[NimbleRabit]

A while back I got started here at head-fi with some MEelectronics M9 in-ear phones (along with Sennheiser CX300), and JVC-RX900 (modded) headphones. Well lately I just can't stand how bad the M9 and CX300 in-ears sound compared to my headphones. Both are far to harsh, the microphonics are unbearable, and the quality just isn't there for me.

So I'm looking to move up in the world. Help me out head-fi, where do I go from here? I'm willing to go up to $175 (USD), but as always price does matter and I never pass up a good bargain deal for my IEM's.

My musical tastes are mostly metal (in flames, dark tranquility, darkseed), prog rock (dream theater, OSI), indie/indie rock (cloud cult). I also listen to a significant amount of music with female vocalists, ranging from symphonic metal to indie to pop, so sibilance is VERY bad.

I don't have a lot of headphone experience, so I don't know what kinds of things I particularly like. The only pair I own right now is my RX900 and I'll just say that I really love them. Things don't necessarily sound perfect to me, but they are very fun to listen to.

 

[dweaver]

To bad the Monster Turbine Copper would probably have fit your bill but the Dell sale is over. Sennheiser IE7 if you can find them might do the trick. I would recommend the Panasonic HJE900 but I think they might be too harsh for you. If you can find a pair for the right price Ultimate Ear Triple Fi 10 may be OK, AT CK10 are also nice from what I have read but will be slightly over your budget.

 

[Painful Chafe]

Panasonic*RP-HJE900 and Klipsch Custom 3's are great for the money. The Custons have a flimsy cable so unless you can be easy on them, get something else. Both have good quality and quantity of bass for your style of music.

 

[Pianist]

I recommend Hifiman RE0 for $79 US + shipping. It reproduces vocals, both male and female perfectly with great detail and richness. The treble is very smooth and very extended and crazy detailed, but with zero harshness unless it is present in the recording. The bass is not head pounding but should be adequate for the genres you listen to - it is on the neutral side, not too light, not too heavy. What headphones do you own BTW?

 

[NimbleRabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recommend Hifiman RE0 for $79 US + shipping. It reproduces vocals, both male and female perfectly with great detail and richness. The treble is very smooth and very extended and crazy detailed, but with zero harshness unless it is present in the recording. The bass is not head pounding but should be adequate for the genres you listen to - it is on the neutral side, not too light, not too heavy. What headphones do you own BTW?

I only own my JVC-RX900's and MEElectronics M9 in-ears. I talked about both a bit in the original post. How do the RE0 fair in terms of long term comfort?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweaver /img/forum/go_quote.gif To bad the Monster Turbine Copper would probably have fit your bill but the Dell sale is over. Sennheiser IE7 if you can find them might do the trick. I would recommend the Panasonic HJE900 but I think they might be too harsh for you. If you can find a pair for the right price Ultimate Ear Triple Fi 10 may be OK, AT CK10 are also nice from what I have read but will be slightly over your budget.

I'll probably stay away from the Panasonics as I really dislike harshness, and yeah I probably can't go up to the CK10 price. I'll look into the IE 7 and Triple Fi 10 though.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NimbleRabit /img/forum/go_quote.gif I only own my JVC-RX900's and MEElectronics M9 in-ears. I talked about both a bit in the original post. How do the RE0 fair in terms of long term comfort?

My bad. Well, I am sure RE0 will sound better to you than those JVCs.

Regarding comfort - it is a very personal thing, especially with IEMs. However, because RE0 is a shallow insertion IEM, it should generally be more comfortable than deeper inserting IEMs. Personally, I have no comfort issues with the RE0 and can wear them for hours without having to take a break. I also can't remember hearing any complaints from other people regarding comfort on RE0 either. The key is to find the right tips for your ears, so experiment with as many tips as possible, preferably ones from other IEMs that fit RE0 as well.

 

[ZARIM]

UE TF10Pro, RE0, SA6 and IE7.........

 

[NimbleRabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif My bad. Well, I am sure RE0 will sound better to you than those JVCs. Regarding comfort - it is a very personal thing, especially with IEMs. However, because RE0 is a shallow insertion IEM, it should generally be more comfortable than deeper inserting IEMs. Personally, I have no comfort issues with the RE0 and can wear them for hours without having to take a break. I also can't remember hearing any complaints from other people regarding comfort on RE0 either. The key is to find the right tips for your ears, so experiment with as many tips as possible, preferably ones from other IEMs that fit RE0 as well.

Alright, thanks for the info. One more question if you don't mind: I noticed you Q-Jays from your signature. Looking around a few reviews made those sound like they might be pretty good, and I really like how small they are. Any opinions on how those might work out for my music?

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NimbleRabit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alright, thanks for the info. One more question if you don't mind: I noticed you Q-Jays from your signature. Looking around a few reviews made those sound like they might be pretty good, and I really like how small they are. Any opinions on how those might work out for my music?

Yes, q-jays are very nice IEMs as well. Not sure if they will be worth the extra money over the RE0 for you. Their sound is quite different. The q-jays have better bass, but RE0 wins in the midrange and treble, while still offering very good bass. Q-jays actually really excel in bass reproduction - it's their strongest point in my opinion. The bass is not emphasized, but it is very, very tight, punchy, fast, accurate and articulate. Really great for any music with lots of bass material in it. RE0 by comparison has a slightly slower bass, with less punch and slightly less depth, but with excellent detail. It still works fine for most bass passages, but it is just not as impressive as the q-jays in this regard - it's more subtle. In addition to great low end, q-jays also have teriffic low midrange - male vocals and some instruments like piano sound awesome with the Q-jays and again, more impressive than with RE0. But where the q-jays are weak is in the upper midrange and up. The upper mids are recessed, resulting in some lack of presence with some music, while the upper treble, while sparkly and exciting, can sometimes sound a little muddy and sibilant. RE0 by contrast, has great upper mids and perfectly controlled treble.

Another option you may want to consider is Sleek Audio SA6. It sounds like something in between q-jays and RE0. Tight bass like on the q-jays, but less punch, like on RE0, great low mids like q-jays, but also great upper mids like RE0. Treble is smooth and well extended, but not as ultimately extended and detailed as that of RE0, but still without the harshness of the q-jays. They are very nice IEMs overall. I really can't tell you which one will fit you best. I am afraid you will have to listen to them yourself to find out, wince everyone has different preferences.

Hope this helps

 

[ethan961]

Also consider the Westone 2 if you can afford $214+shipping. I love them for listening to Mastodon and other metal/rock etc. They are far ahead of the RE0 and have just the perfect amount of bass. Nothing is ever accentuated, and nothing is ever bothersome. No piercing highs, no overly aggressive midrange, no anemic bass, just a nice, neutral yet warm sounding IEM. Perfect for metal and other rock etc IMO, unless you're listening to something requiring dominating bass, in that case the Westone 2 does not have that. The Westone 2 has the right amount of bass where it is still neutral but yet does not lack bass. The bass can lack a little impact at times, but it's leaps and bounds better than the amount and impact of the RE0.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan961 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also consider the Westone 2 if you can afford $214+shipping. I love them for listening to Mastodon and other metal/rock etc. They are far ahead of the RE0 and have just the perfect amount of bass. Nothing is ever accentuated, and nothing is ever bothersome. No piercing highs, no overly aggressive midrange, no anemic bass, just a nice, neutral yet warm sounding IEM. Perfect for metal and other rock etc IMO, unless you're listening to something requiring dominating bass, in that case the Westone 2 does not have that. The Westone 2 has the right amount of bass where it is still neutral but yet does not lack bass. The bass can lack a little impact at times, but it's leaps and bounds better than the amount and impact of the RE0.

How long did you burn in your RE0 for and did you try alternative tips with it? I found the stock single flange silicone very bad - the bass indeed sucks with those tips. I use UE Super.fi/Triple.fi single flange silicone as well as the stock large double flange tips and I get plenty of high quality bass out of my well burned in (300+ hours) RE0.

 

[NimbleRabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif How long did you burn in your RE0 for and did you try alternative tips with it? I found the stock single flange silicone very bad - the bass indeed sucks with those tips. I use UE Super.fi/Triple.fi single flange silicone as well as the stock large double flange tips and I get plenty of high quality bass out of my well burned in (300+ hours) RE0.

I think I'm going to go with the RE0 as it seems well balanced (so I can't go wrong as a start), and the price point is very reasonable. I'm a little worried about the tips though, as comfort is pretty important to me. Will I possibly be able to order other tips that would fit them if the stock ones don't work out (since I don't have other IEM's with nice tips I could go switching out)?

 

[ethan961]

My RE0 was pre-owned and well burned in. I used the stock small bi-flanges, as the large in no way would stay in my ears, even when using the Ety style deep insertion with tugging on your ear etc. I know my pair was perfectly fine, and I liked them, but the Westone 2 is simply a better IEM, and it should be expected at twice the price. Once your mind is acclimated to the RE0, it does become enough bass, though it will still lack the impact. The Westone 2 has the right amount of bass to be neutral. IMO a bass-light IEM can't be neutral, so IMO the RE0 was not truly neutral. It was pretty clean and even, but compared to the W2, it was not neutral. The W2, to my ears, is simply a better all round IEM. The RE0 is still certainly good at its price, but the W2 is simply a different take on neutral than what Head-Direct likes.

 

[rawrster]

I don't know where you live but if you are in the US you can go to a best buy to get some sony hybrid tips which fit. However it is rather expensive at $8 for one set of tips since they give you 4 different sizes. An alternative solution although a longer wait is to buy one of those fake sony hybrids on ebay which will let you choose your sizes at a similar price of the real hybrid tips. Another option is to buy shure olives and take out the inner core to make them fit.

You can always buy the RE0 first and then see if you like the sound already and then see if have to buy tips or not.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan961 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My RE0 was pre-owned and well burned in. I used the stock small bi-flanges, as the large in no way would stay in my ears, even when using the Ety style deep insertion with tugging on your ear etc. I know my pair was perfectly fine, and I liked them, but the Westone 2 is simply a better IEM, and it should be expected at twice the price. Once your mind is acclimated to the RE0, it does become enough bass, though it will still lack the impact. The Westone 2 has the right amount of bass to be neutral. IMO a bass-light IEM can't be neutral, so IMO the RE0 was not truly neutral. It was pretty clean and even, but compared to the W2, it was not neutral. The W2, to my ears, is simply a better all round IEM. The RE0 is still certainly good at its price, but the W2 is simply a different take on neutral than what Head-Direct likes.

Remember that RE0 was originally a $199 IEM and even back then several reputable members here thought that it was a good deal at that price.