[Arysyn]

Now I'm really upset about this. I looked very carefully at the cabling of the R2Pro and there is nothing, not a single bit of difference to determine l/r, nothing anywhere on the ear pieces either. Why Audio Sanctuary sold this to me in good faith is puzzling. The missing driver issue may still be related to customs, but there is no reason the product should not have these markings. Also, I do not know why Flare would make such a product. I'm going to have to file a claim.

 

[McCol]

Now I'm really upset about this. I looked very carefully at the cabling of the R2Pro and there is nothing, not a single bit of difference to determine l/r, nothing anywhere on the ear pieces either. Why Audio Sanctuary sold this to me in good faith is puzzling. The missing driver issue may still be related to customs, but there is no reason the product should not have these markings. Also, I do not know why Flare would make such a product. I'm going to have to file a claim.

That’s my mistake with the cable, I misread and thought you had the newer FlarePro earphones which have a different colour cable for the left. Sorry.

 

[HiFlight]

Now I'm really upset about this. I looked very carefully at the cabling of the R2Pro and there is nothing, not a single bit of difference to determine l/r, nothing anywhere on the ear pieces either. Why Audio Sanctuary sold this to me in good faith is puzzling. The missing driver issue may still be related to customs, but there is no reason the product should not have these markings. Also, I do not know why Flare would make such a product. I'm going to have to file a claim.

I once owned the R2Pro and if I recall correctly, the channel identification was on the splitter, not the cable or earpiece itself, both of which were identical.

 

[alpha421]

^I concur.

 

[barondla]

Yep, the Flare R2Pro only have channel ID on the splitter box. Nothing on the earpieces, nothing on the wire. It is possible that Flare didn't mark the earpieces because they are interchangeable and customers could get them switched if they replaced the drivers.

 

[Arysyn]

I once owned the R2Pro and if I recall correctly, the channel identification was on the splitter, not the cable or earpiece itself, both of which were identical.

HiFlight,

Is there something specific I ought to be looking for?
Both cables are black at the same shade, and the small piece connected to the left/right cables does not have any markings nor color differences. Perhaps there once was something on there that no longer is?

I'll try taking photos, if I can. My smartphone camera isn't very good, and with my finger dexterity might be difficult to take the best shot, but I'll try later.

 

[HiFlight]

HiFlight,

Is there something specific I ought to be looking for?
Both cables are black at the same shade, and the small piece connected to the left/right cables does not have any markings nor color differences. Perhaps there once was something on there that no longer is?

I'll try taking photos, if I can. My smartphone camera isn't very good, and with my finger dexterity might be difficult to take the best shot, but I'll try later.

Yours is not a typical R2Pro as the L/R ID should be on the splitter.

 

[Arysyn]

Yours is not a typical R2Pro as the L/R ID should be on the splitter.

Good to know. I've already filed a claim, so I'll see how things go.

 

[Arysyn]

Update :

Audio Sanctuary is being good at responding to me and is looking into this. I really hate to put blame on Flare Audio, but its looking like Flare may have sent them a bad product. Audio Sanctuary did tell me the unit was a demo store display model, considering the rarity of the R2Pro nowadays, but did Flare really need to send them a product without the left/right markings? I'm not even sure why Flare has sold these with cable configuration options some have mentioned here, but not the standardized forms most audio companies do.

I'm hoping I can get a replacement Flare could send to them, but when I asked Flare a few weeks ago prior to my ordering from Audio Sanctuary, they made it seem they didn't have any. I know the model is discontinued, but at least have some spare product for warranty. Although I don't get the impression they do. I really hope Audio Sanctuary doesn't end up trying to replace this with the FlaresPro, because its unusable to me with that high treble.

 

[McCol]

Update :

Audio Sanctuary is being good at responding to me and is looking into this. I really hate to put blame on Flare Audio, but its looking like Flare may have sent them a bad product. Audio Sanctuary did tell me the unit was a demo store display model, considering the rarity of the R2Pro nowadays, but did Flare really need to send them a product without the left/right markings? I'm not even sure why Flare has sold these with cable configuration options some have mentioned here, but not the standardized forms most audio companies do.

I'm hoping I can get a replacement Flare could send to them, but when I asked Flare a few weeks ago prior to my ordering from Audio Sanctuary, they made it seem they didn't have any. I know the model is discontinued, but at least have some spare product for warranty. Although I don't get the impression they do. I really hope Audio Sanctuary doesn't end up trying to replace this with the FlaresPro, because its unusable to me with that high treble.

I had a pair of demo/review/prototype R2pro and they had no splitter with l or r markings. I made my own markings in the end.

 

[barondla]

@Arysyn the original Flare R2 came with a rectangular, HEAVY solid metal splitter "cover". The wires are connected together internally. The splitter cover is not required for the IEMs to work.

Flare's thinking was to make the splitter cover heavier than the whole rest of the IEMs. Wearing the wires over ear allows the weight of the "splitter cover" to anchor the whole set up. After learning to wear IEMs over ears, I liked weight.

About half the owners hated it. 1. Many thought the ultra small and light weight R2 were ruined by a big heavy cover. 2. The heavy weight could pull the miniscule R2 out of the ears of wires worn down. Soon people learned the splitter cover could be removed. This meant losing the L R signal id that is located on the splitter cover next to each wire. People marked the earpieces before removing the cover.

Prying the splitter cover off became so popular that later the replacement driver/cable assemblies could be ordered either way. With or without. I think they also sold the R2 either way.

So you either got a set built without splitter cover, a set that had the splitter cover removed, or a set that had the original cables replaced. Guess Flare never came up with another way to mark channel id. Don't think Flare or Audio Sanctuary did anything wrong here. The missing driver is the bigger worry.

Sorry, probably more info than anyone needed on Flare splitter covers.

 

[Arysyn]

That’s my mistake with the cable, I misread and thought you had the newer FlarePro earphones which have a different colour cable for the left. Sorry.

Not problem at all. I'm glad you mentioned about the cables. Even though the product is different, its still helpful to keep in mind to check everything with a product, especially for something that a buyer may think is missing on a product that turns out not to be, just applied to the product differently. I could have missed something, but even as it turned out I hadn't, its still good to keep in mind to check.

The R2Pro I have unfortunately is what it is being without markings. I doubt AudioSanctuary realized this before sending it, as they were trying to be helpful, and are attempting to resolve this with Flare. Yet for what it is, Flare ought to have put the markers somewhere on the demo product, because there are channel differences that really need to be in the correct ear, which I have no way of knowing on the R2Pro.

I had a trade with Head-Fi member DannyKing, who sent me the R2A model that I really like alot, and it has a small box connected to the cables. He told me the left/right markings are on the opposite sides, which while I have to remember every time I listen on it, at least I know. Its definitely not like shoes, where even without markings, you can tell. At least for me, I can't tell which channel side should be in what ear. Any advice about that?

I had a pair of demo/review/prototype R2pro and they had no splitter with l or r markings. I made my own markings in the end.

 

[dannyking]

Not problem at all. I'm glad you mentioned about the cables. Even though the product is different, its still helpful to keep in mind to check everything with a product, especially for something that a buyer may think is missing on a product that turns out not to be, just applied to the product differently. I could have missed something, but even as it turned out I hadn't, its still good to keep in mind to check.

The R2Pro I have unfortunately is what it is being without markings. I doubt AudioSanctuary realized this before sending it, as they were trying to be helpful, and are attempting to resolve this with Flare. Yet for what it is, Flare ought to have put the markers somewhere on the demo product, because there are channel differences that really need to be in the correct ear, which I have no way of knowing on the R2Pro.

I had a trade with Head-Fi member DannyKing, who sent me the R2A model that I really like alot, and it has a small box connected to the cables. He told me the left/right markings are on the opposite sides, which while I have to remember every time I listen on it, at least I know. Its definitely not like shoes, where even without markings, you can tell. At least for me, I can't tell which channel side should be in what ear. Any advice about that?

You can use this to find out what channel is left/right and then use maybe a marker/sticker to differentiate them.

 

[Arysyn]

@Arysyn the original Flare R2 came with a rectangular, HEAVY solid metal splitter "cover". The wires are connected together internally. The splitter cover is not required for the IEMs to work.

Flare's thinking was to make the splitter cover heavier than the whole rest of the IEMs. Wearing the wires over ear allows the weight of the "splitter cover" to anchor the whole set up. After learning to wear IEMs over ears, I liked weight.

About half the owners hated it. 1. Many thought the ultra small and light weight R2 were ruined by a big heavy cover. 2. The heavy weight could pull the miniscule R2 out of the ears of wires worn down. Soon people learned the splitter cover could be removed. This meant losing the L R signal id that is located on the splitter cover next to each wire. People marked the earpieces before removing the cover.

Prying the splitter cover off became so popular that later the replacement driver/cable assemblies could be ordered either way. With or without. I think they also sold the R2 either way.

So you either got a set built without splitter cover, a set that had the splitter cover removed, or a set that had the original cables replaced. Guess Flare never came up with another way to mark channel id. Don't think Flare or Audio Sanctuary did anything wrong here. The missing driver is the bigger worry.

Sorry, probably more info than anyone needed on Flare splitter covers.

That is good information, barondla. I'm really not trying to sound as if I'm blaming them in the way of making Flare Audio and Audio Sanctuary seem bad. Not at all. Both companies have been great communicating with me, but the consumer advocate side of looking at this I can't help to thinking there is some fault, but still that certainly doesn't make them bad.

Actually, and a bit off-topic (sorry) - I've been having an extremely difficult time trying to get a return made for an unopened phone case in its completely sealed original packaging from a company called "Catalyst Case/Catalyst Lifestyle". The reason for the return has nothing to do with the product necessarily being bad, I don't even know since its unopened.

My mother was going to use the case for the Apple Phone SE T-Mobile was going to send to her, but there were problems that led us now planning on switching to AT&T soon, where there won't be a need for her to even have a phone. She's going to get the Apple Watch Series 3, which we also got a case for from Catalyst we are planning to keep. So it isn't the entire order needing to be returned, but just the one item.

Yet, Catalyst is trying to get me to take photographs of the case and packaging, which with my finger dexterity issues I can't do. Its not so simple for me as say, taking a photo of earbuds that I can just use a webcam screenshot of, not something requiring special angles and zooming, etc.

They've been so difficult towards me, that I had to mention to Catalyst inquiring what they'd do if a blind/difficult sight person was wanting to return an item. Neither Audio Sanctuary nor Flare Audio have been that difficult, and I apologize if I made either seem bad for it. Just that in knowing the quality of Flare, I'm a bit surprised by this, and I'm not sure why Audio Sanctuary didn't notice this in the past after they received it.

Now I'm wondering if there is a way of listening for the proper channel side that I'm not aware of. My audio knowledge while certainly much greater than a few years ago, I'm still certainly not an expert, and maybe I could learn to listen for this particular difference in channels where the markings may eventually not matter so much to me. As for now though, its not so simple for me, and I'd really like to have the markings there on the product.

Anyways, the driver situation definitely is troubling. I'm thinking its a customs issue. One of the earpiece end caps was loose in comparison to the other one. I really doubt Audio Sanctuary would have sent it that way. Plus, they asked to check for specific taping they made on the package, which was opened by my mother. I asked her about it, which she described differently. So, its looking as it was opened by customs, which may have contributed to the missing driver. Perhaps there was a left/right marking piece on it too that went missing.

 

[Arysyn]

You can use this to find out what channel is left/right and then use maybe a marker/sticker to differentiate them.

Hi Danny,

Thanks again for the R2A trade. I hope you like the Meridian Explorer2 dac and that customs wasn't much. Seems like I might have my own ordeal with customs messing with the package from Audio Sanctuary.

Anyways, that video is a good suggestion. If I do get the R2Pro issue resolved but without the markings, I'll definitely test with that video. I really want to do a comparative review between the R2A and R2Pro.

My reason for planning on that review, isn't so much from any expectations of glaring differences between the two, or to make a common point of interest detailing their specifications. My reason is because while I like the R2A alot, definitely more than the FlaresPro, though its only the upper treble of the FlaresPro I ever had to complain about it (The FlaresPro sounds great in every other aspect - I want to get a proper perspective of the sound profile of the R2A and R2Pro and discuss my review with the representative at Flare I've written online many times, which he's great at responding.).

I hope to make a case of hoping Flare might consider something of a new FlaresPro that focuses on the lower treble detail Flare told me they made an effort on with the R2Pro. I like alot of detail in the upper mids and lower treble, and I believe Flare would have a great iem without the extended upper treble the FlaresPro has. Then I can listen to the other qualities and make suggestions.