Ha! Curious to hear your impressions on VE8 vs UE18+
my first review/comparison woooo~~~
i am curious to hear the custom version comparison tho,
but i dont think many own both, mb wait till Nic comes back
i can give you a casual
noob 1 week side-by-side demo version UE18+ VE8
impression:
driven from PC to Jotunheim /w DAC, through externally power USB hub
*ive read impressions and reviews and have seen measurements prior to demo
sound
signature
ve8 largely neutral, sorta u shape, with the more bass than treble, u within 20Hz-10kHz
ue18+, similar, less bass, less lower mid treble, kinda feels like L shape within 20Hz-10kHz
noise/hiss:
Jotunheim is famouly low noise with sensitive IEMs and low distortion, half the reason why i bought it
externally power USB hub is used
ue18+ silent on Jotunheim
VE8 has sorta low frequency hum, but not sharp, slight, but discernible, can identify during really quiet sections of songs if you really look for it, which i do -_-
exists even just plugged in
bass
bass kinda feels puffier on the UE18+, while the VE8 has more quantity (semi significant, id guess 3,4,5 dB?), and more compact solid punches
this is immediately noticeable, not that subtle
ve8s bass is to my liking depending on mood and genre and both, sometimes i like it, but sometimes its bass is just no chill, pounding in the BG while a sweet female vocalist is singing love ballad
really no chill, always look at me
on the other hand, ue18+ has just enough quantity, enough for me to engage in the beat, but chill
mids
didnt really hear much of difference in mids, where they differ is more as a result of lows and highs
the mids and vocals felt cleaner in the ue18+ than but if i play just pure acoustic or piano ballads, this effect isnt there,
i think the ve8s prominent bass makes me have to dig through the thick bass and kind the mids
treble
VE8 brighter, not drastic, but immediately noticeable, string instruments, female vocals and synthetic sounds, sound more sculpted,
not the best analogy, but kinda like touching the same sculpture made of foam or glass, the same sharp edges are there
i like this better
separation is more obvious in ve8 due to the brighter nature,
sound stage
as for sound stage, since ive only tried VE568, and UERR, UE18+, which are all pretty high end, there isnt one thats noticeably smaller or larger stage
but id say VE8 is slightly bigger, i hesitate using the word bigger in this case tho, maybe its rather VE8 has a bit less of an effect, where all the sounds are crowing up next to my ear, less congested? but ue18+ is not congested, i guess
less of an IEM characteristic, that
sound is in your head
- this actually kinda makes the ve8 feel like fatiguing to me somehow, even tho brighter, its just less in my face
-i
suspect its
because that the
bass is quite a bit more
prominent than mids and treble, a observations made by several other source, thus
masking and make
other regions appear more
distant
side note
dont expect anything close to a full sized space tho, but maybe you could have that effect, maybe its because im hyper aware where the sound is coming from, thus cannot immerse in the spatial illusion
build
material
ve8 is crystal clear, ue18+ is not bad, but u can totally tell the air-plastic-air interfaces
not a downside, just a intrinsic characteristic of hollow shell vs filled
ve8 has has nice smooth shiny lacquer, somewhat better than 18+
size
ve8 much thinner (flush to ear), and smaller, but heavier, the driver arrangement is really compact,
while ue18+ is larger, thicker, but lighter, the True Tone driver does not allow the drivers to be dispersed like ve8, this driver housing/tube structure is just a long rectangular shaped thing, it limits the size, and flushness, the cross-over component is also larger
ve8s surface
design
ve8 much prettier in face plate department, with more complex and embedded 3D metal flake designs
my personal conclusion
I couldnt really identify aspects where ue18+ did better, its just even in many areas, which is remarkable given its "affordable price" of 1500 USD
but not to say VE8 has clearly better attributes either, most of it is just preference imo
but would feel nice to own the ve8, hailed as co-kings alongside SE5U, A18
if ue18+ is priced at 1500 USD like in USA, i would choose it in a heart beat, but its 1785 Euro in europe, 40% higher than US.
that kinda makes me think why not spend more to get VE8, whose only downside is
situationally too much bass, or
potentially fatiguing from
treble lift,
both of which are
easily solved with
EQ, especially this is
EQ down, which is much
less problematic than adding energy
another concern: UE's last flagship was 7 years ago, i kinda wanna sit on a flagship for the next 2-3 years, or until a breakthrough takes place, hahahha or until
someone writes an enticing review again hehehehehe
side note on UE18+ Togo:
im assuming is identical to demo, i really dont recommend it
unless u want it for resale value, it really sticks out far from your ear, the housing wall facing your face does not touch your ear at all, and 95% the weight of the whole structure relies on tip and ear hook
where as VE demo fit is freakin amazing
)
Also source, and playlist. In my case, the Prelude sounds best with my laptop, and intimate acoustic tracks. And the Dream with my portable players, and EDM. They kind of complement each other's weakness. Having 32 is quite a lot! Even for a serious audiophile, or collector. 
