[ImperialX]

I love my IE8. I hate hiss. This is a difficult problem to fix.
 
The IE8, being the highly sensitive IEMs they are, hiss whenever I plug them into anything. It hisses when I plug it into my MacBook Air. It hisses when I plug it into my Nexus One. It hisses when I plug it into my Kindle. It hisses when I plug it into my Nintendo DS. Basically, it hisses as long as I plug it into something that plays music. The only exception to that is my iPhone 4 (which was actually dead silent because of its built in DAC), but I recently sold that in favour of a Galaxy S II. It beats the iPhone in every way...except the sound. You guessed it. It, too, suffers from that horrible hiss.
 
I really dislike background hiss so I'm looking for something that can get rid of it. I have been notified that the use of attenuators can help solve my problem, but the problem with those is that even though the hiss is gotten rid of, the SQ is gotten rid of along with the hiss. That is a big no-no because the amazing sound is what I got the IE8s for in the first place.
 
I know amps such as Corda Headsix and the Headstage Arrow 12HE, being the godlike amps they are, won't hiss with the IE8s, but they're almost impossible to find nowadays with me living in Australia and all. They're also a bit too expensive for something just to get rid of the hissing.
 
I've been looking at the Fiio E11. I can get it for $75AUD shipped on eBay. Is they good enough to drive an IEM as sensitive as the IE8 in silence? I just need to get rid of the hiss, that's all. Getting rid of the hiss is the most important part. The IE8 already sounds good enough for me unamped.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

[Fin1211]

Quote:

I love my IE8. I hate hiss. This is a difficult problem to fix.
 
The IE8, being the highly sensitive IEMs they are, hiss whenever I plug them into anything. It hisses when I plug it into my MacBook Air. It hisses when I plug it into my Nexus One. It hisses when I plug it into my Kindle. It hisses when I plug it into my Nintendo DS. Basically, it hisses as long as I plug it into something that plays music. The only exception to that is my iPhone 4 (which was actually dead silent because of its built in DAC), but I recently sold that in favour of a Galaxy S II. It beats the iPhone in every way...except the sound. You guessed it. It, too, suffers from that horrible hiss.
 
I really dislike background hiss so I'm looking for something that can get rid of it. I have been notified that the use of attenuators can help solve my problem, but the problem with those is that even though the hiss is gotten rid of, the SQ is gotten rid of along with the hiss. That is a big no-no because the amazing sound is what I got the IE8s for in the first place.
 
I know amps such as Corda Headsix and the Headstage Arrow 12HE, being the godlike amps they are, won't hiss with the IE8s, but they're almost impossible to find nowadays with me living in Australia and all. They're also a bit too expensive for something just to get rid of the hissing.
 
I've been looking at the Fiio E11. I can get it for $75AUD shipped on eBay. Is they good enough to drive an IEM as sensitive as the IE8 in silence? I just need to get rid of the hiss, that's all. Getting rid of the hiss is the most important part. The IE8 already sounds good enough for me unamped.
 
 
 
 
 

 

Well if you already like the sound of the ie8 unamped, then you dont need an amp. A better source would probably be a better buy. Just my 2 cents. good luck mate. 
Fin Elliott
 
 
 
 
 



 

 

[Pisn4e]

e11 is 74.99usd (shipped to oz) at head-direct take a bit off cause our dollar is better, if you'd prefer not to buy off ebay. As for what it will do for you i leave that for someone else
http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=103

 

[ImperialX]

 

Well if you already like the sound of the ie8 unamped, then you dont need an amp. A better source would probably be a better buy. Just my 2 cents. good luck mate. 
Fin Elliott
 
 
 
 
 



 

But if possible I would like to fix the problem of these hissing with my laptop too. Getting a Cowon wouldn't really fix that.

 

[Crikey]

Getting a better source would help a long way as getting a amp might not fix the hissing. My UM1 (also quite a sensitive IEM with low impedance) hissed alot with a Fiio E3 and somewhat with the Fiio E5 as well. It also depends on where your going to be using your IE8 with, if you primarily use it with your macbook air, using a DAC/Amp (like the E7) will get rid of the hiss better than just an amp. 
 
If your going to use it portably then getting an amp may help but my UM1 also hissed abit out of my Cowon D2. (I don't really see the worth of portable amps since you'll amping an already amped signal unless you have a LOD which may help depending on the device. Plus it'll make it more cumbersome.

)
 
But if you just want to try to fix the hissing, then getting something cheaper like a E5/E7/E11 will make less of a dent on your wallet then a Arrow or Headsix.

 

[henrylee]

If you are liking the source and the iem just get a attenuator.it gets rid of hiss.

 

[ImperialX]

I'm just thinking whether the attenuator will affect the sound quality or the soundstage the IE8 is known for. 

 

[kazxenon]

An amp will most likely only amplify any hiss coming from the source. 
 
Had the same problem with my laptop, so i used a external soundcard instead which eliminates the hiss for me. not sure if it works on the Mac OS though.
 
As for your other sources like your Kindle etc, i think your only solution is to use a less sensitive IEM on them =(
 
 

 

[tme110]

I have three different HP amps but I still don't amp my ie8s and I'm not familiar with that hiss.  I would find the sourse of the hiss  or you'll wind up amping that hiss.