[Hifi Nutter]

Im New to this thread,i've got a Hugo with my iPhone5 s and got sennheiser ie 800 in ears,has anyone compared these headphones against the Kaiser 10s and how to they compare against each other

 

[kh600rr]

Im New to this thread,i've got a Hugo with my iPhone5 s and got sennheiser ie 800 in ears,has anyone compared these headphones against the Kaiser 10s and how to they compare against each other

I've got the IE-800, sourcing it with a AK-240. I'm about 2 weeks out on completion of my K-10's. I did demo the K-10 for a short bit, also out of my AK-240, and there was a substantial difference in SQ, better detail, vocals were clearer. The IE-800 is not as neutral as the K-10.

 

[Hifi Nutter]

I've got the IE-800, sourcing it with a AK-240. I'm about 2 weeks out on completion of my K-10's. I did demo the K-10 for a short bit, also out of my AK-240, and there was a substantial difference in SQ, better detail, vocals were clearer. The IE-800 is not as neutral as the K-10.

Nice one mate thanks for that really appreciate it,i didn't think it could get any better than the sennheiser ie 800,the Kaiser 10 must be amazing,of course I'll audition first when I get a chance.I just thought one dynamic speaker would be smoother through the whole spectrum range than different armature s to do different frequencies

 

[kh600rr]

Absolutely Demo them..

 

[Hifi Nutter]

Absolutely Demo them..

I take it I'll demo a universal pair?and if I like the sound I'll get the custom made with a better seal that will sound even better

 

[Mython]

I just thought one dynamic speaker would be smoother through the whole spectrum range than different armature s to do different frequencies

 
Times have changed.
 
Multi-BA CIEMs are quite impressive these days, in terms of integration of the various drivers and the subjective smoothness of the crossover points.
 
My MG6Pro is a single dynamic driver, but it's far from neutral and far from high SQ, in spite of it's price, so you never can tell, just by looking at the number or type of drivers, even considering the low SPL required of an earpiece in comparison to the demands of a fullsize loudspeaker.
 
 

I take it I'll demo a universal pair?and if I like the sound I'll get the custom made with a better seal that will sound even better

 
 
Yes. Luckily for you, the demo K10 will more than likely be attached to a Hugo at the time, which you're already intimately familiar with.
 
 
.

 

[Hifi Nutter]

Times have changed.

Multi-BA CIEMs are quite impressive these days, in terms of integration of the various drivers and the subjective smoothness of the crossover points.

My MG6Pro is a single dynamic driver, but it's far from neutral and far from high SQ, in spite of it's price, so you never can tell, just by looking at the number or type of drivers, even considering the low SPL required of an earpiece in comparison to the demands of a fullsize loudspeaker.




Yes. Luckily for you, the demo K10 will more than likely be attached to a Hugo at the time, which you're already intimately familiar with.


.

Cheers mate,as for intimate probably a little more intimate than what the Mrs would like,it sleeps in the middle of us both with its own pillow

 

[Hifi Nutter]

Absolutely Demo them..

What will you do with your sennheiser ie 800 iems mate?Do noble dealers part ex

 

[Mython]

What will you do with your sennheiser ie 800 iems mate?Do noble dealers part ex

 
 
Best bet is Head-fi classifieds - I'm sure you'll get a fairly quick sale, given the popularity of those IEMs.

 

[kh600rr]

What will you do with your sennheiser ie 800 iems mate?Do noble dealers part ex

Maybe keep them as a back up. I guess I could get $600-$800 out of them, if I sell.

 

[AUserName501]

Knowles Balanced Armature Product Page
 
They really do make a lot of different balanced armatures.
 
What series is used in high end CIEMs?
 
Do different CIEM manufacturers use the same balanced armature models? If yes doesn't that mean differences are due to placement within the barrel and tuning where differences in sound quality are related to implementation.
 
JH Audio use balanced armatures with custom impedance curves which is based upon a off the shelf design. I was wondering whether other CIEM companies do the same and whether this is of much importance.

 

[project86]

   
A question unrelated to your original post - you own BOTH the 8's and 10's?  I realize they are different generations, but can you comment on the differences.  I am about to place an order for the 8C's, just cannot swing ("justify") the greater cost of the 10's.  Still, it would maybe be instructive to know the difference, to know what the extra $300+ gets one.

 
 
I know you didn't ask me specifically, but I'm one of the few to have experience with the K10, 8C, and the older 8.A CIEMs. When I got the 8.A I was a huge fan of it. Then came the 8C and it became my favorite CIEM. Now the K10 seems to be even better. I was concerned because I tend to like a slightly warm tilt to my speakers or headphones, and the 8C seemed to be exactly that. See my review in my profile for further thoughts.
 
I need to spend more time with the K10 but so far it's brilliant. Very slightly warm and smooth compared to what I'd consider purely neutral. The 8C has a more pronounced note thickness to it - sort of a similar presentation but taken a bit further than K10. That may or may not be a good thing depending on your preferences. K10 does win on technicalities regardless of signature, but 8C is no slouch for sure. 
 
In short, the extra money buys you more subtlety, microdetail, more genre bandwidth (some might think 8C is too warm and smooth for certain music), and improved soundstage/imaging. It may or may not be worth it to you. 

 

[yilun]

   
 
I know you didn't ask me specifically, but I'm one of the few to have experience with the K10, 8C, and the older 8.A CIEMs. When I got the 8.A I was a huge fan of it. Then came the 8C and it became my favorite CIEM. Now the K10 seems to be even better. I was concerned because I tend to like a slightly warm tilt to my speakers or headphones, and the 8C seemed to be exactly that. See my review in my profile for further thoughts.
 
I need to spend more time with the K10 but so far it's brilliant. Very slightly warm and smooth compared to what I'd consider purely neutral. The 8C has a more pronounced note thickness to it - sort of a similar presentation but taken a bit further than K10. That may or may not be a good thing depending on your preferences. K10 does win on technicalities regardless of signature, but 8C is no slouch for sure. 
 
In short, the extra money buys you more subtlety, microdetail, more genre bandwidth (some might think 8C is too warm and smooth for certain music), and improved soundstage/imaging. It may or may not be worth it to you. 

I noticed that you have almost every product of noble audio. It seems to me that you're loyal to noble audio. But have you auditioned other brand TOTL CIEM's(like JH Rox or fitear 335dw)? if so, I wanna know how you would compare these to k10

 

[sq3rjick]

   
A question unrelated to your original post - you own BOTH the 8's and 10's?  I realize they are different generations, but can you comment on the differences.  I am about to place an order for the 8C's, just cannot swing ("justify") the greater cost of the 10's.  Still, it would maybe be instructive to know the difference, to know what the extra $300+ gets one.

I own the 8.A and the K10.  I don't own the current iteration of the 8C, which has been slightly retuned and updated.  You can read my comparisons in my review of the K10 here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/noble-audio-kaiser-10/reviews/10417
 
The 8.A has a slightly bigger emphasis on the low end and more laid back treble.  The K10 is more balanced overall, probably due to the addition of two more high end drivers.  The K10s are my daily driver, and I would generally only reach for the 8.A if I'm looking for a darker presentation with more bass.  Both are wonderful, but the K10 is generally better.  The K10 probably has the same amount of bass impact as the 8.A, but it's more rounded out so it doesn't steal the show as much as in the 8.A.

 

[FreeBlues]

 
 
In short, the extra money buys you more subtlety, microdetail, more genre bandwidth (some might think 8C is too warm and smooth for certain music), and improved soundstage/imaging. It may or may not be worth it to you. 

 
Perfect, many thanks!  I've owned CIEM's for years now, most recently the great UE11's which I like quite a bit.  They have finally worn out, so I'm looking to replace them.  An upgrade will be nice, but honestly, not critical.  A while back I gave up chasing the last bit of micro-detail, stopped obsessing over the little stuff and got back to just enjoying my music.  Almost everything I listen to is mainstream, commercial recordings, electric rock-blues kinds of stuff (think Clapton), average recordings at best.  All ripped in ALAC.  I also only listen at the gym.  My needs are something that is maybe a touch warm, "fun," not super critical.
 
So, your description of the 8C sounds like EXACTLY what I want!