[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Took possession of a new pair of IE80s today. Not very impressed, I hope it's just because the stock tips are all dreadful. I'll get some complys on it when I get back to my place as I'm currently at  my parents for Chinese New Year.
 
Midrange is too laid back with too much bass bleed. Cable feels cheap and tacky. Soundstage is ok, but in no way compares to a fullsize headphone(except something like the M50 or KNS8400). Treble is quite nice, however "quite nice" treble isn't really a shining recommendation for the IE80. I'll give it some more head time over the next week before deciding if I'll keep it or try and trade it for something else.

 
The IE80 never really impressed me. I can think of plenty of similarly priced or less expensive IEMs that I'd rather listen to personally. The IE800 on the other hand is another story: EQ the bass down a bit and it gives most universal IEMs a run for their money.
 
As for comparing soundstage on IEMs to fullsized headphones: some IEMs have a distinct "out-of-head" sound like the EX1000, but really I find IEMs have a distinct presentation in a lot of cases compared to their fullsized counterparts. I call it inner depth. Kiteki used to talk about it a lot, too. For me, overall soundstage size is less important than spatial cues and the dynamics that go on inside that space. In this respect I think certain IEMs actually outperform a lot of headphones out there.

 

[ardgedee]

Quote:

As I've mentioned before, I personally like the SR-Omega more than the SR-009 and even the SR-007mk1 (depending on my mood). The original T2 is one of the ultimate pieces of unobtainium for me. I'd rather have the SR-Omega + SRM-T2 combo than an Orpheus set.

 
It seems clear Stax voices their headphones to work best with their amps even though it seems they sell far more headphones than amps. That's kind of a "well, duh" thing to say but what I mean is it seems in keeping with what we'd discussed earlier about other Japanese manufacturers (from Sony to Kondo) specializing by designing systems in which the quality of the signal matters only at the source element and the speaker, while western manufacturers specialize in optimizing individual components in isolation, designing on the assumption that each individual component must be validated individually on its participation in the signal chain.

 

[MrViolin]

Quote:

 
It seems clear Stax voices their headphones to work best with their amps even though it seems they sell far more headphones than amps. That's kind of a "well, duh" thing to say but what I mean is it seems in keeping with what we'd discussed earlier about other Japanese manufacturers (from Sony to Kondo) specializing by designing systems in which the quality of the signal matters only at the source element and the speaker, while western manufacturers specialize in optimizing individual components in isolation, designing on the assumption that each individual component must be validated individually on its participation in the signal chain.

Kondo? Never heard of that one before 

 
lol... ultimate piece of unobtainium <- has a nice ring to it.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

 
ALO's stuff has always looked great to me, but I don't know if they're really worth it. I guess it's always up to the individual to decide. A word of note, though; their cables are stiffer than they appear to be. I handled an SXC 24 FitEar cable before, and it was way stiffer than I ever anticipated. Pictures belie actual ergonomics.
 

Thanks for the warning Tom but my interest in those cables is by far more a sake of nagging curiosity then anything else. Like I said before I'm trying to keep an open mind although my common sense keeps telling me I just threw away my money on a lot of flash with no substance. I don't know, maybe the money won't be completely wasted if ergonomically they're a big step up from what I've been using. If they do cause my audio chain to change for the better then I'll both be delighted and forever walk around these threads with my foot in my mouth. I will also say if they're a step down ergonomically compared to my cheapo cables boy will I be completely pissed.

---

I was feeling bored tonight so I decided to swap out Itoru with Eva and rolled opamp 8610 into her. I had forgotten how the slightly warmer 8610 made the music sound more fun natural and is more forgiving of crappy recordings. I think I'm going to let Eva be her warmer fun natural forgiving way for a little while. That's the big strength of the UHA-6S, you start to feel bored you can roll a different sound into her and a completely new character to the music comes out. Interesting how even though the 209 is the more resolving and detailed opamp the the 8610 still hold it's own against it using a set of totally different attributes in the sound signature.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

digitalfreak: The only safe forum to post about cables in is Cable, Power, Tweaks, etc. Unless you're talking about building them, in which case DIY.
 
On a whim a couple weeks ago I measured the resistivity of all the IEM cables I had at hand. They all measured differently (the highest was over 100% of the lowest-measuring cable), although each individual line in each cable measured similar to each other (±5%). Capacitance is probably more audibly relevant than resistivity, but I didn't have the means at the time to measure that.
 
So it's definitely not true that cables are all the same, even with that crude test. To the extent the difference is audible is another matter. The one I thought sounded worst was also the outlier in terms of measurements; of the rest I've found the ergonomics to be at least as relevant as sound quality.
 
This is all I'm going to say about cables for the week because holy cats I don't want this thread devolving into a cable argument. If you have specific questions or criticisms bring it up with me in PM or start a thread in a relevant forum.
 
(edited a couple times for clarity)

Yep I agree. It always leads to:

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Took possession of a new pair of IE80s today. Not very impressed, I hope it's just because the stock tips are all dreadful. I'll get some complys on it when I get back to my place as I'm currently at  my parents for Chinese New Year.
 
Midrange is too laid back with too much bass bleed. Cable feels cheap and tacky. Soundstage is ok, but in no way compares to a fullsize headphone(except something like the M50 or KNS8400). Treble is quite nice, however "quite nice" treble isn't really a shining recommendation for the IE80. I'll give it some more head time over the next week before deciding if I'll keep it or try and trade it for something else.

Try let them burn in and of course get some good tips. Complies will ruin them (makes the bass bloated and muffles the treble). Even after you find a proper tip (I recommend JVC tips, you can find them towards the end of the IE80 appreciation thread) the mid bass still may be overwhelming. What I did was add silver cable to them and the tape mod. One of the best all-arounder IEMs in the $500+ range IMO. Very balanced and detailed after this mod. The tape mod is easy to do. Just put 2 small pieces of tap over the bass adjuster ports. It turns them into mid centric IEMs. The sound signature is similar to UMX3 after that but with a bigger sound stage, more bass and more of a natural sound. Treble is also noticeably more detailed and mid bass is put into check. Emphasis is purely on sub bass with the mod in place. Once I got use to the sound and went back to stock it ruined them for me lol. They sounded so muddy and congested in comparison.... Good luck .

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Yep I agree. It always leads to:

Fair enough, I shall mention no more until the thread is up and I link it for those interested in a read.
Hey Lee, I'm grooving to Eva with opamp 8610 tonight. I forgot how good Eddie Vedder vocals sounded with 8610.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Yeah, that tape mod for the IE80. I haven't actually gone back to trying them without the tape, except for when I was trying to experiment before applying some better tape. I still don't know what it is about the sound that I like post-mod, but I like it.
 
Yesterday I let the basshead out. I realized that I had grown tired of bass.
 
So, I'm wondering, what would be a bright alternative to a basshead can? Tight bass, emphasis on mids to upper mids and treble, without being earpiercingly bright? That is readily available through amazon or something, so don't suggest sextettes ... LOL

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Yeah, that tape mod for the IE80. I haven't actually gone back to trying them without the tape, except for when I was trying to experiment before applying some better tape. I still don't know what it is about the sound that I like post-mod, but I like it.
 
Yesterday I let the basshead out. I realized that I had grown tired of bass.
 
So, I'm wondering, what would be a bright alternative to a basshead can? Tight bass, emphasis on mids to upper mids and treble, without being earpiercingly bright? That is readily available through amazon or something, so don't suggest sextettes ... LOL

Are you referring to an IEM? If so the MDR-7550s are a good option IMO.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Fair enough, I shall mention no more until the thread is up and I link it for those interested in a read.
Hey Lee, I'm grooving to Eva with opamp 8610 tonight. I forgot how good Eddie Vedder vocals sounded with 8610.

Well not to point that comment at you. But for those who like to make it a point that it is clearly impossible to hear such a difference and that you are a fool if you do indeed believe so is what erks me. We all do have the right to our own opinions though. Just depends on how you got about in the end.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

I saw the Stax interview highlighted on the mobile site yesterday, otherwise I would have missed it entirely.
 
@currawong -- any reason why sometimes different threads are featured on the mobile and desktop versions of the site?
 
(The Cavalli announcement also only appeared on the mobile site. I half wonder whether Jude is shunting featured high-end posts to mobile users and mid/hi-fi to desktop users, but I suspect it's mostly coincidence.)

 
No idea to be honest. I don't do anything regarding the back-end of the site. That is all Huddler.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Are you referring to an IEM? If so the MDR-7550s are a good option IMO.

I was actually thinking more of circumaurals headphones rather than IEMs, however, that particular pair of IEMs is interesting. Perhaps in the future. Do they have a good fit even for smaller to medium sized ear canals and ears in general? The IE80 are probably the maximum size I can have when referring to the size of the housing, although I can use both small and medium sized tips with no problems.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I was actually thinking more of circumaurals headphones rather than IEMs, however, that particular pair of IEMs is interesting. Perhaps in the future. Do they have a good fit even for smaller to medium sized ear canals and ears in general? The IE80 are probably the maximum size I can have when referring to the size of the housing, although I can use both small and medium sized tips with no problems.

Personally I think they shouldn't be an issue. They aren't the best out there in terms of isolation if that is what you are after. They are as open as an IEM gets. Fit is actually quite comfortable. Believe it or not I've fallen asleep with them before. They are sweet sounding IEMs . Very romantic.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Personally I think they shouldn't be an issue. They aren't the best out there in terms of isolation if that is what you are after. They are as open as an IEM gets. Fit is actually quite comfortable. Believe it or not I've fallen asleep with them before. They are sweet sounding IEMs . Very romantic.

They seem to be $270 on (american) amazon - a lot less expensive than the british counterpart that sell them for £280. I haven't kept an eye on the prices on these, is that $270 a good price? That's the same price as I paid for the IE80.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

They seem to be $270 on (american) amazon - a lot less expensive than the british counterpart that sell them for £280. I haven't kept an eye on the prices on these, is that $270 a good price? That's the same price as I paid for the IE80.

I have my pair for sale and I'll sell them for quite a bit cheaper than that if you are interested. PM me and we can work out a deal. I don't use my pair at all to be honest. All my time goes to the 1Plus2s...