[baritone]

  I'm hoping that the EL-8 closed is noticeable superior to the Signature Pro or DJs. To my knowledge those two may be the best portables currently on the market considering the cable included, folding and carry case.

also the beyerdynamis T5p

 

[money4me247]

I'm hoping that the EL-8 closed is noticeable superior to the Signature Pro or DJs. To my knowledge those two may be the best portables currently on the market considering the cable included, folding and carry case.

lol... most expensive closed portable headphones does not equal best.

i think it is ridiculous to be spending $1k+ for portable closed headphones by ultrasone (infamous for overpriced headphones for their sq at this point).

 

[money4me247]

Is that the big surprise?


 
any good news  here is not good enough 

mmm i think good news wld be more like two cables included. a lot of nice portable headphones come bundled with multiple cables.

this move makes more sense business-wise since they will be selling remote cables separately later on.

i think with cable length some ppl wld want shorter and some ppl wld want longer. i think it makes the most sense to bundle 2 cables or have the open el8 w the long cable and the closed el8 w the short cable.

edit: tho i think it very nice that audeze is trying to adjust to feedback.

 

[elwappo99]

 

lol... most expensive closed portable headphones does not equal best.

i think it is ridiculous to be spending $1k+ for portable closed headphones by ultrasone (infamous for overpriced headphones for their sq at this point).

 
Ultrasones really don't hit at their asking price. I would say edition 8 and signature should run $300-$400 used $600 msrp. Glad to see Audeze try to hit into this market which is pretty unsaturated compared to open.

 

[joeexp]

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.

 
It really doesn't make any sense to review preproduction in detail. Could have saved yourself the hassle. 

 

[goldendarko]

He knows we are dying for any details we can get though.

 

[UNIF]

lol... most expensive closed portable headphones does not equal best.

i think it is ridiculous to be spending $1k+ for portable closed headphones by ultrasone (infamous for overpriced headphones for their sq at this point).

The Sig DJs probably are the very best portable cans, if you were a basshead or wanted its sort of sound for electronic (like I have them for). They are good headphones, but you are right they are overpriced.  Should be more like 500-600 USD. I'm pretty happy to have scored a pair for $575 AUD s/h from a friend.
 
Never heard the Sig pro. If the EL-8 are as good as a pre fazor LCD 2.2, then they'll be well ahead of the Signature DJ (for most headfiers).

 

[NZtechfreak]

It really doesn't make any sense to review preproduction in detail. Could have saved yourself the hassle. 

People want to know what people hear dude, but whatever, you're welcome.

 

[Linchpin]

Ok I must've missed the reasoning but how on earth are these things considered portable? Unless we're counting everything smaller/lighter than the LCD series as portable now.

 

[MattTCG]

  Ok I must've missed the reasoning but how on earth are these things considered portable? Unless we're counting everything smaller/lighter than the LCD series as portable now.

 
LOL...yes, you did miss something. It's been discussed ad nauseum. The EL-8 would never constitute a portable and it's questionable whether it would be too heavy for home use for me personally. The heaviest hp that I've ever been comfortable with would be the he-400 at 440 grams. 
 
I am looking for a good closed portable though. The Senn Momumentum 2.0 and Oppo pm 3 are on my shortlist. The Momentum 2.0 comes in at about 200 grams and the pm 3 at 320 grams. The pm 3 would come in on the heavy side of what I consider portable but still acceptable. 
 
I haven't ruled out the EL-8 permanently but I did pull my pre-order. I'll wait till I can audition them for myself or the reviews roll out in mass. 

 

[baritone]

  Ok I must've missed the reasoning but how on earth are these things considered portable? Unless we're counting everything smaller/lighter than the LCD series as portable now.

they are portable in the way you can just plug the phones on your iphone ipad tablet dap they will sound loud enough and good enough without using a big desk HP amp with you
with a desk amp will sound better , the el8s are very sensitive and they dont require a lot of power to drive them
tme change things in the world , years ago people started  wearing HP in the road ,people are not afraid in this days to wear big HPS
I dont think they will  be stable on your head when you are running or riding on your horse    

 

 

[mikroski]

  We just wanted to confirm the change in specification for the EL-8 cable. The cables shipping with the headphones will be 2m (~6.5 ft)

This is a good news for me. Very happy with this

 

[YtseJamer]

 
This is a good news for me. Very happy with this

 
X2.  Very good news!

 

[kapanak]

Does the 2m cable still have a platform specific remote? Or is it an audio only cable? I think it makes more business sense to sell 1.2m portable remote cable for iPhone and Android separately, as Audeze is more likely to irk people if they included one short platform specific remote cable.

 

[money4me247]

Does the 2m cable still have a platform specific remote? Or is it an audio only cable? I think it makes more business sense to sell 1.2m portable remote cable for iPhone and Android separately, as Audeze is more likely to irk people if they included one short platform specific remote cable.

the included cable has no remote option. the remote option will be sold as an additional accessory that costs extra.