[canali]

The DK-3001 departs a little bit from past DUNU tunings in the upper range (dropping significantly after the 9 kHz peak), but it also has some other fairly intense peaks at 2 and 5 kHz. Everybody has different preferences, so I guess some might like that sort of FR? It's not for me.

I've not heard the AK T8ei mkii, but I own it's successor, the Xelento (which is also three times the price of the FLC 8S). I love the Xelento - really comfortable, beautiful rich, exciting sound... However, I would respectfully disagree with anyone who says they're more resolving than the FLC 8S. If you think that, you haven't got the right cable on your FLC 8S and/or you haven't tuned it properly I really do like the Xelentos, and it's hard to put numbers on it - I would say it's 98% of the way towards being as resolving as the FLC 8S, and, of course, some might legitimately prefer its sound signature.

I'm afraid the Klipsch X20i doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as the FLC 8S. Sorry Kipsch!

sorry i still stand by my assertion: to me the ak t8ei mkii is more resolving....to each their own..ive tried many filters on it too
nothing to do with tuning whatever that means (i'm not a heavy subbass guy, more reference oriented)..and cables, well that is a voodoo wormhole none of us agree on.
but in the end we all hear differently...i do agree the flc 8s kick way above their price point.
will be interesting to see 1/how the celeste differs and 2/it's price point.

myself:I'm considering my first customs via the ultimate ears reference remastered (UERR), or 18+pro. or might check out a canadian company (calgary alberta) getting fab results for customs:
www.plungeaudio.com

 

[csglinux]

sorry i still stand by my assertion: to me the ak t8ei mkii is more resolving....to each their own..ive tried many filters on it too
nothing to do with tuning whatever that means (i'm not a heavy subbass guy, more reference oriented)..and cables, well that is a voodoo wormhole none of us agree on.
but in the end we all hear differently...i do agree the flc 8s kick way above their price point.
will be interesting to see 1/how the celeste differs and 2/it's price point.

No need to apologize my friend! I believe you If you hear it, that's all that matters. Like I said, I only have the Xelentos (and have spent ton of time A/Bing them vs FLC 8S). I've not heard the ak t8ei mkii, and I know they have a different tuning. About that voodoo wormhole - I recently did some measurements using my SE846. Small differences, but repeatably/consistently measurable - and large enough to be audible:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/shure-se846-impressions-thread.675219/page-1207#post-13644650

Also, you can get creative with the FLC 8S by modifying the standard tuning filters. Just saying

Anybody have any news on the Celeste? PMs to Forrest seem to go unanswered. I hope he's not been abducted by aliens or anything.

 

[canali]

No need to apologize my friend! I believe you If you hear it, that's all that matters. Like I said, I only have the Xelentos (and have spent ton of time A/Bing them vs FLC 8S). I've not heard the ak t8ei mkii, and I know they have a different tuning. About that voodoo wormhole - I recently did some measurements using my SE846. Small differences, but repeatably/consistently measurable - and large enough to be audible:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/shure-se846-impressions-thread.675219/page-1207#post-13644650

Also, you can get creative with the FLC 8S by modifying the standard tuning filters. Just saying

Anybody have any news on the Celeste? PMs to Forrest seem to go unanswered. I hope he's not been abducted by aliens or anything.

no probs, bud...how did you mod the filters? interesting....
i got my AK T8ei mkii for a great deal, used mint.
might sell them and flc to pay for my first customs, however.

 

[csglinux]

I have to remember to check myself before saying anything is the best or the most resolving, etc., because as you quite rightly say, everybody's ears and preferences are different. So there are really no shortcuts - you have to try out everything for yourself and see what works best for you. For that reason, I'll refrain from giving my personal prescription for the FLC 8S, because this thread is already littered with "This combination of filters sounds the best" type of posts. But my biggest improvement was with a little bit of acoustic damping foam in the black LF filters.

As for customs - same story - you have to try them and see. My concerns about custom IEMs are:

1) They're a crapshoot. Because your ear canals/conchal bowls are unique, so will be the length of your custom bores, resonance peaks, etc. You'll just never know how they're going to fit or sound until you get them back. And...
2) Good luck getting a refund if you don't like the final sound.
3) They are usually really comfortable, but customs don't isolate as well as properly-fitted foam. (This point isn't subjective - it's easily measureable.)
4) Good luck selling them when you want your next upgrade.

I'm not trying to put you off - I'm just doing my usual thing of playing Devil's advocate. I've had custom IEMs, custom tips, custom shells, all made via molds from various gold star audiologists, and I rarely use any of them anymore. They didn't work for me, but as I said, there are no shortcuts. There's only one way to find out if they'll work for you... Please post back and let us know!

P.S. What is Mint?

 

[Eric23]

That's awesome. Thanks for the impressions. So the FLC8S performs at least in the same league as the Xelento, which costs 3 times it's price? That's a great sign. I wonder if in the future I want to take a noticeable step up in sound quality from the FLC8S, which would be a similar headphone that can give such a great bang for the buck, but also give noticeable sound improvements from the FLC8S.

Best IEM's i've ever heard were the Noble Kaiser k10. I wonder how the FLC8S compares. Or if some company will try to make a lower priced option that can compete with the K10, or if something that's comparable but at a "much" lower price is already out?

Thanks for the impressions on the X20i. I missed it on sale a while back. Originally wanted to get it cause i really need a mic on my headphone for phone calls. And they sounded better than the 1More Triple to me when I was auditioning them. But based on your impressions it seems like the FLC8S is leagues ahead of the klipsch and at a cheaper price too. Makes me feel much better now. =D

 

[Brooko]

The DK-3001 departs a little bit from past DUNU tunings in the upper range (dropping significantly after the 9 kHz peak), but it also has some other fairly intense peaks at 2 and 5 kHz.

Yes it has a peak at 2 kHz, but the 5 kHz one is benign, as are the other through the lower treble. Measurements here : https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/du...ce-sound-generator.22237/reviews#review-18656

 

[canali]

I have to remember to check myself before saying anything is the best or the most resolving, etc., because as you quite rightly say, everybody's ears and preferences are different. So there are really no shortcuts - you have to try out everything for yourself and see what works best for you. For that reason, I'll refrain from giving my personal prescription for the FLC 8S, because this thread is already littered with "This combination of filters sounds the best" type of posts. But my biggest improvement was with a little bit of acoustic damping foam in the black LF filters.

As for customs - same story - you have to try them and see. My concerns about custom IEMs are:

1) They're a crapshoot. Because your ear canals/conchal bowls are unique, so will be the length of your custom bores, resonance peaks, etc. You'll just never know how they're going to fit or sound until you get them back. And...
2) Good luck getting a refund if you don't like the final sound.
3) They are usually really comfortable, but customs don't isolate as well as properly-fitted foam. (This point isn't subjective - it's easily measureable.)
4) Good luck selling them when you want your next upgrade.

I'm not trying to put you off - I'm just doing my usual thing of playing Devil's advocate. I've had custom IEMs, custom tips, custom shells, all made via molds from various gold star audiologists, and I rarely use any of them anymore. They didn't work for me, but as I said, there are no shortcuts. There's only one way to find out if they'll work for you... Please post back and let us know!

P.S. What is Mint?

----------------------------------------------
thanks csglinux.

mint = excellent, like new condition.

yes i hear you on the CIEMs...haven't decided to pull the trigger or not:
considering UERR (but worry that neutral is boring) or their 18+pro.
even the JH 13v2 pro. or jh16v2...or check out a local company up here in canada doing interesting
things, getting quite a following: www.plungeaudio.com

i'm about to get in the mandarin symbio eartips: might explore those a bit more
on my flc 8s / ak t8ei mkii before splurging on customs.

 

[csglinux]

----------------------------------------------
mint = excellent condition.

Dang! I thought there was some new website for awesome deals on headphones!

BTW, I love the sound from those symbio eartips, but I found them a bit painful to wear. The combination of the silicon and foam they use tends to create an eartip that's pretty rigid - certainly not as soft or pliable as, say, the Trinity Kombi eartips.

 

[bfhyan]

Need to buy a new IEM

Which one should I go for, FLC8S, Dunu DN2000 or Earsonics Velvet? Regardless the price.

 

[csglinux]

Need to buy a new IEM

Which one should I go for, FLC8S, Dunu DN2000 or Earsonics Velvet? Regardless the price.

Check out ljokerl's top 100. You can order them by SQ:

http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/#

All three of your headphones make the top 20

 

[canali]

That's awesome. Thanks for the impressions. So the FLC8S performs at least in the same league as the Xelento, which costs 3 times it's price? That's a great sign. I wonder if in the future I want to take a noticeable step up in sound quality from the FLC8S, which would be a similar headphone that can give such a great bang for the buck, but also give noticeable sound improvements from the FLC8S.

Best IEM's i've ever heard were the Noble Kaiser k10. I wonder how the FLC8S compares. Or if some company will try to make a lower priced option that can compete with the K10, or if something that's comparable but at a "much" lower price is already out?

Thanks for the impressions on the X20i. I missed it on sale a while back. Originally wanted to get it cause i really need a mic on my headphone for phone calls. And they sounded better than the 1More Triple to me when I was auditioning them. But based on your impressions it seems like the FLC8S is leagues ahead of the klipsch and at a cheaper price too. Makes me feel much better now. =D

noble kaiser 10...i've read great things on them too...funny how with each current model they're the 'cat's ass'
then when a replacement comes in (encore or katana) the same interviewers are now saying 'but the noble 10
was missing something that this new >>>> model fulflls'..keep the koolaid coming.
iems have just gotten crazy priced...

and i don't wish to go down the reallly pricey route as imo a good set of cans
will still beat many iems...and i also listen more to my music thru my naim muso or focal alpha 50 desktop speakers.

 

[Ziggomatic]

Need to buy a new IEM

Which one should I go for, FLC8S, Dunu DN2000 or Earsonics Velvet? Regardless the price.

Still haven't heard the Velvet, but in my opinion the FLC8S is a step ahead of the DN2000, both in terms of sound (the FLC8S is more natural to me) and ergonomics, and that's without taking into account the sound tuning capabilities of the FLC8S.

 

[bfhyan]

Still haven't heard the Velvet, but in my opinion the FLC8S is a step ahead of the DN2000, both in terms of sound (the FLC8S is more natural to me) and ergonomics, and that's without taking into account the sound tuning capabilities of the FLC8S.

Ok, I will most likely buy the FLC from Aliexpress, but it will take like 1-2 months to arrive here.

For a "NOW" option, I'm considering Sennheiser IE80, Westone 4R and Shure Se535. They will most likely cost around the same to me, since I will not be buying new ones. Which one should I go for?

 

[HiFiChris]

Ok, I will most likely buy the FLC from Aliexpress, but it will take like 1-2 months to arrive here.

For a "NOW" option, I'm considering Sennheiser IE80, Westone 4R and Shure Se535. They will most likely cost around the same to me, since I will not be buying new ones. Which one should I go for?

The Westone and Shure clearly outperform the Sennheiser on the technical level.

The Shure has got a more neutral, just slightly elevated bass whereas the Westone has got a punchy midbass bump.

W4R = wide soundstage, almost no depth whereas the SE535's is noticeably smaller but more circular and has got more spatial depth.

So I'd say you could take whichever seems to be more to your preference.

 

[bfhyan]

The Westone and Shure clearly outperform the Sennheiser on the technical level.

The Shure has got a more neutral, just slightly elevated bass whereas the Westone has got a punchy midbass bump.

W4R = wide soundstage, almost no depth whereas the SE535's is noticeably smaller but more circular and has got more spatial depth.

So I'd say you could take whichever seems to be more to your preference.

Just read some reviews and some friend's opinion and decided not to go for the 535.

Think I'll go for the Westone!

Thank you for your kind help.