Before I begin, I want to thank HiFiMan customer service and Yu to be specific. Once they contacted me, he was quick to send me a new pair of RE-300 in two days, after the other got "lost in the mail." Great CS, guys.
So the RE-300 comes in a rather subdued plastic box, but it was easy to open and was quite aesthetically pleasing. Inside we had the really nice looking RE-300, a shirt clip, replacement filters, and a couple non descript tips.
The cable is thick, but very malleable. Great strain relief (TTPOD T1e can learn from this) at the jack. The mic is out of the way, and not intrusive. I don't use mics, so I don't care about usability or clarity, so that's for someone else to review.
Now with about 5 hours of burn in, this is practically out of the box, with the exception of the 5 hours on the burn in station. I used my X1, IPhone 6, and my Rockboxed Sansa Fuze. The tips are JVC spiral dots Large.
The first detail that jumped out at me, and let me preface this by saying I've owned the RE-0, RE-Zero, RE-262, and RE-400 previously, so I'm well versed in the HiFiMan sound. That first detail? BASS!!! The RE-300 has a bass depth, thud, slam, and presence that no other RE model had. It's not even close. These are the most bass heavy RE IEMs ever produced.
Now there is a trade off for this. The high end sparkle that was such a hit with the 0 and the 262 are long gone. What you get is a treble decay and timbre for reminiscent of the ZERO or 400. The treble is smooth. Baby butt smooth. I had to pull out my Tenore, as the treble seemed so familiar to me, and sure as rain is wet, the HiFiMan tuning specialists have been paying attention to the hype the Zero Audio Tenore have been garnering on head-fi, because the highs are so similar to the Tenore, that I couldn't tell the difference between the two doing an a/b. The roll off, timbre, and decay are nearly identical. This might excite some, and turn off others who are looking for an Ostry or TTPOD bright IEM? These are the opposite of bright.
The mids are where these are at. This is a midcentric IEM. Voices simply are presented as smooth as butter, with ZERO sibilance. Female voices soar. Male voices are strong and forward. The mid bass emphasis does seem like there could be slight bleed, but it more than likely is just my not being used to a HiFiMan product that's got copious amounts of bass. There just feels like a slight veil. Like the slight veil or warmth I get from my B3? The mids are detailed and resolving. The bass has a lot of speed, and guitars are forward and presented with power. This might be even greater, and imaging better, if the treble wasn't so smoothed out. This is a mid centric IEM with strong bass presence, with that now legendary RE clarity and layering, with characteristics that seem to lean towards a "hybrid" of the Tenore/Bassos and the Havi B3. I personally prefer these to the Tenore because of the bass. The mids and highs are similar, but the bass clinches it for the RE-300. Now let me say that the soundstage is wider on the Tenore, but not by too much. I would place the soundstage of the RE-300 as equal to the Pistons, but they crush the Pistons due to the 300 not having deeply recessed mids. On the contrary. They don't provide the detail, soundstage, or imaging of the B3, so the Havi win there, BUT the 300 don't require an amp to shine, and they fit better, are more comfortable, and have more QUALITY bass presence and quantity than the B3, so for a daily reacher, these would be superior to the B3. For fun listening with the detail to still do critical listening ON THE GO, the RE-300 are the new contender for kings of budget on the go. The housing is kinda reminiscent of the RE-262, only smaller and less invasive. These are as comfortable as the SHE3580 or CX300II. Comfort and great sound right out of the box, yo!!
So what's got me even more excited is the possibility of the bass getting tighter, and the details and resolve getting even smoother and more present as they burn in for 24 hours, 50 hours, and 100 hours (yeah that's for you, mochill). As for in the now, these have just jumped ahead of my Tenore, Pistons, T1e, and Doppio for what will be my every day commute IEM. The Havi B3 still reign supreme as far as soundstage, detail, balance, and transparency, but these single dynamic driver IEMs don't require an amp, and have much better bass. For $49 bucks, you just can't go wrong. Light, aesthetically pleasing, great cord, and solid, fun sound. How can you GO WRONG? You can't. I recommend the RE-300 highly for your on the go music needs. Thanks HiFiMan. Well done.
