[Koolpep]

  open or closed? I will have the closed EL-8 to compare with the HE-560 in a while.

Hi @money4me247 !
 
I am actually interested more in the closed ones - so that's awesome if you can share your impressions.
 
Looking forward to read about it!
 
Cheers,
K

 

[money4me247]

  I am actually interested more in the closed ones - so that's awesome if you can share your impressions. Looking forward to read about it!

Sure! might be a while though before I get my hands on them.

 

[jmsaxon69]

I must say I agree with the long ass break-in time, who'd a thunk it? Mine are sounding very nice now and I was a bit iffy on them a few weeks ago. I've thought they were "broken in" several times now...

 

[aCuria]

Has anyone found a good compact hard case for these headphones?

 

[bluesaint]

Has anyone found a good compact hard case for these headphones?

Yes. See the pix
http://www.head-fi.org/t/761161/audeze-el-8-closed-version-impressions-thread/15#post_11522563

 

[DavidA]

I must say I agree with the long ass break-in time, who'd a thunk it? Mine are sounding very nice now and I was a bit iffy on them a few weeks ago. I've thought they were "broken in" several times now...

curious, how did the sound change over time for you?  Mine went from dark/warm to warm to warm/bright in about a week and a half.

 

[Pandaboxer]

I returned my El-8 after having them for about 2 days.  Comparing them to my hd650's, I just found them a little harsh on my ears.  I really tried to like them, but I found myself reaching for my 650's after awhile. 
 
Hearing about the improved sound after burn-in has me curious and wondering though if maybe I didn't give the El-8 a fair amount of time. 

 

[money4me247]

  I returned my El-8 after having them for about 2 days.  Comparing them to my hd650's, I just found them a little harsh on my ears.  I really tried to like them, but I found myself reaching for my 650's after awhile. 
 
Hearing about the improved sound after burn-in has me curious and wondering though if maybe I didn't give the El-8 a fair amount of time. 

Don't worry about it. a lot of times it's generally more just your brain getting used to the new sound signature rather than any real mechanical phenomenon occurring. mechanical driver changes would be too small to really drastically alter the frequency response curve. aka the statements of changes between 'bright' to 'warm' to 'dark' would be extremely subtle and more likely heavily influenced by the different source materials being played. You will not experience giant swings with the headphones changing from a q701 sound signature to an hd650 sound signature into a HE-400 signature. People already have not been able to measure out a statistically significant amount of difference in FR curves on traditionally notoriously 'burn-in-required' type headphones, so really don't think that the sound will be drastically different. Our brains do adapt to different sound signatures that we are initially unfamiliar with and become more comfortable with them.
 
if you dislike it after 2 days of extended listening (with the 200hr testing that they do at the factory that will 'burn-in' the headphones), that should be more than enough time to judge a pair of headphones and give your brain some time to adjust.

 

[bluesaint]

  Don't worry about it. a lot of times it's generally more just your brain getting used to the new sound signature rather than any real mechanical phenomenon occurring. mechanical driver changes would be too small to really drastically alter the frequency response curve. aka the statements of changes between 'bright' to 'warm' to 'dark' would be extremely subtle and more likely heavily influenced by the different source materials being played. You will not experience giant swings with the headphones changing from a q701 sound signature to an hd650 sound signature into a HE-400 signature. People already have not been able to measure out a statistically significant amount of difference in FR curves on traditionally notoriously 'burn-in-required' type headphones, so really don't think that the sound will be drastically different. Our brains do adapt to different sound signatures that we are initially unfamiliar with and become more comfortable with them.
 
if you dislike it after 2 days of extended listening (with the 200hr testing that they do at the factory that will 'burn-in' the headphones), that should be more than enough time to judge a pair of headphones and give your brain some time to adjust.

I had the same issue with my closed el-8's.  When they first arrived, I considered them bright and piercing, RMA'ed it because there was some wierd physical noise on the right driver.   The new unit came on Friday, and zero burn-in they no longer had that glass shattering brightness to them and its sounding great.   So could very well be a defect.

 

[Pandaboxer]

  Don't worry about it. a lot of times it's generally more just your brain getting used to the new sound signature rather than any real mechanical phenomenon occurring. mechanical driver changes would be too small to really drastically alter the frequency response curve. aka the statements of changes between 'bright' to 'warm' to 'dark' would be extremely subtle and more likely heavily influenced by the different source materials being played. You will not experience giant swings with the headphones changing from a q701 sound signature to an hd650 sound signature into a HE-400 signature. People already have not been able to measure out a statistically significant amount of difference in FR curves on traditionally notoriously 'burn-in-required' type headphones, so really don't think that the sound will be drastically different. Our brains do adapt to different sound signatures that we are initially unfamiliar with and become more comfortable with them.
 
if you dislike it after 2 days of extended listening (with the 200hr testing that they do at the factory that will 'burn-in' the headphones), that should be more than enough time to judge a pair of headphones and give your brain some time to adjust.

 
Thanks for the clarification money4me247, that certainly makes me feel a lot better haha.  I had no idea the manufacturer already had a burn-in process before units leaves the factory.  That's something I'll definitely keep in mind when listening to new headphones. 
 
One thing I will give the EL-8 is it is a gorgeous headphone and they we're extremely easy to drive I found.  A fact that is no doubt part of Audeze's strategy to reach a broader market.

 

[Zulkr9]

  Here's my impressions of the of the Open-Back EL-8 now that they have +200 hours of burn-in and that the honeymoon period is over.
 
Equipments:
 

1. Amp : Schiit Vali
2. DAC : Emotiva DC-1

 
PROS: 
 

1. The build quality is very good.
2. The EL-8 are more comfortable than the LCDs.  
3. The sound quality is great...after +200 hours of burn-in.
   1. Great mids (The electric guitar strings have more punch, crunch, and bite versus the LCD-2)
   2. Good soundstage but maybe a slightly smaller stage than the LCD-2, not much difference IMO.
   3. Good bass but probably not on the same level as the LCD-2. 
   4. Very good tonality. (They definitely sound like a pair of Audeze headphones)
   5. Nice treble...after +200 hours.
4. Very resolving and musical at the same time.
5. I can drive them easily with my iPod Touch.  

 
CONS: 
 

1. The treble is a bit weird and grainy during the first 100/150 hours.
2. They need more than +200 hours of burn-in to sound great.
3. There is no 'quality' carrying case included!  (Very disappointing for $699.)
4. The EL-8 are more picky than the LCD-2 with low-res files.

 
I have to admit that I agree with some of the negative comments that I have seen so far in this thread and even on my side I was very close to sell them at some point because of the weird and grainy treble. 
 
I'm quite happy now with my pair but Audeze will have to improve their quality assurance process if they want to succeed with the EL-8!
 
Thanks
 
PF
 

i sort of agree now, I had my el8 on constant burn in for sometime now without hearing them, when I heard them recently they sounded pretty flat, there is a dip at the low treble though but I don't think its a big issue rather it makes this phone a pretty smooth listen.

There are problems though, top end is a bit grainy and the signature like in your face, very forward sounding.

 

[jmsaxon69]

curious, how did the sound change over time for you?  Mine went from dark/warm to warm to warm/bright in about a week and a half.

I must say it was all the upper mids and lower treble region that changed for me. I must say after 5 weeks?! They are soooo much better and sound great! I told this to MattTCG tonight " so I listen to the LCD-2, them the HD800 and then the EL-8 and I feel like the $699 EL-8 is a fantastic combination of the two! I listened to the Questyle/EL-8 combo most of the night tonight and I have HD800 and LCD-2 on hand....

 

[kapanak]

I must say it was all the upper mids and lower treble region that changed for me. I must say after 5 weeks?! They are soooo much better and sound great! I told this to MattTCG tonight " so I listen to the LCD-2, them the HD800 and then the EL-8 and I feel like the $699 EL-8 is a fantastic combination of the two! I listened to the Questyle/EL-8 combo most of the night tonight and I have HD800 and LCD-2 on hand....

After 5 weeks, it is not the headphones that's changing, but your brain expectation and familiarity that no longer finds the faults glaring, as it initially did.

 

[moises13456]

I must say it was all the upper mids and lower treble region that changed for me. I must say after 5 weeks?! They are soooo much better and sound great! I told this to MattTCG tonight " so I listen to the LCD-2, them the HD800 and then the EL-8 and I feel like the $699 EL-8 is a fantastic combination of the two! I listened to the Questyle/EL-8 combo most of the night tonight and I have HD800 and LCD-2 on hand....

Wow! Same happened to me! After a month of listening this has finally opened up! It is now so accurate and sounds so good I couldn't believe it. It actually took that long to open up! Feel sorry for those who couldn't wait thou.

 

[moises13456]

After 5 weeks, it is not the headphones that's changing, but your brain expectation and familiarity that no longer finds the faults glaring, as it initially did.

You might be right but that doesn't change the fact that it sounded good/great for the ones who think they are.