I bought the IE8 hoping for a single high end IEM capable of delievery for all of them music genre's I like to listen to.
Out of the box I seriously doubted my sanity at spending so much money on a pair of IEM's that frankly sounded horrible (muddy loud and uncontrolled bass, recessed mid and high with poor extension, and a lousy soundstage). Fortunately I knew from reading that this was to be expected. So I dutifully plugged them in and let music play thorugh them for the night. The next day the bass had started to settle down, and the midrange and treble had started to improve, but the soundstage was still pretty sad. I listened to them throughout the day and again dutifully plugged them in and left them playing music for the night. The next morning I wondered who had swapped my IEM's on me because they suddeny had sound stage! From there I never bother burning them in nightly as I was OK with the sound, but there was continous improvement through the time I owned them.
Music used throughout using the IE8 was classical (choral, orchestral, and strings) New Age/New Jazz, Heavy Rock, Classic Rock, accoustic rock, all forms of Christian Rock, Folk, Jazz, a sprinkling of country, Celtic music, and whatever else caught my fancy.
I found the bass to be the strongest point in favor of the IE8 with the exception of the midbass which simply was to much no matter what tips I used (UE single flange being the best and Sony Hybrid being the worst). Aside from the midbass hump the IE8 gave more texture to bass than any IEM I have used aside from Audio Technica CKS70 (great bass and sound stage but serious issues with treble).
The midrange of the IE8 is very warm due to the midbass hump and slightly recessed but not so much that I couldn't enjoy them. The midrange also had decent detail but required more attention to appreciate it.
The treble on the IE8 after 30-50hrs of burnin became decently extended and detailed (again with more concentration). In regards to the sound of cymbals I found the treble to be a bit tinny/pingy sounding though which was a detraction in my opinion.
The overall comfort of the IE8 was superb for me with easy insertion and use. I personally loved the shallow insertion of this IEM.
The kit that came with them was not that great though, the case was over engineered and consequently didn't get used very often, the majority of the tips were less than usefull, and the ear guides just plain hurt my ears.
If you have a source that allows for custom EQing, the IE8 can be made to sound absolutely awesome but if you do not believe in EQ'ing or use a source that only has preset EQ settings I believe the IE8 are a niche IEM suited mainly for specific genre's of music like: Classical, New Age, Celtic, and some accoustical music. It can play rock and Jazz OK but just OK, which considering the price tag of the IEM may not be enough for alot of people.
In the end, after months of using the IE8 I just couldn't get used to the midbass hump and I listened to too much Rock to find them enjoyable so I moved on to other IEM's.
Out of the box I seriously doubted my sanity at spending so much money on a pair of IEM's that frankly sounded horrible (muddy loud and uncontrolled bass, recessed mid and high with poor extension, and a lousy soundstage). Fortunately I knew from reading that this was to be expected. So I dutifully plugged them in and let music play thorugh them for the night. The next day the bass had started to settle down, and the midrange and treble had started to improve, but the soundstage was still pretty sad. I listened to them throughout the day and again dutifully plugged them in and left them playing music for the night. The next morning I wondered who had swapped my IEM's on me because they suddeny had sound stage! From there I never bother burning them in nightly as I was OK with the sound, but there was continous improvement through the time I owned them.
Music used throughout using the IE8 was classical (choral, orchestral, and strings) New Age/New Jazz, Heavy Rock, Classic Rock, accoustic rock, all forms of Christian Rock, Folk, Jazz, a sprinkling of country, Celtic music, and whatever else caught my fancy.
I found the bass to be the strongest point in favor of the IE8 with the exception of the midbass which simply was to much no matter what tips I used (UE single flange being the best and Sony Hybrid being the worst). Aside from the midbass hump the IE8 gave more texture to bass than any IEM I have used aside from Audio Technica CKS70 (great bass and sound stage but serious issues with treble).
The midrange of the IE8 is very warm due to the midbass hump and slightly recessed but not so much that I couldn't enjoy them. The midrange also had decent detail but required more attention to appreciate it.
The treble on the IE8 after 30-50hrs of burnin became decently extended and detailed (again with more concentration). In regards to the sound of cymbals I found the treble to be a bit tinny/pingy sounding though which was a detraction in my opinion.
The overall comfort of the IE8 was superb for me with easy insertion and use. I personally loved the shallow insertion of this IEM.
The kit that came with them was not that great though, the case was over engineered and consequently didn't get used very often, the majority of the tips were less than usefull, and the ear guides just plain hurt my ears.
If you have a source that allows for custom EQing, the IE8 can be made to sound absolutely awesome but if you do not believe in EQ'ing or use a source that only has preset EQ settings I believe the IE8 are a niche IEM suited mainly for specific genre's of music like: Classical, New Age, Celtic, and some accoustical music. It can play rock and Jazz OK but just OK, which considering the price tag of the IEM may not be enough for alot of people.
In the end, after months of using the IE8 I just couldn't get used to the midbass hump and I listened to too much Rock to find them enjoyable so I moved on to other IEM's.
