peaks. On the r2pro, almost no sibilance. sounds decent. i find the song to be hard to listen to on some headphones like Grados.
 
that was my test and the reason why i felt the sibilance was well under control compared to other headphones I’ve had. (recent example: RHA M750i. that one was painful! had to return it after 2 days. all sibilant and peaky. nothing at all like the flares)