Random IEM / Headphone Rants

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I am little worried raz is not replying since 4 days. Its not like i am loosing any thing(except the time i devoted) but if i would have paid for it i would have felt that i'll get it surely, can it be possible they never ship it. :(

Edit: I'll wait till monday then i'll open a support ticket.(atleast thats what they tell to do on thier forums to any winner)
 
Raz is usually a little lazy / busy when it comes to replying mails,messages etc. Experienced it a lot of time. But in the end he will ship it so don't worry :P Ohh and yeah Congrats Kuki :D
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So its happened again, my RE-1 have stopped work for no apparent reason. Second time one side has stopped working on them, got these back from RMA in March I think. Happened to my RE-2 and RE-0 as well. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Was thinking of picking up some of their higher end offerings sometime this year but I'm worried that they'll go the same way as my other 3 or 4.
 
Hifiman has a bad track record with RE-262 as well: Brendon's failed twice, others (Mephistopheles, dilpal and who else?) have already failed once. So, their higher end models are not immune either. In fact, this stopped me from picking RE-262 and I don't think I'll buy the 272 either.

@kuki

Congratulations on hold till you get a shipping confirmation ;)
 
Ritvik , I know how to deal with this stupid Head-Direct people who keep making every single product with cheap build :@ . YGPM in 5 mins ;).
 
I've finally managed to try RE-262 (I can hear you mukul all :@ :P) today. It's been nearly 6 months since I tried it last. I imagined that Arrow 3G with it's bass boost and gain would give a new lease of life to the 262. But, something does not sit well with me.

Let's see -

  • The cables near the housing are much stiffer now. I don't think it was like this the first time around. Also, the chin slider is movable more easily now. A case of cable "burn-in" ;)
  • Secondly, straight out of Clip+, I can listen at -16 to -18 for normal listening, which is lower than the around -10dB I used last time. Guess, I have gotten used to listening at lower volumes (at least by 6dB in RB-ed Clip+ for the same song)
  • Unlike T3, Arrow makes the sound stage and separation of 262 much, much better. I've observed this with almost all IEMs I use with the arrow. The whole sound has a bit more clarity, roundness, refinement and the sound stage and separation become much better. With T3, I did not think the sound stage had any significant gain. But, coming from Arrow to Clip+, I can feel the stage collapse on me. Finally, I've got a worthy amp then.
  • Going back and forth between Clip+ and Arrow, one can easily see the bass boost actually working without affecting the rest of the spectrum. But, the treble does go down a bit (with or without bass boost), so it is indeed a "dark" amp as characterized by Mike @ Headfonia - at least with this combination.
  • I was very underwhelmed by bass of 262 when I tried yesterday evening. I don't know - may be it has to do with lot of FX700 and Eterna in the past few months. May be I was a bloody f@#g bass head all along :ashamed:. Anyways, I did not get much bass out of bi-flanges. So, I tried the bass mod with my RE0 large bi-flange. But, it only opened up the sound a bit. I finally found some bass with de-cored Shure Olives. It's still the same impressive clean sounding, good mids, great sound stage thing, but took me sometime to start appreciating it again.

Edit: Switching immediately to DDM2, all I can hear for the first few minutes is the bass. DDM2 has this weird thing going with me. Every time, it starts off as an unimpressive IEM, but a few tracks later, it suddenly becomes "musical". I guess my brain needs a little 'settling time' with it's unique signature.
 
Feeling better for the past couple of days. Thanks for asking! (One of the reasons I am allowed to retain DDM2 for this long! :P)

SM3 is still forward. SM3 (straight out of Clip+, vol at -30dB) feels more forward than Amplified RE-262 (Clip+ @ Vol: 0 -> Arrow 3G with Gain at II, rest at default, volume set to comfortable listening levels). With the way in which the mid range is emphasized in SM3, it will always feel a touch more up front in the presentation compared to RE262.
 
Not sure! Fang asked "PM your address, guys!" on the RE-272 review loaner thread. If that means all of us who signed in that thread are getting it for review, me, mukul and brendon will get it. Don't think anybody is buying yet!
 
JVC HA-FXT90 : A short (not fully formed) impression

My second dual dynamic driver in weeks, this time my own - JVC HA-FXT90. I must admit that I did not need it or even want it, just bought it on impulse. Cost me about $140 from here.

It's a pretty decent IEM, which true to JVC's positioning right behind FX700 and FX500, sounds as expected - not as good as FX700, but not 'second tier' sound either (Silver Bullet, M3, Xears TDIII etc.,). Not using the stock tips right now, but I think it's the Ortofon tips from e-Q5 (a bit confusing as I also have 4-5 pairs each of clear UE "compatible" tips and clear V-Moda tips and I forgot which tip is on which IEM :ashamed:).

It is a different kind of IEM compared to DDM2 for sure. From very initial listening, I can say that the bass quantity is not much (even less than DDM2 based on memory). The punch and impact are not much to be found. Extension is good, but the quantity is just not enough to retrieve the sub-bass information well. Let's say it's not very prominent in the overall sound. Slight bit of mid-bass boost, but that small boost only makes sure that bass is not lost in the mix.

Mid range is not forward, but placed a slight bit back - somewhat like GR07, but still forward compared to FX700. The mid range of FXT90 is slightly odd when compared to FX700. On one hand, vocals are better than FX700 because of the relative forwardness. Also, FX700's vocals sound a little, say "cold", which is not the case with FXT90. On the other hand, I don't think it is as timbre rich as FX700. Certainly better than GR07 when it comes to timbre, but may be somewhat close to DDM1/2 rather than FX700. In the end, it sounds warm, smooth, rounded, but not rich or immersive.

The treble seems a bit rolled off, but I won't commit on that given my limited high frequency hearing range. Treble is slightly "happy", a bit boosted at certain ranges, but not forward, in your face or anything. Treble placement is more an in between the RE-262 and GR07 (not even DBA-02) - not as recessed and not as forward - somewhat like DDM2, but slightly better presence. Again like bass, the treble does not overrule other ranges, but does not get lost either.

Sound stage has very good width and depth wise. Of course, it's not FX700 to throw sounds that far deep and wide, but may be better than DDM2, especially when it comes to depth. Separation is decent, but I think it could use a bit more air during complex passages - may be it's a placement issue, not sure. Need to get my head around it.

Overall, it sounds smooth and becomes engaging as time goes by. It surely lags behind FX700 in clarity, speed, details, sound stage, bass quantity and extension, treble presentation, richness of sound etc., but also costs 1/3rd ;). May be for someone with a budget of less than $150 and want to try JVC's sound, it's a good option.

It has an impedance of 15 ohms. Not sure if it should be considered battery drainer yet - It has reduced my Clip+ battery level by 8% (From 70 odd to 62%) within the space of a 62 min album at a volume level of -34dB.

I think I'd end up liking it better than RE0 and may be even RE-252, but don't think I can bunch it with GR07/DDM-2/e-Q5 just yet.
 
Random IEM update. I tried out one of the worlds most awwwesome and expensive IEM. :D

Jerry Harvey JH PRO 16 .
 
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