Sennheiser IE 8 In-Ear Headphones

I've been using Sennheiser IE8 for 2 years and its still awesome. sadly I lost it about 2 months ago.

The first time I use it, it sounded ordinary but after several days of burning in I finally found the true sound that is so amazing.

The sound is detailed, clean instrument separation, strong bass, and an awesome soundstage, and no microphonic...

but after using it for a year I have to buy a new cable because the cable broke up, and also I found the earhook is not practical to use. I got my perfect seal from the medium sized double flange tips after experimenting with all the ten tips provided. and It's so comfortable also. The carrying case is neat because it carries two reserve tips, cleaning tools, a microfiber cloth, and your IE8, but the design is complicated. 

well its quite pricey and because this is an IEM people didn't see that this thing is expensive. And you know, it just so sad.

This is my first top tier IEM. I own it quite a long period of time.

I am very happy with the SQ.... Anyway here is my review after 5 days of usage =)  ( i left it in seller website)

Честно говоря звук сразу после распаковки был ужасен :) Но я знал что динамическим затычкам надо время что бы 'раскрытся'. Так и произошло. Буквально через 5 часов они зазвучали значительно лучше. После 80 + часов разогрева звук поражает :) Я не сказал бы что люблю слушать гитару или пианино. В основном я люблю электронную музыку. Но блин, когда я услышал как в них звучит гитара. Это словами не передать. Аж мурашки по коже пробежались. Вокал тоже очень радует. Басы мягкие и упругие. Очень приятные. Когда их одеваеш такое чуство вроде бы музыка вокруг тебя. Она везде, а не только в твоей голове. Вобщем, советую всем кто любит звук сенхайзера. Единственное с чем могут возникнуть проблемы это с подходящей насадкой. Слава богу мне как минимум 2 пары подходят идеально. Всем правильного выбора :)

overall I have not so much time to try it out...so...those are current feelings for the ie8

Sennheiser IE8 Review

Intro

I currently have these on loan from my friend and thought id take the chance to write a review. These were part of the reason I got more involved with true high-end earphones as when I was with my friends I showed him my current headphones the Beats by Dre Pros and he in return showed me these and I was instantly wowed! I was shocked that there was a world of headphones outside the “cool Monster Beats and Skullcandy lines. Now you may laugh as you see this but at the time I was just 15 and I have soon learned from my errors and have a nice collection of proper headphones and earphones! Basically I’m sure most people have heard of them by now, as they were released in 2008. They were their at the time their in ear flagship and have since been replaced by the a slightly spruced up version, the IE80.

I must also point out that these can be found cheap and a lot under their fairly expensive RRP but you must beware off the amount of counterfeits that can be found out their, from eBay as well as legitimate looking online stores. But do not worry as there is a lot of threads that can help you tell the difference between fake and genuine IE8s.

This thread should be helpful: http://www.head-fi.org/t/457420/warning-fake-ie8s-comparison-pictures-included

Set-up

Doing it a bit differently to normal as I usually review with the earphones going straight to source but as I only have a limited time with them I want to enjoy them as much as possible. Because of this I have decided to amplify them with my Epiphany Acoustics EHP-O2. This basically gives an extra bit of extension each end of the frequency ranges, adds a bit of detail, increases the soundstage and gives a nicer texture in short. The music will be combination of ALAC and 320 KBPS MP3.

Build Quality/Design

Although I have never owned a pair, all my current earphones have been purchased after using these and I have always compared there build quality to these, and so far only one pair has surpassed them and that being the Aurisonics ASG-1. So as you must have worked out by now these are pretty solidly built.

The cables are removable which is a feature I find very important as the in my eyes the worst thing that could happen is a tear in the cable crippling the earphones completely. As for its build quality it has a sturdy right-angled jack, a silicone covered cable with a small but stable y-split.

The earphones themselves are sleek and smooth with not a lot of places that they could go wrong.

The design is also very unique and looks unlike any other earphones I have ever seen.

Accessories

This is, as you should expect with Sennheiser quite a flood of accessories. There is a vast amount of tips, silicone, foam and double mold and in all the different sizes. They are of good quality and with one of the pairs you are bound to get a good deal and comfortable fit. You get the standard ear-cleaning loop tool not too dissimilar to the Ultimate ears and Shure ones apart from that on one end it’s another feature that allow you to change the bass quantity of the earphones with a little port on the earphones housing. You get a pair of ear guides in case you find them uncomfortable or new to wear earphones with the cable looping over the ears.

The case is solid aluminum coating with a plastic inside and is created to ergonomically fit the earphones in with an additional two pair of tips. It has an inside and outer casing which clip together satisfyingly with magnets. In the case there is also a little compartment made to hold a dry salt pads that come packaged with to keep the moisture levels correct if you live in a country with a warmer climate (not a bother if you live in the UK like me).

Comfort

I put them into my ear and they seem to disappear with their lightweight build and I think to myself these are so comfortable. Then 3 songs later and I am already feeling pain. They go from non-existent to a fatigue in my ears so quick it’s frustrating. Now I don’t know if their unorthodox shape does not agree with my ears as my friend I am borrowing them off things they are really rather comfy. Another reason for the poor comfort may also be their rather rugged edges compared to the smooth edges of other more comfortable earphones. One thing is for certain here and that these are by far comfortable for me.

Isolation

These make what’s known as a shallow in that they do not go very deep into your ear canal like others do and sit fairly near the outside of your ear. The reason isolation happens is that the earphone blocks ambient side by making a deep seal and this does not let anything past this. Because this seals very shallow ambient noise quite easily gets through and to your eardrums. Therefore because of this they are poor at isolating and you can hear what’s around you fairly well. If you are a keen airplane traveler or say use the tube to work then these should already be written of for you. If these are mainly planned for indoor listening then you should have no problem.

Microphonics (Cable Noise)

Now these are worn over the ear that is a way that microphonics can be eliminated. So anything that is worn over the ear by the rule of thumb you should not expect any microphonics but as stock cables go this is über impressive and as none at all comparing to non-existent of most others.

Soundstage and instrument separation

Now their soundstage is one of their real positives. If what I have read is true this was the first earphone that could truly give full sized headphones a run for the money in soundstage size. It is by all means ginormous. It is truly concert hall sound that is great for all genres but classical music especially. However instead of the feeling that your in the room with the band you feel like that your on looking from the far distance. It also seems to feel like that everything has echoes. Overall though I think the echoes is a small price to pay for the soundstage that is awesome.

For the instrument separation do not expect anything like a balanced armature but it is not that far off. The soundstage helps a lot and gives a good presentation of the instruments very well and this is very nice especially from a dynamic driver earphone.

Bass

Now the IE8s have tunable bass my rotating a small knob on the housings of the earphones. What this does is change the quantity of the bass of these earphones so depending on your bass preferences the choice is yours.

These earphones do have a mid-bass spike (hump) and by increasing the notches on the housing it increases the hump these earphones have.

Too gain an idea of them quantity wise I would say that on full notch they are ridiculous seeping with bass and fill any bassheads needs! Lessening of course as you turn it down until you reach the lowest setting (what I use) which is still very big in quantity and more than any other earphone I have owned or heard. On the higher settings I feel that you lose detail, the sound becomes boomy and on the top setting I felt the slightest bleed into the mids. However on the lowest setting there are definitely a high amount of detail and a great impact.

They are pipped to detail by my Aurisonics ASG-1 but they are still by no means wobbly or loose. The quantity is (lowest setting) really marvelous and it strives when listening to some of the heavier rock I do as well as rap!

Moving on to sub-bass and I do think that Sennheiser have done to well here as their is a fair bit and you can really here the rumble whatever the bass setting is on!

Midrange

The mids are recessed and they also feel covered up as they sit next to the peaked/forward bass. Tying in with soundstage the vocals seem to echoes like the vocalist is in a tunnel that does leave an undesired effect but other than the vocals are quite smooth.

I do not think that mids are bad but I just would like them to be more in line with bass (I think was adjusted with IE80s not sure) and this would be a lot better.

Highs

I don’t like the highs at all and I don’t feel like they’re there. There is a lack of detail, any sparkle what so ever and even the extension is lacking. These make earphones that don’t have the best treble and make them sound a million dollars. A bit of a let down in my eyes (ears).

Overall

The soundstage and bass is phenomenal with the mids not bad just sitting a bit to far behind the bass. I must take the time to say that the drums on this sound stunning and better than any other earphone I have heard in this aspect. Listening to slipknot will never be the same again on anything else because of these.

I also have found these to not be the fastest earphones and when you get highly textured passages it starts to slight jumble up and get a bit muddy.

If you can pick these up cheaply however which you can quite a bit these days then I you might want to give them a go if you have not already. In the scenario that you think earphones lack soundstage and are therefore not for you then these might just change your mind!

MY Round Up of all my IEMS.

Sonny