[Olanzky]

 Currently deciding between the V8 or V6 stage, I like my UM3x, not sure whether the V8 is fully bass oriented ciem, or if it just has better bass but maintains the same clarity in the mids and highs as the V6, any advice? I like to listen to rock and metal.

I auditioned both the v8 and v6-staged a few days ago. Only auditioned the v8 for a while because I knew I couldn't afford it and was more interested in the v6-staged. To me if you like bass, then hands down the v8 does justice. The bass is big, goes down very strong but doesn't affect the clarity of the mids at all and keeping the detailed highs as it is. Its amazing that its able to do that.
 
On the other hand, the v6 staged bass isn't as strong in terms of quantity but the quality is there. Tight and accurate bass. So its tuned more balanced compared to v8s.
The question is how much of bass do you like. Because the clarity on both is not affected by the bass.

from my initial impression this is quite spot on. still waiting for my topkits to my PB2 but the DX90 amp with WA6 (tubes preferred) I found myself stuck with my other chores on a weekend.

Sent from my Xperia Z Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[Olanzky]

 might as well get the AK120 II this july, thats the reason they have it on sale. some AK120 users compared it with ibasso's DX90 and they prefer the later most. more punchy on the lows but in a controlled representation and those sabre DACs are really good in gathering clarity and layers of details. although AK120 will give you more of a warm side, but then of course YMMV.

I agree that DX90 has forward presentation, and you an feel it with your ears, but interms of resolving ability, not quite there compared to it's LO with a good amp.  I also think Wolfson is warm, I have the ipod 5.5G DIYmod, and it's DAC is also Wolfson, and it's warm sounding, textures not forward like the ES series DACs.  I also have the 6G with Cirrus DAC, and yes, it's closer to ES DACs, but with punchier bass.  In terms of realism, all these cannot compete with ibasso HDP R10 with it's non-mobile ES9018 with an excellent amp section that puts out not as forward with micro details than the thick details of the DX90, but more than the Wolfson, with various level of forwardness in the details(with higher higher resolution) make it very accurate sounding player.  With it's powerful amp, it creates wide sounds stage.  I wonder how the AK120 compares to my DIYmod 5.5G ipod LO, with a good amp?

been debating this myself along with HM-901, the only gripes for me with this is the battery life and it's proprietary cable. but this dap are really really good.

Sent from my Xperia Z Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[Levanter]

   
Thanks for the reply Olanzky. My current list of dap I had in mind to pair with the V8 (based just pure reading) AK240 -> AK120 II -> AK120 -> Calyx M -> DX90 -> Fiio X5 -> iPod Classic. The reason I'm trying to avoid the first 2 is because of the crazy pricing here in Melbourne. I've heard some pretty good reviews on the DX90 but was turned off solely because of its incompatibility with Mac. I did audition some of the dap like the AK series with a universal Roxanne, but to my untrained ears i can't really tell whether is it the DAP or the Roxanne that sounded good (perhaps its a combination of both). 
 
Gosh making these decision is even harder than my Masters exam. 

 

 
I'll be getting the AK240 soon, but unfortunately it'll be paired with the V6, so can't tell you how's the synergy with V8... but i might drop by an authorized retailer shop when i get it so if you could wait for a few weeks i could give an impression with the V8

 

[Taowolf51]

Had some more time with the V8's, going back and forth between it and my D7000's. So far, the V8's are far and away the best sounding IEMs I've ever heard, and I can happily say they don't fall into the zero treble issue like others do, there's very good extension on both ends. I also absolutely love the form factor, IEMs are so much easier and more convenient (and hair friendly!) than the full size headphones I'm used to, and the V8's are the first pair of IEMs I could be happy with.
However, at $800 ($900 MSRP not including audiologist cost) I have very high expectations for the sound, expectations that I feel the V8's fall short of. For that kind of scratch I would expect something that sounds almost as good as my D7000's or at least close to the quality of the Alpha Dogs, but unfortunately they don't. The D7000's best them in just about every way by a pretty decent margin (the V8's have smoother but less realistic treble and possibly a tad more detail in the lower treble, but it ends there). The Alpha Dogs are surprisingly close to the D7000's, but are behind in a few areas (for example, the upper treble area has some realism issues, especially when it comes to violins, this is most likely caused by how hard the plastic used in 3D printing is). At the demo deposit price of $500, I'd be very happy with them, but at the current price I'm not sure I can justify them, even with the ergonomic and convenience benefits of IEMs. I'll most likely be trying out either the V6 or V6-Stage as they would be a more acceptable price if they are of similar quality to the V8's.
 
I'll still give them more time, though. They may yet win me over, but at the current price I doubt it unfortunately. Perhaps I'm not suited to the IEM style of sound, I seem to rarely have good experiences with them (the V8's being the best experience so far).

 

[ericr]

Interesting. My V6-Stage clearly best my Beyer T90. Amazon has the T1 for $699 today so I've ordered those. I'm driving them with an ODAC or Bifrost and a Project Ember which REALLY makes the V6-Stage sing.

What are you using with your headphones?

 

[SilverEars]

Interesting. My V6-Stage clearly best my Beyer T90. Amazon has the T1 for $699 today so I've ordered those. I'm driving them with an ODAC or Bifrost and a Project Ember which REALLY makes the V6-Stage sing.

What are you using with your headphones?

Like you, ODAC is my go to source, and I have Vorzuge amp pure ii and O2.  O2 is touch warmer and creates wider stage because of it I'm thinking, but I think the stage depends on how large voltage supply is from my experience.  Pure ii is just transparent.  What you give it, is what you get is my guess.  It all depends on what you like.  You like wide stage, possibly it's the amp that colors it to make a wide stage.  But, for cans, you need a good swinging amp for good spacial stage imo.  
 
But, ODAC > O2 seems the best to me because of tad warmer presentation and clarity when outputting treble, which is good combo.  A warmer presentation I like is ibasso HDP R10, it outputs the vocals well because of warmer presentation, but yet has that ES signature of accentuating the details when needed.

 

[Taowolf51]

Interesting. My V6-Stage clearly best my Beyer T90. Amazon has the T1 for $699 today so I've ordered those. I'm driving them with an ODAC or Bifrost and a Project Ember which REALLY makes the V6-Stage sing.

What are you using with your headphones?

 
With my D7000's I'm using an ODAC>Matrix M-Stage setup. With the V8's I'm using either an Emotiva XDA-2 DAC/Amp or an iPhone 4.

 

[ericr]

With my D7000's I'm using an ODAC>Matrix M-Stage setup. With the V8's I'm using either an Emotiva XDA-2 DAC/Amp or an iPhone 4.

Do you know the output impedance of the M-Stage? If it's under 1 Ohm I would be interested in your opinions of the V8 and D7000 when powered by the same gear.

 

[Taowolf51]

Do you know the output impedance of the M-Stage? If it's under 1 Ohm I would be interested in your opinions of the V8 and D7000 when powered by the same gear.

 
The output impedance of the M-Stage is 5 ohms, I tried the V8's with it at minimum gain and while there was no noise, the frequency response was negatively impacted and they didn't sound that great. However, the D7000's are very low impedance and high sensitivity for a full size headphone (25 ohm 108db) so I was able to listen to them with the iPhone 4 (though at almost full volume). Even with the same gear there wasn't really much of a competition, the D7000 sounds significantly more real, clear, reveals more details, is more textured, more balanced, natural, and generally sounds better, though does have a very minor issue with being a bit sibilant. The D7000's don't perform quite as good with the iPhone as with the M-Stage (one of the most popular amps for the headphone), but the difference is fairly minor compared to the difference between the D7000 and V8.
 
It's a real shame, I absolutely love the portability, comfort, and ease of use of the V8's. I also love how awesome 1964 Ears is as a company, their customer service is awesome, the're fully based in the US, and they've been nothing but super awesome to me. And I'm not saying the V8's are bad, they're probably just not my cup of tea. The D7000's are a very difficult test to pass, they're one of my favorite headphones. For example, I have a pair of LCD-2's that I barely use because I'm listening to my D7000's (though I would say the LCD-2's are also better than the V8's IMO, I was originally going to sell my LCD-2's to fund the V8's, the LCD-2's are too uncomfortable to use for very long).
Keep in mind, that I've never tried an IEM that I've been happy with. The V8's were by far the closest, though. For example, I owned the Hifiman RE-600's ($400) and I thought they sounded like $100 headphones at best. I've been wondering if there's something wrong with my ear canals that causes IEM's to perform poorly for me, but nothing I've tried to "open" or change the shape of my ear canal has helped. If you like IEMs at all, there's no reason to worry because of my experience.
 
I'll most likely be sending the V8's back tomorrow, and may demo the V6's or V6 Stage soon, but first I'm going to try out the NAD Viso HP50's.

 

[Ivabign]

   
The output impedance of the M-Stage is 5 ohms, I tried the V8's with it at minimum gain and while there was no noise, the frequency response was negatively impacted and they didn't sound that great. However, the D7000's are very low impedance and high sensitivity for a full size headphone (25 ohm 108db) so I was able to listen to them with the iPhone 4 (though at almost full volume). Even with the same gear there wasn't really much of a competition, the D7000 sounds significantly more real, clear, reveals more details, is more textured, more balanced, natural, and generally sounds better, though does have a very minor issue with being a bit sibilant. The D7000's don't perform quite as good with the iPhone as with the M-Stage (one of the most popular amps for the headphone), but the difference is fairly minor compared to the difference between the D7000 and V8.
 
It's a real shame, I absolutely love the portability, comfort, and ease of use of the V8's. I also love how awesome 1964 Ears is as a company, their customer service is awesome, the're fully based in the US, and they've been nothing but super awesome to me. And I'm not saying the V8's are bad, they're probably just not my cup of tea. The D7000's are a very difficult test to pass, they're one of my favorite headphones. For example, I have a pair of LCD-2's that I barely use because I'm listening to my D7000's (though I would say the LCD-2's are also better than the V8's IMO, I was originally going to sell my LCD-2's to fund the V8's, the LCD-2's are too uncomfortable to use for very long).
Keep in mind, that I've never tried an IEM that I've been happy with. The V8's were by far the closest, though. For example, I owned the Hifiman RE-600's ($400) and I thought they sounded like $100 headphones at best. I've been wondering if there's something wrong with my ear canals that causes IEM's to perform poorly for me, but nothing I've tried to "open" or change the shape of my ear canal has helped. If you like IEMs at all, there's no reason to worry because of my experience.
 
I'll most likely be sending the V8's back tomorrow, and may demo the V6's or V6 Stage soon, but first I'm going to try out the NAD Viso HP50's.

Too bad they didn't ring your bell, but based on your posts, an IEM probably isn't going to work for you, period. Full stop. While some members say that a certain IEM reminds them of ...(insert full size headphone here) it really isn't the same. And unless you can appreciate what an IEM can do, it will never be the same.
 
At least you found out before spending a bunch of $$..
 
Cheers

 

[ericr]

Taowolf51,

Would be interested in your take on the V6-Stage. And I'll have to look into the D7000 too!

 

[Taowolf51]

  Too bad they didn't ring your bell, but based on your posts, an IEM probably isn't going to work for you, period. Full stop. While some members say that a certain IEM reminds them of ...(insert full size headphone here) it really isn't the same. And unless you can appreciate what an IEM can do, it will never be the same.
 
At least you found out before spending a bunch of $$..
 
Cheers

 
Perhaps my expectations were too high or skewed? When I took a look at threads regarding full size vs IEM's, most people said that equivalent priced IEMs should have equivalent sound to full size (not including soundstage of course). Is that not the case? Are there awesome aspects of IEMs that I'm simply not listening for because I'm so used to full size? I do want to enjoy IEMs, in every aspect other than sound quality I prefer IEMs by a pretty large margin.
 
True, and I'm happy I was able to demo them. It showed me how much I love the form factor, but also helped me appreciate the headphones I already have more. When listening to fancy headphones day in and day out, you don't remember the things that you really love about them until you try something else for awhile.
 

Taowolf51,

Would be interested in your take on the V6-Stage. And I'll have to look into the D7000 too!

 
The V6 and Stage are headphones I really want to try out, they may be more my flavor.
 
The D7000 is an excellent headphone, it's a shame it was discontinued by Denon. I was at a meet last year and brought my little setup. It was surrounded by TOTL setups all the way up to $22,000, my little Denons and Matrix were pretty low end compared to the overwhelming majority of gear there. Despite this, I had a surprising number of people say my setup was their favorite of the meet. It's not something I ever expected. They're not without their issues, but they do have a little certain something that makes them very likable.

 

[ericr]

Completely OT, but what would you say a good price on the D7000 would be?
Also, have you heard the Fostex 600 or 900? I've read Fostex made the D7000 for Denon.

 

[Taowolf51]

Completely OT, but what would you say a good price on the D7000 would be?
Also, have you heard the Fostex 600 or 900? I've read Fostex made the D7000 for Denon.

 
I really don't know, it varies a lot. Last I checked market value would be around $850 for one in good condition (especially a post 2012 version), maybe a little more for ones with Lawton/Martin custom cups. I would have thought the lower price for the TH600 and the fact that it's so cheap would have changed that, but I don't think it has (though I could be wrong). They may be different enough to not change the market value of each other. It's way higher than it was when they were still being made, at one time you could get them for $500 or maybe even less, which was an incredible deal.
 
I have not heard the Fostex TH600 or 900, though I do want to. You're right, Fostex did make the D2000, D5000, and D7000 for Denon and the TH600 and TH900 are extensions of that series. The frequency responses are surprisingly different between the two series, though (at least according to measurements).
 
Here is the D7000:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD7000B2012.pdf
 
And here is the TH600 for comparison:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FostexTH600.pdf

 

[ericr]

Back on topic!
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Taowolf51 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
... The V6 and Stage are headphones I really want to try out, they may be more my flavor. ...
 

 
I'm consistently floored by the accuracy and realisim the V6-Stage is giving me, though some of that comes with using the Project Ember amp (vs. Schiit Asgard 2).  I don't know why, maybe the combo of the Ember's lowest output impedance setting (.1 Ohm) and large power reserves makes it adept at handling the impedance swings of the 6 BA drivers.
 
Anyway, I hope you demo them soon and post your thoughts (and contrast to the D7000).