[sparkofinsanity]

   
Fair question.  Sorry for assuming some of this is obvious. We all have different preferences and expectations so let's try to dispel some snake oil...


EL-8 CONNECTOR CONCERNS 
 

• Plastic - The EL-8 connector looks like a Apple Lightning connector.  Unfortunately the plastic used by Audeze is much softer.  As result, the EL-8 cable moves a fair amount. And due to the poor fit, the plastic connector shell offers almost no resistance to pulling. It's mostly the metal parts that keep the connector in place - see #2.  My concern: This movement will prematurely wear the plating on the connector tabs.
   
• Friction - The EL-8 connector is said by Audeze (in this thread at least) to have a magnetic coupling property. I took a spare rare earth magnet and found the connector has very little magnetic material (metal parts seem to be mostly plated copper).  Any coupling enhancement is minimal. That leaves meta-to-metal friction as the primary anchoring method.  My concern:  the metal used to anchor the connector will fatigue in time resulting in less positive contact.  FWIW: I wear out 1/8" audio jacks on mobile devices all the time. The EL-8 connector appears no stronger. 
   
• Noise - Vigorous movement of the connector causes noise. It is minimal for now. My concern: The noise will not lessen over time. Thanks to #1 and #2 above, noise could become annoyingly audible sooner than any of us expect.
   
• I don't like being a sucker - Audeze is not dumb. They read negative reviews of the EL-8 connector all the time. These comments are hard to miss. What's next: The EL-8 version 2 will have a better connector. I want the people in this thread who raised the issue to have some consideration when their headphones are deprecated in the next year or so.   

 
My thoughts:
 
1. I don't think the lateral movement is because of soft plastic, the cavity just isn't snug with the connector in those directions. This wear and tear is what a stress test would determine, mating and yanking out the cable again and again until it doesn't work anymore. I can however not make you trust Audezes findings. I would think that the plating on the lightning connector is subjected to a lot more wear seeing as its plugged and unplugged daily, it's better designed with better materials which would make the soft plating the weakest part on that connector as well. 
 
2. Let's hope it's the cable and not the can that gets worn out. The magnetic force is probably not applied to keep the connector in the socket, I would guess that it's used to get a good stable connection with the plated areas.  
 
4. Yes, you're most likely correct about this. 

 

[baritone]

the only concern of my open el8 is the reduced stage besides this there are terrific sounding headphones
the little 100 mw hp amplifier of my teac UD-501 drive them very well with a lot of detail bass and nice mids
the noise cable exists when there is no msic ,when I  hear music there are insignificant

 

[cvbcbcmv]

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[JimmyJohns99]

  I went into a headphone store yesterday with no intention of buying anything, and I listened to probably most of the high-end (including all the high-end Audezes) stuff on the market, and I loved the open version of these so much that I simply couldn't leave without them. My thought process is that if I have any issues with the connectors later on, I'll contact Audeze, and I'm going to trust they won't hang us out to dry. They seem like a very good company, and that's how I see it right now. 

congrats! Can u give a quick rundown of some that you tried? Was el-8 close to the 1k+ models?

 

[cvbcbcmv]

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[JimmyJohns99]

Thanks very much. im torn on these and the he-560's ! Whats your take on the cable connection - is this thing overblown or could they easily pop out? 

 

[money4me247]

 
Thanks very much. im torn on these and the he-560's ! Whats your take on the cable connection - is this thing overblown or could they easily pop out? 

if you primarily like bass impact, the EL-8 has pretty nice bass impact. if your primary concern is a neutral accurate reproduction, the HE-560 is very difficult to beat. I personally found the EL-8 to have quite a bit of coloration. I would recommend demoing prior to purchasing.
 
the cable issue is overblown unless you are planning on using it on-the-go. Then I would be very careful.

 

[cvbcbcmv]

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[JimmyJohns99]

  if you primarily like bass impact, the EL-8 has pretty nice bass impact. if your primary concern is a neutral accurate reproduction, the HE-560 is very difficult to beat. I personally found the EL-8 to have quite a bit of coloration. I would recommend demoing prior to purchasing.
 
the cable issue is overblown unless you are planning on using it on-the-go. Then I would be very careful.

coloration in what way? warmer than neutral? 

 

[moises13456]

Hi everyone! I've read someone having problems with a noise inside the driver (a sticky plasticky noise) upon movement. Anyone else having the same issue? Is that normal or do we need to be concerned about it?

 

[daphen]

 
coloration in what way? warmer than neutral? 

I'd say the other way around. Colder(?) than neutral.

 

[ilom]

I had the sticky plastic noise in both pairs of closed-back EL8's I tried.  One pair was significantly worse than the other ie the slightest movement would yield the noise you describe on the left side driver.  The movement could be just moving your jaw or adjusting the position of your head.  (I usually listen in bed sitting upright but slightly slouching). The second pair required a larger movement but would do the same thing.  Re the second pair if you sit still while listening I would say its basically a non-issue.
 
Re coloration (and keep in mind I only tried the closed backs) I found the EL-8's to be very colored on certain material.  Some tracks sounded neutral and amazing.  Others had a metallic nasal quality (thanks to whoever gave me those terms) in the upper mids.  On the material that sounded good to me they were amazing and had enough unique qualities to get me to upgrade to the LCD-2s.  And at the risk of fueling the fire as I was first setting the headphones up I thought "wow these connectors are kinda cool".  The design seemed clever to me.

 

[DavidA]

 
coloration in what way? warmer than neutral? 

To me its on the warmer side, the mids and highs are a little to forward for some genre of music and its not the greatest for female vocals IMO, but this is just me.  BTW I have a open EL8.  I like it best using my Fiio X1 or X3ii, YMMV.

 

[money4me247]

for me personally, I don't think the el-8's sound can easily be categorized as either 'warmer' than neutral or 'colder' than neutral, but its sound signature definitely does sound colored to my ears. I have the most personal concerns in the treble and upper mid range region. The EL-8's bass quality and impact is quite nice. Bass does seem linearly extended, but not with that dark visceral slam to the bass that Audeze fans may be used to with the LCD-2 or LCD-X. still a capable headphones, but I would personally recommend demo-ing it prior to purchase.

 

[cvbcbcmv]

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