[Hi-Fi'er]

  After getting my RE-600 recabled, I have nothing but love for them 

They probably look awful. No one in the U.S. does a nice & or inexpensive recabling. I've only found one place and the cost is almost a new pair or RE's. It's just not worth it. There are better offerings out there. I'm sure others can chime in who have abandoned the RE line and suggest better options.  

 

[520RanchBro]

  They probably look awful. No one in the U.S. does a nice & or inexpensive recabling. I've only found one place and the cost is almost a new pair or RE's. It's just not worth it. There are better offerings out there. I'm sure others can chime in who have abandoned the RE line and suggest better options.  

Oh yeah, they were a bit more expensive when I had mine recabled. I just love the comfortable form and the pleasant sound signature.
 
I'm perfectly fine with the look of mine, the splitter is cheap, but I'm not all that concerned with appearances, it's proven very durable.
 
 

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

  Oh yeah, they were a bit more expensive when I had mine recabled. I just love the comfortable form and the pleasant sound signature.
 
I'm perfectly fine with the look of mine, the splitter is cheap, but I'm not all that concerned with appearances, it's proven very durable.
 
 

Good you are happy with them. 

 

[SeeSax]

So I have and love these, but how do they stack up these days? Is there a 2016 OEM that would be an upgrade or a side grade? You know, for when my cable inevitably fails

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

So I have and love these, but how do they stack up these days? Is there a 2016 OEM that would be an upgrade or a side grade? You know, for when my cable inevitably fails

I got the Ostry KC60 and they are very good. Pretty neutral, well made and inexpensive. Not the exactly same sound signature as the Ostry KC60 have tad more bass, but close enough for me as a replacement. I'm sure there are better offerings but I've read so much about them how they are neutral and I had to try them and like them the hype is justified. I got the Vsonic VDS3s from all the hype also but they were a disappointment. Muddy, bloated overall sound and the mids are the worst part, not forward at all or clear or neutral. The Vsonic are really over hyped, and next to the Ostry they are 0% no comparison as the Ostry outshines them as more professional sounding and neutral. For under $100.00 the KC60 hit the sweet spot for me.

 

[smy1]

no one with extra filters from their re400s/ 600s? 

would gladly buy em off you =) lemme know!

I think I do have some. But i don't have paypal lol

 

[abenunez]

Could you please advise where you recable these?

 

[520RanchBro]

  Could you please advise where you recable these?

I used BTG Audio. Are you referring to the 400 or 600? If the 400, it makes much more sense to just get a different pair of IEMS, and same goes for the 600 unless you really love them. It'll run you at least $70, if not more when you take in to account shipping and any other add-ons (different terminations, cable type, etc.). The driver housing is small and the driver itself is quite delicate too.

 

[alpha421]

So, I decided to give the RE-600 another chance after buying a new set from Sonicelectronix for a $100.  I noticed that the main cable was thicker than my first set when these debuted a few years ago.  Like many, I quickly grew fond of its sonic tonality.  It's non-offensive, smooth yet detailed, and offered wider than average stage and depth from a small dynamic driver.  However, like many who've experienced the build quality woes, such as the main cable and the TRS adapter cable were consistently subject to kinks and eventually a short where a channel would go out.
 
For those who owned or recall owning the infamous, yet wonderful sounding Klipsch Custom 3, which happened to be my favorite iem at the time shared the same kink prone cable as the RE-600.  What makes matter worse is that these kinks are there from the factory.  I opened the RE-600 upon receiving them last week and I CAREFULLY unraveled the cable and to my utter disappointment, there were four areas on the main cable section with freaking kinks.  Despite sounding every bit wonderful, the unpleasant feeling of the inevitable crept in.
 
I had urges to fully recable them like a few members have done, but at the time the chances of destroying the delicate drivers in the process stopped me.  This evening, I decided to save the RE-600 from its falling grace and out of haste, took my wire cutters and decapitated it.
 
Now, instead of a full recable job, I cut the cable above the Y-joint.  The RE-600 sounded great out of my Z3 compact smartphone, so going forward the RE-600 had no business keeping its balanced configuration.  I used three, 3 ft length 26AWG OFC wires, identified the positive channels, which happens to be the copper colored wires and strangely the grounds were the hybrid copper/silver wires. Next, I soldered the three wires to the existing wires (combined the two ground wires), used heat shrink  at the soldered connections,  and secured them inside a Shure-type iem shell I had lying around.  It worked great despite the phallic shape and an inch of heat shrink completed the y-joint. Finally, a simple cross-over weave and finished off with a RA Neutrik TRS connector.
 
Here's the end result.  I'm sure there are noted differences that can be detected with the appropriate equipment, or if I really analyze the sound, but the trade-off for a lighter, kink-less cable that is not destined for failure along with its TRS adapter cable (had 3 of them gone bad), it turned out to be a worthwhile project.
 
 

 

[rebbi]

So, I decided to give the RE-600 another chance after buying a new set from Sonicelectronix for a $100.  I noticed that the main cable was thicker than my first set when these debuted a few years ago.  Like many, I quickly grew fond of its sonic tonality.  It's non-offensive, smooth yet detailed, and offered wider than average stage and depth from a small dynamic driver.  However, like many who've experienced the build quality woes, such as the main cable and the TRS adapter cable were consistently subject to kinks and eventually a short where a channel would go out.

For those who owned or recall owning the infamous, yet wonderful sounding Klipsch Custom 3, which happened to be my favorite iem at the time shared the same kink prone cable as the RE-600.  What makes matter worse is that these kinks are there from the factory.  I opened the RE-600 upon receiving them last week and I CAREFULLY unraveled the cable and to my utter disappointment, there were four areas on the main cable section with freaking kinks.  Despite sounding every bit wonderful, the unpleasant feeling of the inevitable crept in.

I had urges to fully recable them like a few members have done, but at the time the chances of destroying the delicate drivers in the process stopped me.  This evening, I decided to save the RE-600 from its falling grace and out of haste, took my wire cutters and decapitated it.

Now, instead of a full recable job, I cut the cable above the Y-joint.  The RE-600 sounded great out of my Z3 compact smartphone, so going forward the RE-600 had no business keeping its balanced configuration.  I used three, 3 ft length 26AWG OFC wires, identified the positive channels, which happens to be the copper colored wires and strangely the grounds were the hybrid copper/silver wires. Next, I soldered the three wires to the existing wires (combined the two ground wires), used heat shrink  at the soldered connections,  and secured them inside a Shure-type iem shell I had lying around.  It worked great despite the phallic shape and an inch of heat shrink completed the y-joint. Finally, a simple cross-over weave and finished off with a RA Neutrik TRS connector.

Here's the end result.  I'm sure there are noted differences that can be detected with the appropriate equipment, or if I really analyze the sound, but the trade-off for a lighter, kink-less cable that is not destined for failure along with its TRS adapter cable (had 3 of them gone bad), it turned out to be a worthwhile project.

Bravo! Like you, I loved the sound of my RE-600's, but experienced kinking and cable failure after about a month of GENTLE use. What a pity!

When my warranty replacement pair arrived, I sold them here. But I'm pretty good with a soldering iron and now wish I had tried your project instead.

Good stuff!

 

[RERO]

I must've gotten pretty lucky with my RE-400. Over a year and a half and my pair only suffered micro-scratches on the shiny bits of the housing.
And I often sleep with these!

 

[alpha421]

Lucky for you, the RE-400 doesn't suffer the same woes as the RE-600 as their cables are entirely different from each other.

 

[RERO]

I thought it was pretty much the same, plus the extra TRRS to TRS adapter...
I guess I'm gonna have to (politely) rant about this to a HiFiMAN rep next week.
They really need to stop with their obsession of stiff sleeved cables and subpar strain reliefs.

 

[SeeSax]

That's an awesome and clean cable job above. Well-done! 
 
I've relegated my RE-600 to work desk duty as I never have to wind or unwind the cable. It just sits there and there's very little chance of kinking and it happily entertains me via my laptop and FiiO E17 while at work. 
 
I keep hoping to see an RE-600 mk2 or something that comes out with a better cable and perhaps a slightly updated design. I don't want to see that $399 price tag again, though
 
-Collin-

 

[rebbi]

Is there an email address for Hifiman's head honcho, Dr. Fang, that anyone knows of? You'd have to believe he knows that the RE-600 is a gem, sonically, but a disaster in terms of durability. Or maybe they don't care?
 
It's a shame. As well regarded as their product line is, when I finally look for a full size set of cans, Hifiman is off my list because of my RE-600 experience.