[Sushiglobster]

TL;DR version - Cheap packaging, cheap feel and look to them. They look very Chinese. Don't judge a book by it's cover. They sound super clear. Full of clarity, no mud or muffle. Bass is indeed there. Slightly behind the mix, but after a better fit within my ear, the bass improved and I found it better balanced. It's all about the fit, so make sure you make it good within your ear. Currently burning in for improved goodness. Best IEMs for under 100 dollars and I can hear how they can compare to even more expensive phones. 
 
 
My Shure IEMs finally gave in. I've had them for probably 7 years now and they did their time well. I have no idea what model they were, but their wires had frayed and it was time to move on. Naturally I turned to the community over here at Head-fi.org to see what everyone was recommending. I've heard of Sennheiser, AKG, Ultimate Ears, Sony, Phillips...and the list goes on. Then I came across the RE0 IEMs....HiFiMan (Who!?). Exactly. Ranked #4 according to the rankings here on Head-fi. I did readings and research for a few days before making my final purchase. The reviews and the general opinions seem to really back up that #4 ranking. Long story short, these HiFiMan RE0 in ear monitors are a great upgrade and I'm very please so far with my purchase. I would have loved to have gotten some Sennheiser IE8s, but I'm on a budget...a tight budget at that. 
 
Here's my take so far on these RE0s so far. 
 
I ordered them from www.head-direct.com 
 
They are currently $79.00 and it was only $5.00 to ship them USPS First Class mail.
 
I ordered them on a Sunday and they shipped Monday (the next day) . They came to my door today, Wednesday. They shipped from New York to California 3 days. Very nice!
 
The phones came in a brown shipping back that fit nicely in to my mail box. Upon opening the bag, there they were. The presentation is nothing special....at all. Let me repeat this....the packaging, advertising, marketing....overall presentation of the RE0 packaging is pretty much nothing. An ugly little yellow box with a clear plexi-glass (??) window/door. These things are totally Chinese, but...don't judge a book by its cover.
 
I opened the packaging and gently pulled the phones out. I pulled out the accessories to see the wire clip, cloth filters, and different ear tips. The usually stuff...mind you the wire clip is something that is new to me, but it's nice to see the manufacture addressing the microphonic issues. And by the way, about the microphinc issues with these RE0 phones, I find them to be well within tolerance. They are much better than my old Shure phones that the RE0s replaced. I was concerned about the microphonic issues that these RE0s apparently had (according to some reviews) because I mostly will be using these at the gym and I do lots of running. 
 
The phones themselves don't appear to be all that phenomenal looking. In fact, they look cheap and generic...plastic like and pretty much go hand in hand with the packaging they came in. All of this I had expected given the reviews and pictures I had seen. Even some of the paint on the aluminum encasement is a bit of a shotty job. I don't mind though, I bought these for sound, not looks!
 
So on to the good stuff...
 
First off, I'm just an average Joe. I don't have any kind of headphone amp and I don't have much experience in super high-end headphones. I'm just an average user who just so happens to be a musician and who also dabbles in audio recording. So I understand and appreciate sound quality and I recognize it when I hear it. 
 
I plugged the RE0s in to my Motorola Droid (1st. gen, the OG one) to listen, because my phone is the source that I plan on using when I go to the gym. I have a Zune 120GB, but it's a bit bulky and I don't like using it at the gym. Anyways....
 
I started up some music and started listening. Immediately I was taken back at how clear they sounded and I could easily separate the different instruments within the mix. The clarify is great and for being an aluminum housing and also with almost no burn in time so far, they didn't sound as brittle and harsh as I expected. The most noticeable thing however, was that they do not sound muddy at all to me...at least compared to my Shure phones. There is no mud...just clarity. It sounds....clean and completely un-muffled to my ears.
 
The bass. The lack of bass was something that I took note of in every review and opinion I read. However, upon listening for the first time, the bass is most definitely NOT lacking. It's there...slightly in the background like some reviewers had said. However, it is not lacking. I find the bass to be very punchy and just as clean sounding as the highs. The reviewers were right, these phones are not for bass heads. 
 
After messing around for a bit with fitting, I found the bass to actually get better and the overall listening experience to get better as well. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FIT. It really is. I honestly need to find some better ear pieces though, I'm not really liking the fit of what came with the phones. However, when they did fit comfortably, the sound got even better. Mind you again, this is without burn in. 
 
I listened to them for probably 30 minutes before plugging the phones in my Zune. I shuffled all of my 120GBs of music and set the phones to burn in. So far they've been playing for about 4 hours straight. I've read that roughly around 10 hours of burning in, and the RE0s will begin to evolve in to something even better so I anxiously await the change from un-burned to somewhat burned. After 100 hours, they become EVEN better, so I've read. 
 
I'll update and report back my new findings after a few more hours. So far though, I am extremely happy with these phones regardless of their shotty and cheap construction and also cheap packaging. I'd rather the manufacturer's money and resources go in to the sound quality than the looks. That's just me though.
 
 
 
 

 

[Sar Ar Qua]

Nice review. I am enjoying my RE0 too.
I do feel that there are a lot of microphonics due to the isolation? I only have my ibud to compare this with. But other than this I am very happy with my RE0.

 

[Sushiglobster]

When it comes to the microphonic issue and the RE0s, it so far hasn't really affected me. I'm sure it's there as with a lot of of phones. It just seems to be a lot lower than what I expected. It's much lower than my Shure IEM phones. The cables on the RE0 seem much lighter in weight compared to my old Shure phones. I tried tapping them and slapping them against my chest and hands...I could hear them come through, but again nothing compared to my old phones. 
 
Besides, between the volume of the music/phones and the constant focus on trying to push some weight and run that extra mile, I really don't see the microphonics from the cable affect my listening experience. 
 
I'll be going to the gym later tonight so I'll be doing lost of observing. 

 

[Sushiglobster]

Alright here's a slight update.
 
WOW, incredible what just a few hours can do for a burn in on these phones. After close to 10 hours so far of burning in, the biggest thing I noticed was the depth had changed. No longer did it sound so up front, instead it now feels that there's more depth. I can hear the spacing in the drums for example...like, it's easier for me to imagine the drum kit now. It's hard to explain..I feel as though I'm behind the kit and I can picture each individual drum as it's hit. The highs have gotten smoother and the bass has gotten more present, though not overbearing. It's as if it's mixing better now than before.
 
I am very happy with these so far. The fit is still a bit tricky and during my gym visit with these phones, I didn't experience any microphonic issues. I wear them looped behind the ears so maybe that helped. 

Also, they feel slightly heavier than my last Shure plastic IEMs. Heavy enough to mention it, but not to be concerned. 
 
I can't believe I only paid 85 dollars for these things. I'm very please thus far. 

 

[s0lar]

They do benefit from an amp but can be used without. Bass gets tighter when amped.