[Beygan]

So I dropped by the local audio store in my area and found on of these T8i's lying around. I asked the store cashier if I could give it a try.

So after a bit of handling, plop, ai plugged these bad boya onto my ears and routed them onto my Cayin i5. Electronic music.

My innitial impressions, nope. Totally missed the mark by a ballpark. It was the mids that really turned me off for them. They seemed muffled and LQ. The highs were there but seemly like part-time. The only exceptional part I thought was nice was the low end, which is typically easier to reproduce.

I was fairly disappointed when I listened to these earphones but I was in disbelief with the expectation that these headphones should outperform its main contending rival, the Sennheiser ie800. Nope. No where near.

Unfortunatelly it could've been the fact that I may have tried a defective model, but I just didn't feel the Tesla oomph to these head phones. They sounded a bit.. cheap. I'm sorry.

So back to my RHA MA750s which in my opinion sound super and is an audiphile bang for buck type underdog earphone.

Hope this doesn't flip you guys off too much. It certainly did for me.

 

[vladzakhar]

T8i's are very sensitive to the source. I guess Cayin DAP is not on of the lucky ones. My pair and TRRS ZX2 are match made in heaven.
Also, the stock tips are not the best. I use comply tips and they are way better. And of course the stock cable is a piece of crap.

 

[headwhacker]

the right size tip is most important. In my experience, silicone based tips works best.(spin fit, spiral dots) As long it's the right fit. Foam tips or any tips with small hole tend to block or attenuate high frequencies making them sound muffled.

Any source with very low output impedance seems to work well. e.g. I like mojo/hugo better than ak320.

 

[Orky261]

I'm using DP-X1 balanced with IE800 and T8ie and found them both to be really good. It's just that IE800 is more forward with it's presentation and lean sounding compared to more laid back and thicker sounding T8ie. Both IEMs can give detailed presentation but it's just that T8ie sounds a bit veiled compared to IE800. All and all I prefer T8ie by far because it can give better ergonomics and I can listen to it longer because of the more laid back presentation.

 

[audionewbi]

So I dropped by the local audio store in my area and found on of these T8i's lying around. I asked the store cashier if I could give it a try.

So after a bit of handling, plop, ai plugged these bad boya onto my ears and routed them onto my Cayin i5. Electronic music.

My innitial impressions, nope. Totally missed the mark by a ballpark. It was the mids that really turned me off for them. They seemed muffled and LQ. The highs were there but seemly like part-time. The only exceptional part I thought was nice was the low end, which is typically easier to reproduce.

I was fairly disappointed when I listened to these earphones but I was in disbelief with the expectation that these headphones should outperform its main contending rival, the Sennheiser ie800. Nope. No where near.

Unfortunatelly it could've been the fact that I may have tried a defective model, but I just didn't feel the Tesla oomph to these head phones. They sounded a bit.. cheap. I'm sorry.

So back to my RHA MA750s which in my opinion sound super and is an audiphile bang for buck type underdog earphone.

Hope this doesn't flip you guys off too much. It certainly did for me.

I had a very similar experience with t8ie when I paired with chord hugo, to this day I cant figure out why this pairing doesnt work. 

 

[miketlse]

  I had a very similar experience with t8ie when I paired with chord hugo, to this day I cant figure out why this pairing doesnt work. 

Strange because @Peter Hyatt finds that the t8ie works very well with the Mojo, so I too would have assumed that they would be alright with the Hugo - but assumptions are put in our path, to trip the unwary up.

 

[Beygan]

  Strange because @Peter Hyatt finds that the t8ie works very well with the Mojo, so I too would have assumed that they would be alright with the Hugo - but assumptions are put in our path, to trip the unwary up.

I think Beyerdynamic and Astell & Kern are decent companies with decent products (I adore the T1P) but honestly, the T8iE in my opinion are disappointing for what they are....

 

[tienbasse]

My innitial impressions, nope. Totally missed the mark by a ballpark. It was the mids that really turned me off for them. They seemed muffled and LQ. The highs were there but seemly like part-time. The only exceptional part I thought was nice was the low end, which is typically easier to reproduce.

I was fairly disappointed when I listened to these earphones but I was in disbelief with the expectation that these headphones should outperform its main contending rival, the Sennheiser ie800. Nope. No where near.

Your comments are way too absolute.
 
If the mids sound muffled to you, at least state "muffled when compared to XYZ".
They certainly are less detailed mid-wise than multi-BA IEMs like Angies (my comparison on previous page), but you cannot say they're muffled. Try FAD Adagio 3 for example (sharp V shape) and you'll know what muffled mids can be.
 
Again, if you're going to say that IE800 sounds better, please say why and how, because they don't have much in common in terms of sound signature.
IE800 have been the biggest disppointment ever for me. Horrible fit for people having large ear canals (and ****ty proprietary tips), horrible cable.
Soundstage was way too big for my taste (it felt like hearing music in a huge cathedral), and they were too dry for my taste.
Am I saying they're absolutely bad, no, but they certainly don't fit my taste, as opposed to the T8iE.
 
These absolute comments and ratings should stop. In this top-tier price range, it is very uncommon that IEMs can be absolutely bad in terms of SQ (although they can be in terms of ergonomy, built quality and more objective specs). It's first and foremost a question of sound sig preference.

 

[ozzymo]

  Your comments are way too absolute.
 
If the mids sound muffled to you, at least state "muffled when compared to XYZ".
They certainly are less detailed mid-wise than multi-BA IEMs like Angies (my comparison on previous page), but you cannot say they're muffled. Try FAD Adagio 3 for example (sharp V shape) and you'll know what muffled mids can be.
 
Again, if you're going to say that IE800 sounds better, please say why and how, because they don't have much in common in terms of sound signature.
IE800 have been the biggest disppointment ever for me. Horrible fit for people having large ear canals (and ****ty proprietary tips), horrible cable.
Soundstage was way too big for my taste (it felt like hearing music in a huge cathedral), and they were too dry for my taste.
Am I saying they're absolutely bad, no, but they certainly don't fit my taste, as opposed to the T8iE.
 
These absolute comments and ratings should stop. In this top-tier price range, it is very uncommon that IEMs can be absolutely bad in terms of SQ (although they can be in terms of ergonomy, built quality and more objective specs). It's first and foremost a question of sound sig preference.

I agree with you completely.  I own the AKt8ie MKII, IE800, and K3003.  The IE800 has the worst tips, and the most horrible, dreadful cable ever developed.  It still blows my mind today that they put that cable on those IEMs.  I'm sure some of the 86 driver BA IEMs are the most detailed ever, but what good is it if it feels like you have a boulder in your ear.  The MKII are the most comfortable IEMs I have ever worn.  I put them in and forget they are even there.  And the cable on the 2nd generation MKII is outstanding.  I don't have all the superfluous, flowery audiophile lingo but the MKII have the most balanced sound to me.  The IE800 fit is so horrible that I can't wear them for more than 5 minutes at a time and the K3003 have excellent highs and mids, but they're a little hard on my ears because of the pronounced high end sparkle.  All three of these IEMs have very good sound, just different sound signatures which appeal to different people.  I have also tried some of the top tier universal IEMs like layla and roxanne and they also have a very detailed sound with what seemed to me like an expansive sound stage; but it would be of no use to me as they are huge IEMs and I could never just "put them in and forget them".  

 

[Orky261]

This is like a mexican stand off between 3 DD IEMs from German/Austrian companies. I have to say that I feel 3003 to be the worst out of the 3 though, I don't feel anything special when listening with it. I might be one of the luckier ones where the IE800 eartips can fit easily, I feel both T8ie and IE800 represent a mirror image of each other while retaining similar DD characteristic which I like.

 

[headwhacker]

Strange because @Peter Hyatt
 finds that the t8ie works very well with the Mojo, so I too would have assumed that they would be alright with the Hugo - but assumptions are put in our path, to trip the unwary up.

Same here, both Mojo and hugo works well with T8ie for me. It is the only phone I have now to easily perceived differences between mojo and hugo. Mojo sounds warmer than hugo with T8ie. I don't perceive the same difference using roxanne.

Also for an iem it's the only one I can use and enjoy for more than 6 hours straight without feeling fatigue. In fact after 6 hrs I still feel very relax when my flight yesterday was delayed for more than 3 hours. With roxanne I can't last the entire 3-hour flight without taking a break.

 

[Beygan]

Your comments are way too absolute.

If the mids sound muffled to you, at least state "muffled when compared to XYZ".
They certainly are less detailed mid-wise than multi-BA IEMs like Angies (my comparison on previous page), but you cannot say they're muffled. Try FAD Adagio 3 for example (sharp V shape) and you'll know what muffled mids can be.

Again, if you're going to say that IE800 sounds better, please say why and how, because they don't have much in common in terms of sound signature.
IE800 have been the biggest disppointment ever for me. Horrible fit for people having large ear canals (and ****ty proprietary tips), horrible cable.
Soundstage was way too big for my taste (it felt like hearing music in a huge cathedral), and they were too dry for my taste.
Am I saying they're absolutely bad, no, but they certainly don't fit my taste, as opposed to the T8iE.

These absolute comments and ratings should stop. In this top-tier price range, it is very uncommon that IEMs can be absolutely bad in terms of SQ (although they can be in terms of ergonomy, built quality and more objective specs). It's first and foremost a question of sound sig preference.

Fair enough. I suppose what I'm trying to say is the T8s seem a bit muffled to what I am used to which are the much cheaper RHA ma750. After experiencing the RHA earphones I generally look for clarity in the sound signature of all earphones that I listen to. What I mean to say is that the sound that comes out of the T8s to my ears presents mids in a manner that make them seem to have a biased representation that doesn't make the sound come out natural. But this could be because of what I am used to and not what the T8s are. As always said everybody's ears are different and I'll have to say the IE800s produce a cleaner sound in my humble opinion.

I'll admit I was really hoping for the T8s to be something spectacular but after hearing it I was simply disappointed that my ears could not enjoy them as they were designed to be enjoyed. Maybe I am listening to the wrong type of music.

 

[raypin]

Mmm...great pairing: T8 + Onkyo DPX1 + Vorzuge Pure 2 Plus + AK Crystal Cable Next. Loving the T8 sound even more.

 

[sanakimpro]

@Beygan, I use my  ER4S to complement the T8 if I want clarity. There are newer ER4SR and ER4XR now, which are supposedly a small upgrade.
 
I also heard good things about the K10U or the Noble Katana as well. You might try checking those out too for your preference
 
Cheers. Hope you find your ideal pair.
 
 
T8 are pretty good for me, even plugged in into my S7 Edge, except that the phone's volume control steps are a bit too coarse; I'm used to finer steppings from my DX90. Else, T8-> S7 edge is like my ideal portable setup for now.

 

[Peter Hyatt]

Mmm...great pairing: T8 + Onkyo DPX1 + Vorzuge Pure 2 Plus + AK Crystal Cable Next. Loving the T8 sound even more.

I remain stunned at the beauty and clarity of the T8.  I am glad I upgraded the cable and matching it with the Chord Mojo has been marvelous.  
 
The T8 matches the fidelity of the T1 (second generation) to such a level that I am unable to choose which is more accurate.  The T8, particularly on the go or in warm summer weather, is preferred, though I may feel differently this winter.  
 
The T8 is, for me, when coupled with Mojo, what the music was intended to be heard.  I find it neutral and it allows the music to speak for itself.  Once I got the right sleeves (fit), the bass was...the gorgeous bass without intrusion.  The highs, especially the cymbals, are so crystal clear that I can hear the stick touching it.  The clarity is remarkable.  
 
I love the T1 sound which is what led me to the T8.  When paired with the Mojo, and the requisite multiplication of data that Mojo facilitates, the complexity causes me to pause and 'really listen' to the music as intended.  I have adjusted to the increase in data from Mojo, and yesterday, in pondering this, I listened to Fleetwood Mac's "Sarah" via Tidal HiFi, but this time, without Mojo.  It was as if the song disappeared and all the complexities gone.  
 
The combination of Mojo and T8 leaves me lacking the language of appreciation.  Choir, classical, rock, down to even recordings of acoustic blues from the 30's.  
 
I hope to never be without either the T8 or Mojo.   I am glad I did not bail out over concerns of productivity, instead trusting in the warranty.  I know others have struggled here, but for me, and for my wife (she has a pair of T8 also), it has been nothing short of magical.