Custom Art Harmony 8.2 - Flagship ciem reload !
Aug 12, 2016 at 5:28 AM Post #166 of 449
Originally Posted by MXRaia /img/forum/go_quote.gif



 
I asked Piotr for a "galaxy" motif and suggested a few colors. Piotr knows I prefer simpler designs, so he went with a translucent blue with silver/white swirls.
Very pretty, especially up close! It reminds me of that van Gogh painting 
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They look great!
 
I guess you meant this one?
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I'm not really qualified to describe the Harmony 8.2's sound signature since I'm still kind of a casual listener, so all I can say for now is it's an IEM that makes you want to dance! I was tapping my toes and grinning the entire time I was at work.

 
I'm also not that good at describing signatures in detail, but here's my take on H8.2's sound so far:
 
When I put the H8.2 in my ears (although it immediately sounded good) I wasn't wowed from the start. At first I noticed that it didn't deliver the sparkle of the (V-shaped) Solar and it didn't have the air / spaciousness of the AR6. Solar probably has more quantity (even harder slamming) bass in the picture, but I noticed that the bass quality of the H8.2 is better (more clean / tight) defined. Vocals sound very impressive (like mentioned in reviews) with H8.2 and the longer I listened, the more I realised that basically everything sounds quite realistic and natural with it.
For my taste it could use a little more in the treble department, but after some cable matching I found that the Toxic Silver Widow cable delivered that without sacrificing on the lows and vocals.
 
Imagine you're going to a party and there are lots of girls (or boys, depending on your own interest of course) in the room. At first you notice the ''beautiful model kinda'' ones, all dressed up and looking great. But then you are sitting next to a, what seems to be, ''girl next door'' kinda type at first sight. The longer you talk with her, the more you notice that she says all the right things, that she has a great sense of humor and that she has some kind off inner beauty which seems to come more to the surface, the longer you are around her. Well, to me the H8.2 is that girl
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Long story short, the longer I listen to the H8.2 the more it grows on me and imo it is without a doubt an excellent totl monitor!
 
Aug 12, 2016 at 6:00 AM Post #168 of 449
The 8.2 isn't so pretty, but she has 'a great personality' - LOL!!

JK, nice impressions well done.

 
Haha...I didn't want to make a statement (but maybe I did) that she isn't pretty.
She is a beauty imo (and doesn't need makeup), but gets more beautiful the longer I look at (listen to) her
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Aug 12, 2016 at 7:50 AM Post #169 of 449
I actually like ur analogy @Kerouac.
Especially I found that the more I listen to H8.2 and the more I focus on the highs, the more detail I find. It's all there really, and it was really me being 'distracted' by the signature at first!
On a different note, I'm selling my H8P for 500€, which is a great price if you want to upgrade to H8.2 :))
PM me if interested.
 
Aug 12, 2016 at 8:09 AM Post #170 of 449
I actually like ur analogy @Kerouac.
Especially I found that the more I listen to H8.2 and the more I focus on the highs, the more detail I find. It's all there really, and it was really me being 'distracted' by the signature at first!
On a different note, I'm selling my H8P for 500€, which is a great price if you want to upgrade to H8.2 :))
PM me if interested.
Yeah its a great analogy, cant wait to get My 8.2 at the end of this month.

And what a great price for a pair of great CIEM's
 
Aug 13, 2016 at 4:22 PM Post #171 of 449
Yeah its a great analogy, cant wait to get My 8.2 at the end of this month.
 


Same here. Really looking forward to receiving them.  I have now lived through 4 weeks of "terror" without my CIEM's as I also sold my Ei.xx a month back and the H8P is out for the upgrade since mid july, so hoping they will ship soon. :) I was really in doubt about wether I should upgrade or not, but my main "issues" with the H8P seems to be fixed according to the early reviews, so decided to do the upgrade.
Originally when I got my H8P it took me over 1,5 months to get used to the sound, but then totally fell in love with it (the reason for me ordering the Ei.xx was actually because I couldn't really get used to the H8P at first). 
Piotr, you need to add an "express fee / fast track" so we can pay a huge sum of money and avoid the 4-6 weeks waiting time. :) And maybe you should introduce a new TOTL subscription service so we can get our Harmony's upgraded automatically each year. :)
 
Aug 15, 2016 at 6:20 AM Post #173 of 449
cant wait to get My 8.2 at the end of this month.

 
Quote:
  Same here. Really looking forward to receiving them.

 
You guys will also probably like/love it
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Maybe it's due to (brain) burn-in, but the longer I listen with H8.2, the more I go like...
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Everything just sounds so freaking....
Feel free to fill in the blanks yourself
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Aug 15, 2016 at 6:37 AM Post #175 of 449
due to my limited access to several type of IEM/CIEM...i really looking forward for anyone who can compared this with Andromeda


Well, @twister6 wrote this in his H8.2 review:
H8.2 vs Andromeda - right away you notice Andromeda having a little more hissing in comparison, also Andro soundstage is more expanded in all three directions; Andro bass is tighter and more aggressive with stronger impact, not by a lot but definitely noticeable; lower mids are similar, but Andro upper mids are brighter, more revealing, more detailed; Andro treble is brighter, more crisp, and with a little more airiness.  This is another example of a contrast with a smooth organic sound of H8.2 versus more colored and more revealing fun sound of Andromeda.
 
Btw, I also just noticed this (new) H8.2 review: http://www.head-fi.org/products/custom-art-harmony-8-2/reviews/16630
 
Aug 15, 2016 at 1:19 PM Post #176 of 449

Harmony 8.2 and Ei.XX US Tour

Kicking off the tour now. Still some room for US residents if you PM me soon. Just sayin'..... 
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BTW, they both sound stellar!
 
Aug 15, 2016 at 7:08 PM Post #177 of 449
New 8.2 owner check-in! Loving it :)
 
Aug 16, 2016 at 7:40 AM Post #179 of 449
 

Harmony 8.2 and Ei.XX US Tour

Kicking off the tour now. Still some room for US residents if you PM me soon. Just sayin'..... 
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BTW, they both sound stellar!

Heard the Ei.XX at Canjam. It has a fun signature, I liked it. 
 
Aug 22, 2016 at 11:58 PM Post #180 of 449
I had a very unique opportunity to listen and to compare the universal versions of H8.2 and Ei.xx to my review pairs of custom H8.2 and Ei.xx (thank you Piotr and @Barra !!!)
 
If you remember, we had a little discussion about the difference in soundstage perception and the influence of ear anatomy which affects the distance between eardrum and drivers.  I do have a weird ear canal, being wide and short until the sharp turn which results in me having short nozzles with all CIEMs.  When it comes to universal iems, I go for the largest eartip with a longer stem, extending the distance of sound traveling from the drivers to my eardrum.
 
While a number of people mentioned about having a very wide soundstage, I found it to be just wide but not super wide.  As soon as I tried universal version of H8.2, driving both from PAW Gold and using the same test track at the same volume - I noticed right away the soundstage being wider.  I also noticed a deeper low end impact with more sub-bass, but that could be due to my eartip selection and corresponding seal.  I also have to say, considering 8 driver design, both universal and custom Harmony 8.2 are among the smallest shells I have seen to accommodate so many drivers.
 
 

 
When it comes to universal vs custom Ei.xx, I found exactly the same difference in soundstage, where universal version of Ei.xx had noticeable more width.  Furthermore, i found universal version to have slightly more forward mids and a touch more sparkle in the treble.  But one thing I found to be quite surprising is that universal version of Ei.xx was a lot smaller then a custom version.
 
 

 
I just want to make it clear, the effect of soundstage width difference is only applicable in this case due to my inner ear anatomy with a short earcanal which results in a short nozzle of CIEM.  This explains why majority of other people, whose CIEMs shells have a longer nozzle, hear soundstage wider in comparison to me.  Now, it makes a perfect sense!
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