Hifiman RE2000 Silver Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hifiman RE2000 Silver Review

 

Balance & Quality in every aspect!

 

About Hifiman:

Hifiman was founded by Dr. Fang in New York – USA and is one of the most well-known personal audio companies in the audiophile word.

Hifiman has a wide variety of Hi-Fi, Reference and Premium class products like Portable Audio Players, Planar Magnetic Headphones, Desktop Amplifiers and Earphones/In-Ear Monitors such as the Hifiman RE2000 Silver, which belongs to the Reference Series of Earphones and that I will now review for you.

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank Hifiman for providing me the RE2000 Silver for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Hifiman and/or any third person beyond this review and all these words reflect my true, unaltered opinions about the product.

 

Price:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver is 500,00 USD cheaper than the Gold Version and is available for 1500,00 USD.

You can purchase the RE2000 under de following link; http://hifiman.com/products/detail/291

 

Package and Accessories:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver IEM is coming in a rectangular black box, which consists of two parts; the bottom box where you can find two smaller boxes (containing cable and other accessories) and the metal case, which is put in to a foam layer, and the top cover that is containing an image of the RE2000 Silver.

Inside of the box are the following contents/accessories;

  • 1 pair x Hifiman RE2000 Silver Earphone Monitor
  • 2 pairs x Bi-Flange Silicone Ear Tips
  • 2 pairs x Triple Flange Ear Tips (in black color)
  • 2 pairs x Dual Flange Ear Tips (they are 3 different shapes)
  • 1 pcs x Metal Case
  • 1 pair x Ear Hook Cable Guides
  • 2 pairs x 2-pin adapters for building custom cables
  • 1 pcs x Print Material

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver comes with lots of accessories from what I found the 2pin adapters for building your own custom cable, pretty interesting and as nice addition.

Inside the box you can find also different type of silicone ear tips, such as Triple flange, Double Flange and Hifiman’s special Bi-Flange silicone ear tips.

There is also a metal case with the Hifiman Branding on the top. The case is pretty solid that sports a rubber ring/gasket for extra isolation and a foam layer with the exact same shape of monitor shell, where you can put in your Hifiman R2000 Silver monitors.

You can find also a pair of ear hooks (cable guides) and a catalog that is showing images and information’s about the RE2000 Silver.

 

Technical Specifications:

  • Driver                          : 9.2mm Topology Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
  • Frequency Response   : 5Hz-20 kHz
  • Impedance                  : 60ohm
  • Sensitivity                    : 103dB
  • Cable Material             : Silver Coated, Crystal Copper Wire
  • Weight                        : 24g (cable included)

 

 

Design & Build Quality:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver shares the unique design language like the RE2000 Gold version. The main difference is not only the color; the material used for the shell is now silver with an aluminum alloy instead of a gold plated brass material, which makes the Silver version also slightly lighter.

 

On the front of the monitor housing is the sound nozzle, which is short in its size. This sound nozzle has a lip to hold the ear tips and sports a near fine woven metal grill to prevent the possible insertion of dust and earwax.

Near the nozzle is a small vent to balance the pressure in the housing to avoid any unwanted driver flex.

On the top of the monitor is a strain relief made of a hard plastic material which is in black color. The RE2000 Silver sports a 2pin female connector on this monitor which has the standard diameter of 0,78mm. There is a guide inside the plastic strain relief, which help to insert the 2pin male connector on the cable safely.

The monitor shell has a smooth surface without any sharp edges that makes the RE2000 Silver comfortable to wear

The overall build quality is very robust and meets the expectations from an In-Ear Monitor in this price level.

 

 

The Cable:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver has a detachable cable with 2pin male connectors that support the standard diameter of 0,78mm.

The cable of the RE2000 is quite thick and is made of a silver plated crystalline copper wire, which is protected by a thick TPU coating.

The 2pin connector has a black hard plastic housing that sports the L & R markings.

This cable has a metal Y splitter and a chin slider, which sport the Hifiman branding and model description.

The cable of the RE2000 Silver sports a 3.5mm 3 pole unbalanced (TRS) earphone jack which has a straight profile and is made of metal same as the housing.

 

Comfort and Isolation:

The size of the RE2000 Silver housing is not as big like the Astell&Kern Rosie or Angie and not that small like the RE800/RE400 or the Sennheiser ie800. I have medium sized ears and the RE2000 Silver has the ideal size for to wear it quite comfortable for hours.

The Hifiman RE2000 is in my opinion suitable for long listening periods.

When it comes to the isolation of the Hifiman RE2000 I can classify it as average, which makes it noise blocking performance enough to use it outdoors in relative noise environments such as train, bus or metro, etc.

 

 

Some Features:

The Topology Driver/Diaphragm:

The “Topology Diaphragm” or “Topology Driver” refers to the diaphragm with a special Nano particle coating applied to its surface. The distribution of the coating has distinct geometric patterns. By varying the surface pattern, compound used, the thickness or geometric pattern sound wave formation can be manipulated to achieve the desired audio effect and control.

The idea behind the new Topology Diaphragm was inspired by Dr Fang Bian’s Ph.D. thesis that “different Nano materials have differing structures and each of those materials have its own properties”.

Therefore, by carefully controlling the diaphragm surface structure you can yield different results in acoustic performance to a degree previously unobtainable.

 

 

 

Drivability:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver has a rated impedance of 60ohm, which looks a bit high on paper, but I was able to drive it to quite loud volume levels with my Samsung Galaxy S9 mobile phone. But I can also confirm that the RE800 benefits from an external amplifier or DAC/AMP, which has improve the sound in a positive way, especially the overall refinement.

 

 

Equipment’s used for this review:

  • IEM’s                          : Hifiman RE2000 Silver, Campfire Audio Atlas, 64 Audio U8
  • DAP/DAC/AMP         : Cayin N5II, Fiio M7, Audirect Beam, xDuuo XD10 Poke

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:

  • Edith Piaf – Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Spotify)
  • London Grammar – Interlude (Live) (Flac 24bit/44kHz)
  • Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Minor Empire – Bulbulum Altin Kafeste (Spotify)
  • Leonard Cohen – You Wnt it Darker (Spotify)
  • Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Casey Abrams – Robot Lover (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Chopin – Nocturne op.9 No.2 (Spotify)
  • Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (DSF) – Binaural Recording
  • Future Heroes – Another World (Tidal Hi-fi)
  • Lorde – Team (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Tom Player – Resonace Theory “Album” (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Massive Attack – Angel (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
  • Opeth – Damnation (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)

 

 

The Sound:

This review is written after a burn-in process of approx. 60 hours and I have used the stock bi-flange silicone ear tips.

 

Sound Signature: 

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver is an In-Ear Monitor with a slightly V shaped sound signature, which shows a musical, transparent and somewhat warm midrange, fast and fairly deep bass response, soft tuned upper midrange and a treble that is energetic and with nice sparkle. All this features making the Hifiman RE2000 Silver to an In-Ear Monitor with a pretty balanced, smooth and musical presentation.

 

The Bass:

a) Sub-Bass:

The sub-bass of the RE2000 silver has a pretty good depth and shows an average force, spread and extension.

The sub-bass depth is on good level and has a rumble that is not too high, nor too low. For example; the sub-bass in Massive Attack’s “Angel” and Portishead’s “It Could Be Sweet” songs is on a sufficient level. The tonality of the sub-bass is a bit warm, is followable and shows good clarity.

 

b) Bass and Mid Bass:

The mid-bass presentation of the Hifiman RE2000 silver is not very close to the listener and is positioned in to the middle of the stage, which is avoiding problems such as hollowness and compression of the stage. The tonality of the mid-bass area is not very neutral and shows a hint of warmness. The mid-bass region of the RE2000 silver is fast, controlled and close to reference, while listening to many types of percussion instruments, drums or guitars which is pretty impressive for an In-Ear Monitor with a dynamic driver.

The bass punch of the Hifiman RE2000 has a tuning that is moving between softness and a mildly hardness. The bass slam/punch is pretty noticeable which makes the RE2000 silver quite suitable for most genres. The bass quantity of the RE2000 silver is a bit less to categorize it as bass on a basshead level and can be considered as a little more than neutral.

 

The Midrange:

The midrange of the Hifiman RE2000 silver is slightly recessed due to the V shaped tuning and shows in general a musical and mildly warm presentation. The level of transparency and airiness is not the highest but above average.

 

1. Vocals:

a) Male Vocals:

The overall tonality of the lower midrange pretty neutral that allows to hear male vocals in an unveiled and clear way. It doesn’t exist any negative situation such as a thinness, muddiness or harshness of the sound, while I have listened to male vocals. Some vocals such as Dave Gahan, Freddy Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton are presented in a clean, musical and slightly thick tonality that I have enjoyed.

 

b) Female Vocals:

The female vocal presentation of The Hifiman RE2000 silver is soft, a bit warm and quite musical and they are no negative situations such as sibilance of ear piercing type of harshness, which makes the RE2000 sliver ideal to listen for long periods.  I’ve had some pleasant times with the RE2000 silver sensual and sweet female vocals. The transparency and airiness, while listening to female vocals is on good level,

 

Female vocals with a thick tonality such as mezzo soprano singers like Edith Piaff are presented with a pretty natural detail and timber.

2. Instruments:

The instrument presentation of the Hifiman RE2000 silver is full bodied and shows a hint of warmness. It doesn’t have a highly analytical, dry and weak timber. It is existing a pretty neutral air between the instruments that helps for an airy and clean presentation.

The fact that the instruments don’t play very close and distant to each other makes the RE2000 Silver well balanced and musical.

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver is very successful in terms of instrument detail, clarity, separation and definition. Guitars sounding slightly warm, bassy and bright that makes its presentation quite musical, soft and fatigue free.

Instruments such as pianos sounding soft and a bit bright, while listening to Chopin’s Nocturne. Every bow traction sounds very clearly with the Hifiman RE2000 Silver while violas are played in both bass and midrange.

 

Upper Midrange:

The upper midrange presentation of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver sounds close to neutral and is mildly emphasized, soft and not overwhelming. The transition of the upper midrange is pretty controlled and soft, without any noticeable harshness or sibilance. The RE2000 Silver sounds fatigue free and musical due to the mildly emphasized upper midrange tuning.

There detail level and technicality in this this area is above average and makes the RE2000 suitable for longer listening periods.

 

 

The Treble:

The lower treble area of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver sounds more pronounced after the softer tuned upper midrange, which makes the overall presentation airy and detailed.

The brightness and great extension in the lower treble area gives the RE2000 an energetic and highly dynamic presentation. The lower treble area is more pronounced than those of the upper treble region that sound slightly less detailed.

For example; instruments such as hi-hats in genres like metal music coming slightly from the background and are hitting clean and with a fairly thick tonality, without to extent too much

Instruments such as crash cymbals have a very controlled decay and with a slightly less extension than perfect.  The general treble quantity and force will good enough for most listener. I like the balance and control in this frequency region and didn’t experienced any treble harshness or fatigue while listening to pretty fast groups like Slayer, Havok or Trivium.

You can listen with the Hifiman RE2000 Silver all kinds of metal music without to fear about the treble and this with a musical tonality.

 

The Soundstage:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver has a suitable stage width for a realistic instrument placement with enough space between instruments and vocals. The RE2000 Silver is also able to place the instruments side by side horizontally with enough space and neutral air between them.

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver shows a parallel performance of the depth to its width.

 

Comparisons:

Campfire Audio Atlas versus Hifiman RE2000 Silver:

The Campfire Audio Atlas has a sharp V shaped sound signature, while the Hifiman RE2000 Silver shows a mildly V shaped tuning and the overall tonality of the Atlas is warmer and full bodied compared to the more neutral presentation the RE2000 Silver.

The CA Atlas shows more sub-bass depth, extensions and quantity than those of the RE2000 Silver. The sub-bass of the RE2000 Silver goes petty a pretty deep register but has less emphasis.

Both IEM’s sharing a strong mid-bass presentation, but mid-bass of the Campfire Audio Atlas hits greater and is superior in terms of quantity and fore, while the Hifiman RE2000 Silver has a more balanced presentation.

The bass of the Hifiman RE2000 is tighter, more controlled and faster than those of the Campfire Audio Atlas, which makes it more successful in this area.

Both of this IEM’s sharing slightly warm and musical midrange presentation, while the midrange of the Hifiman RE2000 is more upfront compared to those of the Campfire Audio Atlas.

The lower midrange of the RE2000 Silver is more upfront and compared to those of the Atlas. The male vocal performance of the RE2000 is superior to the Atlas in terms of detail, while the Campfire Audio Atlas is more successful with female vocals due to its more pronounced upper midrange presentation.

Both IEM’s sharing a quite natural and musical instrument tonality, while the Hifiman RE2000 Silver performs slightly better in terms of overall instrument detail retrieval because of its great midrange area. The Campfire Audio Atlas is showing a more pronounced and sharp upper midrange presentation, which makes it slightly more successful in terms of upper midrange detail rendering.

The treble range of both IEM’s is not very emphasized and upfront and sharing a lightly bright and soft tonality. The Campfire Audio Atlas and Hifiman RE2000 Silver showing similarities in the lower treble region, while the upper treble range of the RE2000 Silver is more pronounced and detailed than those of the Atlas In-Ear Monitor.

Both IEM’s showing an ideal soundstage for a precise and natural instrument placement. The soundstage of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is wider and airy compared to those of the Campfire Audio Atlas that is otherwise more successful in terms of soundstage depth.

 

64 Audio U8 versus Hifiman RE2000 Silver:

The 64 Audio U8 shows a classical V shaped sound signature, while the Hifman RE2000 Silver has a slightly V shaped presentation. When it comes to the tonality, the U8 sounds warmer, darker and thicker compared to the RE2000 Silver.

The 64 Audio U8 has more sub-bass depth, quantity and extension compared to the Hifiman RE2000 Silver. The RE2000 Silver has otherwise a sub-bass presentation that goes pretty low but has shown less emphasis.

Both IEM’s sharing a strong mid-bass presentation, while the 64 Audio hits punchier compared to the mid-bass of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver, which makes the U8 superior to the RE2000 in terms of quantity and force.

The bass of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is tighter, controlled and faster than those of the 64 Audio U8 which makes the RE2000 Silver more successful in this regarding.

The Midrange of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver has a more forward and transparent presentation than those of the 64 Audio U8. The 64 Audio U8 is more successful with male vocals due to the thicker and detailed presentation. The upper midrange of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is more pronounced and sounds also more natural, which makes the RE2000 Silver superior to the U8 in terms of detail and realism with female vocals.

The instrument presentation of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is airier and natural compared to those of the 64 Audio U8 and is also superior to the U8 in terms of detail and separation.

The upper midrange of the both In-Ear Monitors is pretty soft, while the upper midrange of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is more pronounced and detailed than those of the 64 Audio U8.

The treble presentation of the 64 Audio U8 is darker, slightly warmer and recessed in direct comparison to the Hifiman RE2000 Silver, who shows a more energetic and pronounced treble presentation. The Hifiman RE2000 Silver is superior to the 64 Audio U8 in terms of treble quantity, detail and extensions.

Both IEM’s have an ideal soundstage for a precise and natural instrument placement. The soundstage of the Hifiman RE2000 Silver is significantly wider and airier compared to those of the 64 Audio U8, who performs better in terms of soundstage depth.

 

Conclusion:

The Hifiman RE2000 Silver is a solid performer in terms of sound quality with its quite sophisticated and unique Topology Diaphragm Driver, which delivers plenty of detail. The balanced tuning, unique design and airy and relaxing presentation will satisfy many audiophiles who are searching for a new pair of In-Ear Monitor with “TOTL” performance.

 

Pros and Cons:

  • + Detail Rendering
  • + Overall Control
  • + Natural and Balanced Presentation
  • + Comfortable

 

  • – Cable is a bit thick
  • – Pricey

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1 Response

  1. An amazing review as always from doyenne audiophile and reviewer Mr. Moonstar . Very many thanks gentleman 👍👍🙏🎧🎼🎶🎶

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