HiFiMan: RE300a Premium Earphone

I was so pleased to receive a FedEx package with the HiFiMan RE300a Premium Earphones with inline controls. These particular earphones are designed specifically for Android devices. There are other models, including one for iOs and ones without inline controls.  As you can see the packaging is rather basic, but what do you really need in the package? You see exactly what you are getting and right off the bat you can tell this product was made with quality workmanship.  Once opening the package, you will find inside the Earphones, user manual, silicone ear piece attachments, a clip to attach the cable to a shirt or jacket, and 10 filters to keep the dust out of the earphones.

The user manual is rather basic and includes no information on how to apply the filters or silicone earplugs. After a bit of twisting and pushing I was able to get the silicone ear pieces on, however for me, they were not necessary as the earplugs themselves fit me perfectly. The first thing I noticed both when taking them out of the package and affixing them to my ears was how light they felt. I have used other earbud type earphones and the were much heavier. Also, upon inserting them into my ears I was pleased to see how soft and comfortable these earphones feel. Each earphone is uniquely shaped and labeled for the Left and Right ears.

As expected, use of the earphones are as simple as plugging them into the headphone jack.  Along the cable for the left ear you will find the inline control. This is simply a speaker with one button control. Press once to pause music, press once to start the music. A very convenient feature is when a phone call comes in during music playback you can press the button once to simultaneously answer the call and pause the music. At the completion of your call the music will start back up automatically.  I was a little disappointed to see there was no volume controls or mute capabilities included. The lack of volume control was most notable when a phone call came in. When I  answered a call while listening to the music at a decent volume, the caller was extremely loud and had to be adjusted accordingly. Because I was not hearing any external sounds, it seemed when I was on the phone that I may be talking very loud.

I had the opportunity to wear these in the cold weather underneath my winter hat. I found the comfort to continue and there was no bulkiness that I have experienced with other earphones. Other devices I have noticed a scratching sound when wearing a hat as I would move about. I did not hear any external sounds at all while wearing the hat.

I am not ready to recommend these for running. I wear a snug running hat when its cold and the earphones did move about slightly with each foot-strike. This resulted in an external "squeaking" sound throughout my run.  Attempts at re-positioning did not resolve this issue.

As there is no storage options included, I would take care when putting these in you backpack, briefcase, or purse as they can be difficult to find due to the deep black color.  They also seem to have a high potential for tangling if you don't store properly.

Sound quality was excellent, including bass and treble. I did not hear any tinny sounds and there was no distortion at high volumes. I was pleased with how loud the earphones where when turned all the way up using my Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and even my Chromebook.  I read nothing about noise cancellation on the HiFiMan website, but even at low volumes I was unable to hear any external sounds.

In my opinion, these headphones provide extremely high quality sound at a very reasonable price. As mentioned the one item that is lacking are inline volume controls. 

Full Disclosure: This product was provided to me at no charge for the purpose of providing a product review. I have provided a completely unbiased review and was not influenced in any way to provide a positive review.