[jsmiller58]

I was talking with a barista at my favorite cafe, and it turns out he has an old pair of 64audios, lol—he also let me know that Empire Ears is actually local to me (give or take), so I might see if I can go demo some stuff over there

Norcross... . Been meaning to ask, since in another post you mentioned you are in Atlanta, if you have ever visited EE. I have family in Norcross and used to go at least once a month and never made the time... I am a dummy.

 

[SBranson]

S8F will hiss on an xDSD. I have that combo and got the iEMatch to address it. If you have a DM6 you will also hear hiss, though not as much. This is not an isolated problem - same issue with these IEMs on my HiBy R6 Pro. Interestingly I don’t hear any hiss with these out of my Hidizs DH1000. My observations relate to balanced outputs.

Thanks very much. That's very helpful. Perhaps I will get a DAP instead.

I had the DM6 but they weren't for me. I had to EQ them so I moved on. I have the Noble Katanas which don't hiss and need a fair bit more volume than the S8f.

 

[SBranson]

I'm using an es100 with my s8f. No hiss. Using a q5 I have hiss and have to use an iematch.

Thanks. I'll look into the ES100.

 

[jsmiller58]

Thanks very much. That's very helpful. Perhaps I will get a DAP instead.

Well, the R6 Pro is a DAP... Hiby says (and I have no way of knowing if it is right or wrong) that as part of boosting the power output on the R6 Pro over the R6, the trade off was a much higher noise floor, which sensitive IEMs supposedly will pick up. Listening at reasonable levels I don’t hear the hiss, but it is there between songs or if I pause the music. Knowing that it is there bothers me, hence the iEMatch...

Point is, it is more about the IEM specs, and the specs of what you are listening out of, rather than if it is a phone, portable DAC/Amp, or DAP.

I don’t think the iEMatch mucks with the sound, so it should be a safe addition. But having a “dongle” is annoying.

 

[SBranson]

Well, the R6 Pro is a DAP... Hiby says (and I have no way of knowing if it is right or wrong) that as part of boosting the power output on the R6 Pro over the R6, the trade off was a much higher noise floor, which sensitive IEMs supposedly will pick up. Listening at reasonable levels I don’t hear the hiss, but it is there between songs or if I pause the music. Knowing that it is there bothers me, hence the iEMatch...

Point is, it is more about the IEM specs, and the specs of what you are listening out of, rather than if it is a phone, portable DAC/Amp, or DAP.

I don’t think the iEMatch mucks with the sound, so it should be a safe addition. But having a “dongle” is annoying.

Yeah I know but I had read that the R6 was hiss prone but I've read that others are not like a certain Sony I can't remember the model name of.
I had an AK300 and it did not hiss with Andromedas so I am maybe thinking of a used SR15. Or if i can find more impressions on the Fiio M11.

Nice to hear that the iematch doesn't garble the sound. Maybe I'll just get one.

 

[jsmiller58]

Yeah I know but I had read that the R6 was hiss prone but I've read that others are not like a certain Sony I can't remember the model name of.
I had an AK300 and it did not hiss with Andromedas so I am maybe thinking of a used SR15. Or if i can find more impressions on the Fiio M11.

Nice to hear that the iematch doesn't garble the sound. Maybe I'll just get one.

If it were me I would wait for the M11 to be out and reviews to roll in, including from users pairing it with sensitive IEMs.. . The M11 on paper, and from early reports out of Asia, seems to be very intriguing (and this is coming from someone that just bought the competing R6 Pro, so obviously not "hyping" anything). However, using an IEMatch is not all that bad, just a bit annoying to need a dongle of sorts.

 

[SciOC]

Well, the R6 Pro is a DAP... Hiby says (and I have no way of knowing if it is right or wrong) that as part of boosting the power output on the R6 Pro over the R6, the trade off was a much higher noise floor, which sensitive IEMs supposedly will pick up. Listening at reasonable levels I don’t hear the hiss, but it is there between songs or if I pause the music. Knowing that it is there bothers me, hence the iEMatch...

Point is, it is more about the IEM specs, and the specs of what you are listening out of, rather than if it is a phone, portable DAC/Amp, or DAP.

I don’t think the iEMatch mucks with the sound, so it should be a safe addition. But having a “dongle” is annoying.

For the record I'm not a fan of iematch at all. You need a lot more power to drive your IEMs and I always felt like it sort of neutered the sound by reducing Dynamics and increasing distortion to get rid of a little bit of hiss. Unless you truly have an output impedance problem like with the hiby r6 or any number of smsl or 1620a based amps, I don't like it as a solution.

 

[SBranson]

If it were me I would wait for the M11 to be out and reviews to roll in, including from users pairing it with sensitive IEMs.. . The M11 on paper, and from early reports out of Asia, seems to be very intriguing (and this is coming from someone that just bought the competing R6 Pro, so obviously not "hyping" anything). However, using an IEMatch is not all that bad, just a bit annoying to need a dongle of sorts.

Apparently one can already buy the M11.. or is this a scam...http://got.by/39w1hu

 

[jsmiller58]

Apparently one can already buy the M11.. or is this a scam...http://got.by/39w1hu

You can buy them in China, and on Ali from some Chinese stores. Wider worldwide availability is May. There is a very active thread here on Head-fi if anyone is interested. And yes, adventurous souls outside of China have already taken possession from Ali. I prefer to wait for a manufacturer to have ramped up to supply and support broadly, and if possible have local channels (where possible). But others are more impatient / adventurous than I am!

 

[jsmiller58]

For the record I'm not a fan of iematch at all. You need a lot more power to drive your IEMs and I always felt like it sort of neutered the sound by reducing Dynamics and increasing distortion to get rid of a little bit of hiss. Unless you truly have an output impedance problem like with the hiby r6 or any number of smsl or 1620a based amps, I don't like it as a solution.

If I am not mistaken, the IEMatch was reviewed on ASR and other sites and the consensus seems to be there isn't anything taken away from the audio... But maybe I misread that or remember it incorrectly. I personally don't think I notice any difference, but mine is just one opinion / impression.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

Norcross... . Been meaning to ask, since in another post you mentioned you are in Atlanta, if you have ever visited EE. I have family in Norcross and used to go at least once a month and never made the time... I am a dummy.

I've DMed the rep here; hope to hear back . Would be cool to try them out and even just to have a look around. (On that note—can anybody tell me how a 10-way crossover works with 7 drivers?? like, huh??)

And yeah, I too noticed that the S8F seems to actually be even more sensitive than my DM6, actually—the impedance and sensitivity don't seem to suggest that, but I certainly use lower volume out of my ES100. (to the point where even the lowest volume sometimes seems like a little bit too much on some tracks with Tidal...)

 

[Hambow]

To those who are current owners of the S8F, is the IEM at all fatiguing? I'd be using it for minimum 4-5 hours per day, and I'm torn between the S8F and the supposed "less-fatiguing" pro versions (S8pro or S6pro).

I just worry I'll get headaches often due to the extreme levels of detail... Ironic problem.

I also have relatively small ear canals. Is size an issue for anyone? Or would comply tips resolve that?

 

[SBranson]

To those who are current owners of the S8F, is the IEM at all fatiguing? I'd be using it for minimum 4-5 hours per day, and I'm torn between the S8F and the supposed "less-fatiguing" pro versions (S8pro or S6pro).

I just worry I'll get headaches often due to the extreme levels of detail... Ironic problem.

I also have relatively small ear canals. Is size an issue for anyone? Or would comply tips resolve that?

I've never gotten "fatigue" per say but I have noticed that they aren't really a drift off to sleep iem. Any time I've tried to listen while lying in bed, I find they don't really let me relax enough to sleep as the detail is a bit intense in this case. For day to day long term I find them fine and if the music is more intense I can just lower the volume a bit and still not sacrifice clarity, just reduce the intensity. For active listening though they really bare it all.

Are you in the Victoria area?

 

[jsmiller58]

To those who are current owners of the S8F, is the IEM at all fatiguing? I'd be using it for minimum 4-5 hours per day, and I'm torn between the S8F and the supposed "less-fatiguing" pro versions (S8pro or S6pro).

I just worry I'll get headaches often due to the extreme levels of detail... Ironic problem.

I also have relatively small ear canals. Is size an issue for anyone? Or would comply tips resolve that?

I don’t have any fatigue listening to the S8F for hours at a time.... but my ears are in their mid 50s (how the heck did that happen? I am pretty sure I am in my 30s, at least I try to convince myself... Well, if age is a state of mind... heck, I need my prune juice then)... where was I? Oh, yeah, no fatigue, but maybe I am missing the highest frequencies?

 

[SBranson]

Ha... funny as I'm 49 so yeah, maybe younger ears might fatigue.