Recently, Hifiman had a promotion where they gave out a pair of their RE-400 earbuds. It ended a few days ago and, oddly enough, I was the only one who participated. The earbuds arrived last week on Thursday and I've been using them over the weekend. This is my personal review of the RE-400 earbuds.
Design
The earbuds pretty much look like every other in-ear silver earbuds on the market. That isn't a bad thing but, if you are fashion-focused, these aren't going to stand out. With earbuds, that shouldn't really matter though. The design is solid and it works well. The earbuds come with multiple ear tips so it shouldn't be an issue finding ones that are comfortable while still sealing out ambient noise. These are noise isolating earbuds so making that seal in your ear is crucial.
The wire for the earbuds is covered in cloth which should add durability for everyday use along with more vigorous activities. Due to the cloth covering, the wire isn't as flexible as a standard headphone cord but it's not as nearly as stiff as other cloth covered wires. The wire length is more than adequate and I haven't had any issues with the wire being too long or too short. My only complaint with the design is a lack of built-in controls. I've become used to having in-line controls with my earbuds and headphones now so going back to controlling things with my iPhone felt like a step backwards. I lost count of how many times I reached for controls only to find the cloth coated wire. These headphones are designed to be used with high end DAPs which don't work with Apple's proprietary controller technology. So I understand why the in-line controls were left out but it would still be nice to have.
I also have some problems with earbuds like this staying in place. After an hour or so, they being to slip out of my ears. I have to wipe them down and they'll be fine for another hour. Some manufacturers, such as Bose and Beats, are including wing tips with their earbuds. These help keep the earbuds in place by softly pushing up against your outer ear. My most comfortable earbuds are a pair of Bose SIE2i. Their wing tips are extremely soft enabling hours of listening without comfort issues or problems with the earbuds falling out. The Beats Tour 2.0 earbuds are almost the same though I prefer the Bose setup. It would be nice if Hifiman implemented something like this as it would increase their comfort level (for me) while allowing for longer listening times since I wouldn't have to take them out and wipe them down every hour. It isn't a deal breaker by any means but it would have been an added benefit.
Sound Quality
I'll be honest here, I have mixed feelings. On one hand everything sounded extremely accurate and well balanced. The lows were represented just as much as the mids and highs presenting a full sound stage that didn't lean one way or the other. It's a welcome change from other headphones and earbuds that neglect mids while focusing on highs and lows, likely to suite the tastes of modern listeners and the dynamic compression applied to commercial music releases.
Having said that, I've gotten used to having overly deep bass and these aren't going to provide that with an iPhone, iPad, iPod, or even a standard desktop/notebook. I'm not sure if these will churn out more bass when hooked up to a dedicated amp. I do not have an amp or a high end DAP so I can't fully judge the potential of these earbuds. The earbuds that Apple throws in with every device (minus the iPad) produce more bass than these. Are they as balanced or clear? Nope, not even close. The RE-400 earbuds are much more evenly balanced than the earbuds that Apple gives away long with earbuds from Bose, Sony, JVC, Skullcandy, etc. I thoroughly enjoy their sound quality but the lack of booming bass does take some getting used to. People who prefer the overly blown sound of Beats headphones should not purchase these. The RE-400 earbuds are accurate and not meant to produce the thumping bass and squealing highs that "teens" and "tweens" experience when listening to their music.
I'm still using the RE-400 earbuds and will continue to do so as they are now my go-to earbuds. The lack of overblown bass took some getting used to but I enjoy having a more balanced sound. That's why I have mixed feelings. They sound great but not what I've been forced to become used to. After some time, I will likely become used to these and hate the overblown sound produced by the vast majority of commercial headphones and earbuds.
Everything Else
As I previously said, these come with a bunch of ear tips so finding the right size shouldn't be a problem. They also come with a small, circular, semi-rigid carrying case. The earbuds wrap up nicely while fitting in the carrying case with some room to spare. The case easily fits in my pocket so I can easily take the earbuds everywhere I want to go.
Wrap-up
Overall, these are very well-designed earbuds that offer a high level of durability. The cloth covered wire won't fray or break as easily as a standard headphone wire and I like the looks of the gray metal with the black earbud tips. The carrying case is convenient and enables easy transportation. Sound quality is balanced with lows, mids, and highs all being equally represented. People expecting booming bass should look elsewhere and these earbuds might be better paired with a dedicated DAP and amp. The inclusion of wing tips would increase the comfort level of the RE-400 earbuds along with my listening time. In-line Apple controls would have been a nice feature but it isn't completely necessary.
Final score: 4.5/5
Thanks to Hifiman for the giveaway, I'll continue using these earbuds and will hopefully be able to pair them with a DAP and amp later down the line.
Design
The earbuds pretty much look like every other in-ear silver earbuds on the market. That isn't a bad thing but, if you are fashion-focused, these aren't going to stand out. With earbuds, that shouldn't really matter though. The design is solid and it works well. The earbuds come with multiple ear tips so it shouldn't be an issue finding ones that are comfortable while still sealing out ambient noise. These are noise isolating earbuds so making that seal in your ear is crucial.
The wire for the earbuds is covered in cloth which should add durability for everyday use along with more vigorous activities. Due to the cloth covering, the wire isn't as flexible as a standard headphone cord but it's not as nearly as stiff as other cloth covered wires. The wire length is more than adequate and I haven't had any issues with the wire being too long or too short. My only complaint with the design is a lack of built-in controls. I've become used to having in-line controls with my earbuds and headphones now so going back to controlling things with my iPhone felt like a step backwards. I lost count of how many times I reached for controls only to find the cloth coated wire. These headphones are designed to be used with high end DAPs which don't work with Apple's proprietary controller technology. So I understand why the in-line controls were left out but it would still be nice to have.
I also have some problems with earbuds like this staying in place. After an hour or so, they being to slip out of my ears. I have to wipe them down and they'll be fine for another hour. Some manufacturers, such as Bose and Beats, are including wing tips with their earbuds. These help keep the earbuds in place by softly pushing up against your outer ear. My most comfortable earbuds are a pair of Bose SIE2i. Their wing tips are extremely soft enabling hours of listening without comfort issues or problems with the earbuds falling out. The Beats Tour 2.0 earbuds are almost the same though I prefer the Bose setup. It would be nice if Hifiman implemented something like this as it would increase their comfort level (for me) while allowing for longer listening times since I wouldn't have to take them out and wipe them down every hour. It isn't a deal breaker by any means but it would have been an added benefit.
Sound Quality
I'll be honest here, I have mixed feelings. On one hand everything sounded extremely accurate and well balanced. The lows were represented just as much as the mids and highs presenting a full sound stage that didn't lean one way or the other. It's a welcome change from other headphones and earbuds that neglect mids while focusing on highs and lows, likely to suite the tastes of modern listeners and the dynamic compression applied to commercial music releases.
Having said that, I've gotten used to having overly deep bass and these aren't going to provide that with an iPhone, iPad, iPod, or even a standard desktop/notebook. I'm not sure if these will churn out more bass when hooked up to a dedicated amp. I do not have an amp or a high end DAP so I can't fully judge the potential of these earbuds. The earbuds that Apple throws in with every device (minus the iPad) produce more bass than these. Are they as balanced or clear? Nope, not even close. The RE-400 earbuds are much more evenly balanced than the earbuds that Apple gives away long with earbuds from Bose, Sony, JVC, Skullcandy, etc. I thoroughly enjoy their sound quality but the lack of booming bass does take some getting used to. People who prefer the overly blown sound of Beats headphones should not purchase these. The RE-400 earbuds are accurate and not meant to produce the thumping bass and squealing highs that "teens" and "tweens" experience when listening to their music.
I'm still using the RE-400 earbuds and will continue to do so as they are now my go-to earbuds. The lack of overblown bass took some getting used to but I enjoy having a more balanced sound. That's why I have mixed feelings. They sound great but not what I've been forced to become used to. After some time, I will likely become used to these and hate the overblown sound produced by the vast majority of commercial headphones and earbuds.
Everything Else
As I previously said, these come with a bunch of ear tips so finding the right size shouldn't be a problem. They also come with a small, circular, semi-rigid carrying case. The earbuds wrap up nicely while fitting in the carrying case with some room to spare. The case easily fits in my pocket so I can easily take the earbuds everywhere I want to go.
Wrap-up
Overall, these are very well-designed earbuds that offer a high level of durability. The cloth covered wire won't fray or break as easily as a standard headphone wire and I like the looks of the gray metal with the black earbud tips. The carrying case is convenient and enables easy transportation. Sound quality is balanced with lows, mids, and highs all being equally represented. People expecting booming bass should look elsewhere and these earbuds might be better paired with a dedicated DAP and amp. The inclusion of wing tips would increase the comfort level of the RE-400 earbuds along with my listening time. In-line Apple controls would have been a nice feature but it isn't completely necessary.
Final score: 4.5/5
Thanks to Hifiman for the giveaway, I'll continue using these earbuds and will hopefully be able to pair them with a DAP and amp later down the line.
via iLounge Forums http://ift.tt/1jDKC4i
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