The RE0s have been my sub $100 in-ear benchmark for a while now and it still is even though the RE-ZEROs have been released. My main gripe with the RE-ZEROs is that the treble is more emphasized and so is the upper midrange which causes them to sound more sibilant than the old RE0s. This can be corrected by using alternate tips as described in the performance section of this review, but you should not have to use special tips in order to get these earphones to sound right.

Perhaps all of this will change once you hook them up to a fully balanced setup, but since Head-Direct have yet to release a balanced amplifier we cannot know for sure. Either way running a portable balanced setup will be a pain in the ass for quite some time to come, as you would need a DAP capable of Coax out and then a balanced DAC and headphone amplifier strapped to that.

This means that these in-ears are only for the enthusiasts that want a balanced setup and are prepared to spend some serious cash to achieve this and lug around lots of gear. For that group of people these in-ears will probably be great because you do not have to reterminate the cable in order for them to get along with a balanced setup. The rest of us are probably better off going for the simpler, cheaper, and to extent some better sounding RE0.