[DaBomb77766]

First of all, this is my first post, and I'd like to say hi.  And yes, I already feel sorry for my wallet, as I've been lurking around here for awhile now.
 
But back to my question, I bought a pair of PL-50s a few months back, and am now in the market for some higher-end IEMs.  (At first, I wasn't even gonna spend the money on the PL-50s, but head-fi convinced me to go up from the $20 or so I'd spend on a lower end pair of IEMs. )
 
Anyway, I had looked around for awhile and saw that the RE0s were received quite well, and had a very flat sound signature - something I was interested in.  But then I saw that the RE-Zero, a limited edition model, had been released too, and then figured what the hell, just another $20...then I saw the RE262 for another $50 and am now eyeing that one...though from what I understand, it has a somewhat coloured signature, unlike the RE0 and RE-Zero.
 
At the moment I have HD595s for home use and the PL-50s for use on the go...I have a Fiio E1 on order, and, unfortunately, a Fiio E7 sitting at home on the other side of the world.  It's a long story, but I'm not gonna be able to use it for at least a few more months.

Also, I tend to listen to a lot of classical, along with a fair amount of electronic music and some pop and rock...a bit of jazz too.  Basically, a little bit of everything but hip-hop or heavy metal.  Meaning I'm looking for something that'd work with a wide range of genres.
 
One more thing, I've heard that the RE262s were supposed to sell for $250, but are currently on sale for $150 at head-direct?  Will this price eventually go up again or do you think it'll stay there?  I sent an email to head-direct a few days ago but still haven't gotten a reply.
 
Anyway, sorry if this post is getting a little long, but thanks for any replies I may possibly get!

 

[DaBomb77766]

Also, one more thing - feel free to refer me to another pair of IEMs if you think something else suits the bill better than any of the head-direct ones.  Just so long as it isn't more than $150, that really is the upper limit of what I'm willing to spend.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Bump - still waiting on a reply, guys!  Sorry if my original post was too long, maybe I should make this a little more concise:
 
Of the RE0, RE-ZERO and RE262, which would be the best for classical music?
 
My PL-50s work pretty well for electronic music already, so I'm not so worried about that...but they're not the greatest for classical due to a..."metallic" sound they tend to give to it.
 
Again, if there's another alternative from within this price range ($150), please let me know.

 

[mvw2]

Well first off, what's your preference in sound?  I'm not asking about music, but rather I'm asking about how you like sound presented to you.  Discuss things like tonality (warm, neutral, bright), level of detail (crisp or smoothed), presentation (forward, natural, laid back), any details on how you like your bass, mids, and treble, and so on.  If you can give us some details on how you like your sound, we can guide you to a product that will fit that well.
 
Also, there are numerous reviews on this forum that you should be reading to help narrow down your search.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

Well first off, what's your preference in sound?  I'm not asking about music, but rather I'm asking about how you like sound presented to you.  Discuss things like tonality (warm, neutral, bright), level of detail (crisp or smoothed), presentation (forward, natural, laid back), any details on how you like your bass, mids, and treble, and so on.  If you can give us some details on how you like your sound, we can guide you to a product that will fit that well.
 
Also, there are numerous reviews on this forum that you should be reading to help narrow down your search.

Hm...I'd have to say, I like clear treble.  Bass isn't a huge concern, just so long as it isn't overpowering - I'm no basshead, even if lots of bass is fun sometimes.  I don't have a huge amount of experience with different sets of headphones so it's hard for me to say much more - but I did want to try a pair that was detailed, since my HD595 and PL-50s seem to be more smooth in presentation.  In the same way, I'm not really so sure about colouring - I don't have any real experience with perfectly "neutral" sound, so it's hard for me to comment on that...but I am interested in how that would sound.
 
Sorry if I can't really say much more than that, I'm still starting out here!
 
And yes, I have been reading around a bit too...after all, $150 isn't a minor purchase for me, I don't really have much money to spend.  I just wanted to know what others think first-hand.
 
Also, thanks for your reply!
 

 

[mvw2]

Well the challenge is there are a lot of great options out there, but while good, the presentation of sound varies.  If you don't mind stepping to something more detailed to compliment what you already have, you might look at something like the Etymotic ER4P.  New is a little above your price point, but a used set will fall within the $150 mark.  This is a reference level product that's long revered as one of the greatest IEMs out there.  It's old tech being +15 years old but still a leading device.  It's very highly detailed, very well balanced, and just an all-around high quality product.  One unique benefit of this earphone is that if offers a thick and highly textured note.  For a balanced armature speaker based earphone, this is somewhat uncommon.  Most balanced armature speakers have fast decay which makes the note short and clean but less full bodied, less hearty, less impactful.  The ER4 carries a lot of note body which helps fill out the presentation well.
 
At a slightly cheaper price point, we have the Phonak PFE which was geared similar to the ER4 in terms of frequency response.  It has selectable filters to adjust the upper frequency range and tune the sound a little bit to your preference.  It's a little more fun than the ER4 with a little stronger bass, more dynamic and energetic, a little lighter in note, more squeaky clean but less note body, less textured, and the sound stage isn't as well presented.  The ER4 is the better of the two, but the PFE is a touch more fun than analytical.  The high dynamic range, speed, and detail is impressive and makes this a very good earphone.
 
The DBA-02 can be a great option if you want a product with high speed and detail.  It is less dynamic than the PFE but more aggressive/forward in presentation.  This steps up to two balanced armature speakers from one of the ER4 and PFE which does typically help a little bit in covering the audio spectrum a touch better than what a single balanced armature driver can do.  The treble is very good with this earphone, very fast, detailed.  It has less dynamic range than the PFE though, more compressed, forward in sound.  Basically it means it makes the quiet stuff louder and you more easily hear more of the information in the music.  The downside is the reduction in dynamic range which sucks away some of the life and character from the music.  Compressed dynamic range is great if you want to hear all the little details.  High dynamic range is great when you want more emotion and variation in the music.  It's a trade-off.  The DBA-02 retains the typical BA (balanced armature) sound with fast decay and a slightly short note.  A side effect of this is that the bass can come across sounding slightly lean, slightly weak which the DBA-02 does slightly.
 
Stepping away from balanced armature based earphones we have the Hifiman RE252.  This is similar to the DBA-02 but uses a dynamic speaker instead of balanced armature speakers.  The note is thicker and better textured than the DBA-02.  It is still compressed somewhat dynamically and subsequently a little forward and aggressive. This earphone is very detailed, very fast for a dynamic based product.  It's also very well balanced and one of the only other earphones I view as a reference level product like the grandfather of the industry ER4.  Fitment is an issue with this earphone and is a gripe of many people.  You are fitting both the gummy earphone housing and the in-ear tip at the same time, and it simply doesn't fit everyone's ears well.  It's best to use foam tips, mainly Comply T-400 or T-500 tips, at a hefty $20 price tag to get a decent fit and seal.  New pricing is $200, but used almost always sells sub $150, so it certainly fits in your price range.
 
Another excellent choice is Hifiman's RE262.  It's a different take than the RE252, less balanced, more colorful, but the dynamic speaker used in this earphone is godly.  It's extremely transparent, extremely dynamic, highly detailed, very low distortion.  The sound is mid-centric with a focus towards the upper midrange.  It's enjoyable to listen to, and the sound quality is outstanding.  The choice to use this versus other options comes down to more the idea of frequency response and what you prefer.  However, at the introductory price, it's incredibly good and I'm understating that fact.  The colored sound does make it work well with some music and less well with other music, but that's the nature of an unbalanced response.  This earphone is less aggressive than many of the other options I listed, but it's dynamic enough and detailed enough to not come across too laid back.  The presentation is more sweet, more delicate than the others though.  It will definitely give you a different flavor of sound than the PL-50.

 

[s0lar]

I guess most people will like the sound of a RE-262. Some don't like the sound of the RE0 for example.

 

[h320]

I'd say get a used pair of RE-ZERO for around $40
That's what I did, and without question  the best value of all my iem purchases.

 

[cowsled]

I'd recommend the ZERO's too. I love mine. I'd like to point out, however that you have to use and adaptor with them which is a bit of a hassle. Something to consider when you make the decision.

 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Thanks for all the replies!
 
mvw2, what's your opinion on the RE-ZERO and RE0, if you've ever heard them before?  Based on what you said, the RE252 or RE262 seem like a good choice...but the problem with getting things used though, is that at the moment, I'm living in china, and I will be for another two months!  It's actually rather difficult to get things shipped to china since the government likes taxing things for more than they're worth, and confiscating things for rather arbitrary reasons.
 
But the RE-ZERO and RE0 seem pretty tempting too, largely because they're cheaper than the others...and I've never heard anything that would be considered truly "neutral" as far as frequency response goes.  The higher sensitivity of the RE-ZERO makes it more useful for portable use without an amp, too.
 
As far as the DBA-02 goes...I dunno, I was never particularly interested in this one.  It seems it also retails for a little more than the hifiman/head-direct ones, and really, while my price range has been slowly [quickly] creeping up, I really have to make an ultimate limit of $150...I really can't afford more than that right now.
 
But again, which do you guys think would work best for classical music?  I know this is very subjective, but I'd like to know everyone's opinion on this here.
 
Thanks again!

 

[bigheadhifi]

if you want hifiman for classical you might want to go for re2, it has an open back housing, it gives a much bigger soundstaging while still maintain its decent detail.
 
re0 - beautiful detail and treble, recessed mids, and lows
RE-ZERO - slightly decreased treble from the re0, but still sounded awesome, mids and lows are increased from the re0, it gives much bodied sound
re 262 - vocal centric, good for vocal, slightly rolled off highs. warmer sound, less analytical, more musical
re 252 - never tried it, but said to have the most neutral sound among the other hifiman line up.
 
if you want neutral, maybe go for the 252, if you still torn between re0 or rezero, for classical go for rezero imo. fyi, rezero is no longer a limited edition, and the new batch doesnt come with trrs balanced jack retermination, so you can use it directly to your dap without needing any adapter.

 

[mvw2]

RE0 - textured, detailed, but small dynamic range, great note attack but low weight, slightly dark overall signature, very very controlled driver, also needs a powerful amp to properly operate
 
RE-Zero - Major changes from the RE0 come from a looser driver offer a more natural, effortless, and dynamic note, frequency response is better balanced overall, notes are more natural and life-like, some loss of fine detail and edginess for a more delicate, playful presentation, also has a better presented sound stage in terms of creating perceived placement and space of sounds.
 
In my eyes, the RE-Zero is a big win over the RE0, fixing a lot of core problems of the RE0.  I personally don't even recommend the RE0 at all.  I simply dislike them that much, partially from personal taste but also in how it produces sound.  I just see the RE-Zero as a superior replacement to the RE0.
 
The RE252 and RE262 are a step up from the RE-Zero.  They both are holistically better products to the RE-Zero.
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Hm...you guys are making it really hard for me to make a decision, but I've also learned quite a bit, thanks!  Now for me I'm more torn between the 262 and RE-ZERO...although the introductory price for the RE-262 is pretty tempting.  I sent hifiman an email about a week ago and just got the reply now...but they said that they were going to take down the "pre-order" listing soon, so I'm not really sure how much longer it's gonna cost that.
 
Also, bigheadhifi, do you know when they'll start selling this new batch?  Their website still says it uses a balanced plug.  It'd be a big plus for me if it used a normal plug, since I have no intention in buying a balanced amp any time soon or ever.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Huh, I just stumbled upon these:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/549580/review-vsonic-gr07-dynamic-monitors-check
 
The VSONIC GR07.  I'm intrigued.  These might be what I'm looking for...does anyone have any clue where I could find a pair, from a store that ships to China?
 
The idea of bio-cellulose is immensely appealing to me for some reason.
 
EDIT: looks like I found out where to buy them from:
http://www.lendmeurears.com/?page_id=582

Never heard of them before though, and it's a rather roundabout way to buy something...still, not gonna jump to conclusions and order a pair just yet.

 

[ClieOS]

Wait, you want it to be shipped to China?
 
Never mind, here is where we have the other discussion of GR07 with a few more impression from various member: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/536342/review-vsonic-gr07-labor-of-love