Audio More efficient RE262?

adreamer

Recruit
I would like to buy a IEM that can be driven by clip+ player.

I read the reviews about RE262 and liked the sound signature described for it(especially mids). Is there any IEM that has the same sound signature but a bit efficient(low impedance)? So, that my clip+ can drive it easily? I don't want to carry a portable amp...
 
Dont blindly trust review's.

In case of RE262, there is very marginal improvement when driven by an amp which might not be noticeable to many. But it will draw power so if its driven straight out of a Clip+ its battery will drain quicker than normal.
 
^^ Which amp did you use ?

I personally preferred the sound of the Re262 more when driven by an amp. It felt too slow when driven straight out of a mp3 player.

Plus your music and quality of music depends a lot.
 
Mephistopheles said:
Fiio E11, what i'm trying to say is that with RE262 its already at is 95% straight out of a Fuze/Clip+. YMMV

well.. headphone amps are not for volume alone, many time i find a lot of details opening up when using a headphone amp , even with easy to drive IEM's like the UE trips. (Used a borrowed Bithead for a while)

I used to love the sound of my etys's ER6 earlier, after using them with an amp however, i cant listen to them unamped now... (too bright)
 
I personally cant really enjoy the RE-262 without proper amping . Straight out of Clip+ /Fuze it really doesn't bring out the details and the authority . Tried it with a N2 which has more power than Clip+ , it sounds goood and then when I tried it with my uDAC II which can give the 262 more power than it demands - they simply sound bliss ! The mids are smooooth and lush , the treble gets a very slight sparkle which was very recessed earlier . The bass has better punch and authority when amped on 262 .

Would really not recommend the 262 without an amp to anyone . Its more like 60-70% of performance without the amp . If not an amp , atleast a player like Nationite N2, Sflo2 or the Hi-Fiman high end players is a must :p
 
I'd advice you to always choose for yourself, try out things first if you can in case of audio equipment. One may not always concur with a review or general online consensus of people. :)
 
^ Second that . Your ears are the best judge cause not everyone has similar set of ears and the listening levels etc can vary person to person but unfortunately we do not have a lot of stores which let you audition gear. Pristine Note is one of the very few but they are based only out of Mumbai and do not carry Head-Direct products.

So look for someone from your city for an audition or else while checking reviews read up the same persons earlier review based of a earphone which you have already tried and see if it matches your impressions . If it does , you can somewhat take your decision on that persons review :)
 
Thanks for the comments.

So, I take that no other model has similar sound signature of 262? I read Brendon's comment on RE262 (and I thought his headphones comparison thread closely matched mine) and decided that this requires an amp.

If there is no other option, I'll think of buying an amp.

Thanks again.
 
Whether RE262 requires an amp is a personal decision.

What Clip+ has is low output impedance, so it does not have an issue with driving most of the demanding gear out there. It is flat with frequency response (some players do well without load, but not with a BA like TF10 attached). This is the reason I still keep Clip+ around, though I wish I had a more powerful, flat sounding source. The issue with Clip+ is low output power (18mw @ 16 ohms, I think). It is not the loudest player around - Cowon D2 does -6.8dB and Rockboxed Clip+ does -11.6 dB with 16 ohm load. All other things being equal, most people would prefer a 'louder' source because of the ease with which they are able to listen to details.

An amplifier, is just not about power or increased SPL. An amplifier is about controlling the driver's movements. It can also bypass the not so good headphone out of a player and have desirable results with IEMs. You get additional clarity, resolution, better sound stage with Arrow 3G for most IEMs - be it the lowly BeB or the highly 262. Is the 'improvement' meaningful? Not in all cases. In some cases where your source is unable to drive the IEM / Headphone properly, an amp improves things for the better. In some other cases, there would be changes, but not as significant as in the first case.

Then, there's the question of IEM requiring an amp. It is not always about impedance or the sensitivity of the IEM. RE1 has the same impedance of 150 ohms, but is much harder to drive than 262 - it will be happy to consume all the additional power you throw at it. Phonak PFE (32 ohm, sensitivity of 107 db/mW), an IEM with far better impedance and sensitivity specs than RE0 (64 ohm, 100dB/mW) shines similarly better with an amp. I'd say both of them do not require an amp, but do better with an amp. RE1, to me falls in the "requires amp" category, RE-262 falls in the "shines better if amped" category like RE0. For me, the difference between amp-ed and un-amp-ed RE-262 is not such a significant enough difference to bother carrying an additional amplifier with 262. For my lower volume listening, 262 does just fine straight out of Clip+ at -15dB. So, if that's what you are after, you are fine without an amplifier as long as you can charge Clip+ after every 5 hours of use. For Faheem and Brendon, what I call 'minor improvements I can live without' are important enough to always use an amplifier with 262. Who's right and who's wrong here? Nobody as both are opinions based on personal preferences.

I suggest a middle path - buy 262, try it with Clip+ and see if it works out fine for your convenience and your listening levels. Get an amp on loan and try it with 262. Then, you can A/B and figure out if the improvements are meaningful enough for you to not only spend, but to carry an amp everywhere. That's the only way this can be settled.
 
adreamer said:
So, I take that no other model has similar sound signature of 262?

But not at that price, which is what makes RE262 special. Shure SE53X has a similar mid focused signature, but it sells well over $300 even in the used market. SM3 is somewhat similar, but the v2 costs over $400. e-Q7, even from the used market, could cost $200+. But, none of them have 262's higher impedance. Shure's lower priced models are all over the place - not many of them get reviews or even mentioned on head-fi. Perhaps something like a SE215 can be tried, though I am not very sure if it has the same signature as RE262 (won't be as good!).

PS: You should ask clieOS on head-fi. He may be able to advice you better about the available options as he has heard SE530, 262 and SE215.

PPS: One of the better posts I've seen about things to keep in mind when reading reviews / recommendations is by average_joe in his custom resource thread.
 
Ill prolly be getting a 262 after a long long time with the re0, hope it suits me

Amping shouldnt be a problem thankfully

Yes, RE0 very much does need amping

Hope they don't sound anything like tf10's
 
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