[DaEMoNteNTAcLe]

agree... now i've yet to try 262 myself but..
se530 and se535 should never be considered on the same level.
530 is dull for me as well, sounds like a fat guy with small heads and feet (oh.. i apologize to se530 users, but this is just me.. ). the mids are very good tho.
535 is cleaner, better at both extension and quantity, almost perfect. the only thing i dont like about 535 is the highs sounding compressed. not roll off, not lacking, just.. compressed, and only on the high freq driver.. maybe.. but that's just my ears.
comparing the re262 with something costing almost twice the price, and that's already wishful thinking for a start.
 
Quote:

SE535 is in many way upgrade of SE530. I don't own SE535 but did get a chance to A/B them both a while ago. Personally I am not a big fan of SE530. The presentation is dull, not inspiring in my ears, But SE535 is another story - I like the reduction of the thick mid and extension of treble and air from SE530 to SE535, making it an overall more transparent sound. If you like the sound of SE535, then I can imagine why you won't like RE262. It is obviously colored in a specific way. However that is why I like the RE262. It is smooth but not lacking in detail in my ears, and it is effortless in drawing me to the music instead of pushing me to the music. That's something I don't quite find on other IEM.

 

[Inks]

Pianist or any others that experience a very poor sound from the RE262s may want to rethink how they insert them. This is a forwarded message from the EQ5 thread that is quite suitable here. 
 
 
 
Quote:Inks

Actually you may be onto something. Fit wasn't mentioned and I'll say that RE262s are VERY tricky to get a good fit with but once it's found it's easy to get and works wonderfully with tips that aren't too big as insertion is fairly deep. I had results with the little stem that connects to the cable facing outwards (ie pointing back but slightly downwards). What I do is place them over the ear slightly but then push forward and twist them back until the stem touch my ear in a 45 degree angle.

 

[proedros]

having both the 252 and the 262 , i must say that the 252 stands eye-to-eye with the 262
 
I admit having some treble issues with the 262 , and it's at those times when i stick to my 252
 
now, saying the 262 sounds bad is a big statement , very respected nevertheless
 
Keep in mind also that the 252/262 can go for as low as 140-150$
 
To be honest , when i listen to my J3 with the 262 , i push the highs eq 2-3 points , while with the 252 i usually dont pick up the highs at all
 
Pianist , would you consider getting the 252 ? (maybe you already had in the past , i can't remember for sure)

 

[mark2410]

Pianist, what player are you using,  its a sony one isnt it?
 
maybe its just a particularly bad combo?

 

[EraserXIV]

Source may be an issue too. I remember ClieOS stated that the HM-602 and the RE262 are a bad match since it's just too much coloration and warmness. Yet, ClieOS ranks the RE262 as the highest IEM he's ever reviewed. With another source it may show its true colors.

 

[Pianist]

I AB'ed the RE262 against FA-003 yesterday night and it seemed like I could actually hear more detail with FA-003 in the treble. No matter how loud I turned the RE262 up I just couldn't hear some high end information that was present on FA-003. I also felt that although the mids on RE262 are very nice, my FA-003 is just about as good - at least very, very close, maybe even better. Bass may be slightly tighter and more detailed on RE262, but ultimately it lacks impact compared to FA-003 and FA-003 is no basshead can - it has just about the right amount of bass for a natural sound IMO. RE262 sounds unnaturally lean down low. I had the same issue with e-Q5 BTW. Finally, there is just no sense of space with RE262 - no matter how hard I try I can't place instruments realistically in the soundstage. With FA-003, soundstage is way larger, deeper with much better instrument placement. After about 15 minutes of AB'ing, I couldn't stand it anymore, put RE262 away and just listened to my FA-003 for another hour before sleep. They are wonderful headphones that I truly worth their asking price. They sound immersive and powerful. They sound fine out of all my sources. They do everything well even unamped - great bass, great mids, great treble, great separation, full dynamic range, great clarity, great tonal balance, very good detail, refined, good PRAT, great soundstage and imaging. And what do the RE262s unamped do well? Other than smooth mids, good clarity, tight bass and good dynamics, they are actually bad in almost everything else so that the good things about them get completely canceled out by the bad things and the result is something I just can't enjoy listening to at all.  RE262 doesn't sound right with any of my sources - it seems very hard to drive and definitely requires a powerful source and amp. But why on earth make such a hard to drive IEM? Hiss can already be almost completely eliminated with a 64 Ohm impedance. FA-003 is 64 Ohm and doesn't hiss, but also sounds way better than RE262 unamped. Honestly, even at the price of a used RE262 sells for which is around $150-$170, I think FA-003 is still the better price/performance headphone at $179 simply because it doesn't need an amp to sound great and yet still improves a lot with better sources. I also think RE0 at $79 is a way better deal than RE262, because it also does many things well unamped unlike RE262, but amping it brings it to another level. Amped RE0 is so much better than unamped RE262 that I am not even sure if amped RE262 will be able to surpass RE0 in sound quality.
 
I did try all the included tips with no success. All the faults with unamped RE262 are still there to my ears. Maybe the bass improves a bit, but that's about it.
 
So I will definitely be selling the RE262 now, but the big question is - what should I get instead? Honestly, I feel sick and tired of experimenting with new IEMs especially considering the two big disappointments I've had in a row (RE262 and e-Q5). So I think I am just going to stick with something I already owned and really liked like RE0, e-Q7 or Q-jays. Or I may as well get a back up pair of FA-003 and use one as portable.
 
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Pianist, what player are you using,  its a sony one isnt it?
 
maybe its just a particularly bad combo?

All of the ones I have - Clip, Samsung T9, U2, Sony NWZ-A816, Shuffle 1st gen. The only one that sounds any good with RE262 is the Sony and Shuffle, but separation is still severely lacking. RE262 also is definitely colored - the timbre is off. Maybe a little, but it's off. By comparison my FA-003 has better timbre as do most other good IEMs I tried. SE530 has better timbre IMO.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Source may be an issue too. I remember ClieOS stated that the HM-602 and the RE262 are a bad match since it's just too much coloration and warmness. Yet, ClieOS ranks the RE262 as the highest IEM he's ever reviewed. With another source it may show its true colors.

It is not a bad match per se. Just not the best match you can get, especially before RE262 is burnt-in. RE262 really pairs very well with HM801, while RE-ZERO is better with HM602. However my rating is based on neither but on my trusty 3MOVE (on USB DAC) as with all my review. It is quite a transparent amp so there isn't any particular bias toward coloration.

 

[mywallethurts]

i conclude your iem is faulty

 

[EraserXIV]

Hey different strokes for different folks; everyone hears things differently and has different preferences. Maybe the RE262 and e-Q5 just aren't your thing. Good luck in your search, although it's frustrating at times, I think it's a fun experience for the most part 

 

[paulypaul]

x2
Also a good way to spend your money

 

[rawrster]

Pianist, why don't you just get a SE530 or SE535 and be done with it?

 

[Redmetal1897]

Quote:

i conclude your iem is faulty

I don't think so, because pianist had fairly differing views from the consensus about the e-q5 as well. I think its just that he has a different preference in terms of sound signature. 

 

[rawrster]

I concluded a long time ago that Pianist hears quite differently than many people on many earphones His opinions on headphones are much more in line with what I'm hearing.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I think Pianist should just get a pair of e-Q7 while they are still available and sell his e-Q5 to me for cheap.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

I concluded a long time ago that Pianist hears quite differently than many people on many earphones His opinions on headphones are much more in line with what I'm hearing.

 
Kind of wondering about the same thing. I too think he should stick to that he knows to work for him.