RE0's - am I missing something?

[ClieOS]

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The etymotics sounds very different from the RE0; both are treble heavy but the etymotics are much more aggressive with Grado-like dynamics and much stronger mids. And my ER4p certainly has significantly more bass than my RE0 (which I seldom use). I think the RE0 is a good contender for 'best iems for under $100' but there's no shortages of ~$200 earphones that's superior to the RE0 in most ways.

I don't disagree that ER4P has a little Grado taste to it, though my view on what represent the Etymotic sound is more on ER4S. The two things I consider RE0 does better than most IEM are, 1) Detail. For all the IEM I have, only ER4S is more revealing. 2) Extension. RE0 is the only IEM that can do 17kHz~17.5kHz in a meaningful way. Even ER4S starts to roll off at around 16kHz. Most other IEM I have heard that can do 16.5kHz all have fairly unbearable sibilant.
 
Also something for the OP, if you are still using your RE0, it might worth the effort to get some Comply TX400 (with the build in filter) for it. TX400 really goes well with RE0 by adding just a little warm to the lower end IMO.
 

 

[rawrster]

I really liked the RE0 when I had it but I do agree with ClieOS. The market for earphones esp at the $100 and under price range has exploded since the RE0 first came out. At that time there were only a couple of earphones worth consideration and now there are so many that it's very difficult to narrow down your choices of worthy options at that price range.
 
However the RE0 is thin in the bass and so are many earphone earphones that are considered analytical and neutral however some people enjoy that type of signature. They have a preference for upper mids and treble and just want a tight bass. I will agree that the RE0 isn't the greatest in bass but I didn't find that the TF10 destroyed the RE0 when I had them both at the same time so I think the RE0 is still a pretty good value.

 

[Kunlun]

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Agreed on mostly on what DaEMoNteNTAcLe has said. RE0 is a thin sounding IEM and meant to be neutral and analytical - if that is not to your liking, then avoid all thin sounding IEM in the future, especially Etymotic. Back in the days, there are two terms we used to describe this type of sound often but have since fell out of fashion: clinical / sterile. That is what RE0 is, and a common character for most neutral and analytical IEM.
 

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Two things I would like to mention, but not particularly to the OP and more of a general observation:
 
One, always read review with a grain of salt. Even where there are a great number of so called rave reviews, it does mean a particular IEM will be what you are looking for. I have yet to see one IEM that can does-it-all - individual IEM is often valued for a particular set of strength more than anything else. A neutral and analytical IEM won't appeal to a musical listener, vise versa. Like I always tell others, you will be better off with something that fits your taste than something that is considered good by others.
 
Two, do remember that RE0 is a 2 years old model (and most of the reviews are fairly old too). Though I can't say in certainty what the actual number is, the majority (like > 85%) of all the very active IEM discussions in forum now are IEM that are less than 1 year old since released. The one thing I often find people lose track of when reading reviews is the perspective of time. Back when RE0 was first released, the three universal IEM top-tier were TF10, SE530, and ER4S. Now? The number is pretty much tripled, if not more. If you read back the old ER4S review in 2001 / 2002 when Head-fi was born, people actually were comparing ER4S to top-of-the-line full sized cans because that was the only IEM in the market at that time. How many people will still compare ER4S to full sized in their review these days? The point is, when you are reading a review, it is not just a person's opinion regarding a certain object, but really it is a person's perspective of that object in a particular time and space. If you ignore the perspective of any review, you will never be able to read any review correctly.

Well said.

 

[nycbone]

I bought the RE0 for commuting and walking around town. SQ is decent, isolation is adequate for my needs (I need to be aware of my surroundings while walking city streets) and I wouldn't freak out if I lost them. In that case, I would probably look to spend my next $80 (my limit for a street IEM) on something else. I think they would be a good $50 IEM.

 

[lebomb]

Ive never understood why anyone would accept an IEM that is weak/thin in the bass department.  Even a live orchestra has deep bass.  If the IEM cant produce it, then its a failure in my book.  That is why I dumped the Superfi 4s.  They sounded so very thin.  Music that I listen to at home or in the car, or with other IEMs has bass lines that were non existant on the Superfi's.  Anyhow, its all subjective, so to each his own.   Personally I would never even try the RE0's with all the talk about thinness in sound and no bass.  

 

[Marcus_C]

@lebomb - I listen to quite a lot of bass driven music (dub/breaks/etc.) and much preferred the re0 to the sf.4 and the s4. The sf.4 is far from the least mid-bass out there but the extension just does not exist like it does on the better earphones out there (including the re0). If extra bass should be in a track it'll be in the recording. As for the s4, the extension is a bit better but it isn't nearly as well defined as the bass say in an ety or the re0. By the sf.4's being thin it would make more sense to me if you're referring to the lack of extension which majorly limits the soundstage, that's not what you get with the re0. Bassy earphones sound very unnatural to me and are never (IME) as detailed as one's with less emphasis on bass quantity for the same money.

 

[patalp]

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Ive never understood why anyone would accept an IEM that is weak/thin in the bass department.  Even a live orchestra has deep bass.  If the IEM cant produce it, then its a failure in my book.  That is why I dumped the Superfi 4s.  They sounded so very thin.  Music that I listen to at home or in the car, or with other IEMs has bass lines that were non existant on the Superfi's.  Anyhow, its all subjective, so to each his own.   Personally I would never even try the RE0's with all the talk about thinness in sound and no bass.  

But to some people, the RE-0 sounds as if it has a more neutral sound signature and that the bass is just right. To them, something like the TF10 has too much bass. It doesn't mean that they love IEMs with weak/thin bass but that for their preference, this certain quality/quantity of bass sounds right.

 

[lebomb]

If an IEM hints at bass............its not bass IMHO.  Its either there or it isnt.  Why do we even make subwoofers for hometheater, home audio, movie theaters, cars, live music, if you think layed back, hinted at bass is the norm?  Shouldnt all audio be staged the same way?  Why are IEMs considered different. 
 
I was told Superfi's were great, but lacked in the bass department.  What?  Sorry, but if I turn my Marantz home stereo on and listen to music at the house, the bass is there period.  You can damn near feel it in your bones, with the bass knob set to "0" or neutral.  Even the most expensive home audio speakers in the world have huge subwoofers.  I listen to my S4s the bass is there.  I listen to SF4s, and it sounds like a tin can, yet Im told its nice bass by IEM audiophiles here.  *shrugs*
 
Its all subjective I guess.  Marcus and patalp, thanks for our thoughts and clarification, but I still dont get it. 

 

[rawrster]

Well if an earphone has too much bass that doesn't belong it isn't right either then It's hard to have an earphone with natural sounding bass that isn't thin or bloated with good extension and I have not heard anything under $200 that does it right for the most part.

 

[lebomb]

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Well if an earphone has too much bass that doesn't belong it isn't right either then It's hard to have an earphone with natural sounding bass that isn't thin or bloated with good extension and I have not heard anything under $200 that does it right for the most part.

I never said to ADD to the bass.  Im just saying for the IEM to produce what is there.  If the high/mids can be produced accurately, why shouldnt the bass?  Cristal clear mids and highs and thin bass?  Thats not accurate. 
 
Your point is well taken.....................  Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 

 

[JxK]

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Well if an earphone has too much bass that doesn't belong it isn't right either then It's hard to have an earphone with natural sounding bass that isn't thin or bloated with good extension and I have not heard anything under $200 that does it right for the most part.

I never said to ADD to the bass.  Im just saying for the IEM to produce what is there.  If the high/mids can be produced accurately, why shouldnt the bass?  Cristal clear mids and highs and thin bass?  Thats not accurate. 
 
Your point is well taken.....................  Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Just a small counter point. Not that I'm saying you're wrong - I actually agree with your thoughts that accurate bass reproduction requires impact - but alot of people seem to develop headaches, fatigue, or even slight nausea when listening to bassier earphones for any length of time. Not sure whey, but for those individuals accurate bass reproduction would result in an unlistenable earphone.
 

 

[lebomb]

 
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Well if an earphone has too much bass that doesn't belong it isn't right either then It's hard to have an earphone with natural sounding bass that isn't thin or bloated with good extension and I have not heard anything under $200 that does it right for the most part.

I never said to ADD to the bass.  Im just saying for the IEM to produce what is there.  If the high/mids can be produced accurately, why shouldnt the bass?  Cristal clear mids and highs and thin bass?  Thats not accurate. 
 
Your point is well taken.....................  Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 

Just a small counter point. Not that I'm saying you're wrong - I actually agree with your thoughts that accurate bass reproduction requires impact - but alot of people seem to develop headaches, fatigue, or even slight nausea when listening to bassier earphones for any length of time. Not sure whey, but for those individuals accurate bass reproduction would result in an unlistenable earphone.
 

Ahhhhh.............got ya.  Thanks, I understand much better now.
 

 

 

[Pianist]

I don't know - I never really felt that RE0 sounds thin. The problem I had with RE0 was usually a lack of sub bass and lack of definition in the low end when unamped, but I always thought RE0 sounded quite full and rich, especially with the stock large dual flange tips. In fact, with the aforementioned dual biflanges, I sometimes felt that the body in the upper bass/lower mids was even a bit excessive and usually preferred UE single flange silicone tips which provided a more balanced sound to my ears.
 
Regarding Triple-fi: I don't like this IEM at all - it has excessive mid upper bass and a totally incoherent transition from upper bass to low mids, resulting in a noticeably muddy sound. I also felt the mids on Triple.fi are unimpressive and lack detail and definition. I think RE0 has much better mids and a better, more coherent overall sound.

 

[Max F]

Yes the REOs are bass light.  And if you listen at low volume and/or in a loud environment, you will be disappointed.
 
A little (or more) bass boost and a quite environment - then they're pretty darn good IEM!
 
I must say though, I don't have the most expensive equipment (including speaker rig), but I think the REOs treble is just plain awesome.  I actually didn't think it was possible to have such a revealing treble and be completely non-fatiguing.  That to me is special.  I'm very sensitive to harsh treble (i.e., say no to Grado!).

 

[Pianist]

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Yes the REOs are bass light.  And if you listen at low volume and/or in a loud environment, you will be disappointed.
 
A little (or more) bass boost and a quite environment - then they're pretty darn good IEM!
 
I must say though, I don't have the most expensive equipment (including speaker rig), but I think the REOs treble is just plain awesome.  I actually didn't think it was possible to have such a revealing treble and be completely non-fatiguing.  That to me is special.  I'm very sensitive to harsh treble (i.e., say no to Grado!).

 
I actually feel that RE0s sound great at low volumes, because at low volume levels you won't hear sub bass well, if at all, so the lack of the lowest registers on the RE0 is no longer an issue. Also, I wouldn't call RE0 bass light - that's an inaccurate description of their sound IMO. They lack the lowest bass like I said, but the mid and upper bass quantity is about neutral in my opinion.