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I know that a number of people, myself included, were a bit disappointed that EL-8C wasn't bundled with a hardshell carry case. Even so EL-series is built like a tank, it's not the most convenient to carry around in a bag. I tried it with a few generic cases, but it was either too tight or too loose, and you want to avoid this considering planar magnetic nature of the drivers. Recently, I few people pinged me asking what do I think about new case Audeze released for EL headphones as an add-on accessory, I finally got it, and want to share with you my impression.
https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/el-8-travel-case
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical considering $39 price tag. Keeping in mind a premium status and build quality of Audeze headphones, one would expect such an accessory to be priced a lot higher, but I'm glad they kept it real. The case itself has a hard EVA shell with rich exterior fabric design and a soft velvet lining. One side has a mesh pocket to hold the cable or other accessories, and you also get a padded spacer attached to the inner side of the case with a velcro. It has a quality zipper and also a handle to carry it around. The case itself is rather light, about 260 grams, with slightly oval shape and dimensions of about 9" x 8.25".
So far so good, right? Well, not exactly. I mean, fitment should be self-explanatory, and it almost looks like you can place EL-8C either horizontally or vertically inside of the case. I tried it both waves, with and without spacer, and still felt like it was too snug, to the point where I had to apply some pressure to close it. I literally had to squeeze headphones together to fit them in, until I realized there is a little trick to it; at least it worked for me and I'm VERY happy with a fitment now. Just forget about the spacer since it adds "thickness" making it hard to close the case. Since earcups are attached to the headband yoke on one side only, the yoke part doesn't go all the way around. Thus, when you place earcups with that part of yoke facing toward each other and overlapping - you get extra fitment room. Boom! Problem solved!
The fitment is still snug and secure, but now you don't have to push or squeeze anything in. Case zips up easily without a problem, and there is plenty of room for a cable in a pocket.
Though it worked well for me and I'm happy with it, I would still recommend Audeze to take a look if they can make this case a little bit wider and taller so there is not extra effort to fit in those spacers which I would have loved to use with this case design.
https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/el-8-travel-case
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical considering $39 price tag. Keeping in mind a premium status and build quality of Audeze headphones, one would expect such an accessory to be priced a lot higher, but I'm glad they kept it real. The case itself has a hard EVA shell with rich exterior fabric design and a soft velvet lining. One side has a mesh pocket to hold the cable or other accessories, and you also get a padded spacer attached to the inner side of the case with a velcro. It has a quality zipper and also a handle to carry it around. The case itself is rather light, about 260 grams, with slightly oval shape and dimensions of about 9" x 8.25".
So far so good, right? Well, not exactly. I mean, fitment should be self-explanatory, and it almost looks like you can place EL-8C either horizontally or vertically inside of the case. I tried it both waves, with and without spacer, and still felt like it was too snug, to the point where I had to apply some pressure to close it. I literally had to squeeze headphones together to fit them in, until I realized there is a little trick to it; at least it worked for me and I'm VERY happy with a fitment now. Just forget about the spacer since it adds "thickness" making it hard to close the case. Since earcups are attached to the headband yoke on one side only, the yoke part doesn't go all the way around. Thus, when you place earcups with that part of yoke facing toward each other and overlapping - you get extra fitment room. Boom! Problem solved!
The fitment is still snug and secure, but now you don't have to push or squeeze anything in. Case zips up easily without a problem, and there is plenty of room for a cable in a pocket.
Though it worked well for me and I'm happy with it, I would still recommend Audeze to take a look if they can make this case a little bit wider and taller so there is not extra effort to fit in those spacers which I would have loved to use with this case design.
