[Zulkr9]

I now bought the lcd 2f its a no contest really. The sigs are similar but the lcd 2.2 is much better.

 

[mikroski]

 

Anyone listen to the open back EL-8 through a WA7? How does the sub bass sound? Does the tube warmth smooth out the highs? How about perhaps with the upgrade Electro Harmonix tubes installed?

 
I personally find the Gold Pin to be more open in the treble than the Sovteks. The WA7 dac is sometimes said to be bright, but I have not done a comparison with the WA7 dac alone.

 
Mike said in his review that open-back EL-8 pair well with WA7. If you have WA7tp, you can try some tube rolling that match your preference.  I agree with Harley that gold pin has a little open in treble.
 
You can get more treble and bass slam when use Sylvania 12AU7 or make it more balance using GE 12AU7 long plate on WA7tp

 

[moises13456]

Hi everyone! Just want to share how I travel with my EL-8s. I'm temporarily using a 13" laptop case. It's drop and water resistant. Work's for me at the moment till I find a more suitable travel case. Any ideas where to find a better one?

 

[out0mind]

I just ordered a Pelican case for mine - specifically the the P1075 Hard Case.  I know it's designed for a pistol, but it seemed to be about the right size.  Depending on fit, I may end up swapping it out for the P1085.  The goal is to get the EL-8, Chord Hugo, and AK240 with Black Dragon cables into it for travel.  I'll report back with fit when it arrives.

 

[Kyle 491]

Just received my pair of open EL-8s, so far I'm finding them a lot more enjoyable when angling the ear cups away from my cheeks rather than having the pads sit flush against the sides of my skull. It opens up the sound a lot more, making it sound airy and allowing the treble to shine through, while maintaining bass presence. These headphones are really susceptible to positional changes, sounding very different whenever moved around the head, unlike my TH900s and HD800s.
 
When the pads are flush to my face, they sound quite closed in & missing a lot of treble information, like Tyll's measurements show, might be good for hard rock and and genres where aggressive treble is present and sound stage space is not a paramount requirement.
Since there is enough movement in the ear cup pivots for them to fold flat against a table at 90 degrees to their original orientation, there is a lot of room to tweak the sound of these depending on how you wear them.

 

[nomsgadded]

Just received my pair of open EL-8s, so far I'm finding them a lot more enjoyable when angling the ear cups away from my cheeks rather than having the pads sit flush against the sides of my skull. It opens up the sound a lot more, making it sound airy and allowing the treble to shine through, while maintaining bass presence. These headphones are really susceptible to positional changes, sounding very different whenever moved around the head, unlike my TH900s and HD800s.

When the pads are flush to my face, they sound quite closed in & missing a lot of treble information, like Tyll's measurements show, might be good for hard rock and and genres where aggressive treble is present and sound stage space is not a paramount requirement.
Since there is enough movement in the ear cup pivots for them to fold flat against a table at 90 degrees to their original orientation, there is a lot of room to tweak the sound of these depending on how you wear them.

Would this explain why so many people have drastically different impressions of the el-8's sound? If this is the case, I imagine it would be a PITA to adjust it every time you use it. Sort of like when you have to hold the old rabbit ear TV antennas a certain way to get a clear picture.

 

[whitemass]

While I think this is all cool, nifty, and so forth. I still think Audeze need to broaden their selection.
This is a good move towards people who'd like to buy more of their items, but still a bad move in the fact that there's a lot of others out there who wanna try Audeze.
 
I think they really need to find an appropriate compromise and put out some products in the ranges of $80 to the max of $200 area.
 
So, Audeze! If you ever see this, get to work on it.
We need netter cans at this range.

 

[crixnet]

  While I think this is all cool, nifty, and so forth. I still think Audeze need to broaden their selection.
This is a good move towards people who'd like to buy more of their items, but still a bad move in the fact that there's a lot of others out there who wanna try Audeze.
 
I think they really need to find an appropriate compromise and put out some products in the ranges of $80 to the max of $200 area.
 
So, Audeze! If you ever see this, get to work on it.
We need netter cans at this range.

Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.
 
That said, with the EL-8, Audeze is aiming for a much broader market by entering the hotly-contested mid-fi space. The problem I have found with this approach is not the price point, but that the phones deliver too little. The design is unquestionably sleek and the build is solid, but the sound signature is lacking balance and cohesion and, when compared to its Audeze predecessors, it just doesn't stand up IMO.
 
So, look for low-cost offerings from large manufacturers, not from Audeze. Wrong business model, wrong company.

 

[lamode]

 
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.

 
I basically agree with you but there are other companies which have gone on to add low-cost mass-produced items to their range of high quality hand-crafted models. The first that comes to mind is the German camera maker Leica, which traditionally had a reputation for the ultimate craftsmanship and quality lenses, etc. Then they sold cheap point and shoot cameras e.g. Leica D-Lux 6 (with the help of Panasonic).

 

[whitemass]

   
I basically agree with you but there are other companies which have gone on to add low-cost mass-produced items to their range of high quality hand-crafted models. The first that comes to mind is the German camera maker Leica, which traditionally had a reputation for the ultimate craftsmanship and quality lenses, etc. Then they sold cheap point and shoot cameras e.g. Leica D-Lux 6 (with the help of Panasonic).

 
 

 
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.
 
That said, with the EL-8, Audeze is aiming for a much broader market by entering the hotly-contested mid-fi space. The problem I have found with this approach is not the price point, but that the phones deliver too little. The design is unquestionably sleek and the build is solid, but the sound signature is lacking balance and cohesion and, when compared to its Audeze predecessors, it just doesn't stand up IMO.
 
So, look for low-cost offerings from large manufacturers, not from Audeze. Wrong business model, wrong company.

Hmm, interesting.
I wonder if we'll see it happen in the future.
I still think $600 is a steep price point.

 

[crixnet]

 

 
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.

 
I basically agree with you but there are other companies which have gone on to add low-cost mass-produced items to their range of high quality hand-crafted models. The first that comes to mind is the German camera maker Leica, which traditionally had a reputation for the ultimate craftsmanship and quality lenses, etc. Then they sold cheap point and shoot cameras e.g. Leica D-Lux 6 (with the help of Panasonic).

Actually, those were Panasonic cameras, built in Japan, that incorporated some Leica technology designs. I own a Panasonic video camera that has a Leica-desiged lens, but it is mass-produced. It's a good camera for the price, but it can't compare to an authentic Leica-built camera/lens.
 
Leica cameras and lenses are meticulously built in Germany and, as such, are very exclusive and supremely expensive. Much like Audeze flagship-level headphones.

 

[lamode]

 
Actually, those were Panasonic cameras, built in Japan, that incorporated some Leica technology designs. I own a Panasonic video camera that has a Leica-desiged lens, but it is mass-produced. It's a good camera for the price, but it can't compare to an authentic Leica-built camera/lens.
 
Leica cameras and lenses are meticulously built in Germany and, as such, are very exclusive and supremely expensive. Much like Audeze flagship-level headphones.

 
You seem to be missing the point. Leica still sells cheap point and shoot cameras, with Leica badges, through the Leica network. It doesn't matter what happened behind the scenes to achieve that cost saving. (Heck, Apple doesn't make their own iPhones, and even car makers share car models with only a few cosmetic differences).
 
So conceivably yes, Audeze could partner with a larger company to produce "budget" Audezes. But I hope they don't

 

[nomsgadded]

You seem to be missing the point. Leica still sells cheap point and shoot cameras, with Leica badges, through the Leica network. It doesn't matter what happened behind the scenes to achieve that cost saving. (Heck, Apple doesn't make their own iPhones, and even car makers share car models with only a few cosmetic differences).

So conceivably yes, Audeze could partner with a larger company to produce "budget" Audezes. But I hope they don't

Yup, Audeze could cheapen their brand if they decide to offer a budget line. Sort of like if Ferrari offered a line of econobox cars..

 

[crixnet]

 

 
Actually, those were Panasonic cameras, built in Japan, that incorporated some Leica technology designs. I own a Panasonic video camera that has a Leica-desiged lens, but it is mass-produced. It's a good camera for the price, but it can't compare to an authentic Leica-built camera/lens.
 
Leica cameras and lenses are meticulously built in Germany and, as such, are very exclusive and supremely expensive. Much like Audeze flagship-level headphones.

 
You seem to be missing the point. Leica still sells cheap point and shoot cameras, with Leica badges, through the Leica network. It doesn't matter what happened behind the scenes to achieve that cost saving. (Heck, Apple doesn't make their own iPhones, and even car makers share car models with only a few cosmetic differences).
 
So conceivably yes, Audeze could partner with a larger company to produce "budget" Audezes. But I hope they don't

I hear you, although Leica was a very established player with beaucoup bucks from their hand-built business before partnering up with Panasonic. And Apple never built any of their stuff; it was alway manufactured overseas.
 
I'd bet real money Audeze won't go this route. The EL-8 has been their first foray away from their original business model, and it has proved to be far less than a resounding success.

 

[kyle1010]

Mike said in his review that open-back EL-8 pair well with WA7. If you have WA7tp, you can try some tube rolling that match your preference.  I agree with Harley that gold pin has a little open in treble.

You can get more treble and bass slam when use Sylvania 12AU7 or make it more balance using GE 12AU7 long plate on WA7tp

Do you have to have the WA7tp tube power supply to use those 12AU7s, or can you just roll those into the standard WA7 and get a similar effect?