Newbie - just got IE8's - xpert help would be handy....

[TimF]

Hi all,
I'm a long term Grado RS2 owner who has just got some IE8's. This forum has been really helpful so far so thanks to you all for posting so much good stuff... Finally finding headphones with a replaceable cable means I can dump my CX300's. Been reading up a lot and now have Rockbox'ed my Clip+. Need a bit of advice now if that's ok...
 
1) From what I can see I can now use lossless audio with FLAC. Is this the best lossless audio on Rockbox and what's the converter from CD that you all use? Could do with something that doesn't require a degree to hook up.
 
2) Is the Clip+ the best sounding portable at sensible prices or are there other stars out there?
 
3) Any aftermarket cables worth bothering with, I'd really like some sensible priced pure silver ones?
 
4) Are any of the earbud tips worth getting?
 
My Opinion bit
I'll post an IE8 review when they've burnt in however for now a comment which may or may not be useful. Having run Mirage M1's for years which are full range speakers the sound of the IE8's did not come over "bassy". Most hi-fi's don't reproduce 20hz or even 40 for that matter so I'm sure many people going from systems like that aren't used to full range bass. I didn't find the bass overpowering at all just more like full range speakers. One other thing to note from my years of audio is that people can find clarity where there is little bass, I've seen this with amps before where the midrange and treble really stand out but actually it's the lack of bass that's causing you to notice those frequencies.... nuff of my talking...
 
Thanks v much Tim.

 

[ZimmerX]

Hey man, glad the forum has been of help. I'll answer the questions with the numbers you gave them.
 
1) FLAC is the best lossless format you can get; most widely supported and works well with a Rockbox'ed Clip+. If you're ripping correctly from a CD (which you should be doing) with EAC (lots of manuals on that) then you should be outputting WAV files, from there all you need to do is install "FLAC Frontend", add the files and encode them in FLAC. Simple as that. Remember that if you are ripping MP3 files from your CD and then encoding them to FLAC you will be destroying the quality, as you cannot upscale from Lossy to Lossless.
 
Although my personal opinion on you filling up a Clip+ with FLAC files is that it's pointless. Get MP3 V0 and get more music on it. You're not going to notice the difference, especially as you have no portable amp.
 
2) It is one of them. Depends on what you define as a sensible price. Samsung's MP3s have always been top notch with sound quality and so have Sony. I currently own a Zune HD and it sounds great as well.
 
3) No and no. Waste of your money for absolutely negligible performance increase. Do not waste it on that.
 
4) It depends if the IE8 eartips fit you or not. You could try out the Comply Foam Tips; but I've never been a fan as the seal will never be as good as a silicone seal. I've modded my Westone 2 tri-flanges to bi-flanges with slight different widths for each ear, you can try modding eartips if you're struggling to get a seal. 
 
Glad to hear you're enjoying the IE8's