Massdrop x HiFiMAN RE-00 Discussions | Drop

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Massdrop x HiFiMAN RE-00

Sep 30, 2016

Listening to my RE00 on an iDSD through USB Audio Player with no EQ, I have to say that the quality bests my Pistons easily. You can't tell what the RE00 are able to do unless you wet the tips slightly, push them way in, and ensure you've got a good seal (remember the early days of the Etymotic ER-4S?). Clearly, these need different tips to be useful when you can't afford to fiddle with them every few moments. But if you do have a good seal and a source like the one I'm using, the sound is bass-sufficient and glittering, with lots of fascinating separation between the instruments. For example, I can make out the position and lines of secondary and tertiary instruments in dense classical arrangements in ways that I haven't been able to do when using lower-tier IEMs. In fact, the secondary lines are often the most prominent. It's a little like hearing Glenn Gould play a familiar fugue with his peculiar emphasis on countersubjects.
I haven't even experienced this level of detail using anything at the Pistons' *price point* (including a few dual armature ultra-budget IEMs). People who use a dedicated DAC/amp will hear the difference right away. Plugging into my iPad's headphone out directly was far more disappointing than listening to my Android phone through the iDSD.
So far, I'm glad I bought the RE00. Now to find a decent case.
No, they aren't comparable to my Grado HF-1 and RS-1, Sennheiser 600, Etymotic ER-4S, UE10s, Shure 535, Beyerdynamic DT-831 or DT-1350, or Sony 7506. But they're certainly better than nearly all of my lower-tier IEMs.

Sep 30, 2016