[canikickit1]

Hey guys,
 
I recently bought some Klipsch 24..burned them in roughly ~25 hours. Satisfied, but still curious with whats around this price range I decided to get the RE0's based on the rave reviews from this forum.
 
 
Initially hearing the RE0's out of the box, I was underwhelmed..sounded really flat, tinny almost...
 
BUT, I wanted to give the RE0's a fair shot so I am in the process of burning them in with some white noise as we speak.
 
After about 40 hours worth of burn-in, I am going to give the RE0's and S4's a final compare. whichever loses goes back to the store.
 
Granted these are my first pair of "high-end" headphones, are there any tips/advice/expectations when comparing the two? Other than the apparent lack of bass?
 
 
 

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

I say go with what you enjoy the most. Personal Preference > Technical Performance. Even if the everyone in the world says that the re0 are the  best, if you feel you enjoy the s4 more go for it.

 

[Omnirai]

It really comes down to preference. The S4 have plentiful bass quantity but I find the bass muddy and overpowering the rest of the sound, and I dislike the overall presentation. The RE0 are excellent IEMs but are not for everyone due to a somewhat thin-bodied bass. You should burn both in for much longer and compare them by using them over a longer period of time to see if you enjoy the RE0's outstanding detail, clarity, treble response and balance, or if you just can't get over the need for a loud bass. Personally I would go with the RE0s any day, but I'm certainly no basshead.

 

[canikickit1]

Could be me but the Re0 detail seems nonexistent to me : shrug:..they seem really flat and tinny sounding... could out be that I have the hifi man version, with the hockey stick like jack?or is the flat ness one of it's well known cons?

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

Nope what you describe is definitely the re0. The s4 will make the re0 seem thin in comparison. There is a mental adjustment when switching from bass heavy to a thinner sound.If you were to use the re0 exclusively then switch to the s4 they would sound too bassy in comparison.
 
Basically the earphone you have would make each other sound crappy because as soon as you mental adjust to one the other seem crappy in comparison.
 

 

[Omnirai]

I won't describe the RE0 as tinny, and it certainly takes a lot to say it has no detail! Are you volume-matching properly? The RE0 tend to need a little high volume from your source to reach the same volume as other earphones, try listening louder because the level of detail is outstanding out of the box and only gets more refined.

 

[canikickit1]

Update..
 
 
No kidding the RE0's have some pretty insane balance and clarity.. after burning them in for about 40 hours.. and listening to them for about 45 minutes.. then going back to the s4s, the s4s bass overpowers the music a bit more than it should..
 
The main thing that the RE0s need is much more volume...

 

[natashaful]

Hmm i wouldn't make any snap judgements on IEMs till they have 200 hours of burn in and over 30 hours of listening time over all genres.
Not to mention it's hard to judge what is honestly best because everyone likes different sound signature, Music Type,Volume, Isolation, Etc, Which is one of the reasons many people own multiple IEMs.
 
Nattie.

 

[canikickit1]

Well I'm pretty much going to choose one over the other. I want an all-around earphone/IEM. So far the split is 51/49 with the 51 going with the S4's.. The s4's immerse you in the music, making it a bit hard to study or do work with them.. whereas the RE0s are crisp and detailed.. the bass is sharp but not booming like the S4's, doesn't really immerse you in the music however.
 
One will prevail in the 30 days trial period i have lol

 

[KimChee]

You pretty much picked two iems with totally different sound signatures.  I'd do back to back listening sessions of at least an hour when comparing them.  The amped RE0 sounds even better.  I guess its a matter of preference clarity and mid treble details with tight bass, or more bass with less clarity overall.

 

[nature boy]

Make sure you try out the different size and style ear buds to make sure have get a good inside ear canal seal.  The flange and foam ones simply did not work for me in getting a decent seal.  The black buds (medium) fit just right and resulted in superb sound.  Experiment a little and I think you'll be surprised how good these headphones really sound.
 
NB

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Make sure you try out the different size and style ear buds to make sure have get a good inside ear canal seal.  The flange and foam ones simply did not work for me in getting a decent seal.  The black buds (medium) fit just right and resulted in superb sound.  Experiment a little and I think you'll be surprised how good these headphones really sound.
 
NB

 
This...  I use the Sony Hybrid tips on my RE0s (haven't heard the S4s, so I can't comment on that).  The tiny part just didn't sound right (sounded like a fit/seal problem).  Keep experimenting, and remember, it's not what we say is better; it's what you like better.  We can't force anyone to like something, they have to like it themselves.
 
 

 

[Omnirai]

I might sound biased as a previous RE0 owner, but you could fix the shortcomings of the RE0 with a little amping or some EQing on the low end, while it is much harder to make the S4 display the more desirable sonic characters of the RE0 (impossible rather, unless there is some serious voodoo out there I am not aware of). An RE0 with a cheap, bass-boosting amp (eg FiiO E7) will be an excellent match and easily give you sound that's worthy of a greater price, unless you are a serious bass-head.

 

[canikickit1]

I was even looking into getting some comply tips also...but the stock tips do the phones justice atm. The only dealbreaker is the apparent need for an amp for the re0s to should their absolute best

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

I was even looking into getting some comply tips also...but the stock tips do the phones justice atm. The only dealbreaker is the apparent need for an amp for the re0s to should their absolute best

I actually run my RE0s unamped.  The difference is extremely small, but noticable.  Comply tips will get you some more bass quantity, but may kill some quality.  It also kills the special treble that the RE0s offer.  If that is the sound you are after (some more bass quantity and less brightness), definitely give those a try.  Just keep trying some tips, many people have also noted the Sony Hybrids and Ultimate Ears stock tips do well as well   Sorry we're all biased towards the RE0 and not the S4, I haven't heard the S4 yet