[ohotonge]

http://goldenears.net/board/5855176
el-8(closed)

 

[SomeGuyDude]

That 6KHz dip is so strange. It's obviously intentional, and I can hear it in sine sweeps, but it never really shows up during actual musical listening. Like I have yet to hear a single song and go "hey where's the ___" or anything. 
 
EDIT: By the way, I listened to the Audioquest Nighthawk today. Just... just no. No.

 

[fotomeow]

  That 6KHz dip is so strange. It's obviously intentional, and I can hear it in sine sweeps, but it never really shows up during actual musical listening. Like I have yet to hear a single song and go "hey where's the ___" or anything. 
 
EDIT: By the way, I listened to the Audioquest Nighthawk today. Just... just no. No.

You mean you're not a fan of the Nighthawks? Did you listen to them thru the Cary amp thats goes with them?
I haven't heard them yet.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

 
You mean you're not a fan of the Nighthawks? Did you listen to them thru the Cary amp thats goes with them?
I haven't heard them yet.

 
I listened to them on a gigantic McIntosh rig in a nice quiet room at a Best Buy Magnolia, so a far nicer setup than I'd ever have at home haha. They're so thick and woolly sounding that details evaporate, with a big soundstage but no real imaging. It sounds like sitting in a big fog of sound. Myself and two employees sampled it (they had just come in so it was our first impressions) and none of us were particularly enamored with them. The one guy outright said he had no interest in ever trying them again.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Just felt like bumping this because I've been going through my whole metal collection again and jeeeeeeeez these things are gorgeous. I found my Dragonfly I got a while ago and promptly forgot about, and now it's just perfection whether I'm at my laptop or desktop.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Weekly random bump for this. Listening to Tribulation's "Children of the Night" right now. 
 
I do notice that my ears rub against the grills a lot. That's been my only problem thus far. 

 

[twelvebears]

I was lucky enough to get a pair for Xmas. Combined with a Chord Mojo and Audirvana on my Mac, they are just lovely to listen to.

That said, being 44 I know my HF hearing is not what it was and the 7kHz dip did make them sound a touch dull compared to my AKG K702s

Got a parametric EQ plug-in and applied a few db of targeted boost which has completely sorted this minor issue.

 

[doughead]

Strange to hear that as most had complained about its overzealous treble. Just goes to show there is no perfect headphone. My friend is looking to add more highs and air to his LCD-2 while I'm looking to thicken up the upper mid hump on my LCD-XC. We are not as lucky to be able to use EQ to balance things out though as we both use DAPs. I used to have the EL-8 Open-back but sold it due to its overzealous highs but certainly missed it's bass slam.

 

[twelvebears]

Strange to hear that as most had complained about its overzealous treble. Just goes to show there is no perfect headphone. My friend is looking to add more highs and air to his LCD-2 while I'm looking to thicken up the upper mid hump on my LCD-XC. We are not as lucky to be able to use EQ to balance things out though as we both use DAPs. I used to have the EL-8 Open-back but sold it due to its overzealous highs but certainly missed it's bass slam.

As you say, it's all relative. AKG K702s are noted for their brightness but I love their openness and sound staging enough to forgive them.

I'm sure if my other cans were HD600s I'd feel differently!

 

[inthere]

Strange to hear that as most had complained about its overzealous treble. Just goes to show there is no perfect headphone. My friend is looking to add more highs and air to his LCD-2 while I'm looking to thicken up the upper mid hump on my LCD-XC. We are not as lucky to be able to use EQ to balance things out though as we both use DAPs. I used to have the EL-8 Open-back but sold it due to its overzealous highs but certainly missed it's bass slam.

Overzealous highs were" were probably a defective pair. Mine were the same way absolutely screeching harsh treble......my replacement pair had normal and very sweet treble.

 

[doughead]

Yes it's all relative, that's the beauty of it. Less headache for headphone manufacturers too lol. I would like to think my previous EL-8s were defective but I don't think they were. As mentioned, its relative, the guy I sold it to found it wonderfully detailed and sparkling (the treble was "just right" for him). I guess it also boils down to what you are listening to. The irony is that I love an airy/open/sparkling treble for certain kinds of music but not for others, it depends on the music or the artiste. In fact if a given audio component has a rolled-off/curtailed treble or too dark, the lack of detail/sparkle is frustrating. Likewise, one that has lots of high frequency detail and openness but lacks body due to a lack of bass would be like eating salad w/o dressing or a main course to follow it lol. But then again some of us love eating more meat and less salad or vice versa so that's the beauty of it. But regardless of our differing tastes, all of us are obviously enjoying the Audeze planar house sound. There are always EQ and bass boost options to save the day for times when it is less than perfect for our ears.

 

[mysticstryk]

How do these compare to the hd650 and particularly 400i? Been thinking of giving audeze a try.

 

[twelvebears]

I can only comment re the HD650s as I've not heard the Hifiman phones. I would say the EL-8s (open backed) are more open and offer a bigger sound stage, also have a more extended treble and tighter, more defined bass.

Also the higher price of the Audeze phones is reflected in very significantly better build quality - really top-notch construction.

 

[sheldaze]

How do these compare to the hd650 and particularly 400i? Been thinking of giving audeze a try.

First, you're going to get a lot of opinions with this question...and here's mine 

 
My tastes in headphones are more along the lines of the HD650 (own) and HE-400i (heard). However I bought the EL-8C (the closed version) because, well my options for a closed travel headphone are limited. I did not like the sound of the ATH-M50x. I loved the sound of the NAD VISO HP50, but the comfort started to get to me. I did not even bother with the Oppo PM-3 because of a big-ear comfort issue.
 
So the EL-8C is a big compromise, to start. However, it is not at all a bad headphone - it's quite clear, bass and treble. Soundstage is huge. It takes almost nothing to drive it (though when driven well, it definitely scales up). It is built well and has zero comfort issues. It is not my ultimate because it emphasizes the treble more than I like, but the treble is certainly not bad - just not my personal flavor of ice cream, I mean headphone 

 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

It's hard to directly compare the HD650s with the EL-8 because dynamics and planars have a sort of inherently different sound, The thing, to me, is that the Audeze just sounds "bigger" in all regards. Bigger soundstage, bass extends deeper, treble goes higher, more energetic in all directions. 
 
There is one thing, though, and I've said it before but it bears repeating: the EL-8 (and LCD-2) are ridiculously finicky about placement. The HD650 you can just kinda toss them on your head and you're good to go. With the EL-8 I find myself going through a little ritual to get them situated properly or else they sound either muffled or thin. For me, it means placing them carefully, pressing on the cups, then letting go again so they "open up" fully. I sometimes wonder if the issues some had were because of that.
 
I also don't know what the sonic difference is between the open and closed, because I only heard/bought the open.