NuForce Optoma HEM2 Reference Class Hi-Res in-Ear Headphones with Balanced Armature Drivers

I'm a musicphile who just wants to listen to music in as an enjoyable manor possible. I'm not rich so I can't just buy every product that looks interesting to me. I had read about the wholehem line by nuforce on headfi and other various outlets. It seems everyone talked about the hem 2's or the hem 8's and not much was written about the 4's. I found these on sale here on amazon and decided to try them out.First, let me say that the unboxing is a treat in itself. The included accessories are very impressive and include everything needed for a good listening experience, as well as a ton extra. I would list everything but everything is already shown in the pictures as well as in the description. Great job nuforce!Okay, so now you've got the box open and then its time for the main event...listening! I started out by playing lossless files on my lg v20 and played a diverse selection of music to see what the hem 4's were all about. I was blown away at the crystal clear sound with very little to no harmonic distortion. The sound is very balanced with a nice quality bass tone and present mids. The star of the show to me though is the gorgeous highs. Wow do they impress!!! The highs extend forever with a very late roll off, and have ZERO sibilance. They are smooth and non peaky with a beautiful tonality. Again, great job nuforce on the tuning!!I can easily recommend the hem 4's to anyone looking for hifi sound and an excellent build quality. They are a brilliant dual balanced armature earphone and deserve so much more attention! Your ears deserve to be treated to the best, and I find these very hard to beat at their price point.

OK so I got these headphones about two and a half weeks before writing this review and have been looking for something, anything I don't like about them and I honestly can't. To be straight forward they don't compare to my Yamaha NS10 studio reference monitors for lack of coloration, so to any home studios please don't mix on them even though they say reference.But aside from the fact the word reference will miss lead some people in the home studio business the headphones are perfect. I have been using them as on stage and recording monitors for providing me with a click track when I drum more than anything. They do wonders for me because they don't have to be that loud to compete with my drums or the stage noise. Additionally the HME6's are protecting my ears in these cases, the click track I play through them has always been loud and harsh to make sure I hear it but now it's clear as day but without the ringing in my ears after.As for day to day use they sound great with all my uses be it gaming, calls or just music. The headphones stay in place and don't hurt after hours of use if I make sure they are in right, plus even at max volume on most my devices I don't disturb the people around me.All in all the HEM6's are great headphones and if you have the money get them, especially if you are a working musiceian who wants in ear monitors.

If I were only rating sound quality, I'd give the HEM4's at least 4 stars. The sound is well balanced, with both solid bass and crisp high-end definition.Unfortunately, Optoma's decision to use detachable cables for these IEMs is a significant design flaw. It's much too easy for one of the earbuds to become detached when you're hurriedly wrapping up & putting away your headphones - which you may not notice until much later.What's worse is that the company won't allow you to purchase a single replacement earbud. In this case, when I contacted them about having lost one earphone, their response was, "Too bad, you'll just have to pay $150 to buy another pair."There's at least one other review of a customer having the same problem, so the company's aware this is an issue. The fact that they won't offer their customers a reasonable solution means that I'm not going to deal with them again. There are plenty of other high-quality IEMs available from better vendors.

I'm not an audiophile, so I'm not a fan of exaggerated highs/treble found in most, if not all "audiophile" headphones. Luckily the HEM 2 has zero sibilance. Sound is nice and balanced, not too much highs and not too much bass. I did up the bass and high on the EQ one notch to add a little bit of fun to the sound.Build quality is very good, but the twisted cable (the one without the mic) seem a little weak so you might want to be careful with it. The twisted cable does sound a little better (maybe it's just placebo).The HEM2 is not for basshead, it has a good amount of bass but when listening to bass heavy music the bass will be lacking.I bought this on sale for $70 and it's worth every penny.

Right ear bud stopped working after less than a month. Not impressed...

Very nice prformance

Cool

Mic cable was broken on the right side (looks like it got crimped) when I opened the box.