[tinyman392]

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I think the RE400's better treble offsets the very slighly better mids and bass of the RE600 making them on par. I think both lack treble and sound a bit too warm and conservative compared to the modded flat IEMs I have, the RE600's treble is just too tamed  though. Add a hankerchief to the RE400 and it becomes very hard to say which is better, because the RE400's mids get as close and the bass more extended, which if anything makes it more versatile acoustically. The RE600 is easier to driver specially when the RE400 has a hankerchief so it comes off as more dynamic and more versatile with lowered power sources. RE600 is better mechanically, but not really acoustically.
 
IMO Hifiman was setting a good example with the RE400, with the RE600 it seems they're just jumping into the bandwagon. Although the RE272's lack of bass bothered me, its an IEM with more appeal with it's more transparent sound, wish they had kept these which are no way inferior to the two new models as was mentioned by the company.

 
I respectfully disagree with the bolded.  Although I feel the RE-400's are much better in terms of quantity and lower treble in general.  The RE-600s are simply more linear to the ear.  I was one of the few that found the RE-400's treble maybe a little peaky, maybe edgy.  The RE-600 seemed to have fixed this issue as they sound much more linear as a whole IMO.  Concerning the very slightly better mids and bass...  I'll agree with mids being slightly better, but the bass of the RE-600 isn't slightly better.  The change in sound is small, but wide and audible.  It's one of the IEMs I've got that dig deeply into the spectrum and expose the low-to-midbass focus of the majority of IEMs I have in the upper bracket (Westone W4R, Heir Audio, Phonak, and yes, the RE-400 is in this list as well although not upper bracket), the only one that it does do this to is the UE 900 (which is quite linear to my ears). 
 
I don't feel the RE-400 actually lacked too much treble.  Could it have a little more, yes, but lacking in quantity it really didn't IMO (taken as a whole).  I do feel that the treble on the RE-600 is tamed a little much, but isn't as bad as it looks on paper; it's present enough for the majority of music. 
 
HiFiMAN did set a god example with the RE-400.  What bandwagon is HiFiMAN jumping into?  No comments on the RE-272 as I haven't heard it. 

 

[Inks]

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I respectfully disagree with the bolded.  Although I feel the RE-400's are much better in terms of quantity and lower treble in general.  The RE-600s are simply more linear to the ear.  I was one of the few that found the RE-400's treble maybe a little peaky, maybe edgy.  The RE-600 seemed to have fixed this issue as they sound much more linear as a whole IMO.  Concerning the very slightly better mids and bass...  I'll agree with mids being slightly better, but the bass of the RE-600 isn't slightly better.  The change in sound is small, but wide and audible.  It's one of the IEMs I've got that dig deeply into the spectrum and expose the low-to-midbass focus of the majority of IEMs I have in the upper bracket (Westone W4R, Heir Audio, Phonak, and yes, the RE-400 is in this list as well although not upper bracket), the only one that it does do this to is the UE 900 (which is quite linear to my ears). 
 
I don't feel the RE-400 actually lacked too much treble.  Could it have a little more, yes, but lacking in quantity it really didn't IMO (taken as a whole).  I do feel that the treble on the RE-600 is tamed a little much, but isn't as bad as it looks on paper; it's present enough for the majority of music. 
 
HiFiMAN did set a god example with the RE-400.  What bandwagon is HiFiMAN jumping into?  No comments on the RE-272 as I haven't heard it. 

Hmm maybe you arent able to get them in that deep, because it is peaky with a more shallow fit, making the RE600 better in this regard, both lack a good amount of treble energy. RE600 more linear? Not to these ears, they're the same in linearity with the RE600 being more sloped down as you get into the treble. RE600 only has slightly better bass extension, and a hankerchiefed RE400 has about just as much. I do agree, it exposes the bloated stock midbass of the UE900 and W4. 
 
Use the reference setting on Accudio on the RE400 and it may become more clear to you that it's lacking, RE600 even more so...though not to the point to unbearable, just too soft. 
 
Pricing, they're jumping into the overpriced flagship bandwagon IMO. 

 

[tinyman392]

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Hmm maybe you arent able to get them in that deep, because it is peaky with a more shallow fit, making the RE600 better in this regard, both lack a good amount of treble energy. RE600 more linear? Not to these ears, they're the same in linearity with the RE600 being more sloped down as you get into the treble. RE600 only has slightly better bass extension, and a hankerchiefed RE400 has about just as much. I do agree, it exposes the bloated stock midbass of the UE900 and W4. 
 
Use the reference setting on Accudio on the RE400 and it may become more clear to you that it's lacking, RE600 even more so...though not to the point to unbearable, just too soft. 
 
Pricing, they're jumping into the overpriced flagship bandwagon IMO. 

 
More linear treble response...  Not linear through the entire frequency spectrum.  As for being peakier, I was able to hear the peaks.  They weren't as problematic, but could be a little more smeared at times.  Not a seal issue unfortunately, if it was, I'd have the same issue with the RE-600, which I clearly don't. 
 
The RE-600 did not exposes a bloated mid-bass on the UE 900...  It did expose a low-bass focus on the W4. 
 
I don't believe any of the other IEMs are overpriced that I've mentioned.  Yes, you do get diminishing returns as you jump in price.  It's something that's been well accepted on Head-Fi. 

 

[Inks]

 
More linear treble response...  Not linear through the entire frequency spectrum.  As for being peakier, I was able to hear the peaks.  They weren't as problematic, but could be a little more smeared at times.  Not a seal issue unfortunately. 
 
The RE-600 did not exposes a bloated mid-bass on the UE 900...  It did expose a low-bass focus on the W4. 
 
I don't believe any of the other IEMs are overpriced that I've mentioned.  Yes, you do get diminishing returns as you jump in price.  It's something that's been well accepted on Head-Fi. 

RE600 has smoother treble, but lacks presence even more so than the RE400 does. Meant insertion depth, not seal, you have to get them in very deep to make the RE400  smoother than usual. With a more semi-deep fit, they both have the same result, but the RE400 exposes the need for a deeper seal more when compared to it. I think I may actually may like the RE600 better slightly more shallow than deep. 
 
UE900 does have bloated midbass stock compared to RE600/400 W4 lacks low-bass imo, it also has too much midbass. Some companies get it right,some others do not, pricing here is not well done IMO with this flagship. W4R are at least build like a tank and are priced under 300$ nowadays, UE900s...well they have issues so I don't recommend those at all. 

 

[tinyman392]

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RE600 has smoother treble, but lacks presence even more so than the RE400 does. Meant insertion depth, not seal. 
 
UE900 does have bloated midbass stock compared to it, W4 lacks low-bass imo, it also has too much midbass. Some companies get it right,some others do not, pricing here is not well done IMO with this flagship.

 
The RE-600 and RE-400 have the same physical size.  I'm using the same physical tips on both.  I'm matching insertion depth on both.  It's not an issue of fit. 
 
I don't hear this mid-bass compared to the RE-600...  I do agree that the W4 can lack sub-bass at times, and the midbass can take a bit away from clarity (I definitely hear the slight veil).  I feel the pricing on this flagship is competitive.  I find it on par with the W4, which is a step above the UE 900 and Heir Audio, while the RE-600 is priced at those prices.  Now, that's not to say this IEM is the biggest bang for the buck HiFiMAN ever released (it's far from that), but it is priced fine.  I feel that everyone was expecting the RE-600 to be a bang for the buck like the RE-262, RE-400, and RE-0 was when in fact, it probably was never meant to be. 

 

[Inks]

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The RE-600 and RE-400 have the same physical size.  I'm using the same physical tips on both.  I'm matching insertion depth on both.  It's not an issue of fit. 
 
I don't hear this mid-bass compared to the RE-600...  I do agree that the W4 can lack sub-bass at times, and the midbass can take a bit away from clarity (I definitely hear the slight veil).  I feel the pricing on this flagship is competitive.  I find it on par with the W4, which is a step above the UE 900 and Heir Audio, while the RE-600 is priced at those prices.  Now, that's not to say this IEM is the biggest bang for the buck HiFiMAN ever released (it's far from that), but it is priced fine.  I feel that everyone was expecting the RE-600 to be a bang for the buck like the RE-262, RE-400, and RE-0 was when in fact, it probably was never meant to be. 

That's the thing because the RE400's higher treble presence, you may want to go in deeper to even out it's peaks. Doesn't really help the RE600 much because it's already superconservative in those regions anyway and if anything, you may prefer only semi-deep as do I. 
 
So W4 has more subbass than RE600? I don't think so, more midbass yes. It was meant to be "much" better than RE400 and the previous flagship, it's not, specially the RE272. It's not a bad performing IEM, but I wish at least Hifiman will justify it with much better build, the cable doesn't look that much better than the RE400's, though problems will be less reported as it will naturally sell less. W4R are about 100$ less nowadays and stomp it all around in build.

 

[tinyman392]

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That's the thing because the RE400's higher treble presence, you may want to go in deeper with the RE400 to even it out. Doesn't really help the RE600 much because it's already superconservative in those regions anyway and if anything, you may prefere slightly shallow. 
 
So W4 has more subbass than RE600? I don't think so, more midbass yes. It was meant to be "much" better than RE400 and the previous flagship, it's not, specially the RE272. It's not a bad performing IEM, but I wish at least Hifiman will justify it with much better build, the cable doesn't look that much better than the RE400's, though problems will be less reported as it will naturally sell less. W4R are about 100$ less nowadays and stomp it all around in build.

 
So you insist on changing insertion depth when comparing headphones?  I thought that when doing comparisons, it's best to change as little as possible.  They both are inserted as deeply as possible (the housings aren't visible in my ears from a standing front view with either).  It's not a shallow fit.  Again, I stress it, it's NOT the fit.  I will not be responding to another one of your, "it's the fit" proposals again. 
 
When did I say the W4 has more subbbass than the RE-600, I distinctively remember stating the opposite two posts ago.  Heck, I even said it lacks sub-bass in the previous post, go back and read.  This was a comparison of sonics, not build.  HiFiMAN has stated that they have looked into and found the issue with the RE-400.  That said, they will have less complaints about the RE-600 not because they sell less, because they know the issue.  You are really attacking random stuff right now, we're talking about sonics...  Remember?  Yes the W4R does have better build, I'll admit to that.  However, the W4R dropped in price, I'm sure the HiFiMAN will be able to be grabbed at a lower price eventually too...  Things drop in price with time...  That's why I compare at MSRP, the prices will eventually drop from there.  Street value fluctuates, MSRP generally doesn't. 
 
That said, this is my last response to you.  You seem to be taking (random) shots in the dark now... 

 

[Inks]

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So you insist on changing insertion depth when comparing headphones?  I thought that when doing comparisons, it's best to change as little as possible.  They both are inserted as deeply as possible (the housings aren't visible in my ears from a standing front view with either).  It's not a shallow fit.  Again, I stress it, it's NOT the fit.  I will not be responding to another one of your, "it's the fit" proposals again. 
 
When did I say the W4 has more subbbass than the RE-600, I distinctively remember stating the opposite two posts ago.  Heck, I even said it lacks sub-bass in the previous post, go back and read.  This was a comparison of sonics, not build.  HiFiMAN has stated that they have looked into and found the issue with the RE-400.  That said, they will have less complaints about the RE-600 not because they sell less, because they know the issue.  You are really attacking random stuff right now, we're talking about sonics...  Remember?  Yes the W4R does have better build, I'll admit to that.  However, the W4R dropped in price, I'm sure the HiFiMAN will be able to be grabbed at a lower price eventually too...  Things drop in price with time...  That's why I compare at MSRP, the prices will eventually drop from there.  Street value fluctuates, MSRP generally doesn't. 
 
That said, this is my last response to you.  You seem to be taking (random) shots in the dark now... 

You optimize the best setting for both, going slightly deep is in favor of RE600. I do either both very deep or RE600 only semi-deep as I think the RE600's actually benefit from not going very deep. I personally get the RE400 to the second bend, maybe that's the difference, it's about just as smooth as the RE600 with it, again both lack treble and midhigh energy, the RE600 even more so. low-bass=subbass [low portion of the bass region] I think you just used the wrong term there, I was also confused when you said it lacks subbass, when you had said it has more low-bass emphasis.
 
Well, what was the issue? I don't see better strain reliefs anywhere...Wish they were more elaborate about what they did. If two IEMs are on par sonically, you look into build, when you critique price you have look into all aspects, a great sounding 1000$ IEM with crap build is overpriced. RE272 only dropped in price after it was discontinued, hopefully the RE600 goes down to the 200$ mark. 

 

[Uchiya]

5 months in, 2 pairs of RE-272's in repair. Cable on one pair became to brittle and snapped, exposing the wiring and cutting the sound out of my right driver. The other pair, a gift, the strain relief came off and the left housing fell apart. I love the sound but either my luck or the build quality is suspect. I hated how hard and brittle the cables got. What would make them want to replicate that onto the new series?

 

[proedros]

you are unlucky , i guess

i have a 272 since September 2011 and it works fine , and i am talking about heavy use (between 4-8 hours/day)

i wish this iem wasn't discontinued , these are simply great iems - whoever managed to buy a new pair off amazon.com for 200$ really did himself a favour
 
the cables has hardened up a bit i have to admit it , but so far all is well - plus back in 2011 these babies came with a 3-year warranty , so guess i am safe for 1 more year if anything snaps
 
regarding the re-600 , as much as i love hifiman iems (having purchased re-zero/252/262/272) , well both the price and the sonic signature of the re-600 seems like a no-no
 
oh well , hopefully their next 'flagship' will be something like a 272 with a tad more bass (which my arrow amp easily fixes)

 
Quote:

5 months in, 2 pairs of RE-272's in repair. Cable on one pair became to brittle and snapped, exposing the wiring and cutting the sound out of my right driver. The other pair, a gift, the strain relief came off and the left housing fell apart. I love the sound but either my luck or the build quality is suspect. I hated how hard and brittle the cables got. What would make them want to replicate that onto the new series?

 

[Uchiya]

RE-272's struck me as similar to the 3.2 Mad Dog's but unfortunately, without that delicious sub bass.

 

[dleblanc343]

RE-272's struck me as similar to the 3.2 Mad Dog's but unfortunately, without that delicious sub bass.

I find the 272's muci akin to the T50RP Paradox. The Mad Dog is a much darker sound.

 

[Uchiya]

Really?  My hearing doesn't go above 15k but it didn't sound at all dark to me.  Maybe everything sound so crisp I couldn't tell that it was dark?

 

[Uchiya]

But the LCD'2s and HD650's, those are dark, yeesh.

 

[tinyman392]

In contrast to a more neutral sounding phone like the RE272, or an Etymotic, the RE-600 can sound dark in comparison; it's the well-reserved treble that does it, more or less.  The upper-mids do help it from becoming an entirely dark phone though.  Personally, I feel there is a bit too much upper midrange for me to call the RE-600 dark though, it'll always be warm and sweet IMO.