The ie 8

Are 291 pages full of opinions enough?

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/s...thread-375547/

See above. And clear as day when burned in. However, not quite as clear as say the W3 because of the presentation, which is more laid back than the W3, but the detail is present. I prefer the IE8 vs. the W3 due to the wider soundstage.

IMO the IE 8 is borderline bass-shy.

I only seem to get enough bass with the dial cranked all the way up and using foamies. But then the soundstage is lost and it sounds much more congested.

So with my default medium single flange setup, I'd say there quite frankly isn't enough bass.

Wow!

I had the bass knob set to 3 for a little while and had to turn it back down to the minimum position. I get great bass.

Myself and others have lamented at great lengths that IE8 bass output is dependent on the tips and insertion depth.I can make the IE8 bass overpowering by inserting them deeper and then I can make them bass shy by just using smaller tips and a shallower insertion.

They DO produce enough bass, but if you don't use the right tips you can't expect any miracles, but that, I believe, is common sense.

I completely agree. Considering even the prepackaged tips, the default single flange presents good strong bass when adequately inserted, while, what I will refer to as the "ribbed" tips, make for a brighter, but more bass-shy presentation. Ultimately, I ordered up a set of the Sony hybrid tips, which suit my tastes extremely well, generally stay put, and are also quite comfortable.

I would also emphasize that burn-in is a huge factor as far as the IE8's treatment of trebles and mids. Straight out the box, the bass is heavy and the trebles are a bit recessed. But they really improve with time. The trebles blossom and the mids emerge as the initially bloated bottom end settles a bit. So with respect to the OP's question: yes, the mids and highs are clear, sweet, and surprisingly detailed for a dynamic IEM.

Don't get me wrong. The IE8's are never going to be considered in the category of bright headphones, but what you can expect at the end of the burn-in process is a sound signature which amounts to the IEM version of HD650's. HPA makes this comparison a number of times in the IE8 thread, and as usual, he is totally on point. However, if you prefer the more neutral sound of HD600's to HD650's (primary difference being the mid-bass hump in the latter). the IE8's might not be your ideal IEM.

3X0 - I'm not sure how many hours you have on your pair, but I would note that there was a period of time, reasonably far along in the burn in process, maybe around 100 hours, when the bass response seemed greatly diminished, and I bumped the bass up to setting 2 to get the sound I wanted. Even then, I felt like it was a little lacking for my tastes. A few days later, the bass came back out from wherever it was hiding. Hope you experience the same - as the IE8's generally should not be lacking for bass if they are functioning properly.

I'm around 220+ hours and counting now. I'm actually a skeptic (EDIT: hahaha, I totally did not read your username when using that word) of burn-in after around 50 hours but using pink noise I actually have noticed quite dramatic changes throughout the progression.

I'm curious because I don't find the bass dial to do as much. My tips of choice are the stock medium single-flange, and throughout the various settings I can't detect as much of a difference as other posts lead me to expect. The only time I could tell the difference was playing Daft Punk's Voyager with Altec Lansing foamies on (thereby forming a rather thorough seal), and dialing the bass while the phones were still in my ears. It seemed to affect only the lowest registers though but the thump was noticeable. It could be that my ears are not as sensitive to these changes, as well.

And that was probably the most ridiculous, nonsense review I have ever read on an earphone in my entire life. I would like to meet the reviewer and slap some sense into him/her.

Maybe its the foamies. They make the bass disappear on my ie8's. There is a huge difference when compared to the medium single-flanged tips.

Wow, what a harsh review. I really don't think they have a clue on what they are doing. IE8s need allot of burn-in and it sounds like they just listened to them out of the box. If you want real reviews, read the 290+ IE8 Appreciation Thread

Yea, I read that review and they are way off on their conclusion.

The Altec Lansing foamies (they're big) give me really fat bass at the expense of the rest of the frequency range.

Interestingly enough, I retried adjusting the knob while the phones were in my ears from minimum to maximum using the medium flanges and sure enough, there was some subtle thickening in the lower registers. Are you guys really that sensitive to bass!?

Agreed. Doesn't seem like the reviewer has much knowledge on IEMS.