hyunsac said:

  Have you listened to the EL8s? 

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pacotaco said:

 
Honestly, I'm happy I went with the ZMF Blackwood semi-blind as opposed to the EL-8. After reading impressions, seeing the FR graphs, listening to it, ect...the EL-8 is no where near what it was hyped up to be and, while it SEEMS like a baby LCD-X, it certainly doesn't get anywhere near that headphone in quality. It's disappointing that I thought this headphone was going to end up being better than the LCD 2.2f because they were going to implement the EL-8's driver innovations into the LCD line...but that's probably not the case anymore.
 

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Yep, I did briefly. It sounded like the Audeze house sound but lacked the "soul" of the Audeze cans. If that makes any sense.

potkettleblack said:

  I picked it because of the quality and how great it demonstrates the bass on the x's.
 

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Amen to that!!! 

zulkr9 said:

  After spending some time with the El-8 I find them very weird and confused sounding especially with complex music, the soundstage though accurate is smaller than lcd-2 and the HE-500 not to mention the treble is very forward, very in your face type of sound to the top end. It does sound very mid centeric though despite having excellent extension and control in the bass it lacks impact and punch. 


 
Over in terms of build I think its a fantastic headphone is a great looker as well but the sound is very inconsistent and not worth the 699 price tag. heck I prefer my 299 dollar x2's much more than the el-8.
 

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+1 Yup. This mirrors my experiences on all counts.

elwappo99 said:

   
This is unfortunately many times the case. "New toy syndrome" mixes with "hype train" and people think it's the next top of the line in a price bracket. Many times newer members think that "new" will be better. That's why it's always best (IMO) to wait out the hype train and see how people feel, or even better, try to get an audition once the production comes out.

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This has been happening a lot lately. The HE560 (though that one did turn out very well,) the EL-8, Alpha Primes, Geek Pulse (mostly due to LH Labs and not the product itself,) and some others. I want to read impressions of the Ether, but that's already taking off into the same direction as the Prime and EL-8. :/

pacotaco said:

   
This has been happening a lot lately. The HE560 (though that one did turn out very well,) the EL-8, Alpha Primes, Geek Pulse (mostly due to LH Labs and not the product itself,) and some others. I want to read impressions of the Ether, but that's already taking off into the same direction as the Prime and EL-8. :/

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Not necessarily just lately. It's been how things have gone for a long time. Every new product has the potential for a hype train, which is understandable as people are excited. A few people try to give a warning to "wait it out" so to speak, but it's often drowned by all the hype. 

pacotaco said:

This has been happening a lot lately. The HE560 (though that one did turn out very well,) the EL-8, Alpha Primes, Geek Pulse (mostly due to LH Labs and not the product itself,) and some others. I want to read impressions of the Ether, but that's already taking off into the same direction as the Prime and EL-8. :/

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The Alpha Primes are just brilliant, no hype about them, at least to my own years.

crixnet said:

 
I agree with many points in your impressions, but not all. But, as you said, that's just how it goes.
 
The open-back EL-8 I had presented shouty mids and lack of bass presence that were nothing comparable to the sound signature of my LCD-X. I find it conceivable that different EL-8 units can sound different from one another. Of course, we each hear differently than one another and prefer different sound signatures and characteristics. So, with all the possible variables to contend with, it's little wonder that everyone doesn't agree on what the EL-8 sounds like.
 
That said, I agree that Audeze has a track record of killing bugs in their models, and since the EL-8 is currently rev 1, they will get this one right eventually.

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I agree with a lot of this, but want to comment specifically on the bolded part. In my experience, different Audez'e units can sound very different. This isn't unique to Audez'e, of course -- we've had similar discussions about HD800s, T1s, RS-1s, and on and on over the years -- but my own experience with the pre-Fazor LCD-3s stands out. Brands will deny this, of course, seeing as an indictment of their manufacturing and QC processes, but I don't intend it as criticism. Rather, it's just another part of the mysterious nature of this hobby. Things can test exactly the same in the lab and sound totally different.
 
I've also noticed that I hear very differently on different days. What sounds just exactly perfect on Monday can sound unacceptable on Wednesday -- same music, same signal chain, same ears, different result.

reddog said:

The Alpha Primes are just brilliant, no hype about them, at least to my own years.

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I'm in the minority, as I said. I found, as some other people I know outside head-fi, that they can be way too bright at times (as the headphone seems to build itself around the 10khz spike and that became fatiguing) and have a weird, distorted mid-range. The guy I sold them too absolutely loves them, but I believe that it is because, much like the TH600/900, it is a different, unique sound compared to what most of the high-end headphone users are use to. If that makes any sense. I heard nothing but good things on head-fi, but heard nothing but mixed opinions everywhere else.
 
I know early production models could very in sound wildly, but I never see anyone discuss that here. Just reddit and that other site I can't name.
 
I respect the headphone and what Dan was trying to do with it, but I absolutely hate the sound. I loved it at first, because it was different, but got burnt out on it after three weeks. The distorted mid-range and random brightness killed it for me and it just sounded "wrong" by the end of that third week. The guy I sold it to, after giving my honest opinion of course, just adores them...so who knows? Different strokes for different folks. I found the Alpha Dog too boring, but everyone loves those.
 
There's other reasons outside not liking the MrSpeaker's sound signature that I won't go into, but those developed after I decided not to buy another MrSpeakers headphone.

pacotaco said:

I'm in the minority, as I said. I found, as some other people I know outside head-fi, that they can be way too bright at times (as the headphone seems to build itself around the 10khz spike and that became fatiguing) and have a weird, distorted mid-range. The guy I sold them too absolutely loves them, but I believe that it is because, much like the TH600/900, it is a different, unique sound compared to what most of the high-end headphone users are use to. If that makes any sense. I heard nothing but good things on head-fi, but heard nothing but mixed opinions everywhere else.

I know early production models could very in sound wildly, but I never see anyone discuss that here. Just reddit and that other site I can't name.

I respect the headphone and what Dan was trying to do with it, but I absolutely hate the sound. I loved it at first, because it was different, but got burnt out on it after three weeks. The distorted mid-range and random brightness killed it for me and it just sounded "wrong" by the end of that third week. The guy I sold it to, after giving my honest opinion of course, just adores them...so who knows? Different strokes for different folks. I found the Alpha Dog too boring, but everyone loves those.

There's other reasons outside not liking the MrSpeaker's sound signature that I won't go into, but those developed after I decided not to buy another MrSpeakers headphone.

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+1 Well said sir. I understand what you are saying. I hope you have found a headphone to make you happy. Hope you have a good day jamming out.

reddog said:

+1 Well said sir. I understand what you are saying. I hope you have found a headphone to make you happy. Hope you have a good day jamming out.

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Thank you. I found that in the Blackwood, as it is the closest to a deeper sub-bass sounding LCD-X without having to pay a kidney and firstborn child to buy. I'd make a joke about it being easier on my neck than the LCD-X, but my head is sadly large enough to distribute the weight of those headphones without any issues.

pietcux said:

The crazy hype guy is very silent since the reality check is running on this cans, isn't he?

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Have you read his review? It's like one big advertisement. So cringe worthy. I think he might have been paid for a favourable review, it's a common practice in marketing circles. That fake excitement was so annoying from the start, I can't take him seriously any more.We need guys like Tyll who are honest and objective, not guys like that.

pacotaco said:

Thank you. I found that in the Blackwood, as it is the closest to a deeper sub-bass sounding LCD-X without having to pay a kidney and firstborn child to buy. I'd make a joke about it being easier on my neck than the LCD-X, but my head is sadly large enough to distribute the weight of those headphones without any issues.

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I need to check out the Blackwood, it sounds nice, especially the deep sub-bass.. I am not a bass head per say, but sometimes I hunger for bass that rattles my fillings and will summon earth worms lol.

It's a hard headphone to accurately describe. It's like the same kind of sound the LCD-X has, but with instead with the sub-bass more emphasized and pushed up and the mid-bass linearly falling into linear mids and neither dark nor bright highs. If someone does a FR graph for it, I'd suspect that it would look like this graph: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AudezeLCDXSample3.pdf but with the subbass pushed up above the mid-bass and the highs, while still very smooth, pulled out of the darkness a bit (the LCD-X is on the very edge of not being a dark headphone in my opinion.) Since the sub bass is emphasized and not the mid-bass, the bass can come out of nowhere and smack you in the face pretty hard. It is surprising, to say the least. Either way, it is a very neutral headphone (as far as laid back, organic sounds go.) Plus, it has that pesky 10khz spike that most T50 mods, Alpha Prime/Paradox Slants included, smoothed out and almost completely gone (thank god.) This headphone doesn't have the sheer bass presence the Vibro has (as that headphone has bass that hits incredibly hard at times and lingers a bit,) but it goes deeper and doesn't have as much of an emphasis in the mid-bass.
 
Zach is getting new earpads (they'll be his own brand of lamb leather pads and an upholstery one that has bigger ears than the alpha pads and sturdier foam,) one of which may cause a retuning. I'd wait a month or two if you do decide to jump on it, as it would suck to get the headphones and have to resend them in immediately for a re-tune when the new pads come out.

reddog said:

I need to check out the Blackwood, it sounds nice, especially the deep sub-bass.. I am not a bass head per say, but sometimes I hunger for bass that rattles my fillings and will summon earth worms lol.

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obsidyen said:

Have you read his review? It's like one big advertisement. So cringe worthy. I think he might have been paid for a favourable review, it's a common practice in marketing circles. That fake excitement was so annoying from the start, I can't take him seriously any more.We need guys like Tyll who are honest and objective, not guys like that.

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I totally agree. His review of the EL-8 is just simply TOO POSITIVE to sound genuine.
By reading it all he does is gush over it, and names no weaknesses or flaws in the sound at all.
I have no confidence in his reviews or opinions.
Tyll is a straight shooter, and tells it like it is, and I like that.
I don't always agree with his preferences, but he usually hits the nail on the head when describing a headphones strengths and weaknesses, and isn't afraid to criticize a product, even if its at the manufacturers expense.
I listened to a friends EL-8 just today, and while it does some things well, it has a sort of congested sound, and I can hear the suckout on the Innerfidelity graph pretty easily.
It gives them an odd, hard to describe sound, some instruments and vocal recordings just simply do not sound natural at all.
There is a somewhat "muffled" quality to certain frequencies.
I personally prefer my HE-500 and HE-6 by a good margin.
I think the next generation of these will probably be much improved though, and I hope they are.
I really like Audeze, and think they are an awesome company.
But, yeah, Mr. Mercers whole review of the EL-8 is kind of suspicious if you ask me :rolleyes:

daltonlanny said:

I totally agree. His review of the EL-8 is just simply TOO POSITIVE to sound genuine.
By reading it all he does is gush over it, and names no weaknesses or flaws in the sound at all.
I have no confidence in his reviews or opinions.
Tyll is a straight shooter, and tells it like it is, and I like that.
I don't always agree with his preferences, but he usually hits the nail on the head when describing a headphones strengths and weaknesses, and isn't afraid to criticize a product, even if its at the manufacturers expense.
I listened to a friends EL-8 just today, and while it does some things well, it has a sort of congested sound, and I can hear the suckout on the Innerfidelity graph pretty easily.
It gives them an odd, hard to describe sound, some instruments and vocal recordings just simply do not sound natural at all.
I personally prefer my HE-500 and HE-6 by a good margin.
I think the next generation of these will probably be much improved though, and I hope they are.
I really like Audeze, and think they are an awesome company.
But, yeah, Mr. Mercers whole review of the EL-8 is kind of suspicious if you ask me

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man such reviews can really hurt the reviewer, this is why i learned that i will only listen to reviews by people who actually buy stuff and not by people who receive toys and review them
 
i dont want to bash him for it, maybe that is what he heard, but for me i see that there is a recognized percentage of people who actually bought them and are not too thrilled about the el-8
 
but no matter what i love my lcd2 rev2 pre-fazor its a master headphone for me, and maybe i would even dare to say i liked  my lcd2 even more than an lcd3 which i auditioned