[KnightCaeli]

Received my B-Stock R2 Reds the other day. I asked for the case to be included, which ended up costing £20 extra. Been trying out the different nozzle and filter combos (so many choices!). The 2-pin connectors are super tight, I was worried I was bending the connectors!

Unfortunately the smallest silicone tips are a little too big for my left ear. I just ordered extra small Final E tips, so I'm hoping these will work out.

 

[Radio81]

My order for the B-Stock R2 Aten shipped on Tuesday and arrived Friday. -Way faster than I expected. Awesome.

I only have about 5 hours on them so far, and I'm liking what I'm hearing with black lowers and blue uppers along with the included small foam tips. I've tried various combos of other filters such as red/blue, red/green, red/gold, pink/gold, and a couple of others I can't remember. Really digging them so far. I usually have to EQ quite a bit with my other headphones and IEMs. With the R2 Aten, so far I've been running with EQ off, which I really like.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that these were good for gaming. I did try using these yesterday on Modern Warfare (2019), but definitely still prefer my full size X2HR headphones for spatial awareness. I still did reasonably well with the Aten in regard to pinpointing footsteps. Maybe my opinion will be more favorable for gaming after they're broken in. Gaming is one of the reasons I bought these. I don't always feel like wearing a headset when I game, and gaming with most IEMs is too much of a compromise.

The R2 Aten is my first IEM with removable cables. Is the included cable considered to be good? It's comfortable but seems easy to tangle.

 

[lgcubana]

...
The R2 Aten is my first IEM with removable cables. Is the included cable considered to be good? It's comfortable but seems easy to tangle.

The stock cable is one of the better OEM offerings.

You'll see some IMR owners who've dropped $200, $300,... on a cable. I've only just got into trying out higher purity cables, but in the $50 range and while I've found an incremental improvement to my KB Ear/Tri i3, I don't believe you would find a discernable benefit for FPS gaming.

Also, you'll have to find an aftermarket cable that matches the IMR (highlighted area), to have a more secure connection.

 

[Kundi]

Agree with what @lgcubana said. The cable I bought doesn't go all the way in but still works. I like it for wearing the Atens with the cable down.

 

[KnightCaeli]

Agree with what @lgcubana said. The cable I bought doesn't go all the way in but still works. I like it for wearing the Atens with the cable down.

Any reason why you prefer cable down? Is the fit better?

 

[Kundi]

Any reason why you prefer cable down? Is the fit better?

I would say the fit is about the same. (switching the left and right iem). I like to switch it up when i've had the behind the ears for a while.

 

[KnightCaeli]

Received my B-Stock R2 Reds the other day. I asked for the case to be included, which ended up costing £20 extra. Been trying out the different nozzle and filter combos (so many choices!). The 2-pin connectors are super tight, I was worried I was bending the connectors!

Unfortunately the smallest silicone tips are a little too big for my left ear. I just ordered extra small Final E tips, so I'm hoping these will work out.

Initial impressions of the Reds have been impressive. Aside from the fit issue in my left ear (hopefully my XS Final tips arrive soon) I have been blown away by this IEM. Being new to the hobby, all I have to run them are my PC/phone with the Apple USB-C dongle, but they sound amazing. I spent some time trialing all of the bass nozzles and most of the treble filters, and I have decided on a couple of favourites:

Bass/Treble

Red/Black
I got this combo from @cleg and his review of the Reds. I find this to be an extremely fun and energetic sound. The bass quantity is just enough to be punchy but not overwhelming, and the vocals are not buried. To be honest, I'm still new to this so I can't really describe the treble, but there is added energy in the highs - is that the piezo-ceramic zing?

(Purple)Pink/Gold
I believe this came from @rocko77 earlier in this thread. I like how the bass is still present, but I feel like the details are brought out a little more. A more relaxing sound, clear, and perhaps a touch more revealing than the previous combo.

Please excuse these inexperienced descriptions of the sound.

Disclaimer: As I am new to the hobby, I have no opinion atm regarding burn in, but I have been trying to play them as much as possible to reach the 100 hrs stated on the website.

Other observations: The blue treble filters are a little hot at the moment, for me I like them with the black bass filter. The green bass filter cuts out most of the bass I feel, and the gold bass filter is interesting as it alters the sound of the music due to the boomy bass. Does anyone who has tried these filters have a use case for them?

 

[Mouseman]

Initial impressions of the Reds have been impressive. Aside from the fit issue in my left ear (hopefully my XS Final tips arrive soon) I have been blown away by this IEM. Being new to the hobby, all I have to run them are my PC/phone with the Apple USB-C dongle, but they sound amazing. I spent some time trialing all of the bass nozzles and most of the treble filters, and I have decided on a couple of favourites:

Bass/Treble

Red/Black
I got this combo from @cleg and his review of the Reds. I find this to be an extremely fun and energetic sound. The bass quantity is just enough to be punchy but not overwhelming, and the vocals are not buried. To be honest, I'm still new to this so I can't really describe the treble, but there is added energy in the highs - is that the piezo-ceramic zing?

(Purple)Pink/Gold
I believe this came from @rocko77 earlier in this thread. I like how the bass is still present, but I feel like the details are brought out a little more. A more relaxing sound, clear, and perhaps a touch more revealing than the previous combo.

Please excuse these inexperienced descriptions of the sound.

Disclaimer: As I am new to the hobby, I have no opinion atm regarding burn in, but I have been trying to play them as much as possible to reach the 100 hrs stated on the website.

Other observations: The blue treble filters are a little hot at the moment, for me I like them with the black bass filter. The green bass filter cuts out most of the bass I feel, and the gold bass filter is interesting as it alters the sound of the music due to the boomy bass. Does anyone who owns these filters have a use case for them?

I've tried most of them out other than the green - I've heard it is a weird one. I'll have to try it at some point.

Have you burned them in anything close to the suggested 100 hours yet? I can vouch for it making a difference.

 

[KnightCaeli]

Have you burned them in anything close to the suggested 100 hours yet? I can vouch for it making a difference.

I have been trying to play them as much as possible to reach the 100 hrs stated on the website.

I'm not sure how many hours I have yet, been playing a bunch of music I listen to through them. I don't think I'm at 50 hours yet.

 

[jsmiller58]

Initial impressions of the Reds have been impressive. Aside from the fit issue in my left ear (hopefully my XS Final tips arrive soon) I have been blown away by this IEM. Being new to the hobby, all I have to run them are my PC/phone with the Apple USB-C dongle, but they sound amazing. I spent some time trialing all of the bass nozzles and most of the treble filters, and I have decided on a couple of favourites:

Bass/Treble

Red/Black
I got this combo from @cleg and his review of the Reds. I find this to be an extremely fun and energetic sound. The bass quantity is just enough to be punchy but not overwhelming, and the vocals are not buried. To be honest, I'm still new to this so I can't really describe the treble, but there is added energy in the highs - is that the piezo-ceramic zing?

(Purple)Pink/Gold
I believe this came from @rocko77 earlier in this thread. I like how the bass is still present, but I feel like the details are brought out a little more. A more relaxing sound, clear, and perhaps a touch more revealing than the previous combo.

Please excuse these inexperienced descriptions of the sound.

Disclaimer: As I am new to the hobby, I have no opinion atm regarding burn in, but I have been trying to play them as much as possible to reach the 100 hrs stated on the website.

Other observations: The blue treble filters are a little hot at the moment, for me I like them with the black bass filter. The green bass filter cuts out most of the bass I feel, and the gold bass filter is interesting as it alters the sound of the music due to the boomy bass. Does anyone who has tried these filters have a use case for them?

I can attest to hearing the same zing...

 

[monsieurfromag3]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that these were good for gaming. I did try using these yesterday on Modern Warfare (2019), but definitely still prefer my full size X2HR headphones for spatial awareness. I still did reasonably well with the Aten in regard to pinpointing footsteps. Maybe my opinion will be more favorable for gaming after they're broken in. Gaming is one of the reasons I bought these. I don't always feel like wearing a headset when I game, and gaming with most IEMs is too much of a compromise.

I found the Aten great on FPS; and mentioned Modern Warfare precisely. But I was referring more to how spectacular everything sounds than to their multiplayer prowess.
To me the bass slam, aggressive piezo, and the way the Aten mimic the presence of air combine to make explosions, gunshots etc. sound mighty impressive, as impressive as full-size headphones. They are really immersive, with panning effects as impeccably stereoscopic as they come.

Multiplayer comes with a different set of requirements however - spatial awareness is paramount as you said. I dabbled, and found the Aten perfectly serviceable, but they are probably not at the level of the best 5.1 or 7.1 gaming headphones. I had a nice Steelseries headset years ago, and an AKG one before that, which were alright. But I have no idea how the specialized headsets sound for music nowadays. I imagine the better ones are encroaching on mid-level hi-fi gear. Especially with some audio companies like Audeze and Senn putting in proper work to develop good gaming gear.

 

[cleg]

Please excuse these inexperienced descriptions of the sound.

Thank you for sharing. And there is no need for an excuse, we all are hobbyists here, there is no professional earphone listeners Ok, there are few, but they are rarely spending time on forums

 

[Radio81]

I found the Aten great on FPS; and mentioned Modern Warfare precisely. But I was referring more to how spectacular everything sounds than to their multiplayer prowess.
To me the bass slam, aggressive piezo, and the way the Aten mimic the presence of air combine to make explosions, gunshots etc. sound mighty impressive, as impressive as full-size headphones. They are really immersive, with panning effects as impeccably stereoscopic as they come.

Multiplayer comes with a different set of requirements however - spatial awareness is paramount as you said. I dabbled, and found the Aten perfectly serviceable, but they are probably not at the level of the best 5.1 or 7.1 gaming headphones. I had a nice Steelseries headset years ago, and an AKG one before that, which were alright. But I have no idea how the specialized headsets sound for music nowadays. I imagine the better ones are encroaching on mid-level hi-fi gear. Especially with some audio companies like Audeze and Senn putting in proper work to develop good gaming gear.

Thanks for your impressions. I have a couple of headset combinations I run for gaming, but I I don't always feel like wearing an over-ear headphone. The Aten is my first attempt at using an IEM for gaming. It was either this, or the Audeze iSINE 10. I figured I've give the Aten a shot. You are right, things like gunshots and explosions sound impressive. Way more impact than most open back headphones. I've also used the Aten for movie watching, and have found them impressive for that as well. -Very fun and lively.

Is there a specific nozzle & filter combo you can recommend for FPS? I've only tried the black/blue combo, but switching to something with less bass might allow for better separation, I think. Typical of any headset, if bass is too high, you miss hearing things like footsteps. I will try some other combos later this week. I'm thinking pink/gold will be the one I try first. When trying the pink/gold combo for music that combo attenuated the bass while bringing the vocals up a bit. Then again I may just leave the black/blue combo I have now and try EQing.

 

[Mouseman]

Thank you for sharing. And there is no need for an excuse, we all are hobbyists here, there is no professional earphone listeners Ok, there are few, but they are rarely spending time on forums

I think there are a lot of professional headphone buyers here! I know I probably qualify.

 

[KnightCaeli]

Thank you for sharing. And there is no need for an excuse, we all are hobbyists here, there is no professional earphone listeners Ok, there are few, but they are rarely spending time on forums

Thank you for the kind words! I discovered the Reds through your channel. I really enjoy reading and watching your reviews!