[daphen]

Would people mind sharing EQ-preferences for the closed back?  
It'd be great if there was a site that had EQ-settings for "flattening out" the SQ of the headphones and you could choose from a list etc. That'd be cool.

 

[Jazic]

  Would people mind sharing EQ-preferences for the closed back?  
It'd be great if there was a site that had EQ-settings for "flattening out" the SQ of the headphones and you could choose from a list etc. That'd be cool.

 
To my ears the EL8 closed were ridiculously harsh in the 2-4khz region. These were not pre-release or anything. I heard 2-3 different pairs over the past few months ranging from brand new to burned in for at least 100 hours along with several different sources. 
 
Here is what I had to do to get it to sound remotely even close to the EL8 open which sounded good but still quite a step back from the LCD2's SQ.
 
Anyways, here goes my EQ for the EL8 Closed to reduce the harshness and make them sound normal to my ears using a Samsung S4 > USB OTG > FiiO E18:
 

 
 
As we can all agree, no two ears are the same. The entire LCD line is my favorite series ever. Some of the best sound I've ever heard is on these headphones and I own both the X and XC and have had and still miss the LCD2F in the past. The EL8 closed is a very very bad disappointment. I canceled my preorder the second I heard them and have looked at them a few times and are simply reaffirmed that they are just bad to my ears. The EL8 Open's are much better but still worlds below the SQ of the LCD2F. If I had to choose a portable and only had $700, I'd save up the difference and just deal with the larger size of the LCD2. Or *gasp!* consider the PM3's or better yet, IEM's (which are my go to for portable).

 

[24grant24]

The lcd-2 was just way to relaxed to my ear. I agree the overall detail was better but I was looking at getting away from dark sound signatures.

 

[Jazic]

The lcd-2 was just way to relaxed to my ear. I agree the overall detail was better but I was looking at getting away from dark sound signatures.

Fazor or nonFazor?

 

[Hifi59]

Hey guys. I wanted to share some thoughts on amp pairings with the EL-8 Open Backs. I went to T.H.E. Show Newport last Friday and brought my EL-8s along to shop for a new dac/amp to replace my Fiio E12. (Saw Mike Mercer and Tyll cruising around in there so I KNEW I was in the right place). I'm new to this hobby so all I've had is the E12 and an iPhone 6 to listen to my P7's and EL-8s. Until Friday I had never heard a better dac than the iPhone's, or better amp than my Fiio. Sad, I know. I was looking for something small that could fit on my nightstand or a portable. I auditioned 4 different amp/dacs at the Headphonium room: Alo's Continental Dual Mono tube/solid state hybrid portable, Centrance's Hi-Fi M8 and new Hifi Skyn, and Schiit Vali/Modi 2. Then I went up to Woo Audio's room and tried a WA7tp and the WA8 prototype. As far as sound, I was mainly looking for something to smooth out the EL-8's upper mids/lower treble when turned up loud, and to overall give them a warmer presentation. I listen to a lot of bright sounding trance, electro house, and dubstep EDM as well as some hip-hop and current rock music. I love the EL-8s detail, but when I listen loud they get harsh with my basic little amp. The Alo and Schiit offerings did nothing for me. Way better than my Fiio, but not much in the way of the smoothing I needed. The Woo Audio WA7tp definitely got the job done. It was one of two dac/amps that day that I didn't wanna stop listening to. I just sat there and played track after track totally hogging it, amazed at what a difference it made with the EL-8s on my type of music. My only gripe with the WA7tp is it lacked bass fullness. It's more punchy than slam..and I love when the EL-8s slam so hard the earpads vibrate..so addicting. However, I've read that rolling in some Sylvania JAN or Phillips Valvo tubes into the power supply will get the WA7 thumpin so it's still a top choice for me. The WA8 prototype sounded perfectly warm, smooth, and bassy in 3 tube mode, but it distorted when turned up past halfway on the volume pot. The Woo guy switched it to 2 tube mode for me which played louder without distorting but lost some of the bass impact. Interesting. Either way it's a prototype so not an option to buy. Last but not least the Centrance Hi-Fi M8 pairing with the EL-8s was perfect. Smooth, liquid, detailed, bass prowess, and never harsh. It was my favorite of all the amps I tried. Like the WA7, I didn't want to stop listening to it. The only problem with the M8 vs. WA7 is that it doesn't get nearly as loud even after messing with the gain and impedance controls. So my purchase choice is now narrowed down to the Hi-Fi M8 for how amazingly well it sounds albeit not that loud, or gamble on the WA7tp in that rolling bassier tubes in will give me more low end presence and slam. What would you guys go for? Any suggestions?

The Centrance Hifi M8 drives my Hifiman HE-560s with ease on hi gain so driving the EL-8 sufficiently should be a piece of cake.

 

[Unchi]

I've had my EL8C for a few weeks and I'm really happy with them when paired with my Geek Pulse+Wyrd or AK100 although they don't do well with my JDS C5 and LD I+ amp.
IMO, only a good dac and maybe a neutral sounding SSD amp are needed.

 

[24grant24]

Fazor or nonFazor?

Pretty sure it was fazor

 

[imadedend]

 
Ummm, take em back, that's not supposed to happen

Yeah I took them back to the store and I was surprised to find their demo pair AND a new pair out of the box had this issue. The salesperson said it was the mylar crumpling, but it was much more noticeable in the left earcup. I bought the LCD-2s instead and man oh man are they an upgrade over the EL-8s. Much larger soundstage and nicer bass in my opinion (even for EDM) and that syrupy mid range is there too. Compared them to the AKG 812s which I could have bought for even less than the LCD-2 but I really preferred the LCDs over the very dark, warm signature of the 812s. Very happy with my purchase!
 
A little heavy, but they sound great even coming straight from my MBP. The cable is rubbish though, and the included 3.5mm adapter crackles when I turn the plug. May pick up an aftermarket cable for these.
 
For those buying the EL-8s try moving your head around and pushing on the earcups a little, checking for crumpling noises, as I suspect this may be a fault in the design as three pairs exhibited it (both new and burned in). It was a dealbreaker for me.

 

[inthere]

I haven't had that problem and I'd also like to emphasize that EL-8's seem to have an extremely long burn in period. Mine arrived with almost no bass whatsoever and only started showing signs of bass after about 100+ hours of burn in. This was with a "certificate of authenticity" in the box that said they were already burned in at the factory and ready to play. And the harsh high spike at 2-4k stayed for about 200+ hours.
  
 
Now though they sound sensational and I have no complaints, it's just a shame about the ridiculously long burn in period. I know tons of people are returning them because they sound like crap new. 

 

[kyle1010]

I haven't had that problem and I'd also like to emphasize that EL-8's seem to have an extremely long burn in period. Mine arrived with almost no bass whatsoever and only started showing signs of bass after about 100+ hours of burn in. This was with a "certificate of authenticity" in the box that said they were already burned in at the factory and ready to play. And the harsh high spike at 2-4k stayed for about 200+ hours.
  

Now though they sound sensational and I have no complaints, it's just a shame about the ridiculously long burn in period. I know tons of people are returning them because they sound like crap new. 

You said it man. I can't wait til that harsh frequency spike goes away. The rest of the range sounds fantastic. I'm at around 20hrs or so break-in. Might have to start leaving them playing while I run errands.

 

[DavidA]

  I haven't had that problem and I'd also like to emphasize that EL-8's seem to have an extremely long burn in period. Mine arrived with almost no bass whatsoever and only started showing signs of bass after about 100+ hours of burn in. This was with a "certificate of authenticity" in the box that said they were already burned in at the factory and ready to play. And the harsh high spike at 2-4k stayed for about 200+ hours.
  
 
Now though they sound sensational and I have no complaints, it's just a shame about the ridiculously long burn in period. I know tons of people are returning them because they sound like crap new. 

My EL8 open took a long time to "burn-in" but it went from dark to warm, it had pretty good bass to start and lost a little along the way while the highs were recessed at first and then after about 75 hours or so started to get better.  The other thing about the EL8 was that they are very easy to drive (X3ii, X1 or Galaxy S5) but don't seem to scale much, YMMV with this headphone.

 

[kyle1010]

The Centrance Hifi M8 drives my Hifiman HE-560s with ease on hi gain so driving the EL-8 sufficiently should be a piece of cake.

One would think. I mean, it drove my EL-8s fine, but it didn't have that earpad shaking bass energy/volume that my E12 has. Even with the bass boost all the way up. But it sounds SO much better. I'm still gonna buy the Hifi M8. Maybe I missed something.

 

[inthere]

  My EL8 open took a long time to "burn-in" but it went from dark to warm, it had pretty good bass to start and lost a little along the way while the highs were recessed at first and then after about 75 hours or so started to get better.  The other thing about the EL8 was that they are very easy to drive (X3ii, X1 or Galaxy S5) but don't seem to scale much, YMMV with this headphone.

That's pretty weird..........I have the EL-8 closed, and my highs were anything *but* recessed, in fact they were screeching. My bass was almost non existent, and increased with burn in, so it was the opposite of what happened with your pair. 

 

[DavidA]

 
That's pretty weird..........I have the EL-8 closed, and my highs were anything *but* recessed, in fact they were screeching. My bass was almost non existent, and increased with burn in, so it was the opposite of what happened with your pair. 

Yup, the EL8 is the only headphone that I have every experienced any significant burn-in, when I first got them I was WTH with the sound so had my girlfriend take a listen and she confirmed what I was hearing.  Just left them playing music for 2 days and tried again and it was like WOW.  After 75 hrs the sound was still changing, and at about 200 hours or so it sort of stopped changing and settled in to a pretty good sound headphone, easy to drive.

 

[jmsaxon69]

For what it's worth I cleaned half the carpets in my house last night with a Bissel Carpet cleaner and with Closed EL-8 on my head and NEVER had a connector problem....