Hifiman RE262 Initial Impressions

[Drrizzt]

I just received my 262's as upgrade to my old belovers Phonak pfe 122, and...what can i say ? i fracking love them ! Impossible to me to go back with the pfe, yet considered as one of the best in this price range.
 
Soundstage is what make the difference to the pfe to me, much larger, bigger, as well as the silky mids. I think the combination of this soundsate and the smoothy mids are an incredible match.
 
I have to say at first i just wanted to cry, they sound really bad to me. Muffled, Edgy mids, less bass and treble than my pfe. But...i knew they needed some burn-in. I also guess i needed to "understand" them, it's a different philosophy than my previous phonak, i was so accustomed to the pfe that i had to release my mind listening habits to realy get in. 
 
my 2 cents.

 

[proedros]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/626842/hifiman-re-262-nib
 
 
115$ new ? a steal , imho....

 

[putente]

I'm using my RE-262 with foams tips with my Rockboxed iPod Classic and JDSLabs c421 amp combo, and they sound absolutely amazing! Even the bass "lightness" is completely solved just by clicking the bass boost switch on the c421, taking the RE-262 to a whole new level! Awesomeness... 

 

[WNBC]

Hifiman warranty transferable?  If so, then definitely a steal.
 
I have the old 262.  Other than the cable, anything else upgraded on the newer 262?  I had the 272 and 262 but kept the 262.  Different beasts for different feasts but both quality IEMs.
 
 
Quote:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/626842/hifiman-re-262-nib
 
 
115$ new ? a steal , imho....

 

[FieldingMellish]

262 is schweet. 

 

[putente]

My RE-262 were bought in last February. Are they supposed to be the latest version, with the upgraded cable?

 

[Jupiterknight]

Quote:

Hifiman warranty transferable?  If so, then definitely a steal.
 
I have the old 262.  Other than the cable, anything else upgraded on the newer 262?  I had the 272 and 262 but kept the 262.  Different beasts for different feasts but both quality IEMs.
 
 

 
No, just a slightly thicker cable and maybe they also solved the issues with the drivers cutting out that some users (me for instance) experienced after using them for a while. I'm not sure when the "upgraded"  version was released, but the pair I received in July as a replacement did have the slightly  thicker cable compared to the version I bought in Dec. 2011.  I actually had both versions in my hands at the same time so I'm 99% certain about the difference.

 

[Drrizzt]

After 2 weeks of listening of these outstanding iems i found out that they needed a bit to be equalized. With a sansa clip+ Rockboxed i found out that a boost of 7db in the bass region and in the treeble make them sound more balanced. The over emphasized mids sounded a bit unnatural to my ears, now it's just perfect to my taste, the veiled Bass and Treeble has disapeared! So, no need to try the foam mod for me

 

[spahn_ranch]

Agree on equalizing. I think they really are a bit lean in the lower frequencies, even with the black tips instead of tri-flanges. They do lush, liquid and sweet as it is, but with a bass boost they also handle grit, growl and kick drums more than satisfactory.
 
Not thoroughly convinced with fiddling around with a lot of the Amarra EQ presets, but IMO the simple 'bass boost' is a keeper with the RE262
 

 

[putente]

I just use the bass boost on my JDSLabs c421 amp, and they indeed become much more balanced, with a lot more presence on the low end...

 

[Drrizzt]

I wonder why they didn't tune the 262's that way out of the box, because the Mids remains intact, even more natural with a V equalisation...

 

[FieldingMellish]

Probably because of the many who like the RE-262 the way it was tuned.

 

[Techno Kid]

I was torn between getting either the RE262 or BA200 as they both cost the same now (Amazon BA200 is $146) but since the RE262 has always been on my to list of IEM's I need to get some day I had to go with those.  I'm looking forward to finally hearing them after all the countless good reviews I've read and I'm sure I'll be adding to it.  It'll be fun to see which amp will make them sound better, the E6 has a more musical presentation over the E11 but I feel the more neutral characteristics of the E11 will work better for me.

 

[Drrizzt]

Quote:

Probably because of the many who like the RE-262 the way it was tuned.

 
I'm not sure how people would like a more unbalanced sound, less audible treeble and bass.
 
I'm pretty sure that on 100 listeners, the majority will pick up the EQ version on the non one, so i still think Hifiman should have tuned them a bit more balanced.

 

[FieldingMellish]

I'm not sure how people would like a more unbalanced sound, less audible treeble and bass.

I'm pretty sure that on 100 listeners, the majority will pick up the EQ version on the non one, so i still think Hifiman should have tuned them a bit more balanced.

Your comment is conjecture versus fact. A silly response, actually. RE-262 is just not the IEM for you.