[G_T_J]

 
BTW: one can buy o-rings on ebay for cheap as long as they know the diameter and thickness they want. A lot easier than hunting for a pair of much more expensive eartips and then cannibalising them.

I'd love to get one or 2 of those rings as I'm having really trouble to identify L from R in low light....

 

[myemaildw]

its a good earphone, the problem with flare audio is they are all unbalanced. i bought three of these cables and two were unbalanced and third could have been too cause i broke one. i learned to resolder the cables to the dynamic, i would have been able to salvage it but before i didnt know.

on one left is louder and has more bass. second is also left less loud than right and also distorts bass seems same. on third one that i have left i didnt check. but so i cut the cable and put one iem that seems most equal in bass and volume. now sound is balanced. also i tuned the tip with one layer of ve monk foam, one tea bag and under tip i put glue tack. and no neither seem to be bassy so the sound doesnt have much bass. i put dense metal back caps in iems so it doesnt have much bass.

 

[dannyking]

its a good earphone, the problem with flare audio is they are all unbalanced. i bought three of these cables and two were unbalanced and third could have been too cause i broke one. i learned to resolder the cables to the dynamic, i would have been able to salvage it but before i didnt know.

on one left is louder and has more bass. second is also left less loud than right and also distorts bass seems same. on third one that i have left i didnt check. but so i cut the cable and put one iem that seems most equal in bass and volume. now sound is balanced. also i tuned the tip with one layer of ve monk foam, one tea bag and under tip i put glue tack. and no neither seem to be bassy so the sound doesnt have much bass. i put dense metal back caps in iems so it doesnt have much bass.

I've had the same problems with cables. I almost gave up on these before I realized I could just re-solder them with my spare ie80 cable. Ever since then, nothing has happened and it doesn't look like going faulty in the long run. In terms of the unbalanced sound, and distortion, I had the same problem even after using the ie80 cable. Here's what I did to fix it, hopefully it helps you too.
 
 
For the distortion, make sure that O-rings are placed in such a way that the steel end caps aren't  directly touching the drivers. Also, if you solder the wires, make sure there isn't any residue left after the process, i.e, try to make the soldering as clean as possible.
 
For the unbalanced  sound, For me, this came from the fact that one driver was further in the hole than the other. After pushing both as far in as  I possibly could (making sure that the where at the same position) I no longer ad an unbalanced problem.  
 
Hopefully this helps.

 

[myemaildw]

ye i picked one that doesnt distort and have equal volume. there is one that has bass but i dont have a pairing bass dynamic so i just use these bass has no quantity, but detail is good.

 

[sodesuka]

Finally got the time to compare R2Pro with Cardas A8. Tonally, A8 is much warmer than R2Pro, with more midbass presence, both are pretty smooth with no discernible grain, but I personally think R2Pro has better timbre across all frequency range along with its clarity, although it might sound thin compared to A8 and for people who are used to HD650-like sound. A8 manages to not sound congested despite its warm sound, imaging is also pretty good, but R2Pro sounds better separated. Both have good soundstage if you get the fit right.
 
For my taste, R2Pro fits me better, but I imagine someone who loves warm sound would be better served with A8.

 

[myemaildw]

probably anything is bassier than flare audio. but i find bass depends on inconsistencies in flare production some are bassy and also on metal material in back plate. i put two back plates thin from clip and then dense from screw and now its both bassy and resolving.

 

[sodesuka]

Not really, I have 3 or 4 pair of drivers, and they all sound the same as long as you put the o-ring and the cap right. I'm not sure how it is if you put it on other shells, but with their intended shells, the variance on bass depends on those two things.

 

[sabloke]

Oh man, my left driver wire just broke, right there into the casing where there should be strain relief. I don't feel like sending them all the way around the world to get them fixed. Can't buy a replacement kit from here down under either. Flare should just send it to me, these are still under warranty!
 
Thinking about getting the whole cable replaced by soldering both drivers to a IE80 or similar cable. What do you guys think? I'll get them professionally soldered of course.

 

[myemaildw]

i put two plates one that is less dense that makes iems have more bass and behind that denser plate that has more detail and now it has bass and detail and overall sound is better. even flare didnt tune it well on pro version. you can make a circle from paper clip and add before the cap on pro version and it will make sound better. i got zuperdac replacement it stops playing on full volume but sounds better than pervious dac. very good sound.
https://youtu.be/3pA1R8fmrKM
[VIDEO]https://youtu.be/3pA1R8fmrKM[/VIDEO]

 

[sodesuka]

  Oh man, my left driver wire just broke, right there into the casing where there should be strain relief. I don't feel like sending them all the way around the world to get them fixed. Can't buy a replacement kit from here down under either. Flare should just send it to me, these are still under warranty!
 
Thinking about getting the whole cable replaced by soldering both drivers to a IE80 or similar cable. What do you guys think? I'll get them professionally soldered of course.

Do it.

 
As long as the builder soldered them like the original (below the white vent, cable goes straight below without occupying the housing), it should not sound worse.
 
Quote:

i put two plates one that is less dense that makes iems have more bass and behind that denser plate that has more detail and now it has bass and detail and overall sound is better. even flare didnt tune it well on pro version. you can make a circle from paper clip and add before the cap on pro version and it will make sound better. i got zuperdac replacement it stops playing on full volume but sounds better than pervious dac. very good sound.

I don't know your better but mine sound quite good. I don't need any more bass than they have now. And I thought you only have the R2A's shells?

 

[holden4th]

  Oh man, my left driver wire just broke, right there into the casing where there should be strain relief. I don't feel like sending them all the way around the world to get them fixed. Can't buy a replacement kit from here down under either. Flare should just send it to me, these are still under warranty!
 
Thinking about getting the whole cable replaced by soldering both drivers to a IE80 or similar cable. What do you guys think? I'll get them professionally soldered of course.

 
You recently got sleeves attached. Is it possible that during this process that driver wire was damaged? The reason I'm asking is that I'm getting impressions made here on the Gold Coast and will send them to the same company that made your custom sleeves.
 
I like the idea of attaching IE80 cables.

 

[sabloke]

Absolutely no way the wire got damaged by the custom tips fitting process. I got them done a couple of months ago with no issues. It is obvious that the wire was cut by the sleeve in the casing and that has nothing to do with it.

 

[ClassicalViola]

Tried the teabag mod with silicone ear tips on my R2A recently, and sadly found it to alter the overall signature such that it is too lean (balance tipped towards higher frequencies) and grainy for my liking. Timbre became noticeably much less natural especially when listening to acoustic recordings like classical orchestral tracks. Went back to the supplied comply tips and immediately noticed how much more natural the acoustic recordings sounded. Unfortunately comply tips cost a lot of $$$... Will have to try some of the other cheaper alternatives mentioned by others here occasionally.

 

[myemaildw]

one layer of tea bag, one layer of foam from ve monk and sillicon tips. with comply foams it might sound better without. i only have one comply foam tips that look almost like a foam that your cat chewd on. comply foam tips break in a few weeks, get soggy and then break and are expensive. i bought one pair of comply foams though. flares seem to sound best with comply foam

 

[Stuff Jones]

Spintfits work well for me.