[james444]

Yet now hearing that some of their items have channel discrepancies with no way of replacement due to none being in stock anymore, it isn't going to help Flare any.

No worries, I've been able to resolve the issue myself long ago. Just mentioned it, because ime it seems unlikely that those units I got back then had been tested for FR consistency. In case you're interested in the details, here are the relevant posts:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flare-audio-r2pro-kickstarter-campaign.766183/page-114#post-11806210
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flare-audio-r2pro-kickstarter-campaign.766183/page-128#post-11842307

In the end, all was due to inconsistant sealing / venting of the rear chamber with removable endcaps. Good to see that Flare ditched that concept in favor of fixed endcaps on the FlaresPro.

 

[Magick Man]

The new balanced silver cable I made for my Flare Pros. Turned out okay, gets the job done. The 2.5mm TRRS plug is one I already had laying around, I may upgrade to a better one later.

 

[LuckyNat]

I agree about their direction, at least on a consumer level - but if it gives a business a massive cash buffer so it can spend more on research and audio as a passion of the above business owner, I'm all for it..

I'm always surprised about questions of price in these Flare Audio threads.. Has no-one seen the enthusiasm and success and desirability oozing out of the threads of $1500+ priced custom iems and headphones? These Flares are cheap in comparison! And likely very competitive in that price bracket too..

I guess their brand image (i.e. don't really have one because they're such a small company) has attracted a completely different crowd..

 

[LuckyNat]

The new balanced silver cable I made for my Flare Pros. Turned out okay, gets the job done. The 2.5mm TRRS plug is one I already had laying around, I may upgrade to a better one later.

Woop woop! Nice one. If only I could get myself to do these projects.

Much difference in balanced mode? Or too blown away to post ever since?

 

[LuckyNat]

OK - i got distracted by reading the thread.. But I came to let people know Flare Audio are having a Black Friday sale! 20% reduction!

Flares Pro @ £279 !

Check their website this weekend - 'till Monday I think, inclusive.

I'll be getting some of those audiophile tips, though obviously just a £4 reduction isn't that exciting..

 

[Arysyn]

Flare Audio is doing something really nice for people with disabilities later this year with a special modification on the Isolates. I won't say exactly what it is, because of wanting to keep the surprise, but I'm really looking forward to it. I've been wanting to get the Isolates, but can't because of the small size and no cord. I know Flare listened to me and likely others with their upcoming announcement.

Also, I really really like the R2A I got in my trade from DannyKing here on Head-Fi. It has become my main listening iem for most vocal music, except for music without vocals where a treble boost is helpful, then I'll use the Massdrop HiFiMan RE-00 I received from GoodVibes. The RE-00 is better in areas where there is fast instrumentals, but in vocals the R2A has the advantage of really being upfront, kind of like the Grado GR series, but much better emotional impact due to the Dynamic Drivers vs the Balanced/Moving Armature Drivers of the Grado GR.

I've quickly shifted my preference in vocals more towards wanting that close perception. I'm wondering if this is the same as the intimate sound profile when people here on Head-Fi use the term "intimate" to describe it? I know it lessens the larger soundstage perception, but it is something that doesn't seem to matter to me as much nowadays. I am even more sensitive to recessed vocals and is why I've pretty much made the decision on Flare being my main choice for it, especially considering the large, ever growing marketplace of iems featuring the v-shaped sound signature. I may very well be the most anti- v-shaped sound critic there is.

 

[HiFlight]

Add me to the "anti-v-shaped" crowd!

 

[Arysyn]

Add me to the "anti-v-shaped" crowd!

That is what Flare is great for, those who do not want one of the hundreds of V-Shaped iems on the market, particularly the dynamic driver iems.

The R2A have been really impressive to me, and as a bit of surprise to add here, a found a very reputable vendor that has a demo unit of the Flare R2Pro I bought earlier and should receive sometime soon. So, looks like I'll be able to do the review after all with the R2A/R2Pro comparison. I'll also add in from my memory of my thoughts regarding the FlaresPro to the R2 line, though I can't be too specific now that its been awhile since I had the FlaresPro. I do remember the bass being a bit more quantity in them than the R2A, while still perfectly fine for me regardless. The mids on both are plenty forward, though the R2A is a bit more. Most of my concentration of the review will be the treble and of course I'll write about vocal details too.

I'm very excited for this shipment and getting to make a review on these here after all.

 

[barondla]

Looking forward to your review Arysyn.

 

[Arysyn]

I've got a bit of bad news, it seems. I received the FlaresPro from Audio Sanctuary several days ago, but one of the earpieces is missing a driver. Besides that, there are no left/right markings anywhere on the product, which I read online was an initial problem of the R2Pro that got fixed. I have no idea why I received a pair that does not have these markings on them, especially when I paid over $300 for this iem. Audio Sanctuary has been telling me they are going to try to work with FlareAudio to resolve this, but FlareAudio isn't even manufacturing the R2Pro anymore, nor am I hearing anything from Flare who I wrote to about this. The situation is very weird and I'm unsure what to do at this point. I'm not getting much response back from Audio Sanctuary either, other than to say they are waiting to hear back from Flare, but its been several days.

So I'm unable to do the comparison I wanted to do. Also, I'm thinking I may go ahead and get the Unique Melody ME1, as the frequency response graph I've seen of it is very closely related to my preference. I also was considering the new Sennheiser ie800, but the bass looks a bit too much and I'm concerned about the small dip in the low/mid mids, though the high mids look good -not recessed. Treble looks good too, but again its the bass I'm concerned with. Both the bass and the mids are so good on Flare's products, its a shame that the company doesn't seem interested in backing up their old products, unless Audio Sanctuary is at fault somehow.

 

[barondla]

Sorry you are having problems. Flare has always taken care of their customers. This is a crazy time for manufacturers and retailers. Would give them a little more time to catch up from the holidays. Flare is a very small company with few employees.

I am confused about which model Flare are missing a driver? FlaresPro or R2Pro?

 

[McCol]

I've got a bit of bad news, it seems. I received the FlaresPro from Audio Sanctuary several days ago, but one of the earpieces is missing a driver. Besides that, there are no left/right markings anywhere on the product, which I read online was an initial problem of the R2Pro that got fixed. I have no idea why I received a pair that does not have these markings on them, especially when I paid over $300 for this iem. Audio Sanctuary has been telling me they are going to try to work with FlareAudio to resolve this, but FlareAudio isn't even manufacturing the R2Pro anymore, nor am I hearing anything from Flare who I wrote to about this. The situation is very weird and I'm unsure what to do at this point. I'm not getting much response back from Audio Sanctuary either, other than to say they are waiting to hear back from Flare, but its been several days.

So I'm unable to do the comparison I wanted to do. Also, I'm thinking I may go ahead and get the Unique Melody ME1, as the frequency response graph I've seen of it is very closely related to my preference. I also was considering the new Sennheiser ie800, but the bass looks a bit too much and I'm concerned about the small dip in the low/mid mids, though the high mids look good -not recessed. Treble looks good too, but again its the bass I'm concerned with. Both the bass and the mids are so good on Flare's products, its a shame that the company doesn't seem interested in backing up their old products, unless Audio Sanctuary is at fault somehow.

Not sure if I'm reading your post correctly but the Flare Pro's as far as I'm aware don't have markings as such, my model bought on launch has a darker cable for the left earpiece. Not sure if they changed this on later production runs.

 

[Arysyn]

Sorry you are having problems. Flare has always taken care of their customers. This is a crazy time for manufacturers and retailers. Would give them a little more time to catch up from the holidays. Flare is a very small company with few employees.

I am confused about which model Flare are missing a driver? FlaresPro or R2Pro?

Not sure if I'm reading your post correctly but the Flare Pro's as far as I'm aware don't have markings as such, my model bought on launch has a darker cable for the left earpiece. Not sure if they changed this on later production runs.

Its the R2Pro I received from Audio Sanctuary that has the missing R/L markings and the missing driver.

I'll take another look though at the cable to see if there is a difference in cable color to determine the side difference. I noticed when I had the FlaresPro, it had the markings somewhere, as does the R2A I have by means of a small boxy looking piece connected over the cables.

I'll write back later in the week with an update. Hopefully I'll hear something about it soon.

 

[barondla]

Its the R2Pro I received from Audio Sanctuary that has the missing R/L markings and the missing driver.

I'll take another look though at the cable to see if there is a difference in cable color to determine the side difference. I noticed when I had the FlaresPro, it had the markings somewhere, as does the R2A I have by means of a small boxy looking piece connected over the cables.

I'll write back later in the week with an update. Hopefully I'll hear something about it soon.

I pledged for the R2Pro kickstarter. The R2Pro only have left right markings on the splitter box. Couldn't stand that. Bought some tiny colored art rubber bands at Walmart. Now right IEM has red stripe and left has one has white. Cheap mod and totally reversible. Used Stereophile test CD to make sure it was correct. Have those and other diagnostic tracks on a PonoPlayer. Have used them many times to check out stereo systems.

Happy holidays

 

[HiFlight]

For some of my IEM's that are hard to identify L vs R, I use SpinFit tips with red stem on one and white on the other.