[arenoob]

Hey guys, first post here. If youre curious, my nick comes from the username registration. "If you are noob..."

I had some V-moda Vibes for awhile before I lost them. I liked them quite a bit, but I didnt feel they were quite as amazing as people reviewed. For $60 dollars, I cant complain though.

Now Im looking at some IEMs again in the ~100 range as a lot of others are. I listen to mostly death metal (such as White Chapel, Molotov Solution, Winds of Plague) and light bits of techno, go figure!
I mainly enjoy clean bass, and crisp highs. Somewhat demanding I understand.
It seems the RE0s are a rather popular choice, so Ive basically narrowed it down to these. Now two questions arise:
1) How will they compare to my Vibes? Taken into account the "foam" mod on the RE0s
2) I skate while listening to music. Ive yet to rip a pair while actually skating, but Id definitely prefer some monitors that can take a small beating.

If it means anything. My desktop setup is a pair of A700 cans and an X-fi xtreme music, so whatever style sound that may produce is what Im accustomed to.

Thanks guys, and glad to be here!

 

[RubberDucky451]

I made the leap from vibes to RE0s also and i immediately noticed an increase in qaulity. Vibes have huge bass but you'll notice that it's very muddy and undefined. I would also describe the vibes as warm while the RE0's are cold. It'll probably be a shock when you switch, like it was for me but I really love my RE0s. I say get the RE0s and go for it.

 

[bba1973]

Not sure how good the RE0's are going to be with skating. Make sure you wear them behind your ears. They might fall out easily, so if you still have any tips from your Vibes that you liked, save them. I use the medium tips that came with my UHP336's, and they fit pretty well. If you don't like any of the tips that come with them, Sony replacement tips (you should be able to find them for $10 or so) might work.

I have not heard the Vibes, but the RE0's are fantastic. Good step up from the UHP336's I used before. Great deal for $100. Again, not sure how good they'll be for skating, but they sound great. If you've got the money, get them soon.

Welcome to head-fi!

 

[TT600R]

Use a clip that holds your cable stick to your T-shirt while skating.

 

[bba1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TT600R /img/forum/go_quote.gif Use a clip that holds your cable stick to your T-shirt while skating.

RE0 comes with a clip.

 

[mvw2]

Does now. Didn't before.

I had the Vibes as well and grabbed a pair of the RE0s. I would say you won't like the RE0. It is vastly different, not in a bad way, but you will be stepping far away from familiar ground. You may or may not adjust well to that. Overall I would say the RE0 is a better earphone by a decent enough margin on an unbiased scale. For the price, it's actually a great buy. It is clean and crisp, slightly warm/veiled. The frequency response is even and tonality pretty natural. Treble is very good as is midrange. Bass can be somewhat light. This is an earphone geared to be used with an amp, so use one if you intend to purchase this earphone. Coming from the Vibes, there's a lot less bass, and the sound is much smaller, less full and enveloping. As a start, I think it'd be a little easier to still stick to bass heavy earphones but improve upon the clarity, detail, and control a little. Get a similar sound (roughly) but improve upon some aspects.

I'd say as a start look at NuForce NE-7M. It's a largely popular earphone with a ton of bass but cleaner and better defined then the Vibe. You may or may not like the treble range as there's a sizable peak around 5kHz that sort of makes the treble range a "one note wonder" kind of presentation. With EQing and a good -6dB cut at 5kHz, this vastly improves and the whole midrange and top end smooths out nicely. The midbass is very strong. When I had these, I used to set them in the ear loose rather then create a good seal just to take down the bass some and even out the sound. Tip choice will allow you to adjust some of these aspects. The earphone is $50 and is a decently robust earphone that does a number of things well.

A secondary option is Denon's C751. It's ups the stakes with better clarity and definition with great midrange sound that's very realistic and a clean treble response. The bass is very strong and very extended. However, the bass can be overbearing at times. A quick fix if the bass does annoy you is to tape over the rear port holes on the earphone. This evens out the bass response, but you do lose a lot of the deep base. This earphone also responds well to tips, so upgrading from the simple single flange tip that comes stock is advisable. Pricing hovers right around the $100 mark. These will surprise you.

 

[arenoob]

Wow, appreciate the input guys.

Mvw2, would that change if I grabbed say a Fiio E3 or E5? That wouldnt be much of a problem while walking around, and I could just skip the amp while skating as I cant hear much anyway.
I just really like the reviews of the RE0s and their reproduction. Id rather be using more "correct" equipment than tricking myself with something a little over the top.

 

[mvw2]

The problem is personal preference. You have a sound you like, a sound you think is ideal or at least likable. You should buy something that fits well with this preference.

Buy the RE0. It doesn't matter. Head Direct does have a 30 day money back guarantee, so it's not like you're stuck with it. Give it a try and see what you think. It is geared to be used with an amp. I ran it without and with the E5. It helps some, but I question if the E5 is capable enough for an earphone that really likes a lot of juice behind it. I feel the RE0 may be one of those earphones because the sound is not effortless and not that dynamic by default. I think it does require a lot of power to really open up. It's something I haven't tried personally, although, I may pick up the RE0 for a second chance in the future to test running it with better tips and off a better, high powered amp. I've tried a number of earphones since, so it might be nice rehearing it with fresh ears so to speak and with what might be more ideal equipment. It's a good earphone that does do a few things exceptionally well. I personally felt it was lacking in a couple areas though, and I'm not sure how fixable they are stepping to a more ideal setup for them. For $100, they're a great buy regardless. It just comes down to a matter of preference. Something like the NE-7M or C751 will be closer to what you had with the Vibe.

 

[jjmai]

Think of RE0 as more an alternative rather than replacement way to enjoy your music.
One set of IEM (RE0) for the crisp and natural sound, another (Vibe) to occasionally satisfy the basshead in you.

 

[tstarn06]

Or the Klipsch S4, which is a little more than the Denon or NuForce, but offers, in my view (and I owned both of the other phones) higher SQ (and excellent bass). And as for comfort, none is better than the Klipsch gels. I had the Vibes once, and they are even in the same ballpark as the S4s, my now favorite mid-priced dynamic phones. Oh, the S4s require 60 hours or so of burn in to hit their stride. Just offering another option, at $79.