First Harmonic IEB6, new micro driver kid on the block! Is it better than the Tenore? [Impressions/Discussion]

[Lifted Andreas]

Gonna burn my Tenores in with the XLO and one of your mixes tonight.

E80s should be here tomorrow, looking forward to them

Ah cool, I suggest you use the hard trance mixes. You can find them for download here:
http://mixes.djfez.com/djs/dj-lifted-andreas/

I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on the E80, I nearly bought some myself a while ago.

 

[Lurk650]

Well, my E80's came in yesterday and coincidentally my girlfriend decided to misplace her Tenores so she now has my ieb6. They work out a little better for her b/c they are just a little bit smaller than the Tenores so she can lay on her side more easily and also she has an iPhone so the button and mic will be perfect. Just hope she doesn't lose them too. 
 
To add to your pending review, IMHO, the ieb6 is NOT better than the Tenore. That is to my ears of course. They are not bad, they are in fact quite good. They are just too bright for me and they don't have the same airyness. 

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Wow got the invoice today and Parcelforce are asking me to pay £9 import charge which I don't mind, but they also want £13 customs clearance fee (which I assume is for their troubles).

I am seriously debating whether to pay that or not. It's over 40 USD extra on top of what I paid for the IEB6. So total price works out to be around 90 USD!!

 

[Lurk650]

Wow got the invoice today and Parcelforce are asking me to pay £9 import charge which I don't mind, but they also want £13 customs clearance fee (which I assume is for their troubles).

I am seriously debating whether to pay that or not. It's over 40 USB extra on top of what I paid for the IEB6. So total price works out to be around 90 USD!!

No way. Not worth that much. For that price you can get the E80 delivered in a few days off Amazon.

 

[mikaveli06]

Almost 3x there price. Maybe in couple weeks u can buy off me or make a trade.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

No way. Not worth that much. For that price you can get the E80 delivered in a few days off Amazon.

Exactly my issue mate.

Really don't think I'm gonna pay it tbh.

That is totally out of line considering the price of the earphones.

I've actually looked at the E80 before,not sure what to make of them yet tbh. I loved the E10 when I had them years ago.

Almost 3x there price. Maybe in couple weeks u can buy off me or make a trade.

That would be cool, however I will probably run into the same issues mate if you're in the US which I'm guessing you are.

 

[Lurk650]

Compared to the ieb6 they are less bright but way more clear with a better sound stage. They are very favorable to the Tenores. The E80 I got off Amazon for $53. They are $97 USD off Amazon UK so kinda works the customs and import fee into it but IMHO it's worth it for them.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Wow got the invoice today and Parcelforce are asking me to pay £9 import charge which I don't mind, but they also want £13 customs clearance fee (which I assume is for their troubles).

I am seriously debating whether to pay that or not. It's over 40 USD extra on top of what I paid for the IEB6. So total price works out to be around 90 USD!!

 
This is absolutely insane!! Wow.

 Sorry hear this man. I can easily understand your hesitation to pay up. 

 

[mikaveli06]

Haven't heard e80, but e50 was great. Very very clear and clean sound

 

[Lurk650]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/772661/soundmagic-e50-e80-story-of-two-magicians-a-review

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Compared to the ieb6 they are less bright but way more clear with a better sound stage. They are very favorable to the Tenores. The E80 I got off Amazon for $53. They are $97 USD off Amazon UK so kinda works the customs and import fee into it but IMHO it's worth it for them.

Yeah I wish I had ordered them when I saw them before on sale for a good price.

This is absolutely insane!! Wow. :angry_face:  Sorry hear this man. I can easily understand your hesitation to pay up. 

Yeah ridiculous, even the phones I bought from China only cost me £18 in import charges.

Haven't heard e80, but e50 was great. Very very clear and clean sound

Ah nice, haven't heard the E50 either but SoundMagic definitely knows how to tune it's drivers.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/772661/soundmagic-e50-e80-story-of-two-magicians-a-review

Thanks man I'll check it out. Wish someone did an E10 vs E80 review.

 

[Lurk650]

One of the E80 reviews on here wrote this:

"E80 vs E10 - E10 mid-bass punch is stronger and a lot faster, mids a more recessed and not as smooth and organic as E80, treble is very similar and so does a soundstage."

My sister did have the E10, I didnt do a ton of listening but I do remember them being a bit to bright for me.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

One of the E80 reviews on here wrote this:

"E80 vs E10 - E10 mid-bass punch is stronger and a lot faster, mids a more recessed and not as smooth and organic as E80, treble is very similar and so does a soundstage."

My sister did have the E10, I didnt do a ton of listening but I do remember them being a bit to bright for me.

Thanks mate, I loved my E10s when I had them.

The E80 are priced at £64 on Amazon which is a bit pricey tbh. Pretty much same as what I paid for the Yamaha EPH100. I always saw soundmagic as a budget earphone so it's a bit weird seeing their products at this price. Also someone said on the Amazon review that the treble can lag a little bit, if that's true it's gonna be a big issue for me due to the music I listen to. Most of the genres I listen to requite the table to be quick and precise!

Another problem I might have with them is that they are rated at 64 OHMs which means they will be hard as hell to drive without a proper source. So until I get my FiiO M3 I have limited choices in IEMs.

 

[Lurk650]

Thanks mate, I loved my E10s when I had them.

The E80 are priced at £64 on Amazon which is a bit pricey tbh. Pretty much same as what I paid for the Yamaha EPH100. I always saw soundmagic as a budget earphone so it's a bit weird seeing their products at this price. Also someone said on the Amazon review that the treble can lag a little bit, if that's true it's gonna be a big issue for me due to the music I listen to. Most of the genres I listen to requite the table to be quick and precise!

Another problem I might have with them is that they are rated at 64 OHMs which means they will be hard as hell to drive without a proper source. So until I get my FiiO M3 I have limited choices in IEMs.

Yeah luckily I have my FiiO E07K, powers them fine
 
I guess at $100 it is a tad much, though I don't have anything to compare to in that range. I did listen to my M50's last night after a long time without use and the E80's have the same amount of clarity but the 80's actually have a wide sound stage, M50's have pretty much nothing. 
 
Compared to the ieb6, I def hear the difference in treble but its fine for me b/c as I've said before sibilance is my weakness. Nothing I've put through the E80's have sounded terrible. 
 
Also, another review on the Amazon US version of the E80's said:
"Treble has an excellent extension with a bright crisp sound. I'm very cautious using “bright” in describing treble because it always leads to sibilance, but in here SoundMagic managed to tune their treble without crossing that sibilance threshold, while still remaining bright, crisp, and airy."

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Yeah luckily I have my FiiO E07K, powers them fine

I guess at $100 it is a tad much, though I don't have anything to compare to in that range. I did listen to my M50's last night after a long time without use and the E80's have the same amount of clarity but the 80's actually have a wide sound stage, M50's have pretty much nothing. 

Compared to the ieb6, I def hear the difference in treble but its fine for me b/c as I've said before sibilance is my weakness. Nothing I've put through the E80's have sounded terrible. 

Also, another review on the Amazon US version of the E80's said:
"[COLOR=111111]Treble has an excellent extension with a bright crisp sound. I'm very cautious using “bright” in describing treble because it always leads to sibilance, but in here SoundMagic managed to tune their treble without crossing that sibilance threshold, while still remaining bright, crisp, and airy."[/COLOR]

Thanks mate, so I've decided to email First Harmonic to see if they would pay the charges but I sincerely doubt it.

So I'm actually planning to pick up another pair of Soundmagic E10 off ebay, as the E80 is a touch expensive for me at this time.

Will keep you guys posted.