[Jmop]

I'm sure it has some hours on it already but I might cook it for a bit.

 

[ms3902]

This is my first review so bear with me. I compares these to my JVC HA-FX850 because they are my go to IEM’s. I tried several different sources during my testing and found that the A8’s are fairly forgiving when it comes to sources. I also tried several different genres of music to get a better feel for how well they would work as an everyday IEM. Here is a list music I tried while running these through their paces.

Grant Green - Idle Moments (Entire Album)
Art Blakey - Moanin’ RVG Edition (Entire Album)
Eric Clapton - Bell Bottom Blues
Lay Down Sally
Cocaine
Kings of Leon - The End
Back Down South
Adele - Rolling in the Deep
Turning Tables
Slipknot - Gematria
Vendetta
Snuff
Gorillaz - Welcome to the World
Rhinestone Eyes
Stylo

So out of the box these are some really beautiful headphones. Their finish, cable, weight, construction, and even the box they come in all scream quality. The pictures online really do a disservice to just how beautiful they are in person. The cable is really nice and seems like it would be very durable. And while the cable is really nice it is also my biggest complaint with these headphones. The cable noise is really bothersome for me. When I was sitting at my desk at home it wasn’t bad, but when I took the headphones to work, I am a CAD draftsman so lots of twisting and turning in my seat, it was noticeably worse. I tried wearing them over my ear but that made it hard to get a good seal. It did help some when I would use the cable cinch but it was still noticeable enough that I would switch back to my FX-850’s to avoid hearing it.
The sound from these headphones, on the other hand, more than make up for the sound of these headphones. They have a good soundstage, both in width and height. They are very detailed when it comes to instrument placement when the recording to done correctly. They are better in this area than the FX-850’s. The A8’s are also very detailed on the high end but with a little bit of a caveat. At first I thought they were not as detailed on the high end because they lack the “sparkle” of the FX-850’s but after spending more time with them I came to realize that they are just as detailed, and in some cases more detailed, than my FX-850’s. There are some instances where I was missing the “sparkle” but for the most part I still found the level of detail to be very good. I have found the mid’s to be very enjoyable as well and they seem to blend very nicely with the high’s. The one area that they do seem to struggle just a touch is with male voices. It has a tendency to sound like the male voices are a step behind the band, making them sound distant. Female voices on the other hand are engaging and very enjoyable. Then you get down to the bass, and sub-bass. This is where these headphones tie it all together. I will say that if you don’t have the correct tips then the bass can come off as boomy. The supplied tips did not fit my ears so I switched to some spiral dots which made the sound seem boomy and just “off”. I switched to some bi-flanges that I had and it was a night and day difference. The bass was tight and controlled and the mids seemed a bit more “airy”. The bass on these headphones are easily some of the best that I have heard. I find it to be deep, tight and most importantly very fast. This has probably been the biggest shock with these headphones. Because of the speed of the bass and the smooth mids and detailed highs I have found these to be amazing with heavier genres of music. I listened to Slipknots’s Gematria multiple times to to hear the detail and speed of the kick drums, I was simply blown away.
In the end I have a love/hate relationship with these headphones. On the hate side of things is the cable noise, and I know that I am more sensitive to it than some. If I were only going to use these on a home rig then I would buy them in a heartbeat. Unfortunately for me I do a great deal of listening while I am at work, and because of the cable noise that is not an option for these. On the love side of things is the sound, and I enjoy everything about it. These could easily replace my FX-850’s not only in the sound department but they also check all my other requirements, cable down, great build, easy to drive and forgiving of the source and the recording. The sound is really enjoyable and not at all fatiguing. In the end if Cardas could either fix the cable noise or make the cable detachable I would buy these without a doubt.

 

[mochill]

I am finally getting the anniversary edition of the a8