[jleewach]

 
Quote:

Are you high? You're ramblings make absolutely no sense. 

You're funny.
In a bad way. Biased and irrational people usually are.
 
I'll start you off (with correct grammar included):
"The IE8s are very much a last-generation iem from a time when technology in most earphones was pretty bad. Back then they were great, but I really think technology has caught up with them and they're no longer a "top-tier" iem in my book, whatever "top-tier" means."
1 - audiophile technology crawls like a snail. 20 year old headphones are able to hold their ground today. The ER-4 is around 15 years old and is still one of the most neutral and transparent earphones ever. The IE8s themselves have accumulated reasonable age. The difference between them and the SE530 is insignificant.
2 - burn in is not equivalent of caterpillar to butterfly. I've compared my veteran ie8 with my friend's brand new one and it is not an argument to rely on when you're defending it.
3 - The IE8's mids are 'equal' to the SE530's in the same way that the SE530's soundstage is 'better' than the IE8. There are different tastes, and some people don't like an enormous tube soundstage accompanied by a phat midbass encroaching on the mids; it feels like swimming in molasses and chocolate.

Honestly, I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that I'm "biased & irrational," based off a single post you happened to have read & disagreed with. (By the way, if you're going to insult my grammar, you should probably check your own, and capitalize the first words of the sentences you wrote in point 1 & 2, smart ass. You also have some commas missing, but we're getting off topic.
 
1.) If you'd ever bother to read some of my other posts on this forum, you'd very quickly find that the ER4S are my all-time favorite iem, and I'm very well aware of their age. I've said countless times that I've heard nothing better than the ER4's, and I suspect I probably won't for a long time. However, I think there's a pretty good consensus that BA/Dynamic-driver technology has improved pretty significantly since the SE530 was introduced. Many single-driver iems simply have better sound quality than older, multidriver iems (RE0, IE-series, GR8, & EQ7.) Of course, this is totally my opinion; but I've listened to nearly all of the respectable, universal iems available, so I've had a pretty long while to develop my opinion. 
 
2.) I'm not going to bother arguing 'burn-in effect' with you, especially since you had to rely on using a friends "burned-in" iems to compare. There are countless posts on this forum describing the change that the IE8's have over time. Some people don't agree, and that's fine. I never claimed that I was preaching the Gospel.
 
3.) You're definitely entitled to your opinion that the IE8's SQ is comparable to swimming in various fluids; I honestly don't care what you think. Just as you said that some don't enjoy the massive soundstage & larger quantity of bass, I don't enjoy the way in which the treble of the SE530 completely falls off a cliff after a certain point. I'd rather have a bit more bass & larger soundstage (not sure when a larger soundstage became a bad thing) than a complete lack of representation in the upper-frequencies, especially from an IEM w/ a $500 msrp. 
 
Your opinion is yours, and mine is mine. I think mine is better, but in the end, it's all opinion. 

 

[Trysaeder]

Quote:

The IE8's are so much better than the SE530's...

There we go, I should have brought the paint and brush at that. I would have if the ignore button took a few fewer clicks.
 
Good soundstage: O
Wannabe soundstage: ===

 

[Poetik]

Quote:

Quote:

The IE8's are so much better than the SE530's...

There we go, I should have brought the paint and brush at that. I would have if the ignore button took a few fewer clicks.
 
Good soundstage: O
Wannabe soundstage: ===

Great soundstage chart but I don't really understand it.  What is the "O" supposed to mean? Does anyone else understand what this guy is saying? It must just be me but his thoughts are a complete enigma to me. 

 

[jleewach]

I think he's trying very hard to demonstrate his "superior audiophile-ness," by making incoherent generalizations about those who dare to view the SE530s as mediocre; compared to their price point.

 

[lee730]

 
Quote:

I think he's trying very hard to demonstrate his "superior audiophile-ness," by making incoherent generalizations about those who dare to view the SE530s as mediocre; compared to their price point.

 
lol we'll all I can say is I'd pick the IE8's any day over the shure SE530's. I own the IE8's and I've listened to the Shures. The Shures do have excellent mids and very good emphasis on vocals but that's about it for me. I find them boring to listen to honestly and as someone else mentioned earlier the sibilance if very painful to my ears. My ears are very sensitive to that and I could not listen to the shures for more than 30 minutes at a time. While some think the IE8's bass is overpowering, I find it quite nice and you can adjust it to your liking. The sound stage is amazing and in that regard it wipes the floor with the Shures. The mids, highs and treble all sound great to me; after 220 hours of burn in I am very happy with my IE8's. I'm a firm believer in burn in as these headphones have changed drastically over the course of 300 hours. If people disagree with that, well that's their opinion. My opinion on that would be that my hearing is better than their hearing as I can clearly tell a huge difference between a burned in pair and a new pair. If anyone is interested, adtron should have some refurbished IE8's for sale within 3 weeks time. I think they will range around $180.00 and ad tron is an Authorized Sennheiser dealer. I just purchased a pair of refurbished IE7's from him for $94.00. I've been hearing the IE7's focus less on bass and more on the mids which sounds good to me.

 

[imackler]

I've owned and loved the IE8 twice now. I was eventually turned off by the overshadowing bass. That being said they are really good earphones, if you like a darker flavor. The soundstage is amazing. I currently own the SE535. (I know it's not the opening posts question which specifically refers to the 530 but maybe it will be helpful still.) I am really enjoying the SE535 a ton. Its been a long time since I've been so excited to listen to as much music as possible. They do just delightfully with acoustic, folk, rock, etc. They are solid for jazz. I listen to lots of classical and find them the weakest with that genre, although they do older recordings fine. In my opinion, on really well recorded pieces, the treble is too light and and bass a little too heavy to do a great job with strings, whether quartets or solos.
 
In ways, the SE535 remind me of the IE8 but instead of being overshadowed by bass they are overshadowed by mids. Like the IE8, they are lush and pleasant and afford hours of listening pleasure. They are more transparent than the IE8 and have some good instrument separation. But as many have said, the SE535 shine most with the mids and the IE8 shines most with the bass. Both are really good earphones, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the SE535. They make you want to buy well-recorded rock and folk.
 
Last thoughts: The noise isolation is much better on the SE535, but I give the comfort nod to the IE8. I'm not a fan of the memory wire on the SE535, which is kind of a pain if you wear glasses.

 

[scrane]

The IE8 and the SE530 are both premium earphones. Which sounds better is a matter of personal preference. The SE530 provides a rich midrange while the IE8 specializes in a warm foundation. I have both, and listen to them both equally, although neither is my favorite.

 

[ej8989]

sry wrong thread replied. >.>

 

[jinx20001]

sorry if this is very late but now i have both in my hands i thought id share some thoughts, first off for sheer pristine quality sound id say the shures just edge it they are just that bit clearer and clinical, however the IE8 has something going for it which even the shures dont and thats the ability to shift some serious air in your head these earphones simply bounce hard and the amazing thing is the single dynamic driver does compete nicely, hard bass does not disturb the mids and highs and the sound is very as one, they love to be driven hard.
 
the mids are good on both but vocals are certainly more forward on the shures, highs again are good on both but when you push the IE8's hard the highs do come alive and step ahead of the shures, i will stress the IE8's are harder to drive than the shures thats immediately apparent dont look at specs and think the IE8's are louder because 124db is more than 119db its really not the case unless the source can drive them, the shures simply react like they are more sensitive and this shows in the sound aswell, sibilance crops up and they do pierce your ears more. although the shures do insert a bit deeper which may help make them appear louder. the soundstage of both is great but the IE8's certainly seem airier.
 
i purchased the IE8 for a couple of reasons, the first being a change of scene, the second is the shures are out of warranty and i just cant wear them day in day out from fear that im going to damage that cable, the removeable cable of the IE8's is a massive plus i wont ever buy earphones without this again because you will enjoy using them much more knowing it can be replaced.
 
the source im using is the cowon D2, and in regards to the nickel jack used on the IE8's it doesnt create noise as of yet when moving the plug around and sounds just as good. my shures are packed up and im sad to say on the market. ive had 1 warranty replacement for cracked cable, 1 replacement of extension cable with my own money, 2 packs of new foam tips and now its out of warranty and gathering dust. they are an awesome set of earphones but time to let them go.
 
the fit is not in question for either for me however the shures do fit snugger, the IE8's sit flatter tho. build quality of both is superb but the cable of the IE8 is just so much better. and theres the overwhelming feeling you need to baby the shures because it just feels like they wont take kindly to being thrown about. shures 2 year warranty is bullet proof tho im yet to sample the sennheiser warranty.
 
sorry if this is late to the party but i only just brought the IE8's and still own the shures.
 
love goes out to all those poor folks in japan.
 
edit: sorry forgot to mention as far as pricing goes here in the uk the IE8 are a no brainer, i would have just brought the se535 but the IE8 are so much cheaper and i would guess are not miles behind the se535. as far as value goes the IE8 are right up there, this shows if they are being compared to earphones which cost another wad of cash on top.

 

[ajmiarka]

Great soundstage chart but I don't really understand it.  What is the "O" supposed to mean? Does anyone else understand what this guy is saying? It must just be me but his thoughts are a complete enigma to me. 

There we go, I should have brought the paint and brush at that. I would have if the ignore button took a few fewer clicks.
 
Good soundstage: O
Wannabe soundstage: ===

I think he is saying that a great soundstage is "360"...coming from all angles...where the "=====" represents a "fake" soundstage because it only appears to be wider.