[yangian]

 
personally i dont think its airy

 
Well, It might not be airy, but it has amazing 3D imaging and very large soundstage for an IEM, may be more spacious then IE80.

 

[audio123]

   
Well, It might not be airy, but it has amazing 3D imaging and very large soundstage for an IEM, may be more spacious then IE80.

yeah just curious have you heard products from Ocharaku, Kumitate, Final Audio Design etc?
if you havent, do give them a try then u comment on the i800 again

 

[yangian]

 
yeah just curious have you heard products from Ocharaku, Kumitate, Final Audio Design etc?
if you havent, do give them a try then u comment on the i800 again

 
I don't have other high end IEMs. But almost everyone agree IE80s at least have a spacious soundstage. That's my reference. Except you think IE80's soundstage is also congested.
I think people don't drive IE800 well if they don't have impression of IE800's soundstage. I use Director + Valhalla 2 to drive it, and I think its soundstage has been fully opened. I have no high end portable gears and on my Xduoo X3, Ie800 does sound congested.

 

[audio123]

I don't have other high end IEMs. But almost everyone agree IE80s at least have a spacious soundstage. That's my reference. Except you think IE80's soundstage is also congested.
I think people don't drive IE800 well if they don't have impression of IE800's soundstage. I use Director + Valhalla 2 to drive it, and I think its soundstage has been fully opened. I have no high end portable gears and on my Xduoo X3, Ie800 does sound congested.

ah yes I used to think they have very good soundstage until i was introduced to those boutique iem brands I listed above. Well, the more you tried, your reference point will change progressively

 

[HiFiChris]

 

   
Nah, (to me) the IE 80 is thicker, warmer and fuller sounding, has got noticeably less level in the lower as well as middle highs and is not really sparkling in the treble. In addition, the MEE is on a higher technical level than the IE 80 (but not as good as the IE 800, well, except for the soundstage that I find more authentic on the MEE).

 
Sorry, Chris, do you think soundstage of IE800 is not real or anything wrong? I think it has the best soundstage of all IEMs I;ve heard and its imaging is even better than HD600.

 
No, that's not what I said. The IE 800 has got a very precise, sharply separated soundstage that is also pretty wide (not congested at all). But (to my perception) it lacks some spatial depth to create a nice illusion of a well-rounded and 3-dimensional stage. Yes, it has spatial depth (and is therefore spatially not as "flat" sounding as the Westone W4R), but compared to the width, it is just audibly less present (again, that's how I perceive the IE 800), hence the spatial presentation somewhat reminds me of the HD 800's.
 
A fellow German member described the IE 800's soundstage like that (see below), and I pretty much agree.

The Sennheiser creates a really wide soundstage. I feel like I am watching a concert through a wide-angle lens. Some tones are outside of the head. All instruments and band members appear tiny. The music just feels like playing with toys. IE800 is effortless with its presentation and that is really impressive considering the great details and expansive soundstage.

 
 
 
In the end, how we perceive the soundstage can also be influenced by our unique ear shape and the HRTF. For example, I know some people who perceive the soundstage of a headphone/IEM totally different to common view or to how I perceive it (my perception of the soundstage matches the common opinion most of the time).

 

[yangian]

ah yes I used to think they have very good soundstage until i was introduced to those boutique iem brands I listed above. Well, the more you tried, your reference point will change progressively

 
I can understand. Do you have IE80 and how about those compared to 80? Anyway, my point at least is: if you think 800s has smaller soundstage than 80, then I think you didn't get the full potential of 800.
I don't have much interest in IEMs. No matter how large soundstage an IEMs have, I cannot imagine it could be large than an open headphones. Most head time now is headphones.
One more point: A main reason I like Senn.'s is it can make a reasonable soundstage height. Most IEMs, even many mid ties, do not have a good soundstage height. It'll make big difference when you listen to symphony. I wonder how about this area for those high end IEMs.

 

[yangian]

   
No, that's not what I said. The IE 800 has got a very precise, sharply separated soundstage that is also pretty wide (not congested at all). But (to my perception) it lacks some spatial depth to create a nice illusion of a well-rounded and 3-dimensional stage. Yes, it has spatial depth (and is therefore spatially not as "flat" sounding as the Westone W4R), but compared to the width, it is just audibly less present (again, that's how I perceive the IE 800), hence the spatial presentation somewhat reminds me of the HD 800's.
 
A fellow German member described the IE 800's soundstage like that (see below), and I pretty much agree.
 
 
 
In the end, how we perceive the soundstage can also be influenced by our unique ear shape and the HRTF. For example, I know some people who perceive the soundstage of a headphone/IEM totally different to common view or to how I perceive it (my perception of the soundstage matches the common opinion most of the time).

 
 
En... I do not have such feeling. I don't think its soundstage is very wide, and I don't think its depth is shallow either. It has a "perfect" spherical shape. That's a reason I think 800 has better soundstage than 80. Well, anyway..

 

[deltronzero]

I don't know what ya'll are listening to, but IE800 definitely has one of the biggest sound stage in any IEM.  I've owned and tried 15+ TOTL IEM's...

 

[Tadamn]

What's the impedance?

 

[holden4th]

To reply to the IE80/800 comparison, the IE80 soundstage is wide, deep and ......imprecise. I haven't listened to the IE800s but my Flare R2As flog the IE80 in the way they pinpoint where the sound is coming from.

 

[yangian]

  To reply to the IE80/800 comparison, the IE80 soundstage is wide, deep and ......imprecise. I haven't listened to the IE800s but my Flare R2As flog the IE80 in the way they pinpoint where the sound is coming from.

 
Exactly. This is also my impression when comparing 80 and 800. 800 is much precise than 80, with equal or larger soundstage.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Had ie80 for 5 years, ie800 for 2 years. 
 
Listen to music about 8 - 10 hours a day 

.
 
Ie80's soundstage is large, but vague. Like, you can hear sounds coming from more than one place, it's holographic, but the sounds are somewhat dispersed, they don't come from specific directions, and the separation between instruments is not good. 
 
Ie800's soundstage is much much better defined, everything is coming from a pin point precision. The sound should be described as accurate on ie800. So very accurate... The soundstage, while smaller in size, is much better defined, every sound lasts as long as it should, while on ie80 sound has a partial reverb, making it sound like it's coming from a longer distance. 

 

[audio123]

  Had ie80 for 5 years, ie800 for 2 years. 
 
Listen to music about 8 - 10 hours a day 

.
 
Ie80's soundstage is large, but vague. Like, you can hear sounds coming from more than one place, it's holographic, but the sounds are somewhat dispersed, they don't come from specific directions, and the separation between instruments is not good. 
 
Ie800's soundstage is much much better defined, everything is coming from a pin point precision. The sound should be described as accurate on ie800. So very accurate... The soundstage, while smaller in size, is much better defined, every sound lasts as long as it should, while on ie80 sound has a partial reverb, making it sound like it's coming from a longer distance. 

u should venture and explore! there are better iems available! this game is never ending!

 

[Kunlun]

I'll follow up with my comparison between the ie800 and Andromeda. Although the ie800 isn't the most air-moving dynamic driver perhaps due to its smaller size, I really feel that the air moving quality gives the ie800 a leg up in terms of real bass feel over a multi-armature iem like the andromeda, as capable as it is.

 

[audio123]

I'll follow up with my comparison between the ie800 and Andromeda. Although the ie800 isn't the most air-moving dynamic driver perhaps due to its smaller size, I really feel that the air moving quality gives the ie800 a leg up in terms of real bass feel over a multi-armature iem like the andromeda, as capable as it is.

try ocharaku akazakura