[originalsnuffy]

Right now I have the 8D so my only real choice is the hi frequency filter where I like gunmetal. Gold is okay; and I continue to think the green and blue are useless. I have tried to lobby Forrest to create some more options like the gold and gunmetal, like a gunmetal with a bit less high end or a gold with a bit more high end.

When I had the 8S I settled on red - gray - gold. I know that is pretty boring; pretty much factory stock. But I thought it sounds great and the 8D comes red - gray by definition.

 

[Ziggomatic]

Right now I have the 8D so my only real choice is the hi frequency filter where I like gunmetal. Gold is okay; and I continue to think the green and blue are useless. I have tried to lobby Forrest to create some more options like the gold and gunmetal, like a gunmetal with a bit less high end or a gold with a bit more high end.

When I had the 8S I settled on red - gray - gold. I know that is pretty boring; pretty much factory stock. But I thought it sounds great and the 8D comes red - gray by definition.

Red, gray & gold has been the combo for me for years. I liked the gunmetal filter for a time (I think the earphone has an overall more natural presentation that way), but I ultimately decided the treble was too problematic.

 

[trivium911]

Red, gray & gold has been the combo for me for years. I liked the gunmetal filter for a time (I think the earphone has an overall more natural presentation that way), but I ultimately decided the treble was too problematic.

Im liking the Red, Grey, Gunmetal myself with the KZ star line silicone tips. Does anyone know if plugging these into a balanced connection will improve the sound at all?

 

[firesign]

Red-black-gunmetal or red-black-gold here, it depends on the day.
FLC8S is also one of my favorite IEMs, only surpassed by the FH7 (of which I have had the opportunity to try).

 

[meowzus]

Hi everyone - Once again I got an FLC 8d, however I purchased two cables that said they were 0.78mm but they won't fit the drivers. Anyone know what is going on? What size should I get? It came with the 2.5mm balanced cable and I don't have anything to plug that in.

Also I'm having issues with my FLC 8S - the left driver is too quiet. Is there any way I can send this in to be fixed, or do I just have to buy another pair? Purchased around 2 years ago. Thanks!

 

[csglinux]

Hi everyone - Once again I got an FLC 8d, however I purchased two cables that said they were 0.78mm but they won't fit the drivers. Anyone know what is going on? What size should I get? It came with the 2.5mm balanced cable and I don't have anything to plug that in.

Also I'm having issues with my FLC 8S - the left driver is too quiet. Is there any way I can send this in to be fixed, or do I just have to buy another pair? Purchased around 2 years ago. Thanks!

I'd reach out to lendmeurears.com on both issues. I don't think you're going to find a good replacement cable for the FLC8d, unless it's an FLC8d cable. It's not just the pin size, but also the shape and molding of the plug. Aftermarket cables aren't going to fit or look right, and you might even mess up the polarity.

Or, plan b for your FLC8d - you could buy a 2.5 mm trrs -> 3.5 mm trs adapter? They're not very expensive.

 

[Sybase]

0.78mm is standard for 2-pin IEM cables, of which there are a million out there. I'd just make sure you figure out the polarity. See here: https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/2-pin-polarity-confusion/6849.

 

[originalsnuffy]

FLC has some weird cabling. I think the 2.5 to 3.5 adapter is a good idea.

I love the 8S and the 8D. Think the 8D was replaced with a model made with plastic so maybe its a collector item now....maybe not?

Lend Me Ur Ears works closely with FLC so they are your go to place. Everything is a bit off in Chifi due to the Coronavirus so conversations may be delayed a bit. My experience is that LMUE tends to take their time in responding in general but they seem to come through at the end of the day.

 

[meowzus]

I'd reach out to lendmeurears.com on both issues. I don't think you're going to find a good replacement cable for the FLC8d, unless it's an FLC8d cable. It's not just the pin size, but also the shape and molding of the plug. Aftermarket cables aren't going to fit or look right, and you might even mess up the polarity.

Or, plan b for your FLC8d - you could buy a 2.5 mm trrs -> 3.5 mm trs adapter? They're not very expensive.

I did buy one but it wasn't balanced to unbalanced, so it didn't work. The only balanced to unbalanced adapter that I could find was a Fiio one that was pretty expensive. Do you have a link of any other one that would be good?


Also is the FLC8s discontinued now? I don't see it anymore on the lendmeurears site anymore. Is the 8n just as good? Also.. what are the best foam tips? I just got some regular foam tips and they seem to be pretty good. Well other than comply. Thanks for all the help!

 

[originalsnuffy]

I think the two models now are the 8N and the 8P. The main difference as far as I know is that the 8S used a Knowles BA and the 8N and 8P use another brand. I think the bass on the 8D (similar to the 8N and 8P) is a bit more pronounced. The reviews on the 8N have been positive. I know I really like the now discontinued 8D which is basically the 8N tuned to red - gray for the low and end. The shell on the 8P is plastic; the 8D was metal. AFAIK the 8N is metal; but I don't have one. I discovered the red - gray was the only low end tuning I cared about so did not need the fine tuning inherent on the 8S and 8N.

 

[Mattyhew]

Been using the flc8 for a number of years, replacing the cables as needed. I just went from what I think are the flc8s (blue braided) to the standard grey flc8 cables and I'm now finding the treble harsh and the sound a bit hollow and not as warm as before. I don't remember hearing any difference in the past between the 2 cable types. I'm going to try to do an A/B and report back, but wondered if anyone else has experienced something similar.

 

[Ziggomatic]

Been using the flc8 for a number of years, replacing the cables as needed. I just went from what I think are the flc8s (blue braided) to the standard grey flc8 cables and I'm now finding the treble harsh and the sound a bit hollow and not as warm as before. I don't remember hearing any difference in the past between the 2 cable types. I'm going to try to do an A/B and report back, but wondered if anyone else has experienced something similar.

I've noticed a difference between two other aftermarket cables before on my FLC8S. I'm totally not up on the science, but my admittedly limited understanding is that IEMs with low impedance like the FLC8 (11 ohm) are more susceptible to sound alterations based on cable impedance. So, the effect you're describing (and I've experienced) could be attributable to cables with difference impedance ratings. My two cents!

 

[Sybase]

My FLC 8S sound slightly better with aftermarket cables from Null Audio. Marginally wider soundstage and more detail. Probably not worth the upgrade just sonically speaking. I got it for the comfort, as original wire was very springy and annoying to wear.

 

[hakuzen]

in this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/resistance-of-cables-pics-comments-and-links.907998/
i made an small compilation of cables and jack adapters, including resistance measurements. you can find some interesting 3.5 male to 2.5mm balanced female adapters there, short and longer wired ones (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/res...omments-and-links.907998/page-2#post-14985730).

i didn't add FLC8s stock cables (blue one, and the older black one with less microphonics) to the list.
their rough resistance measurements in mΩ (left , right, left ground [, right ground]) are these:
flcs8s blue 2pin 0.70-0.75mm!: 800, 980, 700, 800
flcs8 old black 2pin 0.70-0.75mm!: 630, 630, 710.
a bit high for my like. when using them together with sources which their output impedance go from 20 to 200mΩ, the impact of the cable resistance is considerable. however, i don't think the cable resistance is so critical, except if you look for the minimum perfect tonal alteration of balanced armatures due to total output impedance.
while keeping low cable resistance (my personal criteria is <400mΩ, and <200mΩ desirable), i think now (subjectively) the quality of the wire, dielectrics, plugs and solders is a good criteria to choose a cable, together with comfort, durability, and look.

usual 0.78mm 2pin cables don't fit into FLC8s, except if stretching sockets badly. and polarity is also special (different between left and right) so you need to remove molded ear guides from universal cables to flip one side. i don't know if later iterations of FLC8 keep all this.

i started using mmcx cable + mmcx to 2pin 0.78mm adapters in order to use universal mmcx cables with FLC8s. i had to choose straight adapters to flip one side. the result was a bit longer than wished, and had to sand the 0.78mm pins to make them thinner to fit FLC8s. then, i found some mmcx to 2pin adapters where the pins were slightly thinner than than the previous ones (so no sanding needed). at last, found mmcx and 2pin 0.78mm to TF10 (thin!) adapters in taobao. straight adapters, of course, to be able to flip one side. they also were shorter.
here is a pic of the 2pin 0.78mm to TF10 adapter. the mmcx to TF10 is much shorter (sorry, i don't have any photo now, but you can check it in the links). result look is not ideal, but it allows me to try any cable with FLC8s.
link to quality straight TF10 adapters: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=567813754454 (you can check that mmcx to TF10 straight adapter is very short)

 

[Sybase]

in this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/resistance-of-cables-pics-comments-and-links.907998/
i made an small compilation of cables and jack adapters, including resistance measurements. you can find some interesting 3.5 male to 2.5mm balanced female adapters there, short and longer wired ones (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/res...omments-and-links.907998/page-2#post-14985730).

i didn't add FLC8s stock cables (blue one, and the older black one with less microphonics) to the list.
their rough resistance measurements in mΩ (left , right, left ground [, right ground]) are these:
flcs8s blue 2pin 0.70-0.75mm!: 800, 980, 700, 800
flcs8 old black 2pin 0.70-0.75mm!: 630, 630, 710.
a bit high for my like. when using them together with sources which their output impedance go from 20 to 200mΩ, the impact of the cable resistance is considerable. however, i don't think the cable resistance is so critical, except if you look for the minimum perfect tonal alteration of balanced armatures due to total output impedance.
while keeping low cable resistance (my personal criteria is <400mΩ, and <200mΩ desirable), i think now (subjectively) the quality of the wire, dielectrics, plugs and solders is a good criteria to choose a cable, together with comfort, durability, and look.

usual 0.78mm 2pin cables don't fit into FLC8s, except if stretching sockets badly. and polarity is also special (different between left and right) so you need to remove molded ear guides from universal cables to flip one side. i don't know if later iterations of FLC8 keep all this.

i started using mmcx cable + mmcx to 2pin 0.78mm adapters in order to use universal mmcx cables with FLC8s. i had to choose straight adapters to flip one side. the result was a bit longer than wished, and had to sand the 0.78mm pins to make them thinner to fit FLC8s. then, i found some mmcx to 2pin adapters where the pins were slightly thinner than than the previous ones (so no sanding needed). at last, found mmcx and 2pin 0.78mm to TF10 (thin!) adapters in taobao. straight adapters, of course, to be able to flip one side. they also were shorter.
here is a pic of the 2pin 0.78mm to TF10 adapter. the mmcx to TF10 is much shorter (sorry, i don't have any photo now, but you can check it in the links). result look is not ideal, but it allows me to try any cable with FLC8s.
link to quality straight TF10 adapters: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=567813754454 (you can check that mmcx to TF10 straight adapter is very short)

Interesting writeup. The resistance affecting the sound makes sense, given how sensitive these iems are. I asked Null Audio support and they said Lune cable was 0.4Ω, which I guess explains the difference in sound I hear between it and the stock cable. Are extremely low resistance (i.e. <0.2Ω) cables harder to come by or more expensive? Why don't cable manufacturers advertise cable resistance? Seems like an important spec to know.