[csglinux]

Are you sure you are getting a good deal. The memory wire can make it difficult? Sounding thin isn't how they typically are described. A poor to mediocre seal will cause this to happen. If you haven't used a lot of IEM's you may think you have a good deal but don't.

I agree, it sounds like a seal issue. Also, tips play a huge role - in my experience they can have an even larger effect on FR than the filters. You might want to try some type of Comply foam tip instead of silicone - that would roll-off the treble a bit, but leave your mid-range mostly unaltered.

 

[Doomjoon]

I'm using MEE Audio double-flange tips. They do feel somewhat awkward, but I have a large head with large ears so there shouldn't be a problem with that, thus I probably just need to get used to them as I'm not the only one who finds the fit awkward, from what I know. However, sound-wise, I think I'm actually slowly getting used to them at the moment. I'll see how this goes further, but red-black-gold is looking pretty good right now.

Also, mine are a freshly produced pair, the recent ones don't have memory wire.

 

[originalsnuffy]

It's worth developing a favorite tip

For me it's the large size of JVC spiral dots

 

[Doomjoon]

These isolate me pretty well, so I'd assume that the seal is good. Anyway, either I'm getting used to them or they are burning in, or both, since they are starting to sound less hollow, but they still don't have nearly the body of what my other earphones/headphones have. I'm running grey-grey-gold right now, and before that I tried grey-grey-gunmetal but didn't like it that much for now, seems like reducing ULF from red to grey gave them more midrange presence. Although I could also try out grey-black-gold to give them more lower mids/upper bass.

Another thing I've been considering is switching over to the blue filter to tame the highs even more, and switching the ULF/LF to clear/clear to compensate. I'm definitely not giving up on these.

 

[Nalin]

These isolate me pretty well, so I'd assume that the seal is good. Anyway, either I'm getting used to them or they are burning in, or both, since they are starting to sound less hollow, but they still don't have nearly the body of what my other earphones/headphones have. I'm running grey-grey-gold right now, and before that I tried grey-grey-gunmetal but didn't like it that much for now, seems like reducing bass from red-grey-gold and red-black-gold gave them more midrange presence. Although I could also try out grey-black-gold to give them more lower mids/upper bass.

Another thing I've been considering is switching over to the blue filter to tame the highs even more, and switching the ULF/LF to clear/clear to compensate. I'm definitely not giving up on these.

To get more body you have to use black filter on these. It may increase some treble too making overall presentation a little aggressive but still you should definitely give it a try.

Overall these don't sound as full as i like them to be. That's the only drawback i can say these have. That's the reason bass sounds detached and disjointed because connection between lower mids and bass is not there. It's not as prominent but it's there. Even with black filter this connection can't be made imho.

 

[Doomjoon]

Alright, I think I've just made a bit of a discovery. I don't expect this to be your kind of music, but bear with me and take a listen to this, 3:04 - 4:26:



The tom drums with these are barely audible and have zero impact. With my other pairs, however, they can much more clearly be heard and -felt-. So there definitely is SOME frequency range here that I'm desperately missing. Is it the same with yours? And even the treble which is supposed to be great on these just feels weak. Detailed, but... it has very little emotion and impact. It's like comparing a tidal wave to a splash from an insect's wings. I expected them to be analytical and all but... damn.

 

[ajaxender]

Alright, I think I've just made a bit of a discovery. I don't expect this to be your kind of music, but bear with me and take a listen to this, 3:04 - 4:26:

The tom drums with these are barely audible and have zero impact. With my other pairs, however, they can much more clearly be heard and -felt-. So there definitely is SOME frequency range here that I'm desperately missing. Is it the same with yours? And even the treble which is supposed to be great on these just feels weak. Detailed, but... it has very little emotion and impact. It's like comparing a tidal wave to a splash from an insect's wings. I expected them to be analytical and all but... damn.

I found that track on Bandcamp for name your price, so I hucked them a euro to see how it went with my stuff (FLC8S, and some others).

I think the FLC8S is almost designed to be incompatible with that track, or at least that part of it.
1) The FLC8S bass peaks at around 50 Hz, or lower if using the red filter. It drops reasonably steadily from there through the mid range to 1 kHz, without plateauing through the mid-bass like many IEMs and headphones do; and it's not a massive boost to begin with. I also think it's set up for the bass to be fast, rather than impactful (shorter decay than a typical dynamic). With the tom drums at 130 Hz, on the FLC8s their volume level is below lower bass and not elevated at all above the upper midrange.
2) The FLC8S has a sharp dip starting at or just before 5 kHz, and stays down until a sharp peak at around 8 kHz. This makes it very forgiving of harshness, usually found in that frequency range. It also makes it sound sweet and nice - by lacking crunch or bite, most noticeable in drum crashes. Generally, it resolves well enough for this to not bother me (I'm sensitive both ways to that area, I prefer it flat or at least not peaking higher than frequencies around it) but it does on certain tracks, particularly ones that have had that range already reduced in mastering. This seems to be one of those, looking at the spectrum in Foobar (shows much more 7 kHz energy on crash hits, other tracks have more 5 kHz energy than this one). Too soft for sure.

Overall the track seems to be mastered for speakers (it does sound fine on my Logitech things), or gear more V shaped than the FLC8S is. You said you've got a DT880, I haven't heard them but I get the idea they fit that description. I'd try using grey sub-bass filter and no other bass filter (secret fourth option!), and perhaps the green or even no front filter. And a fair bit of EQ if you're willing.

 

[Doomjoon]

I found that track on Bandcamp for name your price, so I hucked them a euro to see how it went with my stuff (FLC8S, and some others).

I think the FLC8S is almost designed to be incompatible with that track, or at least that part of it.
1) The FLC8S bass peaks at around 50 Hz, or lower if using the red filter. It drops reasonably steadily from there through the mid range to 1 kHz, without plateauing through the mid-bass like many IEMs and headphones do; and it's not a massive boost to begin with. I also think it's set up for the bass to be fast, rather than impactful (shorter decay than a typical dynamic). With the tom drums at 130 Hz, on the FLC8s their volume level is below lower bass and not elevated at all above the upper midrange.
2) The FLC8S has a sharp dip starting at or just before 5 kHz, and stays down until a sharp peak at around 8 kHz. This makes it very forgiving of harshness, usually found in that frequency range. It also makes it sound sweet and nice - by lacking crunch or bite, most noticeable in drum crashes. Generally, it resolves well enough for this to not bother me (I'm sensitive both ways to that area, I prefer it flat or at least not peaking higher than frequencies around it) but it does on certain tracks, particularly ones that have had that range already reduced in mastering. This seems to be one of those, looking at the spectrum in Foobar (shows much more 7 kHz energy on crash hits, other tracks have more 5 kHz energy than this one). Too soft for sure.

Overall the track seems to be mastered for speakers (it does sound fine on my Logitech things), or gear more V shaped than the FLC8S is. You said you've got a DT880, I haven't heard them but I get the idea they fit that description. I'd try using grey sub-bass filter and no other bass filter (secret fourth option!), and perhaps the green or even no front filter. And a fair bit of EQ if you're willing.

The DT880's are quite neutral actualy, if not mid-centric. They do have a surprisingly nice extension of sub-bass but the bass in general is pretty timid. That's how I found these, I was looking for something neutral and analytical with nice extension, but which I can carry outside. I was also thinking of doing some EQ, I've been eyeing that 5 kHZ peak and even though the DT880 also has one, it's not nearly as sharp. So I could go with some EQ.

Edit: Welp, no LF filter definitely brings it closer to the "wall of sound" effect I'm going for, it's almost there actually. Although that is QUITE a bit of leakage, especially for the music I'm listening to.

Why do you suggest the green though, is it for the 5khz peak? Since overt brightness is one of my primary problems that the moment.

 

[ajaxender]

The DT880's are quite neutral actualy, if not mid-centric. They do have a surprisingly nice extension of sub-bass but the bass in general is pretty timid. That's how I found these, I was looking for something neutral and analytical with nice extension, but which I can carry outside. I was also thinking of doing some EQ, I've been eyeing that 5 kHZ peak and even though the DT880 also has one, it's not nearly as sharp. So I could go with some EQ.

Edit: Welp, no LF filter definitely brings it closer to the "wall of sound" effect I'm going for, it's almost there actually. Although that is QUITE a bit of leakage, especially for the music I'm listening to.

Why do you suggest the green though, is it for the 5khz peak? Since overt brightness is one of my primary problems that the moment.

True, I actually looked the 880's up. Not V-shaped like I was thinking. Bit of a treble boost for the higher ohm versions.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of not using the LF filter myself, but I did think it might be closer to what you're thinking of. The LF and ULF filters are just variable vents, essentially. Opening it all up would, I assume, let the driver move more freely and hit harder, though it does seem the sub-bass roll off is fast if you don't use at least the grey filter.

I was suggesting green or no front filter to attempt for more 5 kHz presence, yes, but it will also lead to a much higher peak around 8 kHz. That seems likely to be what's bothering you as far as brightness goes; probably not worth the trade-off. Only the blue filter dampens that peak, along with everything else. If you're gonna EQ 5-6 kHz up you might as well EQ 8 kHz down, and just pick whichever filter suits you as far as upper mid-range goes.

 

[dlayman]

The DT880's are quite neutral actualy, if not mid-centric. They do have a surprisingly nice extension of sub-bass but the bass in general is pretty timid. That's how I found these, I was looking for something neutral and analytical with nice extension, but which I can carry outside. I was also thinking of doing some EQ, I've been eyeing that 5 kHZ peak and even though the DT880 also has one, it's not nearly as sharp. So I could go with some EQ.

Edit: Welp, no LF filter definitely brings it closer to the "wall of sound" effect I'm going for, it's almost there actually. Although that is QUITE a bit of leakage, especially for the music I'm listening to.

Why do you suggest the green though, is it for the 5khz peak? Since overt brightness is one of my primary problems that the moment.

I have to say I think you might not have chosen the right IEM for your music and signature preferences. I'm pretty fond of the 8S, and the DT880 I find to be exceedingly bright, but otherwise very good. It's treble spike is just too much for me though. I think you're going to be fighting an uphill battle here, and it might be best to sell the 8S and try something else. Comparing full size cans to an IEM is problematic, but I could never say the 8S is anywhere near as hot as the 880.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Given all the concerns raised in terms of sound; I keep wondering if you have a good seal. These are a pretty well rounded unit and to have that many issues makes me think the seal is less than good; maybe even bad... If the seal is not optimal even the very best IEMs will sound like crap.

I can't use the blue or green as they come from the factory. I modified the blue and now they have an interesting tilt; sort of a muted green. I removed the plastic inserts and a friend drilled some small holes to tone down the treble.

Day to day I live in gunmetal. And I use the black ULF filter because for me red is almost too much low bass. Guess I am not a bass head after all.

 

[Doomjoon]

Since I already hijacked the thread entirely for my own problems, I might as well go along. But, thank you all

Well, I decided to say an honest-hearted "heck it" and try out the green filter just to better see where I'm at, and I got some surprising results. Remember how before I said that, although the treble had proper volume, it felt "weak"? Like some key component of it was missing? Well, this brings them closer to having more power, but I still feel like more components are missing. Thus, everything is leading me to believe that it is indeed the lower treble/upper mids that I'm missing. This can be fixed with EQ, although, as @dlayman said, I might have to ask myself if it's worth it at this point. Especially since it's hard to find a quality app for android with parametric EQ (unless if I'm willing to part with some money).

As for the seal, it's hard to tell, the definitely -feel- like a proper seal. I'll try fiddling with it more.

 

[originalsnuffy]

In my personal opinion, its worth experimenting with various tips. When you find the right tip, whether its large, medium, or small, you will experience an "aha" moment with just about all of your IEMs. Until then, major portions of the sound spectrum will sound like the air has been sucked out of the room. The symptoms you are describing at dead on for a tip issue.

 

[csglinux]

I'd read about some people having possible fit issues and/or complaining about peaky trebles with the FLC8S. @Tranman409 recently posted a great suggestion about a new dual-flange SpinFit tip on the SE846 thread. This is the link to the medium size, but they also come in S and L:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VVRXHG1

They roll off the treble just slightly (perhaps somewhere in between that of foam and regular SpinFits), which isn't necessarily ideal for the SE846, but for the FLC8S, it might be perfect for somebody wanting a bit less upper end than that from regular SpinFit or other single-flange silicone tips. They're also really comfortable and isolate really well (much better than regular SpinFits). They're expensive, but well worth checking out, especially for anybody who's currently struggling to get a good fit, seal or sound.

 

[robervaul]

So, FLC in 2017...

I'd like to see the flagship Celeste and a lower cost fixed-tuning, fixed-cable version or two of FLC8S. Perhaps one with grey-clear-grey and one with red-grey-gold tuning.

This day is coming. added FLC9
Can't wait