[holden4th]

...and one step back in the food chain I'm waiting for my Pros. According to USPS tracking they left Sydney yesterday morning headed for QLD. Just in case, I dropped into the PO to see if they had arrived but no luck. Interestingly, even though I've tagged them with Aussie Post they still have them in LA awaiting take off.

Glad to see how much you like the Golds Spinrite. Maybe in a year or two........

 

[McCol]

@Arysyn, yes the mistake is our socialized government up here in our pockets all the time. Taxed up the yin yang. Anyways, paid it up front to DHL online as soon as i got the notice, didn’t want these golds to be delayed.
So far initial impressions is what can add in addition to Arysyns review? They are truly amazing piece of masterpiece work. You guys described these perfectly and appreciate the info between these and the etys ER4S. They sound bland now, anemic. These golds have a deeper, heavier, meatier sound but clean the way i like it. I gotta go back and listen to them more, right now i can’t get enough of them. They are truly epic.

It’s not just social government applying excessive customs and vat, here in the UK our right wing parliament add around 22% to the cost.

 

[Arysyn]

@Arysyn, yes the mistake is our socialized government up here in our pockets all the time. Taxed up the yin yang. Anyways, paid it up front to DHL online as soon as i got the notice, didn’t want these golds to be delayed.
So far initial impressions is what can add in addition to Arysyns review? They are truly amazing piece of masterpiece work. You guys described these perfectly and appreciate the info between these and the etys ER4S. They sound bland now, anemic. These golds have a deeper, heavier, meatier sound but clean the way i like it. I gotta go back and listen to them more, right now i can’t get enough of them. They are truly epic.

Ooh, I'm very glad you like the FlaresGold, spinrite! Great to hear!
Also, I'm glad you like my review for them, but now that you have the FlaresGold, I'm curious your perspectives, if you'd like to review them, that would be be wonderful. Also, if you'd like for me to add anything to the opening introduction section, such as device photos you could pm them to me for adding in the introductory area.

I'd also like to know what, if any, differences there may be you noticed in contrast to my review, though please list your source device and eartips. I try being as accurate as possible in describing the audio products I try, but with the variations in source equipment etc, that may alter the sound, varied by customer device settings, and such. Its interesting to learn about these variations, especially in personal perspectives and their variable viewpoints.

 

[skypablo]

Received the pros in less than 24 hours and about 6 hours in listening. I usually listen se846 and dn2002 plus a lot of headphones.
Impressions:
1) ethereal sound, highs are really strong but never heard an hiss or sibilance. I remember a lot of of sibilance from my (sold) dt880.
2)power hungry, no way to listen from a normal smartphone like an s8+ while the v20 can drive pros perfectly. Slightly less volume needed than Aeon but really a little difference...lol
3)I though binding flares with hugo2 could be bad with both being strong in treble...God,exceptional binding....meaning treble from both are just strong but never over emphasized.
4) very good with ifi idsd bl but better with hugo2
5)bluetooth dongle is good but difference in dynamic is evident against all the 3 dacs (yes I consider v20 a great dac)
6)sound hasnt a big body, but is technically perfect.
7)I am very happy.... Think on selling 846...
8) fit is exceptionally good, 4 hours on and no fatigue, se846 after 1 hour hurts dn2002 after 20 minutes

That's finally really bad... Looking at the golds.... Please help stop me...

 

[Victorfabius]

For anyone curious, a replacent 3.5mm cable, the cost is £102. That was US $147 for those of us in the States. Expected delivery is about the same time frame as the Pros/Golds, which is 3 days overseas.

Customer support responded fast, and shipped within an hour of payment and also dropped the parcel off. They also went out of their way and supplied some extra tips.

Very positive experience, I would say.

Still, I feel quite happy that I splurged on some female to female mmcx adapters so I could continue to listen to my Golds.

 

[majo123]

Well I'm still waiting to hear the outcome of sending my pros back, they have had them all week and no news hoping to hear by the end of next week at the latest.

 

[Arysyn]

Received the pros in less than 24 hours and about 6 hours in listening. I usually listen se846 and dn2002 plus a lot of headphones.
Impressions:
1) ethereal sound, highs are really strong but never heard an hiss or sibilance. I remember a lot of of sibilance from my (sold) dt880.
2)power hungry, no way to listen from a normal smartphone like an s8+ while the v20 can drive pros perfectly. Slightly less volume needed than Aeon but really a little difference...lol
3)I though binding flares with hugo2 could be bad with both being strong in treble...God,exceptional binding....meaning treble from both are just strong but never over emphasized.
4) very good with ifi idsd bl but better with hugo2
5)bluetooth dongle is good but difference in dynamic is evident against all the 3 dacs (yes I consider v20 a great dac)
6)sound hasnt a big body, but is technically perfect.
7)I am very happy.... Think on selling 846...
8) fit is exceptionally good, 4 hours on and no fatigue, se846 after 1 hour hurts dn2002 after 20 minutes

That's finally really bad... Looking at the golds.... Please help stop me...

I can't stop you from the Golds. In fact, someone ought to stop me from trying to convince you to get the FlaresGold, lol.

 

[Arysyn]

Received the pros in less than 24 hours and about 6 hours in listening. I usually listen se846 and dn2002 plus a lot of headphones.
Impressions:
1) ethereal sound, highs are really strong but never heard an hiss or sibilance. I remember a lot of of sibilance from my (sold) dt880.
2)power hungry, no way to listen from a normal smartphone like an s8+ while the v20 can drive pros perfectly. Slightly less volume needed than Aeon but really a little difference...lol
3)I though binding flares with hugo2 could be bad with both being strong in treble...God,exceptional binding....meaning treble from both are just strong but never over emphasized.
4) very good with ifi idsd bl but better with hugo2
5)bluetooth dongle is good but difference in dynamic is evident against all the 3 dacs (yes I consider v20 a great dac)
6)sound hasnt a big body, but is technically perfect.
7)I am very happy.... Think on selling 846...
8) fit is exceptionally good, 4 hours on and no fatigue, se846 after 1 hour hurts dn2002 after 20 minutes

That's finally really bad... Looking at the golds.... Please help stop me...

skypablo, all kidding aside from my previous post - I'm glad you like the FlaresPro and generally I think if you're happy with it, there's no need to upgrade to the FlaresGold.

However, this is Head-Fi, where some people don't stop at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... and so on... number of iems un the quest to pursue the world's best iems. Even the best iem.

Now, there certainly are plenty of iems I haven't heard, but I've heard all the main sound signatures that you'll hear about, and most forms of it, between single-driver balanced armature and dynamic driver iems, hybrid iems, even the rare moving armature drivers found in Grado and Ortofon iems. The only type I haven't yet heard are multi-ba driver iems that I'm curious about in how it handles the bass and overall "strength" of the sound, particularly if it resolves one of ba's biggest issues - being the lack of "emotionality" to music from what I've heard from the single armature driver iems I've heard.

Yet, of all these iems I've listened to music through, the FlaresGold is the best, followed by the Flare R2A and the Massdrop/HiFiMan RE00. The FlaresGold being more similar to the R2A than the FlaresPro. The way I describe FlaresPro now that I've heard the Gold and more of my memory of my time with the Pro comes to mind, the Pro is like its own class of V-Shape, not typical V-Shape that includes increased upper bass and lower treble, along with recessed mids/vocals, but rather increased subbass/lower bass with more neutral upper bass and lower treble, increased upper treble, and unlike traditional V-Shape - the FlaresPro does not have recessed mids/vocals.

The FlaresPro basically is an iem meant to bring people use to the V-Shape sound towards this much more natural tuning, without going all way, but also not doing even a "light" form of traditional V-Shape, like the Periodic Audio BE does. The FlaresGold however does go all the way. It presents a more natural, leaner subbass like the R2A, though more refined on the FlaresGold. I'm pretty sure the mids/vocals are about the same on all of them, at least between the R2A and the FlaresGold sound similar to me - I own them both, but no longer the FlaresPro that I did own for a short while before returning them to Flare Audio.

The big difference between the three - the R2A, Gold, and Pro, is the treble. The R2A recesses the treble and sounds much more intimate than the other two. I much prefer the Gold over the R2A for most of the vocal music I listen to, because I prefer larger space and 3d-like audio to an intimate sound environment. Although the non-energetic soundscape music I listen to are better on the R2A's intimate sounding in a way, depending on why exactly I'm listening to music for at the moment. If I'm needing to relax to go to sleep, the R2A might be better. Still, if I'm in the process of treating my chronic pain symptoms trying not to go to sleep from the side effects, I'll have the FlaresGold on.

The treble issue continues with my Gold vs Pro comparison. Most people here already know this, but to newer arrivals in this thread I really don't mind explaining this again. To note : The FlaresPro does not always play the harsh treble. It only happens during songs with particular instrumentals playing in focus, such as cymbals and tambourines.Also, its possible certain amp/dac sources may hide the harshness - I'm not sure which might, since there are so many available on the market.

I use the Meridian Explorer2, which is an excellent, very high-quality device I'm using as my primary source, which probably won't change until there is a wired portable amp/dac using one of the new 32-bit Cirrus Logic chipsets integrated. Currently, there is only the Nexum Aqua+ that does, but its wireless/bluetooth-only. I'm interested in the Cirrus Logic for its more neutral tuning history, whereas alot of portable amp/dac devices tend to be on the warmer side. It features a higher quality bitrate through its hardware basis than the ME2. Another thing, I don't listen to MQA files because no matter how improved it may be in contrast with lossy mp3, its still lossy. I only listen to lossless Flac or better, so long as "better", is lossless. Also, I'm not a fan of Bluetooth. I gave the Bluetooth feature a try using the FlaresGold, and was disappointed. I don't blame the Flare module though, but rather just Bluetooth.

To hear the treble harshness on the FlaresPro, keeping in consideration the source may prevent it, try listening to "Rivers of Belief" by Enigma using Tidal Flac. Later on in the song comes a section of tambourines that will sound very forward in contrast to the other instrumentals. That forwardness is not natural nor even normal for the song. I don't hear it using any other iems . It has a harsh metallic-like "edge" or "rawness" to it, resembling a ba driver-like sound to it. The effect really diminishes the clarity of the other vocals seemingly behind it, with very little separation.

I attribute this occurence to Flare Audio developing their "live sound", which utilizes tuning in the upper treble range. Too much of this is generally known to cause harshness and can actually happen anywhere in the treble range, but worse the higher the frequency is. Any company tuning anywhere in the treble range needs to proceed with caution. I can't be sure why Flare Audio left this pretty bad error in the FlaresPro, but I also know it doesn't affect every song.

The FlaresGold corrects this with a tuning I suspect decreases the upper treble just enough to remove the harshness and bring the cymbal and tambourine instrumentals more in line with the other areas in the music, while possibly increasing the lower treble for more details and whatever else Flare Audio may have done in creating a really amazing 3d-like sound that differs its treble in contrast to the FlaresPro and the R2A. Its very magical sounding that still does not distract from the wonderful forward mids/vocals that all in all work better with the more natural bass of the FlaresGold than the slight bit more thumpy nature of the FlaresPro, despite the FlaresPro certainly not being a "bassy" or "basshead" iem. Definitely not that at all.

So, deciding between the Pro and the Gold is a challenging decision to make. Clearly though if you're going to listen to any metal, epic orchestral trailer soundtrack, ambient ethereal, or energetic varieties of such 'soundscape'-like music, you're most likely better going for the Gold. However, pop music, country, R&B, rap, or acoustic music would be fine on the Pro, even though I personally believe the Gold is better in every way than the Pro, except perhaps R&B and rap music - those would benefit from the Pro having extra bass.

Also keep in mind that I'm only comparing between the Pro and the Gold from my hearing and basing certain differentials on the frequency response chart I have of the FlaresPro. However as of the current moment, I do not have measurements for the FlaresGold - although I'd really like to have them. Flare Audio told me they'd get back to me about them after they upgrade some of their equipment needed for more accurate measurements. I sure hope they do, and whenever I get them, for certain I'll share them here in this lovely thread.

 

[skypablo]

skypablo, all kidding aside from my previous post - I'm glad you like the FlaresPro and generally I think if you're happy with it, there's no need to upgrade to the FlaresGold.

However, this is Head-Fi, where some people don't stop at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... and so on... number of iems un the quest to pursue the world's best iems. Even the best iem.

Now, there certainly are plenty of iems I haven't heard, but I've heard all the main sound signatures that you'll hear about, and most forms of it, between single-driver balanced armature and dynamic driver iems, hybrid iems, even the rare moving armature drivers found in Grado and Ortofon iems. The only type I haven't yet heard are multi-ba driver iems that I'm curious about in how it handles the bass and overall "strength" of the sound, particularly if it resolves one of ba's biggest issues - being the lack of "emotionality" to music from what I've heard from the single armature driver iems I've heard.

Yet, of all these iems I've listened to music through, the FlaresGold is the best, followed by the Flare R2A and the Massdrop/HiFiMan RE00. The FlaresGold being more similar to the R2A than the FlaresPro. The way I describe FlaresPro now that I've heard the Gold and more of my memory of my time with the Pro comes to mind, the Pro is like its own class of V-Shape, not typical V-Shape that includes increased upper bass and lower treble, along with recessed mids/vocals, but rather increased subbass/lower bass with more neutral upper bass and lower treble, increased upper treble, and unlike traditional V-Shape - the FlaresPro does not have recessed mids/vocals.

The FlaresPro basically is an iem meant to bring people use to the V-Shape sound towards this much more natural tuning, without going all way, but also not doing even a "light" form of traditional V-Shape, like the Periodic Audio BE does. The FlaresGold however does go all the way. It presents a more natural, leaner subbass like the R2A, though more refined on the FlaresGold. I'm pretty sure the mids/vocals are about the same on all of them, at least between the R2A and the FlaresGold sound similar to me - I own them both, but no longer the FlaresPro that I did own for a short while before returning them to Flare Audio.

The big difference between the three - the R2A, Gold, and Pro, is the treble. The R2A recesses the treble and sounds much more intimate than the other two. I much prefer the Gold over the R2A for most of the vocal music I listen to, because I prefer larger space and 3d-like audio to an intimate sound environment. Although the non-energetic soundscape music I listen to are better on the R2A's intimate sounding in a way, depending on why exactly I'm listening to music for at the moment. If I'm needing to relax to go to sleep, the R2A might be better. Still, if I'm in the process of treating my chronic pain symptoms trying not to go to sleep from the side effects, I'll have the FlaresGold on.

The treble issue continues with my Gold vs Pro comparison. Most people here already know this, but to newer arrivals in this thread I really don't mind explaining this again. To note : The FlaresPro does not always play the harsh treble. It only happens during songs with particular instrumentals playing in focus, such as cymbals and tambourines.Also, its possible certain amp/dac sources may hide the harshness - I'm not sure which might, since there are so many available on the market.

I use the Meridian Explorer2, which is an excellent, very high-quality device I'm using as my primary source, which probably won't change until there is a wired portable amp/dac using one of the new 32-bit Cirrus Logic chipsets integrated. Currently, there is only the Nexum Aqua+ that does, but its wireless/bluetooth-only. I'm interested in the Cirrus Logic for its more neutral tuning history, whereas alot of portable amp/dac devices tend to be on the warmer side. It features a higher quality bitrate through its hardware basis than the ME2. Another thing, I don't listen to MQA files because no matter how improved it may be in contrast with lossy mp3, its still lossy. I only listen to lossless Flac or better, so long as "better", is lossless. Also, I'm not a fan of Bluetooth. I gave the Bluetooth feature a try using the FlaresGold, and was disappointed. I don't blame the Flare module though, but rather just Bluetooth.

To hear the treble harshness on the FlaresPro, keeping in consideration the source may prevent it, try listening to "Rivers of Belief" by Enigma using Tidal Flac. Later on in the song comes a section of tambourines that will sound very forward in contrast to the other instrumentals. That forwardness is not natural nor even normal for the song. I don't hear it using any other iems . It has a harsh metallic-like "edge" or "rawness" to it, resembling a ba driver-like sound to it. The effect really diminishes the clarity of the other vocals seemingly behind it, with very little separation.

I attribute this occurence to Flare Audio developing their "live sound", which utilizes tuning in the upper treble range. Too much of this is generally known to cause harshness and can actually happen anywhere in the treble range, but worse the higher the frequency is. Any company tuning anywhere in the treble range needs to proceed with caution. I can't be sure why Flare Audio left this pretty bad error in the FlaresPro, but I also know it doesn't affect every song.

The FlaresGold corrects this with a tuning I suspect decreases the upper treble just enough to remove the harshness and bring the cymbal and tambourine instrumentals more in line with the other areas in the music, while possibly increasing the lower treble for more details and whatever else Flare Audio may have done in creating a really amazing 3d-like sound that differs its treble in contrast to the FlaresPro and the R2A. Its very magical sounding that still does not distract from the wonderful forward mids/vocals that all in all work better with the more natural bass of the FlaresGold than the slight bit more thumpy nature of the FlaresPro, despite the FlaresPro certainly not being a "bassy" or "basshead" iem. Definitely not that at all.

So, deciding between the Pro and the Gold is a challenging decision to make. Clearly though if you're going to listen to any metal, epic orchestral trailer soundtrack, ambient ethereal, or energetic varieties of such 'soundscape'-like music, you're most likely better going for the Gold. However, pop music, country, R&B, rap, or acoustic music would be fine on the Pro, even though I personally believe the Gold is better in every way than the Pro, except perhaps R&B and rap music - those would benefit from the Pro having extra bass.

Also keep in mind that I'm only comparing between the Pro and the Gold from my hearing and basing certain differentials on the frequency response chart I have of the FlaresPro. However as of the current moment, I do not have measurements for the FlaresGold - although I'd really like to have them. Flare Audio told me they'd get back to me about them after they upgrade some of their equipment needed for more accurate measurements. I sure hope they do, and whenever I get them, for certain I'll share them here in this lovely thread.

skypablo, all kidding aside from my previous post - I'm glad you like the FlaresPro and generally I think if you're happy with it, there's no need to upgrade to the FlaresGold.

However, this is Head-Fi, where some people don't stop at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... and so on... number of iems un the quest to pursue the world's best iems. Even the best iem.

Now, there certainly are plenty of iems I haven't heard, but I've heard all the main sound signatures that you'll hear about, and most forms of it, between single-driver balanced armature and dynamic driver iems, hybrid iems, even the rare moving armature drivers found in Grado and Ortofon iems. The only type I haven't yet heard are multi-ba driver iems that I'm curious about in how it handles the bass and overall "strength" of the sound, particularly if it resolves one of ba's biggest issues - being the lack of "emotionality" to music from what I've heard from the single armature driver iems I've heard.

Yet, of all these iems I've listened to music through, the FlaresGold is the best, followed by the Flare R2A and the Massdrop/HiFiMan RE00. The FlaresGold being more similar to the R2A than the FlaresPro. The way I describe FlaresPro now that I've heard the Gold and more of my memory of my time with the Pro comes to mind, the Pro is like its own class of V-Shape, not typical V-Shape that includes increased upper bass and lower treble, along with recessed mids/vocals, but rather increased subbass/lower bass with more neutral upper bass and lower treble, increased upper treble, and unlike traditional V-Shape - the FlaresPro does not have recessed mids/vocals.

The FlaresPro basically is an iem meant to bring people use to the V-Shape sound towards this much more natural tuning, without going all way, but also not doing even a "light" form of traditional V-Shape, like the Periodic Audio BE does. The FlaresGold however does go all the way. It presents a more natural, leaner subbass like the R2A, though more refined on the FlaresGold. I'm pretty sure the mids/vocals are about the same on all of them, at least between the R2A and the FlaresGold sound similar to me - I own them both, but no longer the FlaresPro that I did own for a short while before returning them to Flare Audio.

The big difference between the three - the R2A, Gold, and Pro, is the treble. The R2A recesses the treble and sounds much more intimate than the other two. I much prefer the Gold over the R2A for most of the vocal music I listen to, because I prefer larger space and 3d-like audio to an intimate sound environment. Although the non-energetic soundscape music I listen to are better on the R2A's intimate sounding in a way, depending on why exactly I'm listening to music for at the moment. If I'm needing to relax to go to sleep, the R2A might be better. Still, if I'm in the process of treating my chronic pain symptoms trying not to go to sleep from the side effects, I'll have the FlaresGold on.

The treble issue continues with my Gold vs Pro comparison. Most people here already know this, but to newer arrivals in this thread I really don't mind explaining this again. To note : The FlaresPro does not always play the harsh treble. It only happens during songs with particular instrumentals playing in focus, such as cymbals and tambourines.Also, its possible certain amp/dac sources may hide the harshness - I'm not sure which might, since there are so many available on the market.

I use the Meridian Explorer2, which is an excellent, very high-quality device I'm using as my primary source, which probably won't change until there is a wired portable amp/dac using one of the new 32-bit Cirrus Logic chipsets integrated. Currently, there is only the Nexum Aqua+ that does, but its wireless/bluetooth-only. I'm interested in the Cirrus Logic for its more neutral tuning history, whereas alot of portable amp/dac devices tend to be on the warmer side. It features a higher quality bitrate through its hardware basis than the ME2. Another thing, I don't listen to MQA files because no matter how improved it may be in contrast with lossy mp3, its still lossy. I only listen to lossless Flac or better, so long as "better", is lossless. Also, I'm not a fan of Bluetooth. I gave the Bluetooth feature a try using the FlaresGold, and was disappointed. I don't blame the Flare module though, but rather just Bluetooth.

To hear the treble harshness on the FlaresPro, keeping in consideration the source may prevent it, try listening to "Rivers of Belief" by Enigma using Tidal Flac. Later on in the song comes a section of tambourines that will sound very forward in contrast to the other instrumentals. That forwardness is not natural nor even normal for the song. I don't hear it using any other iems . It has a harsh metallic-like "edge" or "rawness" to it, resembling a ba driver-like sound to it. The effect really diminishes the clarity of the other vocals seemingly behind it, with very little separation.

I attribute this occurence to Flare Audio developing their "live sound", which utilizes tuning in the upper treble range. Too much of this is generally known to cause harshness and can actually happen anywhere in the treble range, but worse the higher the frequency is. Any company tuning anywhere in the treble range needs to proceed with caution. I can't be sure why Flare Audio left this pretty bad error in the FlaresPro, but I also know it doesn't affect every song.

The FlaresGold corrects this with a tuning I suspect decreases the upper treble just enough to remove the harshness and bring the cymbal and tambourine instrumentals more in line with the other areas in the music, while possibly increasing the lower treble for more details and whatever else Flare Audio may have done in creating a really amazing 3d-like sound that differs its treble in contrast to the FlaresPro and the R2A. Its very magical sounding that still does not distract from the wonderful forward mids/vocals that all in all work better with the more natural bass of the FlaresGold than the slight bit more thumpy nature of the FlaresPro, despite the FlaresPro certainly not being a "bassy" or "basshead" iem. Definitely not that at all.

So, deciding between the Pro and the Gold is a challenging decision to make. Clearly though if you're going to listen to any metal, epic orchestral trailer soundtrack, ambient ethereal, or energetic varieties of such 'soundscape'-like music, you're most likely better going for the Gold. However, pop music, country, R&B, rap, or acoustic music would be fine on the Pro, even though I personally believe the Gold is better in every way than the Pro, except perhaps R&B and rap music - those would benefit from the Pro having extra bass.

Also keep in mind that I'm only comparing between the Pro and the Gold from my hearing and basing certain differentials on the frequency response chart I have of the FlaresPro. However as of the current moment, I do not have measurements for the FlaresGold - although I'd really like to have them. Flare Audio told me they'd get back to me about them after they upgrade some of their equipment needed for more accurate measurements. I sure hope they do, and whenever I get them, for certain I'll share them here in this lovely thread.

Arysyn, thank you, great analysis. I listen 60 classical, 35 power metal and 5 randomly. Just listened rivers of belief (never listened before) with tidal hifi on v20 (I am not at home) I don't dislike the excess in treble, probably because I appreciate the more airy sound that this give to the sound. It is indeed a very particular signature very distant from se846 but I like it. Also the confort is really top and this probably influence positively the equation. Will study more on pros with hugo2 monday! Good night, here is midnight now hehe

 

[spinrite]

Needless to say we get what we pay for, applies here.
FlareAudio has done masterful work tuning and designing this earpiece, when you consider that this earphone, dynamic driver 5.5mm in size and the way it produces the sounds in all the frequencies is magical. Usually a dynamic drivers can be tuned either to the top or low end or even in the middle but rarely is it able to fully cover the full spectrum accurately, its almost a case of trying to do too much at the one time but FlareGolds have done such a task beautifully. Balanced Armature earphones like my etys ER4S are incredibly sensitive, they produce wonderfully detailed and accurate mids and highs but are often found to be lacking in the impact of the bass.
What more can i add about these Golds that Asyryn hasn’t mentioned but the sound and from the very first moment I put the Golds in my ears I cant keep this stupid grin off my face. These are without a doubt the rolls royce of in ear universal earphones so much so that they even manage to compete with full size orthodynamic headphones I have heard.
Its one of the first earphones that I have listened to that didn't feel like I was just listening to.... well earphones. Most prominent is the monumental soundstage and grand spacing between different instruments that results in a fully out of head aural experience. On some recordings it was simply jaw dropping, cymbals, snares and kick drums would crash in the back, the vocals rise up in the front. There were strings to the left, trumpets to the right, its just such a fun experience to behold.
Every frequency remains damm near perfect in its own right and there is nary a hint of overlap bleed between them. Mids were presented with intimate detail and with ideal warmth that draws you in and engages you with your music. Male and female vocals were simply put the best I have heard from an earphone in the universal category.
Diana Krall, was both intimate and powerful depending on the song and there was never a hint of upper mid sibilance. Male vocals especially from acoustic and jazz, blues came across even better with the sense that the artist was performing right in front of you. The most outstanding track that I listened to was Ludovico Einaudi - High Heels. I got lost when it came on and i ended up playing in on repeat for roughly half an hour. The intimacy of the performance blows you away and the golds background presentation allows notes to float through the sound space uninterrupted whilst the detail retrieval allows you to pick up the action of dampening pedals.

More was to come on my second day of testing out the Flare’s and that was with upping the tempo a bit to test out the bass. A combination of Rap, Psytrance, EBM (ElectroBodyMusic) and Chillstep was on tap to make me fall further for these pricey earphones. Infected Mushroom's - Vicious Delicious album was on deck to provide the first full album experience with the golds, an album I favour for testing due to its wide variety of genres within single tracks, there's elements of vocals, rock, rap, trance. It took about 30 seconds into the track Artillery to know that there was now nothing the golds couldn't handle. The complex range of the song with high pitched vocals leading into crunching electric guitars layered over the top of deep bass drops which would vibrate your eardrum as if you managed to shove a 12 inch sub in you ear never ever tripped itself up by becoming muffled or congested. Detail in the low end was incredible at displaying different textures from double bass to clean electronic induced slams but ultimately its the impact and depth of extension that is going to leave you with a smile as wide as The Joker.

You can probably tell by now that there is very little i don’t like. So what’s not to like with the Flare Golds? Nothing! If you’re in the market for high end earphones i don’t think you can do any better. Out of the literally many universal earphones I have listened to the FlareGolds are one of the best in ear headphones I have used to date. They are incredibly well researched, tested and constructed. Treat yourselves with this gold jewel!

 

[Arysyn]

Needless to say we get what we pay for, applies here.
FlareAudio has done masterful work tuning and designing this earpiece, when you consider that this earphone, dynamic driver 5.5mm in size and the way it produces the sounds in all the frequencies is magical. Usually a dynamic drivers can be tuned either to the top or low end or even in the middle but rarely is it able to fully cover the full spectrum accurately, its almost a case of trying to do too much at the one time but FlareGolds have done such a task beautifully. Balanced Armature earphones like my etys ER4S are incredibly sensitive, they produce wonderfully detailed and accurate mids and highs but are often found to be lacking in the impact of the bass.
What more can i add about these Golds that Asyryn hasn’t mentioned but the sound and from the very first moment I put the Golds in my ears I cant keep this stupid grin off my face. These are without a doubt the rolls royce of in ear universal earphones so much so that they even manage to compete with full size orthodynamic headphones I have heard.
Its one of the first earphones that I have listened to that didn't feel like I was just listening to.... well earphones. Most prominent is the monumental soundstage and grand spacing between different instruments that results in a fully out of head aural experience. On some recordings it was simply jaw dropping, cymbals, snares and kick drums would crash in the back, the vocals rise up in the front. There were strings to the left, trumpets to the right, its just such a fun experience to behold.
Every frequency remains damm near perfect in its own right and there is nary a hint of overlap bleed between them. Mids were presented with intimate detail and with ideal warmth that draws you in and engages you with your music. Male and female vocals were simply put the best I have heard from an earphone in the universal category.
Diana Krall, was both intimate and powerful depending on the song and there was never a hint of upper mid sibilance. Male vocals especially from acoustic and jazz, blues came across even better with the sense that the artist was performing right in front of you. The most outstanding track that I listened to was Ludovico Einaudi - High Heels. I got lost when it came on and i ended up playing in on repeat for roughly half an hour. The intimacy of the performance blows you away and the golds background presentation allows notes to float through the sound space uninterrupted whilst the detail retrieval allows you to pick up the action of dampening pedals.

More was to come on my second day of testing out the Flare’s and that was with upping the tempo a bit to test out the bass. A combination of Rap, Psytrance, EBM (ElectroBodyMusic) and Chillstep was on tap to make me fall further for these pricey earphones. Infected Mushroom's - Vicious Delicious album was on deck to provide the first full album experience with the golds, an album I favour for testing due to its wide variety of genres within single tracks, there's elements of vocals, rock, rap, trance. It took about 30 seconds into the track Artillery to know that there was now nothing the golds couldn't handle. The complex range of the song with high pitched vocals leading into crunching electric guitars layered over the top of deep bass drops which would vibrate your eardrum as if you managed to shove a 12 inch sub in you ear never ever tripped itself up by becoming muffled or congested. Detail in the low end was incredible at displaying different textures for double bass to clean electronic induced slams but ultimately its the impact and depth of extension that is going to leave you with a smile as wide as The Joker.

You can probably tell by now that there is very little i don’t like. So what’s not to like with the Flare Golds? Nothing! If you’re in the market for high end earphones i don’t think you can do any better. Out of the literally many universal earphones I have listened to the FlareGolds are one of the best in ear headphones I have used to date. They are incredibly well researched, tested and constructed. Treat yourselves with this gold jewel!

Hi spinrite, excellent writing! When you've decided all of your testing/reviewing is complete, you can add the review here :
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/flares-gold-by-flare-audio.23024/

Since I started the review thread, theres an introduction area I can add information to with whatever you'd like for me to add there on the front page, as it is.

Regarding what you wrote, exceptional! I think your review is very good, and helps having your description of music types with how they sound on the Gold to my technical presentation. Which brings me to a thought - those of you who have the Gold - why not review them? I actually was thinking earlier today how little attention Flare Audio seems to get on Head-Fi. There are numerous iems that get the spotlight, yet go to their threads and its , "oh the bass could be this, the mids could be that, the treble, the this or that, etc." Not saying anything against the complaints specifically, but it doesn't make the products getting the positive attention sound that great in the threads. Yet here is this amazing, as close to perfect as can be in an iem, the FlaresGold, yet no mention by Jude or any of the other staff. It pretty much feels like this thread is its own community from Head-Fi, rather than as part of it.

So, if we can get more reviews going, the more chance there is to get attention for this wonderful iem from equally great company.

 

[Arysyn]

Well I'm still waiting to hear the outcome of sending my pros back, they have had them all week and no news hoping to hear by the end of next week at the latest.

majo, let me know what happens. I can try helping through pm if needbe. They're probably doing an inspection of the item to see whats going on wrong, as they did with my FlaresPro. Flare did give me the option of an immediate refund, which I took figuring the problem was with the upper treble tuning, rather than as a material defect. Since you're looking for a replacement though, the process being different likely will take longer than with mine.

Or you could tell them you'd like a refund to upgrade to the Gold, hehe.

 

[majo123]

majo, let me know what happens. I can try helping through pm if needbe. They're probably doing an inspection of the item to see whats going on wrong, as they did with my FlaresPro. Flare did give me the option of an immediate refund, which I took figuring the problem was with the upper treble tuning, rather than as a material defect. Since you're looking for a replacement though, the process being different likely will take longer than with mine.

Or you could tell them you'd like a refund to upgrade to the Gold, hehe.

Im afraid I just can't go to the golds, i mostly use iems on the go and headphones at home and I'm pretty prone to breaking my iems ( 3 pairs in a year) would be mortified if i broke a 1000 pound iems , I have a rule of no more than 500.on iems for my serial killing reason ..a little more on headphones as less prone to breakage.
I will let you know how it turns out though.

 

[Victorfabius]

Im afraid I just can't go to the golds, i mostly use iems on the go and headphones at home and I'm pretty prone to breaking my iems ( 3 pairs in a year) would be mortified if i broke a 1000 pound iems , I have a rule of no more than 500.on iems for my serial killing reason ..a little more on headphones as less prone to breakage.
I will let you know how it turns out though.

Question: How do you break them? Or rather, what on them do you break? I'm both curious and wondering if there's something I'm ignorant of that might help me with keeping mine in good order. Don't answer if you don't want to, I realize it might not be something you wish to share. I'm the one who just broke the plug on my Golds, so I have a bit of a history myself. *cough* More than I've said here, certainly. *cough*

 

[Arysyn]

Question: How do you break them? Or rather, what on them do you break? I'm both curious and wondering if there's something I'm ignorant of that might help me with keeping mine in good order. Don't answer if you don't want to, I realize it might not be something you wish to share. I'm the one who just broke the plug on my Golds, so I have a bit of a history myself. *cough* More than I've said here, certainly. *cough*

I can't fault majo for being cautious. I'd hate to break the FlaresGold too. They look like they could break on concrete.