I had undisturbed use of the EL-8 at Addicted to Audio yesterday, was the only person in there for a good long while.
From the pics I really didn't like their looks before, and while I still wouldn't rate them that highly from that perspective, I did think they looked better in the flesh. The build seemed very high quality indeed, noted in little things like the smoothness in the swivel of the hinges. Reminded me of the Oppo PM-1 there. Comfort wise I found them OK, although I have a neck like a bull perhaps, since I don't find the other Audeze weight much of a problem either. They're definitely fairly weighty though. More problematic was the clamping force (I wear glasses, so perhaps more sensitive to that than some), although I believe this will be reduced in production models. It wasn't massively bad, don't get me wrong, but for myself I'd have reservations about the comfort of the clamp on longer listening sessions, at least on these pre-production ones. In comparison, when I put on my HE-6 (not lauded for their comfort in general) afterwards the relief was fairly palpable. The cables seemed ok, although the connector (pretty sure it's proprietary) can only be inserted in one orientation where I had previously thought it was akin to lightning/USB C where it'll go in either way (small thing, I know, but there it is).
I listened initially from my Note 4 with a Dragonfly 1.2, obviously not optimal, but with closed EL-8 and possible on the go use-cases I was interested in this data point. I wasn't wowed in any regard, although there was nothing glaringly wrong either. I found the imaging and soundstage just OK, and the bass impact and tightness weren't great for me (felt the bass also bled over the lower midrange slightly). Important contextual information: I have a bit of high frequency hearing loss, so some of the peaky treble some had noted earlier is unlikely to be bothersome to my ears. Look to other opinions for granular impressions of the treble handling you young guys with perfect heading.
I then listened via the WA5 (with upgrades) and the Questyle CMA800R to see whether things would scale a bit. The bass tightened a bit, and the imaging and separation also improved, but I still had no 'wow' moments. Naturally I can't vouch for the synergy of either of these pairings, having not heard the EL-8 on other amps, so they may have more to give of course. I really liked the LCD-3f on the Questyle though (I found the LCD-3 with the WA5 not at all to my liking - the pairing was 'too much of a good thing' where the warmth was concerned), if that helps any speculate on the pairing of the EL-8 with the Questyle.
After that I listened to the HE-6 from the same amps (although here the CMA800R was in monoblock mode), and for my ears the EL-8 was comprehensively outclassed. That might be expected a bit considering the price difference, however the HE-6 can be had secondhand quite often around that $700 mark, so the comparison is perhaps not as unfair as all that.
Obviously these impressions should be taken with a grain of salt to a large degree, I'd want to hear them over a much longer period on different DAC/amp pairings and my own familiar chain at home (Vega and Taurus MKII) to flesh these superficial impressions out some more. Unless someone wants to loan me a pair though I can't see that happening, since my audition today left me quite indifferent.
