[redrol]

I think it could be a good thing to try the S8F because it does have an excellent sound and may help you to 'hone in' on your personal graph better.
For pop music and less aggressive genres it does sound absolutely excellent but as soon as you throw in some uncompromising snare drums, like in metal, whoa, thats a bit much of transient snaps for my ears for long.

 

[IEMusic]

This thing that S8F is fatinguing and peaky in the high mids is starting to worry me since I have spent 1 month reading reviews about them and looking for the best IEMs for metal in the $500 price range. Maybe I can cancel my order from Linsoul. They haven't shipped them yet. But I am curious to try them myself amd give you my feedback.

Unfortunately, only trying them out yourself will reveal whether or not you like the tuning. I tend to be really sensitive to pronounced upper midrange frequencies, but there are so many factors, including where the mids peak at, how broad or narrow the peak is, how much mid bass is present to counteract the perception of the upper mids, etc. I have had IEMs where the graph looks mild overall, but I can’t tolerate the sound in stock form. Then there have been IEMs with hideous looking peaks, but I thoroughly enjoy the sound, w/o any mods. At least with the S8, the V-shaped tuning, with a good amount of bass probably really helps to balance the sound out, though maybe not at really loud volumes.

 

[redrol]

Unfortunately, only trying them out yourself will reveal whether or not you like the tuning. I tend to be really sensitive to pronounced upper midrange frequencies, but there are so many factors, including where the mids peak at, how broad or narrow the peak is, how much mid bass is present to counteract the perception of the upper mids, etc. I have had IEMs where the graph looks mild overall, but I can’t tolerate the sound in stock form. Then there have been IEMs with hideous looking peaks, but I thoroughly enjoy the sound, w/o any mods. At least with the S8, the V-shaped tuning, with a good amount of bass probably really helps to balance the sound out, though maybe not at really loud volumes.

You know @IEMusic I decided to really check out the Tea carefully after your comments. Im going to apologize. I had a bad source match and didn't really give it a good shot after that. I tried all my sources and go figure, simple radstone ES100 is rocking my pants off (maybe .5 ohm impedance?). Bright is a bad way to characterize the Tea. Matter of fact, it's shot WAY up in my mind suddenly. I definitely prefer this to the Fearlesses. Your characterization is spot on. Neautral'ish but not boring.

 

[IEMusic]

You know @IEMusic I decided to really check out the Tea carefully after your comments. Im going to apologize. I had a bad source match and didn't really give it a good shot after that. I tried all my sources and go figure, simple radstone ES100 is rocking my pants off (maybe .5 ohm impedance?). Bright is a bad way to characterize the Tea. Matter of fact, it's shot WAY up in my mind suddenly. I definitely prefer this to the Fearlesses. Your characterization is spot on. Neautral'ish but not boring.

Awesome, glad you got it to sound good for you. No apology necessary, as it just goes to show us how many factors there are to account for, which makes this hobby quite complex, but also fun.

 

[Vruksha]

This thing that S8F is fatinguing and peaky in the high mids is starting to worry me since I have spent 1 month reading reviews about them and looking for the best IEMs for metal in the $500 price range. Maybe I can cancel my order from Linsoul. They haven't shipped them yet. But I am curious to try them myself and give you my feedback.

Just because I enjoy a certain kinda tonality doesn't mean you might enjoy that as well and what I find fatiguing might not be fatiguing for your ears. Sound is very subjective, some ears can't tolerate much treble while some can't tolerate much bass (I fall into that category) I don't find S8F higher mids fatiguing but rather lively, I find the mid bass a bit too much slam for my ears but my friend actually love that particular thing about S8F. Sound is very subjective, every one will have their own opinions. I look for as many reviews as I can find online before making my mind because I don't have a chance to try them beforehand. You might find every reviewers having different opinions, I look for the most common meeting point in every review to make a better conclusion. Don't sweat so much on it and don't make a judgement based on mine or anybody else's opinion. You spend enough time reading right so now let your ears decide.

We humans are complicated, now once you receive the S8F you might be looking for that fatiguing upper mids rather than enjoying the iem.

 

[IEMusic]

We humans are complicated, now once you receive the S8F you might be looking for that fatiguing upper mids rather than enjoying the iem.

So true, but hopefully it has the opposite effect and we’ll be “braced” for upper midrange edginess, but instead find it remarkably pleasing and enjoyable, with tremendous clarity and detail. That’s what happened for me with the NM2+. I still plan on getting the S8, and I’m okay if I can’t listen to it too loudly. I just can’t decide between the S8F and S8 Pro. While most say the Pro is a bit smoother and more tame, the graph actually seems to suggest otherwise (of course graphs are limited). I will probably go for the Pro.

 

[Vruksha]

So true, but hopefully it has the opposite effect and we’ll be “braced” for upper midrange edginess, but instead find it remarkably pleasing and enjoyable, with tremendous clarity and detail. That’s what happened for me with the NM2+. I still plan on getting the S8, and I’m okay if I can’t listen to it too loudly. I just can’t decide between the S8F and S8 Pro. While most say the Pro is a bit smoother and more tame, the graph actually seems to suggest otherwise (of course graphs are limited). I will probably go for the Pro.

I actually had pro in my mind but came across a crazy deal on S8F, jumped right in. I wish I got to hear the Pro and Z once so I can pick which one is the best for my taste. I think from what I read, S8Pro might be my ideal one.
PS - I never had to crank the volume high with the S8

 

[Kal El]

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts.
I usually don't listen to music at high volumes, just sometimes and I don't do it for long times, just for some crazy tracks that make me crank up the volume.
I was tempted by S8Z after reading a lot of reviews about F/P/Z but I was also looking for that punchy bass that I really love on my single DD IEMs, but I wanted it more precise and faster, with plenty of details to handle those very busy metal tracks.
In the end the Fs seem to match my needs, on paper. I hope they will for real.

 

[phthora]

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts.
I usually don't listen to music at high volumes, just sometimes and I don't do it for long times, just for some crazy tracks that make me crank up the volume.
I was tempted by S8Z after reading a lot of reviews about F/P/Z but I was also looking for that punchy bass that I really love on my single DD IEMs, but I wanted it more precise and faster, with plenty of details to handle those very busy metal tracks.
In the end the Fs seem to match my needs, on paper. I hope they will for real.

I got the S8Z and love them for metal, especially djent or prog metal. But, the other day, I messed around with EQ a bit to see if I could get the sound juuuust right. After I locked in my EQ, I realized that I basically EQ'd them into the S8F. lol

In other words, I think you made a good choice picking the F.

 

[Kal El]

I got the S8Z and love them for metal, especially djent or prog metal. But, the other day, I messed around with EQ a bit to see if I could get the sound juuuust right. After I locked in my EQ, I realized that I basically EQ'd them into the S8F. lol

In other words, I think you made a good choice picking the the F.

What a good news! I listen to a ton of prog metal!
Which bands do you listen to? Maybe my favourites are Opeth, Tool (though they are more math metal than prog) and Haken.

 

[phthora]

What a good news! I listen to a ton of prog metal!
Which bands do you listen to? Maybe my favourites are Opeth, Tool (though they are more math metal than prog) and Haken.

Haken, Caligula's Horse, Between the Buried and Me, Karnivool, Leprous, Rishloo, VOLA... quite a few of the djent bands like Meshuggah or TesseracT or Textures. Classic prog metal like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, or Redemption. I like mathy prog metal like Blotted Science and Spastic Ink, jazzy stuff like Nova Collective and Trioscapes, instrumental prog metal like Scale the Summit, Pomegranate Tiger, or Chimp Spanner... That's just prog metal, I'm all over the place with prog rock too.

The S8Z does it all well with great layering, separation, and imaging. Nothing gets lost or washed out when things get busy. No congestion. The reason for EQ is that some albums want a little more low end oomph and the little spike at 6khz can make cymbals sound harsh and too-forward sometimes. The tonality of the S8F would take care of both those issues, going by the measurements. I'm not sure if it has the same level of technical prowess though.

 

[Kal El]

Haken, Caligula's Horse, Between the Buried and Me, Karnivool, Leprous, Rishloo, VOLA... quite a few of the djent bands like Meshuggah or TesseracT or Textures. Classic prog metal like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, or Redemption. I like mathy prog metal like Blotted Science and Spastic Ink, jazzy stuff like Nova Collective and Trioscapes, instrumental prog metal like Scale the Summit, Pomegranate Tiger, or Chimp Spanner... That's just prog metal, I'm all over the place with prog rock too.

The S8Z does it all well with great layering, separation, and imaging. Nothing gets lost or washed out when things get busy. No congestion. The reason for EQ is that some albums want a little more low end oomph and the little spike at 6khz can make cymbals sound harsh and too-forward sometimes. The tonality of the S8F would take care of both those issues, going by the measurements. I'm not sure if it has the same level of technical prowess though.

I very like Caligula's horse too! I listened to Rise Radiant maybe 100 times hahaha.
About technical prowess the S8 series should be all at the same level with slightly different tunes, am I wrong?

 

[zeebee45]

Man, sorry about that. I know I came in hard with that statement. It could be the kind of thing you just need to try to form your own opinion.

Can you let use know what kind of music you enjoy? Maybe that would help find a good pick.



The Tea is fairly bright man. More in the treble region rather than the S8F that is hot in the high mids. I hear it as being REALLY clear. The EJ is far far more relaxed in those areas and possibly more bold in the mid-mids.

I actually recommend the Tanchjim Oxygen IEM in the under $500 range.

[edit] That last bit is flat out wrong. I decided to test the Tea much more, as I didn't give it a good shot at all. I'm LOVING the Tea

Thanks so much for your encouraging response I'd way rather know than go over my max budget to get the pair of IEMs I'd been dreaming of, only to be disappointed! The music I primarily enjoy and sing is Broadway but I am having an increasingly hard time with listening to trebles, specifically a belt-mix of high notes. My 2 priorities are finding a pair of IEMs which don't cause listening fatigue and a pair which is smaller so they comfortable fit my small ears

 

[grooveriders]

I‘ve read some cursory comparisons between the S8F and the S8Pro, but has anyone else heard the two of them, and can help me decide between the two of them?

I have tried all the s8 model. I would pick the s8f over the three.

 

[grooveriders]

Still no update from the dealer, but I have tried out the Moondrop Blessing 2. The details and soundstage/seperation is better than the s8p but the tonaility is too "clean" for my liking but I am considering getting it if the Tequila doesnt match the SQ of s8p or the blessing2.

I haven't heard the B2 but heard good stuff about them for the money they offer good sound. I can understand with the soundstage but even details and seperation is better on B2 sompared to S8? Are you sure? Which one of the two has the fastest bass attack n decay?

I got tired of waiting for the tequila and decided to buy myself the blessing 2.
comparing the 2 on the same volume the s8p is more detailed and better separation but the blessing 2 is “soft” on the tone which allows me crank up the volume without fatigue.
The blessing 2 is much more comfortable than the s8p for my ears, the s8p body and nozzle is a little too big and it got no air vents.
The blessing 2 is much more like the s8z than the s8f/s8p. Gentle maybe too gentle for some but great for long listening with 0 fatigue.