Initial Sennheiser IE8 impressions:
I will preface this by saying that so far I only have about 8 or so hours listening time on them, as well as about a 7 hour pink noise overnight burn in, so I have a feeling they have not evolved fully yet. First comment is that they are fun earphones. Out of the box the bass is very full and deep. It hits hard, and there is no distortion even at rather loud listening levels. This is a nice treat, especially after having several high-end earphones that lose control well before they should at their prices. That always detracted from the music for me. So, that is a huge step up. Treble seemed a bit dark and rolled off at first. But I think it is opening up over time. Midrange is perhaps the strongest part of the frequency spectrum. It’s awesome, detailed, and natural. I agree that these portray vocals excellently. Jazz recordings are great, and Norah Jones sounds as though she’s singing right to me, right there. Isolation is very good. Sennheiser has developed some rather unique tips which I have yet to see offered with other brands. To this point, there is a sort of slightly glossy, black ‘foamie’ tip, with a noticeably harder durometer than even the Shure Olive tips. I find the mediums work remarkably well for me. You don’t have to compress them yet they still block out a great amount of surrounding noise, and they seem like they’ll last a long time. These are creating a very good seal for me, and I get the resulting benefits across the frequency range. Kudos to Sennheiser for making some more interesting tips.
Comparison with Image X10:
Until the Sennheisers, the Image was my favorite IEM. The IE8 betters them though…to my ears anyway. I am listening on the Sony NWZ-A829, and with flat equalizer the IE8 has a more flushed out sound across the board. Bass is noticeably deeper, mids more realistic and present (this is probably the biggest difference), and treble is as detailed. I think I have a pair of the Images that is particularly good in treble detail, because I could never understand how other owners kept saying they’re ‘dark’, and ‘recessed’ in the treble. To me they have always sounded very detailed, natural, and non-fatiguing. The IE8’s are right about at the same level in treble. Soundstage is bigger in the IE8’s. By comparison, when I switch back to the Images with the same music passages, suddenly the sound is more choked in, narrow, and not as deep.
Summary:
The IE8’s strike me as a warm, punchy, musically fun earphone with sufficient detail in the upper end. They may tend toward a slightly dark or warm sound signature. Some may say that they are slightly rolled off, I don’t know. But to me they have a very nice mellow sound to them. I do hope they gain a bit of top end sparkle over time with more listening hours, while not becoming harsh. Maybe I’m hearing things this way because the bass and mids are more present than I’m used to with the Images. I’ll keep updating this over time as they evolve. I will also take some pictures one evening soon at home.
Hope this helps…………..
UPDATE 08/11/08- Well it's been about 4 1/2 days, with most days around 6-8 hours usage, and I realized today that the treble is opening up nicely. Yesterday I dug out my Denon C700's to compare with the IE8's since some Head-Fi'ers that have been showing interest have/do own them. They seem to be very well liked for their detailed treble. Well it was in going back and forth with them that I realized just how much the IE8's surpass them. I tried both back to back more today, and the result was more of the same impression. I'd say that bass has gotten less flabby too. So, patience should definitely be in abundance with these. They were good out of the box, and now they're becoming just stunning.
Pics:
Higher res versions-
Picasa Web Albums - Chris - Sennheiser IE8
