[money4me247]

lol there is no rule that says that desktop gear makes headphones sound inherently better than portable gear.

as a general rule, if smtg sounds worse out of 'higher end components,' that just means that that item is the weakest link in your chain and the higher end components are revealing its flaws. it is entirely possible for smtg like that to occur.

 

[Music Alchemist]

lol there is no rule that says that desktop gear makes headphones sound inherently better than portable gear.

as a general rule, if smtg sounds worse out of 'higher end components,' that just means that that item is the weakest link in your chain and the higher end components are revealing its flaws. it is entirely possible for smtg like that to occur.

 
Could you give some examples of how higher-end components would reveal its flaws?
 
(We've already covered that it should not scale with a more powerful amp.)

 

[kapanak]

Posts in the previous page are interesting. Some people here are very defensive about the EL-8, and surprise surprise, they have never paid for them, heard them or owned them. If you can't read the impressions of folks who actually had these and listened to them on their sources, why are you here arguing against them?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Posts in the previous page are interesting. Some people here are very defensive about the EL-8, and surprise surprise, they have never paid for them, heard them or owned them. If you can't read the impressions of folks who actually had these and listened to them on their sources, why are you here arguing against them?

 
Your question is not specific enough to answer. What are you asking exactly?
 
Until clarification is attained, I will just say: This is Head-Fi. People talk about headphones here.

 

[money4me247]

Could you give some examples of how higher-end components would reveal its flaws?

(We've already covered that it should not scale with a more powerful amp.)

running a pair of headphones out of 'inferior quality' dac/amps, the components may not be resolving enough to pick up all the detail or may add coloration to the sound signature that shifts your focus away from certain characteristics of your headphone.

running the same pair of headphones out of a more 'transparent' dac/amp, the components no longer affects the sound quality as much, so you can hear the headphone's true sound signature and technical abilities.

this may may not always result in a positive experience. that is why some people spend a lot of different trying to match their external components to their headphones.

honestly, it may not even be directly related to 'portable component' vs 'desktop component.' rather it can just be that two different setups have different presentations & one is more preferable than the other. there is no rule that says desktop setups will always sound better than a portable setup. an example of what i am saying wld be a hd800 on a warmer-sounding portable device may sound better than a hd800 on a brighter desktop setup, considering how the hd800 is already tuned a bit bright.

basically, all the different experiences that ppl have had with their el8s can be affected by a lot of different factors and nothing that has been said so far sounds unreasonable (both the positive or negative stuff).

only thing posted on this thread that i wld be skeptical abt is mechanical burn-in for such a small driver size, but who knows. can't say either way unless someone does some real testing (measurements before & after of a few different el-8s at various 'burn-in' times)

 

[crixnet]

 

Posts in the previous page are interesting. Some people here are very defensive about the EL-8, and surprise surprise, they have never paid for them, heard them or owned them. If you can't read the impressions of folks who actually had these and listened to them on their sources, why are you here arguing against them?

 
Your question is not specific enough to answer. What are you asking exactly?
 
Until clarification is attained, I will just say: This is Head-Fi. People talk about headphones here.

The question refers to multiple detailed impressions by people who have owned and extensively and critically listened to the EL-8. These experiences are actual, as opposed to "weird" suppositions about how these cans "should" sound on various systems.
 
Again, and hopefully finally, please, please try or buy these phones and listen for yourself. That will answer all your burning questions and you can post actual impressions. Real information trumps incessant suppositions.

 

[Music Alchemist]

running a pair of headphones out of 'inferior quality' dac/amps, the components may not be resolving enough to pick up all the detail or may add coloration to the sound signature that shifts your focus away from certain characteristics of your headphone.

running the same pair of headphones out of a more 'transparent' dac/amp, the components no longer affects the sound quality as much, so you can hear the headphone's true sound signature and technical abilities.

this may may not always result in a positive experience. that is why some people spend a lot of different trying to match their external components to their headphones.

honestly, it may not even be directly related to 'portable component' vs 'desktop component.' rather it can just be that two different setups have different presentations & one is more preferable than the other. there is no rule that says desktop setups will always sound better than a portable setup. an example of what i am saying wld be a hd800 on a warmer-sounding portable device may sound better than a hd800 on a brighter desktop setup, considering how the hd800 is already tuned a bit bright.

basically, all the different experiences that ppl have had with their el8s can be affected by a lot of different factors and nothing that has been said so far sounds unreasonable (both the positive or negative stuff).

only thing posted on this thread that i wld be skeptical abt is mechanical burn-in for such a small driver size, but who knows. can't say either way unless someone does some real testing (measurements before & after of a few different el-8s at various 'burn-in' times)

 
Good points. Guess I kind of just assumed that the portable and desktop gear used were both transparent.
 
I also found it interesting that Audeze officially pre-burn-in their headphones now.
 

  The question refers to multiple detailed impressions by people who have owned and extensively and critically listened to the EL-8. These experiences are actual, as opposed to "weird" suppositions about how these cans "should" sound on various systems.
 
Again, and hopefully finally, please, please try or buy these phones and listen for yourself. That will answer all your burning questions and you can post actual impressions. Real information trumps incessant suppositions.

 
The reason I asked for clarification is that personally, I'm not arguing against anyone's impressions. An individual's impressions are perfectly valid, albeit only for that individual, since audiophilia is so subjective. But when, for example, measurements don't seem to coincide with impressions, that's the type of thing that should be discussed openly.
 
And I did say this, after all:
 

  [...] I find that more often than not, when I get a new headphone, my thoughts on it are totally different than others, making the necessity of trying them for myself even more so.

 
I won't be too surprised if my own thoughts of its sound differ drastically from others.

 

[kapanak]

I won't be too surprised if my own thoughts of its sound differ drastically from others.

Then buy one and try it. The discussion has become stale, fatiguing, and moot at this point (much like the EL-8).

 

[Music Alchemist]

Then buy one and try it. The discussion has become stale, fatiguing, and moot at this point (much like the EL-8).

 
Telling someone to buy a headphone they are interested in is also stale, fatiguing, and moot. If you don't want to discuss the EL-8, no one is forcing you to.

 

[crixnet]

 

Then buy one and try it. The discussion has become stale, fatiguing, and moot at this point (much like the EL-8).

 
Telling someone to buy a headphone they are interested in is also stale, fatiguing, and moot. If you don't want to discuss the EL-8, no one is forcing you to.

Possibly, but actually buying or trying a headphone are actual solutions to answering what are personal questions. What is not a solution is bloating the discussion of the merits of the EL-8 with pointless conjecture and suppositions. That is what has really grown stale, fatiguing and moot.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Possibly, but actually buying or trying a headphone are actual solutions to answering what are personal questions. What is not a solution is bloating the discussion of the merits of the EL-8 with pointless conjecture and suppositions. That is what has really grown stale, fatiguing and moot.

 
You seem to be misinterpreting my intentions. I'm just trying to learn more -- not just about the sound of the headphone itself, but audio technology in general. I can't quite afford the EL-8 at the moment, so it's a fairly significant investment for me. The more I can find out before buying it, the better, even if I end up having a different experience once I hear it.

 

[cute]

My EL8 will be here later today....and I don't own a portable setup.  I do have several different amps, and I can do a little tube rolling.  After reading the posts here from the last few days, I better run out and purchase a portable DAC/Amp if I want to hear the best out of the EL8 (open back).....really!
 
Maybe it's just that Audeze tuned the EL8 to perform best on portable gears, so they can't top the performance of the LCD series.....I don't believe that either.  It is more likely that these sound like they do to compete against other midfi headphones.  I plan on making my own impressions on my desktop gears, and if I don't like them, maybe someone else will in few weeks!  I currently have the Hifiman HE6 and HE4, and I like them both very much, so the EL8 would just need to top the HE4!

 

[Music Alchemist]

  My EL8 will be here later today....and I don't own a portable setup.  I do have several different amps, and I can do a little tube rolling.  After reading the posts here from the last few days, I better run out and purchase a portable DAC/Amp if I want to hear the best out of the EL8 (open back).....really!
 
Maybe it's just that Audeze tuned the EL8 to perform best on portable gears, so they can't top the performance of the LCD series.....I don't believe that either.  It is more likely that these sound like they do to compete against other midfi headphones.  I plan on making my own impressions on my desktop gears, and if I don't like them, maybe someone else will in few weeks!  I currently have the Hifiman HE6 and HE4, and I like them both very much, so the EL8 would just need to top the HE4!

 
I would be interested in your comparisons between the EL-8 and your HiFiMAN headphones, as well as desktop vs portable gear. I got a trade offer for an HE-400i that I am considering. I'm a little tempted to talk to Audeze themselves about this whole desktop vs portable thing. Perhaps they could give me some technical info involving impedance and whatnot. If you decide to get rid of your EL-8 in the future, please contact me privately, since I may be keen on buying it at that time.

 

[Tribbs]

[...]

"Given the measurements I'm seeing, the iPhone's DAC is excellent and can produce very accurate output. [...] For sonic quality, therefore, the most important factor would be how well the headphone matches the amplifier. Assuming the iPhone 6 has an output impedance similar to the iPhone 5 around 5 ohms, a good ~40+ ohm set of high quality, high sensitivity headphones should provide excellent neutral sound. Not that lower impedance headphones would sound bad of course (most IEM's have low impedance for example), just potentially not as flat frequency response."

[...] http://archimago.blogspot.com/2014/10/measurements-apple-iphone-4-iphone-6.html

[...]

"If you're hearing differences, you just don't have everything matched."

[...]

iPhone 5 Frequency Response, 200 kΩ load, 1 V RMS output, measured with a $50,000 Rohde & Schwarz UPL audio analyzer:


iPhone 5 Frequency Response, driving Ultrasone Edition 8 (32Ω) [measured with a $50,000 Rohde & Schwarz UPL audio analyzer]:


"The near-zero (4.5 Ω) output impedance of the iPhone 5 is much better (lower) than most dedicated headphone amplifiers, even most exotic audiophile amps, and therefore its response is not significantly affected by the headphones in use. Most dedicated amplifiers have about ten times the output impedance of the iPhone 5, and allow about a dB or two of false bass boost with the Ultrasone Edition 8. With the iPhone 5, the sound is accurate and well controlled."

[...]

"Conclusion: the iPhone 5's own distortion is insignificant compared to the distortion of the headphones themselves at this level in the bass."

[...]

"Summary: Confirming what I hear with critical listening, the iPhone 5 is a wonderful high-fidelity audio source. While publications funded mostly by advertisements from makers of expensive cables, power conditioners and outboard DACs don't want you to know this, the iPhone 5 is a better audio source than most DACs will be when connected to a computer or CD transport. The only difference is that the iPhone has a level 6 dB lower than a proper CD player, but the iPhone still has more output at 1 V full-scale than some outboard audiophile DACs!"

http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-5/audio-quality.htm

(Emphasis mine.)

Do you know what is your amp's impedance?

 

[Music Alchemist]

 
This is the type of technical discussion I like to see, and precisely why I was baffled about some of the experiences others had.