[Towert7]

RE0 vs. RE2
I’ve used the Head Direct RE0 and RE2 with my little Ipod shuffle and nano. I’ve also tried them out of my home setup for haha’s.
What follows is what I would like to call my initial impressions. I do not review items, I just tell you what I think. This is my 3'rd RE2 and my first RE0.

Build Quality:
This is by far their weakest point. I have had 2 RE2’s in the past, and both went bad within a year. On the first one the rubber insulation near the driver came off, and on the second one the cable came loose near the y splitter. I cut the second one up, and you would not believe just how TINY the cable is. It’s a joke. I’m shocked they lasted as long as they did to be honest with you. The new ones are now wrapped in a cable sleeving. I am not sure what insulation is below the sleeving. Despite the new sleeving, I have a hunch they are still the most fragile little things. The one thing that I like about the RE0 is the rubber molded plug support.

Another thing is that the little protective nets are held on by what seems like sticky tack. They have a habit of coming off within a month with me (if not within the first day). Now though, they give you replacements. I haven’t tried installing them. It’s disappointing they are held on with sticky tack.

For those who care, they are a product of China.

Looks:
They both look nice. The RE0 have a nice black anodized metal finish with a silver anodized metal piece at the end. The RE2 are made of smooth black plastic, with a silver plastic piece at the end. I’m not sure how much wear the RE0 can take before the anodized layer wears off.

Comfort:
When they are in my ears they both seem very comfortable. When putting them in, the RE2 seem a little more comfortable because it’s a smooth plastic instead of a rough metal. The ear tips are very comfortable in my ears. I use the small black ones.
In the past the rubber insulation had ‘memory’, keeping the shape that you put it in often. This would be a pain for me. I prefer the cable to hang down straight, but instead it would have all these bends in it. The new ones with the cable sleeving do not seem any better. A pity really.


Isolation:
They both isolate very nicely! The RE0 seem to isolate a little better though.

Sound:
The RE0 presents the music more in front and more distant. It’s not so much that it has a better sound stage, it’s just that all sounds seem farther away. As a result, I loose out on times when music is supposed to sound very close and intimate. On the RE2, there are times when the music creates amazing effects that seem to surround me in all directions thanks to the ability to present sounds close. The RE0 isn’t able to do this very well, and most of the effect is lost. This is very disappointing, because I love the way these effects sound! They add another dimension to the music.

They both have roughly the same amount of bass impact, but the RE2 has a little more bass weight. As far as my personal preference goes, only when I give them my most bassy music do I start to notice it. They are both most definitely on the lighter side of a neutral bass response, sadly.

They are both very detailed owning to the fact that they are so close to the ear drum.

I suspect the RE0 has ever so slightly more present upper mids and highs. Coupled with sounds seeming more distant and without the bass to compliment them, they can at times make me feel uncomfortable (a slight pain). The RE2, with a tiny bit more bass weight, perhaps a tiny bit less upper mids and highs, and a more close up sound do not give me this pain anywhere near as much (almost not at all). I would call the RE2 smoother.

I find the RE0 have a hard time presenting sounds from behind. The RE2 is slightly better in this.



Conclusion:
I purchased the RE2 for 40$us, and the RE0 for 100$ (on sale). I prefer the RE2 better. Sounds better to me and is much cheaper. I think this is a testament of just how nice the RE2 are for a budget IEM! To be honest, I wouldn’t want to spend any more than 40$ on these because I know just how fragile they are.

As always, feel free to share your comments or ask questions.
Hope this helps,
~Drew

 

[Towert7]

Doubt many people saw this, so bump.

 

[mvw2]

The RE0 was designed to be amped. I'm not sure how much the IPods put out, but realize there will be some limitation in bass output and control from this. Sometimes the lower power geared headphones come out looking better because of this.

As well, many folks suggest a rather lengthy burn in time for the RE0 as they can sound kind of harsh fresh out of the box. I'm not sure how much the RE2 varies in this regard, but you've owned a couple pairs and you're very familiar with them.

The RE0 is a closed design while the RE2 is an open design. One thing this does affect is stage size, and closed designs do end up more in your head. There can also be different levels of isolation since a partially open design will leak sound.

I agree on stage presentation. The RE0 isn't really able to create a good sense of space and location. Many earphones don't do this really well and some are down right horrible.

Bass is light on both earphones although the RE0 does have a sloping frequency response that does slightly emphasize the low end and providing a warmer/darker tone. I've tried amping the RE0 with a smaller amp, and it helped a little. I feel that the headphone does want a sizable amp source though to actually output effortlessly.

As to the cabling, it's not uncommon. Most earphone wiring is very, very small. This really is of little surprise.

By nets do you mean the earwax/debris filters on the ends of the tube? It is a common design shared by a number of IEMs. I've removed the RE0 ones before, and I really had no issue with it. They should stay on fine as long as you're not messing with it much. The adhesive used is quite sticky and seems to work well. Some folks do prefer to see a metal mesh screen here instead, but I think it's more a matter of personal preference.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif By nets do you mean the earwax/debris filters on the ends of the tube?

Yes
The Shure IEM's had a much better design where the screens were not prone to coming off within a few weeks.

 

[mvw2]

Better is a relative concept. Better how? It's just that there isn't anything particularly wrong about the fiber filters. In fact, you can just remove them if you want, not a big deal with the RE IEMs. They have a piece of foam stuffing underneath anyways that helps tune the high end frequency response of the IEM. This of course will also keep ear wax out and can technically be cleaned periodically if desired. The fiber or wire screens are simply common practice and only serve the basic purpose of keeping earwax and other foreign materials out of the tube and away from the driver.

 

[ddkyd]

I had my RE2, and i loved it... until it died on me. Sent it in for repair... got lost in the mail, and Headdirect will not give me any compensation... it lasted a month before it crapped out. You get what you pay for in quality department for these earphones. I have read many rave reviews of RE0, and the price seems attract with sale, but we all know that they are not going to last long.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddkyd /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had my RE2, and i loved it... until it died on me. Sent it in for repair... got lost in the mail, and Headdirect will not give me any compensation... it lasted a month before it crapped out. You get what you pay for in quality department for these earphones. I have read many rave reviews of RE0, and the price seems attract with sale, but we all know that they are not going to last long.

Sad, but true.

 

[Scott549]

Wow, that is almost shocking -- the bass on the RE0 is no better than the RE2? It is a big weakness with the RE2.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Better how?

Not better, much better.

 

[ClieOS]

If there is one thing I notice about the combo of Nano and RE0, that is RE0 really sounds sub-par out of a Nano's headphone-out. In comparison, my Fuze's headphone-out does a much better job with RE0. IMO, Nano simply doesn't have what needed to show RE0 potential.

 

[tacitapproval]

I have both these phones as well. I hear something very different between them. The RE0 has significantly better bass resonse to my ears than the RE2. I also don't hear a large discrepancy in distance, although the RE2 is a little more forward. I also, unsuprisingly, find the RE0 to have a higher caliber sound quality all around.

 

[Robisan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif In comparison, my Fuze's headphone-out does a much better job with RE0.

I sometimes think the famously neutral/balanced RE-0 was specifically designed to pair with the famously neutral/balanced Fuze. They're a great combo.

 

[mvw2]

Famously? I did find the RE0 to be decently neutral in gearing, but the frequency response was slightly skewed in my experience towards the warmer/darker side, not much but noticeable. It did balance out nicely with a slight EQ shift. I tend to think of Yuin as more famously neutral, not 100% through their product lineup (ex. PK1), but it is largely their gearing.

 

[Robisan]

Yes, I think balanced and neutral were fairly common descriptions in the long RE-0 review thread.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvw2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Famously? I did find the RE0 to be decently neutral in gearing, but the frequency response was slightly skewed in my experience towards the warmer/darker side, not much but noticeable. It did balance out nicely with a slight EQ shift. I tend to think of Yuin as more famously neutral, not 100% through their product lineup (ex. PK1), but it is largely their gearing.

Now that's very interesting that you say the RE0 sound a little warmer/darker than neutral to you.

As far as my preferences go, I would say the RE0 was bright/dryer than neutral.
Gotta love how personal preference works!