[Zelda]

As all the talk on the new FLC8N & 8D was on the main 8/8s thread, thought we'd start a fresh one on the new 8N

Showcase Item is here for reviews:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/flc-technology-flc-8n.23219

Should receive mine soon...

Info from the FLC site:



With a New sound, wider soundstage
Solid and durable Metal shell
36 Sound signature Combinations
Standard 0.78mm connector



Specifications
Drivers: 8.6mm Dynamic Driver+Dual Balanced Armature Drivers
Frequency Response: 20Hz~20KHz
Sensitivity: 107dB/mW @1KHz
Impedance: 11 Ω
Connector: 0.78mm Two-Pin
Plug: 2.5mm Balanced or 3.5mm Gold-plated L-Plug

 

[jambaj0e]

Love mine! Ended up using Red, Black, grey as my combo with Med Spiral dots in my left ear and small Spiral Dots in my right ear

 

[csglinux]

What's the technical reason for the claimed wider sound stage?

 

[470221]

What's the technical reason for the claimed wider sound stage?

Maybe drivers placement in earphones? Ask Forrest for details. I can assure - it works. Definitely soundstage growed bigger in comparision to 8S model.

 

[geagle]

Has anybody with both 8S and 8N done any kind of in depth comparison? or are they essentially the same, but the 8N has a bigger soundstage?

I have the 8S, so I'm trying to decide if upgrading is worth it or not

 

[Flcforrestwei]

What's the technical reason for the claimed wider sound stage?

Armatures of the two models are different.

 

[csglinux]

Armatures of the two models are different.

I saw that the frequency responses basically measured the same. I'm also considering the upgrade from 8S, but am also curious as to what, physically, would cause a wider soundstage if the placement of the armatures were the same and they gave the same FR? What are the improvements in the new armature driver?

 

[alshit]

Got my FLC8N 2 months ago and kept going back to the red, grey, gold configuration. To me these are really good and my only gripes are maybe the cable can be slightly less springy and more choices of colour would be nice. I don't own the FLC8s but I have demo-ed it extensively in store and I held up buying despite really liking it because I knew that the FLC8N will be available soon. True enough I got the FLC8N not long after at the same price as the discounted FLC8s. These have better built and wider soundstage, maybe a little better bass. Overall I would say that it is an improved version upon the FLC8s.

 

[stmiller]

Subbed

 

[Flcforrestwei]

I saw that the frequency responses basically measured the same. I'm also considering the upgrade from 8S, but am also curious as to what, physically, would cause a wider soundstage if the placement of the armatures were the same and they gave the same FR? What are the improvements in the new armature driver?

As you see, changing a cable doesn't change the FR at all, but the sound changed a lot, change a armature surely change the sound, but I don't know what materials were changed, supplier didn't tell me.

 

[csglinux]

As you see, changing a cable doesn't change the FR at all, but the sound changed a lot, change a armature surely change the sound, but I don't know what materials were changed, supplier didn't tell me.

We have a joke in our industry that sometimes the most important secret is the fact that there is no secret It's entirely possible that the armature manufacturers don't know either. They may simply have been supplied identical material parts with different SKU numbers. It seems quite possible that the only differences between 8S and 8N are the metalic casing and (possibly?) the cable.

@Flcforrestwei - you know I'm a huge fan of your products and designs. The FLC8S is one of my all-time favorite headphones. But you guys really need to work on your marketing. Typically, when you're selling a supposedly upgraded product, you have to offer some specs, even if those are only as a result of third party components, e.g., the aircraft offers a 5% increase in fuel economy because of increased engine efficiency. You've got to say something, because otherwise you don't even have the possibility of creating a placebo effect.

As for cables, I've never heard much of a difference unless I've also been able to measure a difference. I believe there's an asymptotic limit to this, where once the cable (of whatever material) gets thick enough, its impedance gets so low that adding more conductive material no longer changes the sound any further. Anybody else have a different experience with cables? If so, what were the measured impedances of the cables in question?

What I would really have hoped for in an upgrade would be (at least the option) for a slightly different tuning - one that had a little more treble extension, but less lower treble, so less bright-sounding and less fatiguing. Other than that, I can't really fault the 8S. However, it seems the 8N's FR is basically identical to that of the 8S. @Flcforrestwei, should I wait for the FLC9? Will that differ from the 8S by more than just a change in armature?

P.S. I just found the details on the FLC9. It looks like this is planned to be a single BA IEM, correct? I presume that won't be considered in any manner to be superior to the 8N?

 

[Flcforrestwei]

First of all, when we developped Flc8n, we used Flc8s ' housing, when the sound was locked then we designed a new housing for it, so it's not the housing caused the defferent.
Second, There is another factor to improve the sound, but we Don't want to reveal it, you can say it ' s a Technology secret.
Third, we have many good sounds on hand now, we still not decide which sound Will be used for Flc9 and What ' s it it ' s price, What I can say is that, Flc9 is decided by Flc8n ' s market performance.
The last, I said it in Chinese market before: Flc8n is good enough to be Flc9, we named it as Flc8n, because we have many good sounds on hand, and we want Flc8 series products to be a typical products.

 

[csglinux]

First of all, when

Sorry @Flcforrestwei - I don't understand what that means?

P.S. Ok, I see the rest of your post now. I guess you hit "send" too early. So the plan is still for FLC9 to be a single BA driver?

 

[FunkeXMix]

Has anyone found a compatible cable replacement with a volume controller on the cable?

 

[Flcforrestwei]

We have a joke in our industry that sometimes the most important secret is the fact that there is no secret It's entirely possible that the armature manufacturers don't know either. They may simply have been supplied identical material parts with different SKU numbers. It seems quite possible that the only differences between 8S and 8N are the metalic casing and (possibly?) the cable.

@Flcforrestwei - you know I'm a huge fan of your products and designs. The FLC8S is one of my all-time favorite headphones. But you guys really need to work on your marketing. Typically, when you're selling a supposedly upgraded product, you have to offer some specs, even if those are only as a result of third party components, e.g., the aircraft offers a 5% increase in fuel economy because of increased engine efficiency. You've got to say something, because otherwise you don't even have the possibility of creating a placebo effect.

As for cables, I've never heard much of a difference unless I've also been able to measure a difference. I believe there's an asymptotic limit to this, where once the cable (of whatever material) gets thick enough, its impedance gets so low that adding more conductive material no longer changes the sound any further. Anybody else have a different experience with cables? If so, what were the measured impedances of the cables in question?

What I would really have hoped for in an upgrade would be (at least the option) for a slightly different tuning - one that had a little more treble extension, but less lower treble, so less bright-sounding and less fatiguing. Other than that, I can't really fault the 8S. However, it seems the 8N's FR is basically identical to that of the 8S. @Flcforrestwei, should I wait for the FLC9? Will that differ from the 8S by more than just a change in armature?

P.S. I just found the details on the FLC9. It looks like this is planned to be a single BA IEM, correct? I presume that won't be considered in any manner to be superior to the 8N?

After considering a long time, we decided not to use FLC9 any more, we'll divide our products into three groups, DD (Dynamic Driver) series, BA (Balanced Armature) series, and HB (Hybrid) series.

We'll release DD series in Oct. we'll release 4~5 models at the same time.

And plan to release HB series in Spring to next year, BA series in next fall (next Sep or Oct.)