[james444]

 
We have quite different impressions on this. Factors might be tips - (I am using Complys - and also that I do listen fairly loud.

 
It's likely due to several factors. Firstly, my DIY silicone / foam hybrid tips isolate very well, but Complys may still have a slight edge. Secondly, my commute includes subway rides with much higher noise levels than your flights. Thirdly, I try to protect my ears by listening as quietly as possible (which still turns out to be pretty loud in a noisy environment).
 
But most of all, I've been going back and forth between the Flares and VE Dukes over the last two weeks, with both having a similar sound signature in the lower spectrum and comparable isolation. But from the upper mids upwards, the Flares are slightly recessed and the Dukes boosted. That makes a substantial difference in noisy surroundings to me, resulting in much better perceived clarity and intelligibility on the Dukes. Even though I subjectively regard the Flares as overall better IEMs, I always end up picking the Dukes over them for commuting.

 

[cooperpwc]

^ That makes sense James.

 

[Midgetguy]

 
 
 
The comfort and (not mentioned) discretion factor are essentials for me. The build quality, coming from  great Vsonic iems that broke only looking at them (for some days i thought i had Uri Geller's powers!), is something i obviously appreciate, that's why i had the RHA T20 on my mind. In fact i think, considering your comments, that Flare went to sleep after the hype reviews and it could be their future biggest problem. At this time, cheap weak build and poor packaging invites easily to consider other options. I suppose that they try to mean how much work they have on the sound, like if there was no profit margin.  Strategical mistake, because some clear lovers here and now are stating, despite of their support to the sound factor, their doubts about recommending it at that price. We, the consumers with audiophile tendencies (that means: their consumers), don't ask for futuristic golden shapes, just a good overall product. And they failed with some easy things.
 
Your comment about the Trinity Delta's is malevolent, by the way. Now that i had decided? Another one? You want me crazy ecstatic pondering the rest of my life? (i'll take a look)
 

Yes, these are small enough to lay your head on a pillow with without feeling the IEM press against your ear and cause discomfort, that's how comfortable they are for me. The R2A and the Trinity Audio Hyperion are the only ones that can do this. The R2A's cable is fairly springy and has some memory character to it and following this thread, you've obviously seen what can possibly be done to the cable going into the shell. As a contrast to the packaging, accessories and build quality, or lack thereof in some cases, the Trinity Audio IEMs (I backed these at the same time as the Flare R2A) packaging contains a hard-shell case, 2 sets of foam tips, and 5 sets (I think) of silicon tips. Every Trinity Audio IEM gets this set of accessories, including the Hyperion, their cheapest offering at $40. The Trinity IEMs are also CNC milled shells and use a very robust quad-braid cable with spring-loaded jack relief. So when compared to the Trinity IEMs, which were on Kickstarter at the same time and also based in the UK like Flare, the R2A was very lacking in nearly every aspect other than sound quality; and even that's questionable at the full retail price, while the Trinity IEMs aren't questionable at retail price. I know I sound like a fanboy, but the the Trinities aren't without their flaws, just like the Flares. Trinity Audio just does it at a much more reasonable retail price to make any flaws easy to look past

.
 
Also, regarding your eclectic musical taste, if your R2A experience ends up like mine, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Sure we've emphasized to you that they're great for EDM, but in my use, they're also pretty good at all the stuff I listen to. Here's a list of some of the stuff I listened to with these today and all of them sounded great:
 
Maroon 5 - Sunday Morning | Grant Bowtie - High Tide | OneRepublic - Feel Again | Eminem - Not Afraid | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Ten Thousand Hours | Daft Punk - Flynn Lives (from Tron: Legacy OST) | Assassin's Creed III Main Theme | Halo Mjolinir Mix feat. Steve Vai | Finish the Fight (Halo 3 main theme) | Icarus Main Theme (from Deus Ex: Human Revolution) | AC/DC - Hell's Bells | Tank! (main theme for Cowboy Bebop)
Hope that reassures you that these will probably sound great with all your music when you get a hold of them later

 

 

[sabloke]

Try Norah Jones. Her rendition of Run Away With Me sounded like she was singing for my ears only, with my head resting on her lap.

 

[sonickarma]

Anyone gone the ciem route with these quality drivers, surely that is very good value ciem?

 

[BucketInABucket]

Anyone gone the ciem route with these quality drivers, surely that is very good value ciem?

I went the half-CIEM route 

 does that count?

 

[sonickarma]

  I went the half-CIEM route 

 does that count?

Defo.. how does it compare ?
 
(as presumably the seal is better than any universal, R2A, S or Ti.)
 
Any pix of your Half-CIEM Flare ? Dont know if the material resonance impacts? Silicon or Acrylic or other (FAD metal injection moulding -hehe)?

 

[BucketInABucket]

 
Defo.. how does it compare ?
 
(as presumably the seal is better than any universal, R2A, S or Ti.)
 
Any pix of your Half-CIEM Flare ? Dont know if the material resonance impacts? Silicon or Acrylic or other (FAD metal injection moulding -hehe)?

The custom tips haven't actually arrived yet unfortunately. I ordered this company's offering at CanJam and it'll take two weeks or so to prepare. My ears got 3D-scanned and then they'll be made of silicon if I recall correctly.

 

[sonickarma]

  The custom tips haven't actually arrived yet unfortunately. I ordered this company's offering at CanJam and it'll take two weeks or so to prepare. My ears got 3D-scanned and then they'll be made of silicon if I recall correctly.

Ahh... i was really asking about the pure CIEM not custom (snug)tips (but keep us posted)
 
But anyone gone pure CIEM ?

 

[BucketInABucket]

 
Ahh... i was really asking about the pure CIEM not custom (snug)tips (but keep us posted)
 
But anyone gone pure CIEM ?

That's what I mean by half-CIEM 

 

[sonickarma]

  That's what I mean by half-CIEM 

Fair enough  - anyone bought these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B012Y494I8/ref=s9_hps_bw_g23_i1
and put them in CIEM ?
 
BucketInBucket - if i'm misunderstanding - let me know please

Or did you send JUST your drivers only to get Half-CIEM's - Or was that shell/casing part of you Half-CIEM ?
 
As I was interested in the drivers alone in Silicon/Acrylic CIEM Shells

 

[xoxiax]

 
Yes, these are small enough to lay your head on a pillow with without feeling the IEM press against your ear and cause discomfort, that's how comfortable they are for me. The R2A and the Trinity Audio Hyperion are the only ones that can do this. The R2A's cable is fairly springy and has some memory character to it and following this thread, you've obviously seen what can possibly be done to the cable going into the shell. As a contrast to the packaging, accessories and build quality, or lack thereof in some cases, the Trinity Audio IEMs (I backed these at the same time as the Flare R2A) packaging contains a hard-shell case, 2 sets of foam tips, and 5 sets (I think) of silicon tips. Every Trinity Audio IEM gets this set of accessories, including the Hyperion, their cheapest offering at $40. The Trinity IEMs are also CNC milled shells and use a very robust quad-braid cable with spring-loaded jack relief. So when compared to the Trinity IEMs, which were on Kickstarter at the same time and also based in the UK like Flare, the R2A was very lacking in nearly every aspect other than sound quality; and even that's questionable at the full retail price, while the Trinity IEMs aren't questionable at retail price. I know I sound like a fanboy, but the the Trinities aren't without their flaws, just like the Flares. Trinity Audio just does it at a much more reasonable retail price to make any flaws easy to look past

.
 
Also, regarding your eclectic musical taste, if your R2A experience ends up like mine, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Sure we've emphasized to you that they're great for EDM, but in my use, they're also pretty good at all the stuff I listen to. Here's a list of some of the stuff I listened to with these today and all of them sounded great:
 
Maroon 5 - Sunday Morning | Grant Bowtie - High Tide | OneRepublic - Feel Again | Eminem - Not Afraid | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Ten Thousand Hours | Daft Punk - Flynn Lives (from Tron: Legacy OST) | Assassin's Creed III Main Theme | Halo Mjolinir Mix feat. Steve Vai | Finish the Fight (Halo 3 main theme) | Icarus Main Theme (from Deus Ex: Human Revolution) | AC/DC - Hell's Bells | Tank! (main theme for Cowboy Bebop)
Hope that reassures you that these will probably sound great with all your music when you get a hold of them later

 

 
 
Really interesting that Deltas, i've read some reviews. Looks like soundstage is their weakest point, is it?. Excuse me if i'm asking too much, but would you mind to compare them strictly by their sonic capabilities? Just a few words is fine, i didn't find any comparison between them in that sense. (or link me to any comparison already made)
 
That playlist is exactly what i mean: i'm sure there can be great specialized iems, or even filters really effective, but my real daily use will go through different moods and styles. Great to see this is an all weather system!

 

[Midgetguy]

 
Ahh... i was really asking about the pure CIEM not custom (snug)tips (but keep us posted)
 
But anyone gone pure CIEM ?

Wouldn't it be difficult to do a pure CIEM with this dynamic driver? While Flare did design this as a sealed driver in mind, it does still need some air in the shell to move which means there's gonna have to be a cavity of some sort in the shell, or a port which takes away the nice isolation element that the current shells have. Plus, I think I prefer them as they are instead of a CIEM shell; they disappear much better right now and that's really nice. Even if a custom mold could provide more comfort and isolation, the size would be a huge tradeoff in this case.
 

   
 
Really interesting that Deltas, i've read some reviews. Looks like soundstage is their weakest point, is it?. Excuse me if i'm asking too much, but would you mind to compare them strictly by their sonic capabilities? Just a few words is fine, i didn't find any comparison between them in that sense. (or link me to any comparison already made)
 
That playlist is exactly what i mean: i'm sure there can be great specialized iems, or even filters really effective, but my real daily use will go through different moods and styles. Great to see this is an all weather system!

I'll see if I can give an adequate explanation briefly, though I also would have been pretty bad at describing it given more words anyway 

. The R2A has the better sound stage compared to the Delta. I think the strength of the Deltas are that it has a little more mid presence and sounds a little smoother and more natural. The R2As are no slouch for natural feel either, but to my ears, the Delta just edges it out. By a combination of sound stage and slightly more treble energy, the R2A also feels leaner and has a little more clarity to it. In terms of bass, both are pretty well matched for quality (which is very good on both) with the R2A winning out by a tiny bit on quantity. Considering the stuff I listen to, both perform very well, but at the end of the day, I'd take the Delta over the R2A for the increased presence in the mids while still retaining the bass quality and quantity that I like. It's smoother sound signature also proves to be a tiny bit less fatiguing over the course of the day, though the R2A isn't that far behind in that department either.
Note that in this comparison, my R2A is unmodified from the factory (my end cap is not flush with the body) and that the Delta was using the gunmetal filter which I consider to be the all-arounder filter. Silicon tips were used on both, VSonic GR06 tips for the R2A and the small stock silicons for the Delta. And also keep in mind that what I hear might not necessarily be what your or others hear, though I do hope I at least got something right in all of that

.

 

[praneethbm]

You should....though maybe not at full MSRP.

I am looking for a used one oh this forum. There is one for 120. Do you think that is a fair price?

 

[Midgetguy]

I am looking for a used one oh this forum. There is one for 120. Do you think that is a fair price?

That's the Kickstarter price basically. Does it seem like it's the sound signature your looking for and is build quality and accessories completely a backseat priority compared to sound quality? Because if you also would really like build quality and accessories, then I'd currently recommend getting the Trinity Delta off of Amazon instead which is also $120. Refer to my quick comparison on sound I gave to @xoxiax above.
 
But overall as a direct answer to your question, yes, $120 is a reasonable price in my opinion for the R2A.