[reddog]

I'm pretty sure he meant you haha

Well it's going to be a tough decision. I guess i'm not a typical basshead. I like bass heavy music but i dislike uncontrolled bass, bleeding everywhere and wobble throughout the song. Man i wish i could test them for myself ^^ i don't want to EQ the headphones too much..

A last Question if you don't mind.. sorry for repeatetly asking basically the same question.. but does the EL-8 hit harder / tighter than the Oppo?

If you like good bass without bleeding into the mids, you could try out a MrSpeakers Alpha Dog,

 

[vinjeman]

I am a bit confused about the chatter, knocking the closed back El-8's.  When I listened to them at CanJam I heard very clear images across the soundstage (which seemed very wide).  The sound was relaxed and the bass very detailed and realistic. The isolation from the busy room was great and I wanted the experience to just keep going...
 
I sat at a local store on monday and listened to the open back model for about 20 minutes.  The first thing I noticed was all the background noise in the room (I was the only customer besides the clerk).  That aside, the sound did not seem as relaxed as I tried to listen carefully with my Fiio x5 to several tracks trying to get a fix on the low, mid and high end.  I could not get over the high end being a bit harsh and fatiguing.  It looks like the oppo's are not worth chasing down but I need to listen to the closed back El-8's again.
 
Thanks to everyone for their reviews and comments on these headphones.  

 
jhv

 

[money4me247]

If you like good bass without bleeding into the mids, you could try out a MrSpeakers Alpha Dog,

those aren't really portable though

 

[money4me247]

  I am a bit confused about the chatter, knocking the closed back El-8's.  When I listened to them at CanJam I heard very clear images across the soundstage (which seemed very wide).  The sound was relaxed and the bass very detailed and realistic. The isolation from the busy room was great and I wanted the experience to just keep going...
 
jhv

it really just depends on your preferences & what kinda gear you are comparing too i think.

 

[daphen]

  those aren't really portable though

The only ones that are portable out of these is the Oppos.

 

[money4me247]

  The only ones that are portable out of these is the Oppos.

yup, but only if you are limiting yourself to closed planar magnetic. there are a ton of nice closed portable dynamic options as well in this kind of price range.

 

[Audeze]

  Just received the EL-8 closed today. This little plastic piece is falling out right out of the box, and it keeps doing so now and then. It is not a big issue but should not happen on a $700 product.
And when the cable is plugged in, there is no sound on the right side. I have to secure the right connector with hand during listening. Otherwise the intermittent connection simply makes the headphone unlistenable.
 
I purchased the EL-8 as a potential replacement of the HD650. However after extensive listening session, I am not sure the EL-8C is a winner soundwise. I've seen other people compare the EL-8 with LCD-X, but from my personal experience the EL-8 is not even comparable to the LCD-2.
 
I can't say for the EL-8 open but I would not recommend the EL-8 closed version to anyone else. And personally I will stick to the LCD line in the future.
 
For the EL-8C both the sound and build quality turns out to be disappointing. I requested a return rather than exchange even though there will be restocking fee.
 
 

Hi, please contact Support@Audeze.com for immediate help.
Thanks,
Audeze

 

[Audeze]

   
It'd be interesting to see some mods, If there is no iproducts sticky double sided adhesive tape or other type of weird glue I think it should be okay.

Without wishing to rain on your parade, if you open and mod the EL-8s the warranty becomes void.
Thanks,
Audeze

 

[baritone]

i feel like a stupid here liking the close el8 most of the people here  deslike both the open and the close models recommending every time something else
i can not understand why all are so desappointed the color the weght the bass the mids the hights everithing
they are sq recording dependent ,there is nothing wrong if you apply some  EQ every recording eng. uses eq on a dailly basis 
imo there is more negative psycollogy against than real facts 
the expectations were to high from the start but the real el8s  are not what they were waiting  for
still believe that the el8 (closed) is a good HP with his limitations I can live with them many can not
the confort and the issoltaion are very good ,you can listen for long periods of time without being disturbed or disturbing others without fatigue
you do not need to analyze in real time every beep emitted from  the HP insteed relax and listen to your favority  music tracks

 

[reddog]

those aren't really portable though

True but I though the EL-8 was not really portable too. But I have not tried one on. When I think portable, the Oppo pm-3 and the Sennheiser Momentum 2 pop into mind.

 

[Audeze]

Hi everyone, good to see you at CanJam... a few thoughts.
 
The EL-8 closed-back inevitably has more energy in the treble compared to the open-backs. It's possible that changes the closed-backs -perception- of the mid and low frequencies because the balance sounds slightlly different. Both open and closed have the same bass response as indicated by our measurements. 
 
As far as "burn-in" is concerned, perhaps we can suggest that's not the optimal description as there's nothing electrical going on, it's purely a mechanical issue of working the drivers in for 24 hours, for better results 48 hours, and small improvements over a more extended period. This seems to be the case with the closed-back model more than the open-back EL-8s that sound fine after about 24 hours. We should also mention that we don't think it's your brain burning-in and becoming adjusted to the sound, it's purely mechanical. 
 
Not to mention that -- we think obviously -- the EL-8s are revealing of amplification, perhaps explaining some of the disparate reactions expressed. We've tried the EL-8s on multiple DAPs and they all sounded somewhat different from each other, might that perhaps be considered a feature rather than a fault? And we never heard an EL-8 sound better on a portable device than an appropriate desktop DAP that for sure gets the best out of them. 
 
Thanks for listening,
Audeze 

 

[Audeze]

  Hi
Has anyone found a third party case for these? Or does Audeze make one other than the cloth case it comes with?
thanks

Sorry for taking so long to reply. You may be interested to know that the LCD Series Travel Case fits the EL-8 perfectly.
Thanks,
Audeze 

 

[reddog]

yup, but only if you are limiting yourself to closed planar magnetic. there are a ton of nice closed portable dynamic options as well in this kind of price range.

+1 what he said.

 

[jmm007]

Thanks for the Case recommendation.

 

[klfl]

  Hi, please contact Support@Audeze.com for immediate help.
Thanks,
Audeze

 
Thank you for the response, however I already shipped the headphone back to the retailer. I appreciate Audeze's effort to ensure customer satisfaction. My past experience with their customer service is very postive. I will continue to support Audeze products in the future and my next target is the LCD-XC.