Flare IEMs

Haven't seen them mentioned here: What are people's thoughts on these? I have both the R2As and R2Pros and think they sound wonderfully neutral and transparent (maybe a little rolled off treble), but I haven't owned a lot of high end gear to compare them with so I'd be curious to hear other's perspective. For comparison's sake they're much better than my Focal Spirit Pros (better clarity) and my Aurisonic Rockets (better bass and treble).

 

I have the R2Pro. Imo the sound is truly impressive and attractive and this is the IEM that gets me utterly immersed in the music. The level of isolation is helpfully huge (think etymotic, klipsch X series and so on). Unfortunately the cable design/construction quality is lamentable and I had two cable failures within a few months (they fail at the jack). I could still get another warranty replacement but I don't want the same design again so I am instead going to hone my soldering skills (currently am at "destroys most things he touches" level) and replace the jack myself with something decent.

 

I have had good luck with mine so far, six months in (knock on wood). But I've babied them because the build looks like its for 50 dollar IEMs.

Sound is wonderfully natural. Size and isolation are great. I'm not sure what Flare is planning with these as speakers are their main business. But a v2 with more premium build would sell really well IMO.

 

Yes, but can you imagine the price of a more premium build? I bought my R2Pro on the kickstarter for half the retail price and it still makes me sweat/cry/shudder/wake in the night screaming that I spent £200 on an IEM whose cable has failed twice. btw I live not far from Flare's premises so I was able to go and listen to the various different versions before putting my money down and I did so on the basis of the sound. The sound is the most engaging of any IEM or headphone I have tried or owned but I am pissed off with the crappy cable.

The upside of this thread is that it reminded me that my very favourite IEMs have been languishing in a box for months (since the cable failed again) and this prompted me to search amazon.co.uk for "flare audio" and I found a replacement driver and cable set with mic in amazon warehouse for one third the usual retail price. Result! So in a couple of days I will resurrect the Flares after applying copious amounts of heatshrink and sugru to the new cable's known weak points. My bloody awful soldering "skills" can be unleashed on the old, defective cable.

 

I have the r2as, and first off, I really enjoy the sound. Pretty neutral with just the right balance of warmth and fullness with pretty good (not great) detail retrieval. Impressive soundstage and imaging for an iem. Comfort is awesome, and they are so small and light that they basically disappear. Good under a helmet too, which is a nessessity for me. A couple nits though. Cable. For what I paid (early in the crowd-funding campaign, $80 maybe?) ok, so be it. But at retail? I'd be pissed. Secondly, I find them hard to keep in my ears. They are SO light and small that they tend to work their way out, and I have to constantly re-seat them to keep a seal. I think maybe the expansion of the complys they come with is enough to push them out a little. And although I like the short term comfort and (usually) the sq of the complys, long term they tend to make my ears itch. I have better luck with some silicone tips, especially spin-fits, which also stay in better, but I am afraid to use anything without an integrated wax filter. This is because the wide open bore would allow unlimited access to the drivers for earwax, and that can't be good. Overall though, I like them a lot; sometimes good things do come in small packages.