HIFIMAN RE400 In-Ear Monitors/IEMs

After reading mixed reviews, particularly over suspect build quality, I hesitated for a while before buying these (originally at the £60ish price tag). However, I liked the idea of a neutral sounding IEM because I really detest fake 'V' shape sound signatures (bass and treble boosting).I've just ordered another pair at £40 because if and when they do break, I want another set! I primarily use them with my AUNE M1S DAP.That said after a few months, I am seeing no signs of wear and tear as yet.They are blindingly good for the price. The pro-reviewers agree... check out innerfidelity etc.. I actually end up going for them more often than my AKG Q701s, which I love because these RE-400s are just so good across the board, and so easy to listen to.. Not boring but not fatiguing/tiring. I really cannot believe the price compared with other IEMs I've had... Schure/Xiaomi/Sennheiser/Betron in the £20-£80 price range.When I read those who don't like the sound, I wonder if they have them positioned in the ear correctly. It's my impression that a lot of folk don't know how to wear/position in ear monitors... in-ear! If you don't get a (air tight) seal, they will sound very bad, tinny with no bass or weight.. but it's not hard to get a seal. Just play around, and if necessary, get some good memory foam ear pieces.If you like actually listening to music rather than whizz bang 'sound effects' then I feel these really are audiophile IEMs at an amazing price point.

After many years of searching for the "right" pair of earphones, I came across the Hifiman RE-400 while browsing various websites. Hifiman are a chinese producer of many types of headphones and earphones, at the time the RE-400s were a reasonably priced choice in their range. I decided to give them a try.In the package you get wide array of eartips, single and double flanged as well as clear flexible tips. You also get a pair of absolutely giant double flanged tips, which I can't imagine anyone can actually fit inside their ears. It also included a carry case that was of a reasonable size and seemed to be quite rigid, suitable for keeping any pair of earphones safe while not in use.The earphones themselves are very small and are presented in a brushed metal colour. The entry for the cable is supported by a rather flimsy feeling piece of plastic noting the left and right earpieces. This cover quickly became loose on both sides of my pair and slide annoyingly up and down the cable. This did make me worry about the longevity of the earphones because the cable housing wasn't supported into the earpiece very well. So far (9 months later), the earphones are still working but I am still dubious about how much longer this will last.The rest of the cable was covered in a very plastic-y shell up to the splitter and then has a cloth braid down to the connector. The cable is about the right length for me, just over 4 ft, which easily allows me to have my device in my trouser pocket and still the earpieces into my ears without an excess of cable to deal with.The 3.5mm connector is right angled but is provided with a very sturdy housing to prevent any damage during movement. I wish the rest of the cable and connectors into the earpieces were as well constructed.The fit of the RE-400 into my ear was not too difficult. I used a variety of different tips and received a reasonable seal with most of them. I found that the RE-400 were easy enough to wear over the ear, which is my preferred method. Wearing the RE-400 over the ear, any microphonics from moving around were minimal, although wearing the cable down from my ear produced a nasty effect if I should catch it on the collar of my coat or shirt.The sound isolation of the RE-400 was not great, due to the small earpieces and vented driver they didn't always stop loud external noises from interfering with the music during my daily commute on the bus. However, I did get much better results when using Comply T400 foams and found them much more usable with the foam tips. The RE-400 are very comfortable when on the move, once they are seated in your ear you really don't notice they are there.In terms of sound, the RE-400 are much more balanced than some of the other earphones I have tried at this pricepoint.The bass of the RE-400 is what I would call accurate, it's certainly not enhanced or bloated. I think some people would miss the bass though, especially if they weren't receiving a particularly good seal with their eartips. For me personally, I enjoyed the bass response of these earphones. It might not be the best choice for those into electronic dance music for example though.The midrange is where the RE-400 really shone through for me, the sound it produced for some of my favourite female artists was incredible. Vocals in particular sounded very forward and centre stage in comparison to many other headphones I have tried. This made the earphones very easy to listen to and worked with a good variety of music from my collection.The treble response of the RE-400 for me was rather laid back in comparison to the rest of the sound. I could certainly sense a level of roll-off in the upper end of the spectrum with these earphones. It didn't quite capture all of the cymbal crashes and other high frequency character of some of the music I listen to (mostly metal and rock).Another area of worthy mention with the RE-400 was what audiophile circles often call the "soundstage". The presentation of the sound with the RE-400 did appear to be very wide in terms of stereo width, which meant I could very easily place individual instruments and sounds.Overall, I really liked the RE-400. I personally wish the build quality was a bit better, the cable in particular and its connection to the main earpieces. I am still dubious about how long these will last, although they have certainly lasted longer than some other brands I have used in the past, such as the Sennheiser CX range.

This is a headphone with 3 star build quality, 5 star sound, and a price indicative of much lower 2 star headphones. Just know that going in you're getting a great sounding product with build quality that doesn't quite match. I tend to lose headphones like these so it's not a big deal if they don't last 3 years. I never manage to keep them that long anyways. First world problems!I purchased sound isolating tips for these. It's my secret silver bullet for air travel. I was getting headaches on long flights. I found that with my cheap earbuds, I was turning the volume up high on the inflight entertainment or my podcasts. When using these, I can comfortably listen at the lowest audio setting on British Airways. For the first time in my life, I can sleep on a plane. I'm not exaggerating when I say that as a frequent air traveler, these make a noticeable difference in the quality of my life. It's part the headphone, and it's part the sound isolating tip (TX-400) (sold separate).

Sound amazing, build quality simply not good enough.Sound is loud, detailed and well balanced. Comfort is fine considering the tiny size and sleeping on them isn't an issue.So I have owned these about 2-3 months and treated them as I treat all my other headphones (very very well) The build quality however, should not show a weakness this early on.The cable retains kinks like Mayweather retains his streak and the cable strain has actually come out of the right earbud housing, needing fixing back in to even get me to use them. This is simply unforgivable considering the packaging quality and sound. It's such a shame this seems to be the one area effort wasn't put in, because otherwise they'd be flat out my favorite in ears I've ever owned.