[Sonnyt]

I apologize if this already been discussed a million times, but right now I can't decide which one to get.  I like to have good soundstage, especially depth and width, good bass, decent mids and trebles.  I know that IEM can't obviously rival full headphones but for the sake of portability and for use in public space, I need an IEM.  I would like to have Sennheiser IE7, but it's out of my price range at this time.  Anyone who has opinion please share.
 
btw, I am waiting for FiiO E17 to arrive so I could use it with one of these - hopefully it'll go well with either one of these.
 
thanks.

 

[Blinxat]

Thinking of getting the RE-262 myself, according to the IEM review thread they have an above average soundstage  

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

What kind of music do you listen to? The RE262s are mid-centric, while the GR07 and EX600 may have more bass/treble. Also, the EX600s don't isolate all that well, if that's important to you. Personally, I think the GR07s might be the best fit, though the soundstage depth is not as good as its width, though this could just be my bias, since I own them. 

 

[Sonnyt]

Thanks for the input.  How's the mid and bass in GR07?  I normally like V shaped sound, but I find myself liking clear and slightly forward mids recently, hoping one of these would be it for this range.  
 
I generally listen to rock, rock/electronica and some pop and some music from far eastern countries.  I use to have KRK KNS-6400 headphone and loved the analytical and its ability to portray each instruments distinctly but hated the lack of lower end frequencies.  I got rid of it.  From what I read, GR07 or RE-262 might have that.
 
Thanks.

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Quote:

Thanks for the input.  How's the mid and bass in GR07?  I normally like V shaped sound, but I find myself liking clear and slightly forward mids recently, hoping one of these would be it for this range.  
 
I generally listen to rock, rock/electronica and some pop and some music from far eastern countries.  I use to have KRK KNS-6400 headphone and loved the analytical and its ability to portray each instruments distinctly but hated the lack of lower end frequencies.  I got rid of it.  From what I read, GR07 or RE-262 might have that.
 
Thanks.

The GR07s are fairly flat through the midrange and surrounding frequencies, with a couple spikes in treble and a bit of rolloff in the subbass. I don't know if the RE262 has enough bass for that, as they're supposed to e more mid-centric.
 

 

[Nulliverse]

Quote:

Thanks for the input.  How's the mid and bass in GR07?  I normally like V shaped sound, but I find myself liking clear and slightly forward mids recently, hoping one of these would be it for this range.  
 
I generally listen to rock, rock/electronica and some pop and some music from far eastern countries.  I use to have KRK KNS-6400 headphone and loved the analytical and its ability to portray each instruments distinctly but hated the lack of lower end frequencies.  I got rid of it.  From what I read, GR07 or RE-262 might have that.
 
Thanks.

The GR07 is very well balanced, with good detail in mids, no mid-bass hump, and good sub-bass for when the song calls for it. The RE-262 is significantly more mid-centric and laid back. As well as being more forward, mids are much more liquid. Bass quality is also very good but less in quantity than the GR07s, which due to their balanced signature are more versatile, handling a wider variety of genres. That said I think the RE-262s work very well for rock and electronica, so long as it's not too fast or aggressive. 
 
Both have similar width of soundstage, though the RE-262s appeared to have more depth, and subsequently beat the GR07s in dynamics and layering, but not by a huge amount. I found treble to be a bit too laid back with the RE-262s, though this certainly doesn't mean that they lack clarity. The contrary. They don't sound warm, despite having forward, liquid mids. The GR07s are faster, more versatile and more accurate... but the RE-262s are more colored, and by many would be considered more fun.
 
Technically speaking I'd put both on par, so it'd really come down to personal taste.
 

 

[RealSlimSeto]

Quote:

The GR07s are fairly flat through the midrange and surrounding frequencies, with a couple spikes in treble and a bit of rolloff in the subbass. I don't know if the RE262 has enough bass for that, as they're supposed to e more mid-centric.
 

They roll off gently at the lowest of the lows. Otherwise they have good extension.

 

[Sonnyt]

Quote:

The GR07 is very well balanced, with good detail in mids, no mid-bass hump, and good sub-bass for when the song calls for it. The RE-262 is significantly more mid-centric and laid back. As well as being more forward, mids are much more liquid. Bass quality is also very good but less in quantity than the GR07s, which due to their balanced signature are more versatile, handling a wider variety of genres. That said I think the RE-262s work very well for rock and electronica, so long as it's not too fast or aggressive. 
 
Both have similar width of soundstage, though the RE-262s appeared to have more depth, and subsequently beat the GR07s in dynamics and layering, but not by a huge amount. I found treble to be a bit too laid back with the RE-262s, though this certainly doesn't mean that they lack clarity. The contrary. They don't sound warm, despite having forward, liquid mids. The GR07s are faster, more versatile and more accurate... but the RE-262s are more colored, and by many would be considered more fun.
 
Technically speaking I'd put both on par, so it'd really come down to personal taste.
 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.  It sounds like RE-262s might benefit from amping due to lower sensitivity and higher impedance.  I don't suppose "amp"ing the RE-262 will make it little more faster, perhaps near GR07?  I'm not familiar with whether "amplify"ing a source can change the characteristics of certain driver to another.  Anyway, thanks again.  At this time RE-262 is little higher on the list.

 

[Nulliverse]

 
Quote:

They roll off gently at the lowest of the lows. Otherwise they have good extension.

Agreed. I'd say bottom end extension is very good.

 
Quote:

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.  It sounds like RE-262s might benefit from amping due to lower sensitivity and higher impedance.  I don't suppose "amp"ing the RE-262 will make it little more faster, perhaps near GR07?  I'm not familiar with whether "amplify"ing a source can change the characteristics of certain driver to another.  Anyway, thanks again.  At this time RE-262 is little higher on the list.

You're welcome Sonnyt. You're right, and I forgot to mention; the RE-262s benefit hugely from amping. Whilst I wouldn't say that amping is necessarily essential, it is required to make the RE-262s really shine and fulfill their full potential. Personally I found them lacking in lows without amping, but I generally prefer a bit of enhancement down low. I can't imagine amping will make a significant to speed... but I could be wrong. 
 
The GR07s meet my bass needs perfectly without the need for an amp. I'm never left wanting. Amping does however give them additional authority and this enhancement can introduce more 'fun' factor. 
 

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Quote:

They roll off gently at the lowest of the lows. Otherwise they have good extension.

I know, that's why I said "a bit." However, it's definitely noticeable when compared against cans with boosted subbass, and you can hear basslines that were indistinct before. Sleepyhead by Passion Pit, for example.
 

 

[Priidik]

Quote:

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.  It sounds like RE-262s might benefit from amping due to lower sensitivity and higher impedance.  I don't suppose "amp"ing the RE-262 will make it little more faster, perhaps near GR07?  I'm not familiar with whether "amplify"ing a source can change the characteristics of certain driver to another.  Anyway, thanks again.  At this time RE-262 is little higher on the list.

    
RE-262 do benefit from amp, with impact on bass control/speed vs for example Sansa Fuze by itself, other than that i find them very good even without amping. In my experience i found no gain in bass quantity while amped.
 
 
Quote:

Thanks for the input.  How's the mid and bass in GR07?  I normally like V shaped sound, but I find myself liking clear and slightly forward mids recently, hoping one of these would be it for this range.  
 
I generally listen to rock, rock/electronica and some pop and some music from far eastern countries.  I use to have KRK KNS-6400 headphone and loved the analytical and its ability to portray each instruments distinctly but hated the lack of lower end frequencies.  I got rid of it.  From what I read, GR07 or RE-262 might have that.
 
Thanks.

 
RE-262 freq resp is pretty much the opposite to v-shaped sound. Bass rolls of gently from ~50Hz with 25Hz (i am guessing -6..-7dB) being still easily audible. Interestingly i found fast music really attractive with those, where the music wouldn't go too dense/compressed. If you are into vocals, then RE-262-s are the easiest IEM-s to recommend in their price point. There is something magically resolving going on in the mid-s with RE-262. I think they have better detail retrieval in mid-s than for example ATH-CK10, which is BA-design. 
 
 

 

[Gozzer]

I'm thinking of adding the GR-07's to my collection.  The 262's are one of my favorite IEM's  however I find that some tracks don't work with with them. Comparing them to my M50's which seems to work with just about anything I through at them.  There are some poorly recorded tracks out there and 262's are not very forgiving.
 

 

[arman89]

can anyone please tell me, which one of these (GR07 or RE262) will be more "similar" to the Grado headphones in terms of overall sound signature? i have grado 325is, with which im very happy and i wanted an IEM that will handle my music (rock) in a somewhat similar manner. 
 
I couldn't quite understand all the descriptions that the folks here are sharing, that's why ill be very grateful if someone could help me out. Thanks

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

can anyone please tell me, which one of these (GR07 or RE262) will be more "similar" to the Grado headphones in terms of overall sound signature? i have grado 325is, with which im very happy and i wanted an IEM that will handle my music (rock) in a somewhat similar manner. 
 
I couldn't quite understand all the descriptions that the folks here are sharing, that's why ill be very grateful if someone could help me out. Thanks

 
RE252 (not 262).

 

[arman89]

thank you for your response. i just found out that re252 could only be found used here in forums, but i wanted to buy a new set of phones. Thanks though