[canali]

Ymmv...I spoke with a guy a month or so ago who once had had both sets and preferred the MK2

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Hey Peter!
I recalled you were a big time fan for the T8iE with the Mojos.. Any chance you've heard the Xelentos? A lot of buzz saying that they're 'better' than the T8s Hard to believe for me. I heard Xelentos in a shop but they seemed to have a tighter sound, less bassy and more mid body emphasis. However, I didn't have a chance to A/B.

What do you think?.

I haven't yet, but would like to.

Should my AK T8ie kick the bucket, I will seek to purchase either mk ii or Xelento. My guess is that I would go with whichever is on sale. Since I love the Beyerdynamic T1, the T8ie comes closest.

 

[tienbasse]

Good to see I'm not the only with a fine pair of first gen T8iE living a happy life with no issues despite frequent train/plane travel, and numerous cable changes.
Cannot say the same for my Rose Cappuccinos MK2, despite their epic bass.

 

[JohannLiebert]

Do you think akt8ie and xelento are different enough to warrant owning both of them? I have the ak t8ie and wonder if I should choose xelento or the shure846 as my next iem =)

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Do you think akt8ie and xelento are different enough to warrant owning both of them? I have the ak t8ie and wonder if I should choose xelento or the shure846 as my next iem =)

I don't.

If you were to spend $ on a second pair, there are a lot of recommendations here that you might enjoy. I just think for the $, the sound is going to be too close, and you might really enjoy having something different. Some of the other brands in this thread appear to be well made and highly regarded.

My .02

 

[canali]

I don't.

If you were to spend $ on a second pair, there are a lot of recommendations here that you might enjoy. I just think for the $, the sound is going to be too close, and you might really enjoy having something different. Some of the other brands in this thread appear to be well made and highly regarded.

My .02

i totally agree...i don't understand why people want to buy another very similar sounding set of cans/iems
eg, as people also do with the fostex massdrop ebony, purple heart or mahogany cans: why not instead just get a totally different sounding set of cans....but to each his own...

 

[headwhacker]

Do you think akt8ie and xelento are different enough to warrant owning both of them? I have the ak t8ie and wonder if I should choose xelento or the shure846 as my next iem =)

If I have both, I will keep Xelento and get rid of akt8ie.

 

[JohannLiebert]

Update: they will replace my akt8ie with the new mk2 version.
Will take about 3 weeks. Customer service was pleasant to deal with. I really hpe the mkii fixes the faulty drivers.

 

[deafdoorknob]

this might be of help for some of you, unfortunately, it is more a preventative measure and wouldnt "fix" those already experiencing contact issues.

https://head-fi.org/threads/fender-...cussions-thread.606471/page-405#post-13718695

 

[canali]

i am selling mine..mint...i am just not listening to iems very much lately.
(and i already have my flc 8s that were just repaired)
not even my cans..most my desktop speakers or naim muso. so these sadly
have to go...fab bang for buck, for sure...will be interesting to see future
editions of top end iems that AK and Beyerdynamic come out with in the future with
their Tesla tech...esp being able to provide great sound against other more $$$ iems.

 

[JohannLiebert]

I could listen to the akt8ie for sone days now and got the amiron to compare with today.
Let me tell you first: the little in ear is possibly the smoothest hifi product beyerdynamic has ever created.

Both are anomalies of the beyer range.
Smooth and unfatiguating yet pck a lot of fun.
Bass of the akt8ie feels tighter and the sub-bass extends lower.

Both mids are beautifil. They are v-shaped headphones, so voices take a backseat. Amirons even more so. The mids of the amiron sound brighter, you can especially notice the difference with male voices and instruments. Overall i prefer the mids of the the akt8ie since they sound more lush and smooth and male voices more realistic.
Ymmv

Treble is well done on both. Cymbals have nice energy without sounding penetrating.
High pitched female voices can be sometimes sibilant on the amiron while the akt8ie remains smooth.

The akt8ie is the more refined sounding of the two. With almost the double price tag I wouldnt want to expect anything less.
Still the Amiron is one hell of a headphone. I really like it and the direction beyerdynamic takes now

 

[Peter Hyatt]

I'm in year three of the AKT8 ie and can listen for endless hours without fatigue or discomfort.

The original cable gave way, and I have the mk ii cable but also the strong Moon Audio silver cable at 6' of length. It doesn't fit in the small container, but its strong, great sound and convenient for quite a few settings.

 

[JohannLiebert]

3years, should be an early version. You either take ultra care of them or you are very lucky not to have a defect prone one. Mine died like 1 week after I got them, but I got s mkii replacement

 

[Peter Hyatt]

3years, should be an early version. You either take ultra care of them or you are very lucky not to have a defect prone one. Mine died like 1 week after I got them, but I got s mkii replacement

Mike pointed out that the defective ones all seem to show themselves very early on.

My first had the defect and was replaced without issue.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

I broke T8 thru my mishandling.

I wrote to Beyerdynamic to see if I can get repaired or left monitor replaced.

They responded that it’s Astell & Kern’s to handle; not theirs.