[jinx20001]

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I bought them from Amazon.co.uk (directly, not one of their third party resellers) for about £170, so I should be OK. I did see them available cheaper, but not from a store I recognised.
 
The Westones and the Shures (with part exchange) are both ~ £260, which is a fair jump. It may turn out that the extra cash is worth it, of course, but I figured that for the price I might as well try the Senns, at least in the short term.
 
 

thats where i got mine from same price so should be fine.
 
just a word of warning tho dont plug the IE8 into your head expecting an upgrade of sound or amazing things to happen. they are at most a sidegrade but you will notice they dont sound worse, just slightly different. i find the bass is a bit better and the highs do extend more than the se530 however vocals are a little laid back. with removeable cables and sound that is just as good as the shures they are much better value for money, are the shures worth £90 more, WITH EXCHANGE! absolutely no way.
 

 

[FluidDruid]

So, the IE8s arrived, and I've had a chance to listen to a few albums on them. Here are my initial thoughts:
 
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thats where i got mine from same price so should be fine.
 
just a word of warning tho dont plug the IE8 into your head expecting an upgrade of sound or amazing things to happen. they are at most a sidegrade but you will notice they dont sound worse, just slightly different. i find the bass is a bit better and the highs do extend more than the se530 however vocals are a little laid back. with removeable cables and sound that is just as good as the shures they are much better value for money, are the shures worth £90 more, WITH EXCHANGE! absolutely no way.
 

jinx20001 is absolutely spot on. Senns in general are quite laid back, and the IE8s are no different. They certainly sound no worse than the SE530s, and at £170, are an absolute bargain in comparison.
 
With the treble extension and slight bass hump (the bass control does seem to boom if I turn the dial up, so I'm leaving it on the lowest setting), it's fun listening to my music again and hearing the differences. I'm looking forward to hearing how these burn in.
 
I can't say I'm a huge fan of the tips supplied. I've never found foamies comfortable, always opting for the round silicon type. The medium silicon tips are the most comfortable to me, but are much softer than the equivalent sized Shure tips I'm used to (a few tenths of a millimetre smaller too by the looks of them). I'm a little concerned that I'm not getting a good enough seal because of the flex in the tips, but I don't feel like I'm losing any bass, so I'll stick with them for a bit. I guess I can always try stuffing them or buying some third party silicone tips (any recommendations?) at a later date.
 

 

[KaliKot]

If anything, the IE8's arent as detailed as the Shures and you'll be missing it's luscious mids, but it's definitely more exciting and fun sounding with its huge soundstage.
 
It should last longer with you with the replacable cables though. I am quite a fan of it but I don't see myself purchasing one soon  
Stick with the Stock Cables for a while then I suggest you upgrade to an aftermarket cable like the Red Angel or Silver Dragon and experience a whole new world of IE8 fun

 

[jinx20001]

 
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So, the IE8s arrived, and I've had a chance to listen to a few albums on them. Here are my initial thoughts:
 

jinx20001 is absolutely spot on. Senns in general are quite laid back, and the IE8s are no different. They certainly sound no worse than the SE530s, and at £170, are an absolute bargain in comparison.
 
With the treble extension and slight bass hump (the bass control does seem to boom if I turn the dial up, so I'm leaving it on the lowest setting), it's fun listening to my music again and hearing the differences. I'm looking forward to hearing how these burn in.
 
I can't say I'm a huge fan of the tips supplied. I've never found foamies comfortable, always opting for the round silicon type. The medium silicon tips are the most comfortable to me, but are much softer than the equivalent sized Shure tips I'm used to (a few tenths of a millimetre smaller too by the looks of them). I'm a little concerned that I'm not getting a good enough seal because of the flex in the tips, but I don't feel like I'm losing any bass, so I'll stick with them for a bit. I guess I can always try stuffing them or buying some third party silicone tips (any recommendations?) at a later date.
 

yeh the worst thing about the IE8 is the tips, alot of people recommend the ultimate ears silicone tips. and i would not recommend upgrading the cable, it has no major effect on audio quality ( if any ) IMO. and come on can you really fault the stock cable, its lighter, softer, and easier to wind up than the shures. the cable is highly regarded as one of the best stock cables, even with the non gold plated plug.
 
another advantage to owning dynamic driver earphones over armatures is they should be able to handle knocks better, balanced armatures are just that... balanced, they are sensitive and are often encased in protective material inside the earphones but its still not recommended to throw them about. dynamic drivers are a little simpler, ive splashed water all over home speakers and some have been poked, stabbed and ripped and still beat on today, dynamic earphones use similar tech and material as your typical home speaker.
 
kalicot is right about the shures in that they may produce a bit more detail thats just an advantage of armatures tho they are a little more advanced but you can rest assured the IE8 are ( i think ) the most expensive universal single dynamic earphones on the market it is well tuned and designed as you can hear for yourself.
 
you will know if you have the right fit because as with all IEM's sound will be isolated and your voice will boom in your head if you talk, plus the IE8 will be virtually flat fitting which is nice and you wouldnt think it when you look at them.
 
just some information for you, the IE8 uses an adjustable port, its more of a character change than a bass volume change, opening it will loosen the bass for more boom and slam, closing it makes the bass tighter letting less air escape from the rear of the driver. always adjust this screw for more or less bass and dont use EQ as this alters the signal the earphones receive, its much better to adjust the speaker than the player. you are right it does boom a little when open but some music is made to boom and slam, nice to have that option.
 
glad you like them anyhow i certainly think it was the correct choice its certainly value for money against the shures which are not better but in the same league.
 
 

 

[KaliKot]

I dont know about the "no significant change" on the upgrade cables. I have A/Bed multiple IE8s and multiple TF10s at meets and they definitely sound different. The treble sparkle comes out when using silver cables and the bass amount is lowered as well. And I've had the pleasure of owning the Null Lune cable for the TF10 and it completely trashes the sound quality of the stock cable.
 
I would see why some people don't think that they do significant sound changes though. Most of them probably just bought a cheapo upgrade cable and expected a world of change, when in fact they are not worth it unless you buy the more expensive ones

 

[jinx20001]

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I dont know about the "no significant change" on the upgrade cables. I have A/Bed multiple IE8s and multiple TF10s at meets and they definitely sound different. The treble sparkle comes out when using silver cables and the bass amount is lowered as well. And I've had the pleasure of owning the Null Lune cable for the TF10 and it completely trashes the sound quality of the stock cable.
 
I would see why some people don't think that they do significant sound changes though. Most of them probably just bought a cheapo upgrade cable and expected a world of change, when in fact they are not worth it unless you buy the more expensive ones

but whats different?? you think the material used changes the sound but how?? its all marketing. the cable is simply the conductor for the electrical signal, now a good cable will admittedly perhaps give a cleaner signal but thats it.
 
the way i see it is simple, the cable is good if it delivers precisely what the player gives out to the speakers. if the cable is altering the sound then its not giving you the true sound put out by the player, id say this was a major downside. the cable is there to deliever the sound perfectly not lose some frequency volume and gain some. funny how a new cable always improves yet never alters for the worse... that would be because you believe it is making the sound better or at least you are hoping so.
 
 

 

[KaliKot]

Whatever man, I am on the "been there, heard that" point and its always YMMV I understand your technical reasoning but I have heard some cables that made the IEM sound "worse" as well as it lost the sound signature of the IEM. One example is the Westone ES2 cable which made the TF10 sound unappealing and dark to my ears
 
My first ever meet I listened to different people's TF10s using different cables, I had no idea what they were called or what their prices were or what differences they make in sound, but on that day, my ears were sold
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but whats different?? you think the material used changes the sound but how?? its all marketing. the cable is simply the conductor for the electrical signal, now a good cable will admittedly perhaps give a cleaner signal but thats it.
 
the way i see it is simple, the cable is good if it delivers precisely what the player gives out to the speakers. if the cable is altering the sound then its not giving you the true sound put out by the player, id say this was a major downside. the cable is there to deliever the sound perfectly not lose some frequency volume and gain some. funny how a new cable always improves yet never alters for the worse... that would be because you believe it is making the sound better or at least you are hoping so.