[james444]

@james444 just saw your tea bag post. Great stuff. The back screw plug seems picky. Wonder how Flare Audio sets it properly?

To take the driver out would it not be better to carefully shove a rod thru the front and very gently push the driver out? The front of the driver has a metal plate over it. Those wires aren't going to take much tugging. Great thread.

 
I wonder too, lol.

 
Just for clarification, I didn't take the driver out. I just took off the end cap and (re-)adjusted the O-ring.

 

[Selenium]

This is what happens when all you kickstarter backers get impatient about your rewards.

 

[LuckyNat]

  My one issue is that at higher volumes I use in a plane or on a bus they sometimes distort (?) i.e. crackle a little at peak volume moments in a song. This only seems to happen with my Shozy Alien and not the Geek Out. Wonder why.

 
Sadly I get that too when listening to quieter music on my R2s on my phone in noisy places. Just not enough power from my phone alone. The Neutron music player allows some boost from the dac/amp chip but quickly pushes into distortion.
 
The moistening of the foam tips trick does help with this as you get a much better seal and can insert them into your ear further (and so isolate more, keeping the volume down).

 

[skablin]

I know what you mean but I've always done this with other iems and used foam tips - only way to get that seal and comfort. Only thing with the Flares is that they respond more to being pushed in deep to the ear and only way to get them to stay there is with extra squeezing and extra holding in place, more so than normal. Still, that's only to get the best fit and only can't do that with others because other iems are too big.

If it becomes a chore, simply pretend that they won't go so deep and treat them like other iems. You could say the Flares are a victim of being so small because the size means you CAN get a better sound where the iem disappears (the same way a good hifi speaker disappears into the sound) whereas others don't give you that extra option....

I recommend trying a smaller pair of Spinfits. I was previously using M with other IEMs and wasn't happy with them with the Flares, tried S and got them in pretty deep and they sound great. Have to take in and out quite a bit when listening at work so comply/foam not ideal.

 

[BucketInABucket]

I recommend trying a smaller pair of Spinfits. I was previously using M with other IEMs and wasn't happy with them with the Flares, tried S and got them in pretty deep and they sound great. Have to take in and out quite a bit when listening at work so comply/foam not ideal.

I vouch for spinfits, using them myself and they work excellently as long as they seal properly.

 

[barondla]

@james444 wasn't meaning to say unscrew/unseal the back caps. What I was trying to say is if the end caps are set properly, tightening them up too much more reduces dynamics and makes them lifeless. As fast as Flare had to build these, wonder how they got the tension just right? Thinking about using spark plug feeler gauge to get the correct setting, when I change to new driver/cables for balanced PonoPlayer use.

 

[Selenium]

Didn't Flare say something to the effect of the cable not needing a strain relief due to some clever engineering just inside the housing? Oh yeah, smashing the hell out of the cable, what a feat of engineering...:confused_face(1):

Curiosity killed the cat and I took off the endcaps to have a peek. I could see threading from the endcaps indented into the cable, eating into it and taking away a good chunk(like a third) of the cable's girth. Eh...not much confidence these are gonna stand the test of time. At least the earphones are very light so there shouldn't be much in the way of tugging on them.

 

[MusicalChillies]

Damn I wish I still had mine now to fiddle with (probably break but fiddle). Pre tea bag days I used tissue over my Denon C751`s which worked really well.
 
As the only specified difference between the models is the housing material, is there any room in the housing to line it or coat it before reinstalling the driver?
 
As I said, wish I still had mine to fiddle....

 

[BucketInABucket]

Have a Cozoy Aegis on the way, will post impressions with the R2Pro soon!

 

[bigjim]

What size spinfits do I have to get for the nozzle size. Is it the cp80, seems to be out of stock, I like my current small silicone with a re400 stick on filter and want to stay away from comply.

 

[money4me247]

for people talking about sonic changes with eartip rolling, this is an interesting article by Tyll (essentially saying that comply tips do not alter the FR curve).
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comply-foam-tips-and-effects-tip-selection#WcwacaI1QAWuUgjL.97

 

[james444]

I recommend trying a smaller pair of Spinfits.

  I vouch for spinfits, using them myself and they work excellently as long as they seal properly.

 
Personally, I'd neither recommend and much less vouch for Spinfits. Their tube has an inner constriction that kills high treble response.
 
I've run a high-range sweep with Spinfits on my R2PROs and everything above 9kHz was noticeably rolled-off compared to other tips.
 
 

 
 

@james444 wasn't meaning to say unscrew/unseal the back caps. What I was trying to say is if the end caps are set properly, tightening them up too much more reduces dynamics and makes them lifeless. As fast as Flare had to build these, wonder how they got the tension just right? Thinking about using spark plug feeler gauge to get the correct setting, when I change to new driver/cables for balanced PonoPlayer use.

 
Once the end cap is tight enough to seal the back cavity, I can't imagine how tightening it further will affect the sound?  

 
 

Didn't Flare say something to the effect of the cable not needing a strain relief due to some clever engineering just inside the housing? Oh yeah, smashing the hell out of the cable, what a feat of engineering...

Curiosity killed the cat and I took off the endcaps to have a peek. I could see threading from the endcaps indented into the cable, eating into it and taking away a good chunk(like a third) of the cable's girth. Eh...not much confidence these are gonna stand the test of time. At least the earphones are very light so there shouldn't be much in the way of tugging on them.

 
Yep, I took the end cap off maybe ten times during my tests and can already see the bare wire through the torn sheath. 
 
 

  for people talking about sonic changes with eartip rolling, this is an interesting article by Tyll (essentially saying that comply tips do not alter the FR curve).
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comply-foam-tips-and-effects-tip-selection#WcwacaI1QAWuUgjL.97

 
In case of the R2PROs, it's the wax guard that alters FR response. AFAICS, Tyll measured Complys without wax guard.

 

[barondla]

@James444, somewhere on the Flare KS site Davies said over tightening the rear cap will affect dynamics and can even damage the driver.

 

[james444]

@James444, somewhere on the Flare KS site Davies said over tightening the rear cap will affect dynamics and can even damage the driver.

 
In theory it will (mildly) increase air pressure which in turn might affect dynamics or even damage the driver. But in practice, my Pro's cap needs to sit very flush with the housing to seal off the rear side, so there's little room for further tightening anyway. May be different with the R2A though, and I plan to take a closer look at those when I get them.

 

[zenpunk]

I tried tightening the cap on my R2A and the result was dreadful, muffled sound and compressed dynamics.