[Bananiq]

If I understand this correctly - today is the last day for Amazon R2SS 50% off deal?
 

 

[cripple1]

That's what they said over at Flare Audio.

 

[dannyking]

Does anyone know the reason for the r2pros having such a low output volume?  This is new to me for an iem as my sennheiser ie80s and and previous Se425 were super loud at this volume. It's actually on par with my Hd598 but that has an impedance on 50ohms. Was there a reason behind flare audio doing this? 

 

[jorge999]

  Does anyone know the reason for the r2pros having such a low output volume?  This is new to me for an iem as my sennheiser ie80s and and previous Se425 were super loud at this volume. It's actually on par with my Hd598 but that has an impedance on 50ohms. Was there a reason behind flare audio doing this? 

I am finding this also - well, certainly using my iPhone 6 as source. However both my Macbook Pro and iPad have louder outputs so it may be a smartphone issue. Can I just say, however - I have been blown away by the quality of these little units. I don't think I have ever had such a natural sound especially from an IEM - once the ear seal is established the soundstage is mind-blowing and clarity is second to none. I do find that I am trying to force the earbud further into my ear canal when using the lower output of the iPhone when I am in noisier environments and it takes a little time for the Comply foam to fully fill the ear canal. But once it does - very, very nice.
 
I am currently looking for a minimalist DAC/amp for use with the phone just to complete my experience -  investigating the Cozoy units available - anyone got hand-on experience of these?

 

[Inks]

microdrivers are hard to drive in general

 

[cooperpwc]

The R2PRO does indeed have very low sensitivity. It is the only one of my IEMs that requires high gain with the PAW Gold. (Kaede can go either way.) Generally, the R2PRO scales well and deserves lots of good power anyway.

 

[Bananiq]

for me hard to drive earphones means they have reserved power for dynamic range havi and flares are proof

 

[holden4th]

  Can't but agree with you. Comply's are proving so much better for me.
 
I've also found the same experience on my Ety ER4's - the bass (what little there was of it) has vanished, so they're back to comply tips too.
 
A real shame as I had so much hope that customs were the way to go.

 
These are just the Snug customs from what I've read. I can't see why custom shells wouldn't improve bass and just about everything else provided they are made properly. Does anyone else have experience with customs from another company?

 

[holden4th]

  I am finding this also - well, certainly using my iPhone 6 as source. However both my Macbook Pro and iPad have louder outputs so it may be a smartphone issue. Can I just say, however - I have been blown away by the quality of these little units. I don't think I have ever had such a natural sound especially from an IEM - once the ear seal is established the soundstage is mind-blowing and clarity is second to none. I do find that I am trying to force the earbud further into my ear canal when using the lower output of the iPhone when I am in noisier environments and it takes a little time for the Comply foam to fully fill the ear canal. But once it does - very, very nice.
 
I am currently looking for a minimalist DAC/amp for use with the phone just to complete my experience -  investigating the Cozoy units available - anyone got hand-on experience of these?

 
I've discovered that the R2As do need to be driven but don't know why. They're like the Senn HD280s which are only 64 ohm impedance but sound somewhat anaemic - until you connect them to an amp. Then they really shine! While the Flares are not that bad, amplification makes a big difference
 
Just purchased a Fiio Q1 which drove my Shure SRH840s effortlessly. The Flares required more power and rather than turn up the volume knob I used the GAIN switch on the Fiio. Worked beautifully with these iem regardless of source.

 

[dannyking]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a new r2 cable/driver. Does anyone know where I can get one besides amazon (as they don't ship to canada) and flares website (cus they just don't reply and I heard shipping is too  expensive) or have a spare currently for sale? Please PM me if you do. Really need this urgently! Thanks guys.

 

[LuckyNat]

@Bananiq and @sodesuka - thanks

Actually I wasn't referring to the non-fatiguing highs/sound. It's the pressure being build up in the inner ear - or lack thereof - I'm interested in. Stephen Ambrose's ADEL technology supposedly prevents hearing loss, Flare Audio promised somewhat similar in their claim, I wonder what independent and objective proof or measurements are available to support the claims.

 As I understand it, the Flares are not about pressure build-up like the ADELs. They are about eardrum movement - with a normal design, the ear drum will be pushed in one direction more than the other for a given volume and therefore will experience over excursion sooner, and it's this excursion which causes both fatique and eventual hearing damage. With the presure balanced driver, the driver will be moving equally in both directions (drivers move back and forth) and therefore the eardrum will be doing the same. Therefore you can play louder before pushing your ear drum to it's limits of movement and therefore get less fatigue and less likely to get damage.
 
The ADELs still will move the air more in one direct than the other (because of the unequal pressures on each side of the driver) but will release the pressure within the ear canal at a certain point. Whether it does that pressure release exactly the same with both positive and negative pressures I don't know...

 

[LuckyNat]

  I do not bother posting much these days because this combination is essentially perfect.
 
PAW Gold (LOTOO PMEQ) > NXT-2AK > R2PRO (end caps fully screwed in, Comply Tx-200 large)
 
My portable music issues are dealt with. Time to focus on something else.

 
Excellent ! 
 
I'm getting there - it's a good DAP I need now. I'm re-discovering how good my Blackberry Playbook is though - amazingly natural and transparent with the R2Pros - just not so portable and only 48kHz max.

 

[holden4th]

Excellent ! 

I'm getting there - it's a good DAP I need now. I'm re-discovering how good my Blackberry Playbook is though - amazingly natural and transparent with the R2Pros - just not so portable and only 48kHz max.

I was thinking the same thing last night. Have resurrected my Sansa View and with the R2As they sound very good. Not as good as the iPhone 6 however so do I really need a new DAP? I have the Fiio Q1 which I can partner with any source if needs be and this will.travel with me connected to the Sansa so I will have a choice.

I don't need or have 24/96 clips or much FLAC/ALAC for that matter as I can't hear the difference with those and 320 Kbps MP3s. What difference I might pick up is so small as to be negligible. An upcoming upgrade to an iPhone 6S 64gb should cater for all my listening. On top of that the Sansa takes micro SD cards further adding to my portable music collection

 

[LuckyNat]

See what it sounds like.
 
I think the Blackberry Playbook's sound is just down to the Wolfson codec chip it uses with integrated amp - nothing particularly special but just happens to sound great. The chip's spec also states it can do 96KHz... perhaps the playbook's OS can too and I've never checked??
 
So much depends on implementation and chipsets - an "upgrade" doesn't mean it will be better sounding as most consumers will think stuff sounds good enough as it is, so manufacturers don't bother much improving that aspect of a phone.
 
Funny though how phones like the iphone 6 are still stuck on 64Gb! My 2009 Nokia came with 64Gb as standard plus the microSD slot. My current 2014 blackberry is less, only 32Gb on board (plus mSD card) - whatever happened to progress?

 

[CarmenC]

See what it sounds like.

I think the Blackberry Playbook's sound is just down to the Wolfson codec chip it uses with integrated amp - nothing particularly special but just happens to sound great. The chip's spec also states it can do 96KHz... perhaps the playbook's OS can too and I've never checked??

So much depends on implementation and chipsets - an "upgrade" doesn't mean it will be better sounding as most consumers will think stuff sounds good enough as it is, so manufacturers don't bother much improving that aspect of a phone.

Funny though how phones like the iphone 6 are still stuck on 64Gb! My 2009 Nokia came with 64Gb as standard plus the microSD slot. My current 2014 blackberry is less, only 32Gb on board (plus mSD card) - whatever happened to progress?

My iPhone 6 Plus is 128 gb.