To be fair, you get the extra IOS mic cable.

    I just got a letter from from Fedex saying I owe $15 for shipping that Audeze had made on my RMA.

  Well the sound on the left cup is getting worse... damn The sound is now uneven, the right side is much louder than the left side.

  I wonder if they are going to improve the El-8 like they did with the LCD-4 and give everyone a free upgrade. They both seem to have the same issues and they both use the new Fluxor magnets (Though the El-8 is only single sided).

  The date doesn't matter. A lot of them are defective, many different issues though. My Certificate Of Authenticity is 2-10-16 and it has a thack noise in the left earcup and that was a replacement for the pair that had piercing highs.

  Exact same issue I am experiencing but only on my left earcup. 

  If they gave me an option to upgrade to the LCD-XC at a discount and return my defective ones, I would be a happy camper.

  I knew it... Doesn't matter what batch your headphones came, there will be some defectives. Quality control is really bad on the El-8s.

Well... The thack, thack sticky type of physical noise is now appearing on my left earcup. Maybe I didn't notice before? :( I don't think it matters which batch you get, there will be defective ones.

  The highs are now lower, doesn't hurt my ears :P It says they did hundred hours of pink noise to break it in but I can tell they didn't do that. It sounds too fresh compared to my old ones.   Update: After a few hours, I can tell these they sound 100 times better than my defective pair...

Wow... My replacement just came in and they just inspected them two days ago. Yup latest batch.

  Third person here who had a defective model from the Apple store. Mine was also bought at the beginning of this year from a Apple Store and they replaced mine no problem.

  Mine was also defective with the piercing highs.  Just contact Audeze, they told me I had a defective pair and gave me the latest batch that was made.

  They finally shipped my replacement headphones out. They ran out of stock but they told me I got the latest batch that was just made! So this should have zero defects. Tony at Audeze was really helpful and responded at a timely manner. 

Just got word that they are in short supply of El-8's. They couldn't send me a replacement but instead they will ship me one from the batch that is currently being made within 48 hours! 2 days delay for the latest batch sounds good to me.

Hmmm..... Maybe I should have bought the PM3 instead of the El8.

  Try to message them on Facebook. It works!  

  Let me know how they sound. Mine is in the mail.

  I also bought mine from the Apple store in Canada and but had a different problem! They were defective, no bass and too much highs. Audeze just received my defective headphones and going to exchange them for a brand new pair :D

  I also got Tony, told me he would replace my defective El-8C with a brand new pair.

  I just ordered one and also getting my Audeze El-8C replaced. I wonder which will come first. 

Thank you very much, the rep found out what happen. Apple Canada had the old defective model and they are replacing it free for me.

I think I am having the same issue with mine and the E17 amp.

Has anyone use the Ha-2 on the El-8C? My Fiio E17 is not cutting it.

I called them up and they told me thats how it is. It is not defective. I might just need a better amp, I am using the FIIO E17. I will be buying the Oppo Ha-2 soon.