[ShootingStars]

Was wondering if the IE8 hype due to accurate or coloured sound...

 

[mvw2]

Depends on who you ask. From my use, I found the IE8 not to be terribly colored. The midrange and upper end was very well balanced and the low end, while emphasized, isn't tremendously exaggerated, at least not as much as you might expect. It's enough to color the sound but not enough to be massively off-balanced. You do get used to the sound signature relatively quickly. It actually is well balanced.

If I were to have a fault with the IE8 it would be the bass knob. It only does half of what it needs to do. By this I mean the bass emphasis starts in the lower midrange at several hundred Hz. The bass knob is simply a variable vent for the sealed enclosure, pretty much making it sealed to IB or in other words variable Q. Unfortunately, this design is somewhat limiting as it only affects frequencies below 100Hz. The midbass/lower midrange bump isn't affected by the knob so you always have the coloration. All the knob does is make the bottom end present or anemic. You pretty much set it max and leave it...unless you want to kiss your low frequencies goodbye. The bass knob plus some EQing is another story though. Without EQing, you have to accept the slight emphasis. With my toying with test tones, pink noise, and an EQ, I found it to be around a +4dB bump centered at 100Hz and hitting 0dB at 20Hz and 500Hz, not too significant but broad enough to affect the lower midrange and create a warm signature.

 

[chrisssssssss2]

I would say colored sound but VERY detailed and precise. But I think the soundstage is what makes the IE8s such a great IEM. I'm listening to it now, and everything sounds so beautiful. But it's not what I would call accurate. It is quite a "colored" sound, but one that is very fun and enjoying to listen to. Also, the IE8's and most of Sennheiser's in ear models tend to focus more on the low and mid end, so if you're looking for sparkling highs, look somewhere else, like the Westone IEMs that get such good reviews for their treble quality. I would like to try them someday.

 

[james444]

x2 @mvw2, the IE8 sounds very natural to me. Coloring is not only about balanced frequency response, but also about timbre, which I find quite true to life with the IE8. Concerning its midbass hump, I prefer leaving the bass knob at minimum and EQ down -8db at 100Hz. That way the bottom end is pretty much even with the mids and highs.

 

[Shike]

Colored, but many enjoy it anyway.

 

[Photofan1986]

Agree with James444 concerning the natural timbre. My music sounds very, very natural on IE8, more so than on any other of my phones. The balance may not be perfect, but I would not qualify the sound as "coloured", as for me, this term refers to the "way" the frequencies are reproduced, not their "volume" regarding other frequencies.

 

[iponderous]

The hype is probably due to the engaging nature of this phone. Grado's are generally regarded as coloured and very engaging. I find them to be both. When I listen to the IE8 it doesn't sound tonally off to me. As stated above, the timbre of acoustic instruments sound close enough. However, it is a warm sounding phone with bass and mid bass tending to colour the overall presentation. However, cymbals, snares, kick drums sound more natural, more visceral and real to my ears than they do through any balanced armature earphone that I've owned. If euphonic equates to coloured, then yes the IE8 is coloured and euphonic. I hope that's brought some uncoloured clarity to this thread.

 

[TCD1975]

Yes, the IE8 is coloured.

The timbre of a dynamic driver may sound more natural that those produced by balanced armatures, but there's no getting past the fact that the bass is very pronounced. It's pleasant to listen to, but that doesn't mean it's a completely accurate presentation of the original recording, so therefore it's coloured.

 

[Hentai11]

If you have to listen to them out of the box with no EQ, there might be color in the bass, but I can't hear it once I adjust the bass to minimum. Post EQ, I hear no color at all.

Remember that nearly all IEMs do low bass poorly, so it takes a while to adjust to phones that have a truly full dynamic range.

 

[ericp10]

I have the IE7 and based on that I would say the sound is coloured, but not in an annoying-distort-the-music sort of way.. I was describing in a thread with James444 that I found the Sennheiser to be a bit veiled, but I think coloured is a better word for it. It sounds like you're listening to well recorded music from a studio, not so live-ish sounding music. With that said, the music coming out of the earphones is very detailed. I mean you hear every detail and nuance like you do with other high-end IEMs that have no colouring (like the e-q7). I hear the IE7 and IE8 are very close in sound except for the extra bass, that's why I added my two cents here.

By the way @ James444, I have gone from really really liking the IE7 to LOVING IT!! The burn in has done wonders with the earphones, but also, I'm using the Fiio new E1 amp for ipods, and it just really makes those babies shine with full beautiful midrange and nice highs, and it tightens the bass. Details are just amazing.

EricP