The IE8 is the only IEM that got me to sell my beloved HD600 (favorite full size headphone), but it may have been more out of convenience than anything else. They are somewhat close in sound, but don't assume that the IE8 is the HD600 in IEM form. Detail level is about the same, the HD600 has...

Quote: Originally Posted by Rip N' Burn JVC FX500. They can be described as an open iem. Ah yes, the FX500 isolated relatively little too, however the IE8 still isolated less for me.

IE8 for sure! I personally have yet to hear a less isolating IEM.

Quote: Originally Posted by tstarn06 Okay, spent the better part of the day listening to the CK10s, W2s and Custom TF10s. Without going into a lot of depth, I found myself favoring the CK10s across all genres of my collection. I listened only with the Sony X, and with the Clear Bass on...

So the usual intro, I own the IE8 and my best friend owns the SE530. While I definitely prefer the IE8 sound signature, if isolation is an issue, then I wholeheartedly recommend the SE530 over the IE8 ... I mean, you can't enjoy the IE8 sound signature if you can't hear it without breaking your...

Dude, I just found out the other day that anti-mage's ult is AOE! So awesome, I got trip kill without even knowing what happened lol

Quote: Originally Posted by kite7 powderhound said they are not an authorized westone dealer. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5675933-post472.html Great, thank you for the confirmation, I guess I will go Earphone Solutions should I decide to buy these.

Well regardless, I'm still waiting on your W2 vs CK10 comparison!

Oh, I didn't know about the 15% off from Earphone Solutions. I would definitely want the warranty for just $15 more. Haha yeah, I guess you could consider me a Philly person, though I'm really only a student in Philly.

Does anyone know if this link is legit? It looks like it would be $215 shipped with Bing cashback, decent deal if they're legit. WESTONE 2 Sound/Noise Isolating Earbuds Earphones NEW - eBay (item 350288011465 end time Jan-31-10 18:58:36 PST)

Thank you Uncle Erik for the suggestion. Is there one in particular I should try to get?

Yeah, definitely not as recessed as the TF10s. I think despite there being a bit of mid recession, it won't really bother you because the IE8 sound is so wide and airy that the mid recession seems like integrated or not that exaggerated/out of place (ok, that was a terrible explanation but the...

@photofan1986 I tried the tape on the IE8, you are right, it drastically changes the sound, definitely not worth it for the isolation.

@Armaegis, the radioshack ground loop isolator works like a charm, thank you so much. I owe you a beer! So the radio shack ground loop isolator solves the problem of the noise from the source ... so now I think the last piece of the puzzle is the power for the amplifier. Anetode's suggestion...

Thank you everyone for the advice. From trying different sources, cables, etc. it is a bit of both the source but more the ground loop (it seems like 20% source, 80% ground loop). If I can eliminate the ground loop, I think I will be a happy camper. In fact, I am heading to RadioShack now to...

I had a chance to A/B the CK2III and the PPA and preferred the PPA by a little bit (I should mention the PPA had OPA627 installed). The bass was a bit tighter and the detail was better with the PPA while the CK2III had the smoother midrange. I am not a DIYer so I don't really know what the...

True, the post was from a while ago, but tstarn06's question is still unanswered: do decored olives isolate better than complies or not? I find myself seeking more isolation from the IE8 and would love to know the answer to this question (seriously, please stop me before I go and needlessly...

So I recently purchased a pair of Mackie MR5 active monitors and so far, I am reasonably satisfied. However, at first, I had them plugged into the same power strip as my computer, screen, hard drive, etc etc (I have a lot of electronics to say the least), and with this set up, there was a...

I'm just glad I convinced my best friend to buy SE530's ... everyone else, it's not really my problem so I just say nothing (however I get a ton of weird looks when I take a second glance at someone's headphones/IEMs when I think I see something mid to hi-fi and turn out to be wrong ... that's...

great impressions so far lucozade, looking forward to the rest!

Can't really offer a comparison of SQ, but my friend had Custom 3's for less than a week and it already showed signs of breaking at the cable near where it enters the driver housing ... so I guess my impression is that durability is not great.

I can understand that the IE8 is not a great "low volume" IEM by nature of the airy and more distant presentation, feels like there is no focus on low volumes. However, muddy and veiled? I do not hear that ...

Quote: Originally Posted by colinharding it all boils down to what you've heard. if your reference is a very expensive and resolving speaker system and you decided to drop just a fraction of that on phones plus related equipment you might be quite disappointed. That being said, if this...

Quote: Originally Posted by barleyguy I would describe the FX500 as warm and organic, and not particularly bassy. I think they are great IEM's, but not what I would consider a basshead phone. Not particularly bassy?? Are we talking about the same IEMs?

Slightly above your price range, but the JVC-Victor FX500 sounds like exactly what you are looking for.