Quote:
I'm sorry to hear that. Haha, sorry inside joke just for me. I simply wasn't a fan. I feel there are many much better earphones on the market, although the RE0 was a decent attempt at trying to do everything well without many faults. Versus the older RE earphones prior, the RE0 was great. Versus a lot of what's out there now, there's a lot to be gained.
Well, how about looking at the list.
Improved clarity. I just love the details.
-many of the higher end products, most things from $200 up really won't have an issue here. Even a number of the better $100 to $150 products actually function quite well. The sluggishness, lack of audio quality, lack of speed and detail all tend to be a side effect of simply using lower quality speakers in the earphones.
Improved speed.
-basically the same as the first. A lot of the better speakers used in higher end earphones simply are quite good. They don't have a lot of the shortcomings of much cheaper units.
Improved bass.
-well not a hard request. The RE0 is light on the low end, so there are a lot of options that are fuller and better presented.
Improved soundstage.
-this was a big shortcoming of the RE0, and again there are a lot of options that simply do a lot better.
Analytical sound, but not completely dry.
-now we're finally getting into specifics. While a lot of higher cost earphones do use better drivers and automatically offer excellent speed, clarity, and detail, they are not all geared to have an analytical sound. In fact most are colored to some extent, some bassy, some bright, some focusing on specific areas of the frequency response. It all varies and is what makes one person buy one earphone and another person buy another earphone. You wanting an analytical sounding earphone narrows down the selection a good bit. Also not wanting something too dry, too lifeless also narrows down options.
Price range is at the max $300
-well, that's plenty of money to work with. I do suggest buying used. I do this for a couple specific reasons. First, with a $300 budget you can buy 99% of the universal IEMs out there, quite literally any brand and model on the market short a few very pricey ones. Outside of that, you can literally buy everything that exists and stay under your $300 limit. I know because I've bought most everything and have done so for under $300. The second reason why I suggest buying used is resale. You may or may not be happy with what we suggest and you eventually purchase. If you buy used, you can resell at the same price without a loss to you for trying out the earphone. If you bought brand new, you would have to sell cheaper and lose money, likely a good amount of money, think $50-$100 amount of money if you don't like it and sell it. You are buying from fellow Head-Fiers, people just like you that love and enjoy this hobby like you do. Whatever you end up on, just hit up the For Sale section of the forum and grab a pair from someone.
So...what to buy?
Unfortunately that's always the big question. My suggestions will be skewed to my own preferences. I have thinks I like, things I think do well. You may buy and end up feeling they weren't what you hoped for, good but not what you were aiming for. That always is the challenge when others suggest things. You really have to take everyone's suggestions with a grain of salt. There are a LOT of good options, but in the end they are all different options. The best fit for you is one of them, but a lot of them are equally valid and good. It's just that one will fit your personal preference better than the rest. I and no one else here can be 100% accurate in pointing you to what you will like best simply because we don't know you and your tastes. The few hints you gave to us isn't even all that useful. We can weed out some options and offer several that fit the bill, but the several are still a number of earphones you must end up choosing at random. For you to end up with the best option for yourself is random. You quite literally have to try every good option first hand to know what you will actually deem best out of all of them.
Suggestions anyways, ok.
First what was suggested:
DBA-02 - coming from the RE0, these might be a little too lean, a little too treble strong for your liking. Faster, more detailed, yes. Analytical, yes. Yet, it is an extreme.
RE252 - great balance, great value on the used market. Fitment is questionable.
RE262 - the new thing, yes. It's outstanding, but it isn't analytical, at least not as much as other options. It is slightly warm like the RE0 though, so there may be some familiarity here.
ER4S - a true reference product that has shown everything how it's done for over 15 years. This might be one of those that just may be on the dry side for your goals.
DDM - not analytical. It while excellent (haven't used a pair personally yet, but have read great things), is not of the gearing you seek. Also fitment is questionable again
CK10 - great earphone, does a ton of things correctly, speed and texture is amazing, nothing compares and I do mean nothing, peaky top end that does make it a little hot and sometimes spitty, hard to find used for as cheap as they should be, i.e. used to be.
CK100 - another great earphone, one of my favorites, outstanding balance, but this is one of those you don't find at the $300 price point, not even close new and unfortunately not used either.
My add to the mix:
e-Q7 - another outstanding earphone, analytical, fast, detailed, but not dry or lifeless, a little better balanced for what I think you're shooting for than a lot of the other options already mentioned
Is the e-Q7 the best option? Maybe. Maybe not. I have no clue. I can't read your mind. I just see it as plopped more in the center of the mix. The DBA-02 is a great option but probably too treble aggressive and bass lean than you actually want. The RE252 is excellent and balanced to boot but not the easiest fit for everyone. The RE262 is colored although using an outstanding speaker, better than the RE252 in my eyes. The color is slightly warm like the RE0, so it might be an even step, although the sound is totally different. The RE262 is better though, much, much better. The ER4S is the classic and really is an outstanding product. The DDM is of a high SQ but not analytical. It's there but not what you're shooting for. The CK10 is a special earphone. Nothing is quite like it. To say it's good is an understatement. However, this doesn't mean you'll like it over something else. I liked the RE252 over the CK10, although I see the CK10 as a more "correct" earphone. The level of detail, speed, and texture of note is amazing on the CK10 though. It's one of the few that you should own at some point just to own because it is so one of a kind in presentation. That just doesn't make it automatically the best fit though, so it becomes simply one of the options. The CK100, expensive. It isn't as special as the CK10, but I do think it's a better balanced product, a better all-around product. It's just beyond your price point and not often seen in the For Sale section either. The e-Q7 is my add to the list. It simply offers a lot of what you're striving for but like the CK100, is an excellently balanced earphone. It is a moving armature design which is sort of a new thing. It basically gives a dynamic speaker kind of sound along with the speed and clarity of a balanced armature speaker. In the end it does a lot of things right. It's fast, detailed, dynamic, has a good visceral presence, just does a lot of things right, plus it's excellently balanced in frequency response, so you're not too bright, too warm, or really colored in any way. It's simply an excellent product and again another option in the mix for you to choose from.
