I decided to take the plunge and venture into the realm of high priced cans.
I wanted a new closed headphone. One that I could easily lie in bed with and not disturb my wife. One that wouldn't be too bulky when shifting my head around. I decided, on impulse to get the Edition 8's. There are many pics here, so I'll not post yet another set here.
Appearance, build and weight:
I was pleasantly surprised here. They are very well built cans. Not as blingy as I expected. Though the driver housings sport a glossy finish, it's of a low tone in colour and doesn't reflect that much light. They are surprisingly light too. The leather used is great.... what more can I say.
Fit and Sound Isolation:
They are full circumaural and my ears fit comfortably enough. There is enough depth to the cups that none of my pinna comes in contact with the driver grills or pads. The clamping force reminds me of that of the HD650's. At first, it's a bit off-putting, but I find that I grow accustomed to it, rather than annoyed with it to the point where I need a timeout.
Sound isolation is good but not as great as is described. I smiled when I put them on and could hear the ambient sounds around. My Bose noise cancelling and W3's are better at isolation. So there's some hype there.
Overall sound:
On initial listening, what stood out with the Edition 8's was the level of detail heard. They are fast cans and they are the most detailed that I've ever heard. Of course, this needs to be taken into context since I've never heard electrostats, and I've never heard the HD800's or other similar cans. Sound separation is fabulous with my being mesmerized by the details heard in vocals, lead instrumentation and drums!
In terms of balance, the forwardness of the mids and early highs is quite evident when compared to my D5000's. Quite Grado like in a sense. However, and a big however, I'd never use the word shrill or bright here. You end up with a very intimate, engaging and lush sound.
The bass took a while to really come out. It took some burn-in and I must say that these Edition 8's have been my most convincing experience where burn-in is concerned. I read in reviews about the depth and extension of the bass response. Initially, I wasn't particularly impressed. However, after my first session, I left them burning in for 24 hours and gave them a go again. The bass was now very different and has been getting better. I just love the bass coming from these things. The Denons are big on bass depth and extension. But perhaps too big at times. Not so with these Edition 8's. I'm astonished at how effortless the bass depth and extension is. If the recording has it there, the Edition 8's delivers in spades. It makes for quite an attacking and exciting presentation. The same for the mids BTW.
Sound stage:
This new technology, S-Logic, is what's supposed to give soundstage. The sound stage is very good for the form factor. There's an airiness that is very much like that of an open can. However, the seal and closed environment does have an effect on the eardrums which remind me that I'm wearing closed cans. The sound-stage is similar or a little better than my RS2i's. I wouldn't consider it one of its really strong points.
Conclusion:
All in all, I'm very pleased with these cans and consider them to be technically, the best I've ever heard by a considerable margin. Albeit, more importantly for me, they're also VERY fun to listen to. Very fun indeed.... and at the end of the day, this is what I was looking for. It seems to be doing well with all genre's I throw at it.
I do wonder if I got my moneys worth and have no regrets considering what I'm hearing from these cans while they are closed, relatively small and light weight. For those who can afford to, I highly recommend trying these.
I wanted a new closed headphone. One that I could easily lie in bed with and not disturb my wife. One that wouldn't be too bulky when shifting my head around. I decided, on impulse to get the Edition 8's. There are many pics here, so I'll not post yet another set here.
Appearance, build and weight:
I was pleasantly surprised here. They are very well built cans. Not as blingy as I expected. Though the driver housings sport a glossy finish, it's of a low tone in colour and doesn't reflect that much light. They are surprisingly light too. The leather used is great.... what more can I say.
Fit and Sound Isolation:
They are full circumaural and my ears fit comfortably enough. There is enough depth to the cups that none of my pinna comes in contact with the driver grills or pads. The clamping force reminds me of that of the HD650's. At first, it's a bit off-putting, but I find that I grow accustomed to it, rather than annoyed with it to the point where I need a timeout.
Sound isolation is good but not as great as is described. I smiled when I put them on and could hear the ambient sounds around. My Bose noise cancelling and W3's are better at isolation. So there's some hype there.
Overall sound:
On initial listening, what stood out with the Edition 8's was the level of detail heard. They are fast cans and they are the most detailed that I've ever heard. Of course, this needs to be taken into context since I've never heard electrostats, and I've never heard the HD800's or other similar cans. Sound separation is fabulous with my being mesmerized by the details heard in vocals, lead instrumentation and drums!
In terms of balance, the forwardness of the mids and early highs is quite evident when compared to my D5000's. Quite Grado like in a sense. However, and a big however, I'd never use the word shrill or bright here. You end up with a very intimate, engaging and lush sound.
The bass took a while to really come out. It took some burn-in and I must say that these Edition 8's have been my most convincing experience where burn-in is concerned. I read in reviews about the depth and extension of the bass response. Initially, I wasn't particularly impressed. However, after my first session, I left them burning in for 24 hours and gave them a go again. The bass was now very different and has been getting better. I just love the bass coming from these things. The Denons are big on bass depth and extension. But perhaps too big at times. Not so with these Edition 8's. I'm astonished at how effortless the bass depth and extension is. If the recording has it there, the Edition 8's delivers in spades. It makes for quite an attacking and exciting presentation. The same for the mids BTW.
Sound stage:
This new technology, S-Logic, is what's supposed to give soundstage. The sound stage is very good for the form factor. There's an airiness that is very much like that of an open can. However, the seal and closed environment does have an effect on the eardrums which remind me that I'm wearing closed cans. The sound-stage is similar or a little better than my RS2i's. I wouldn't consider it one of its really strong points.
Conclusion:
All in all, I'm very pleased with these cans and consider them to be technically, the best I've ever heard by a considerable margin. Albeit, more importantly for me, they're also VERY fun to listen to. Very fun indeed.... and at the end of the day, this is what I was looking for. It seems to be doing well with all genre's I throw at it.
I do wonder if I got my moneys worth and have no regrets considering what I'm hearing from these cans while they are closed, relatively small and light weight. For those who can afford to, I highly recommend trying these.
