Folks, I need some advice on these - I'm an audio purist and would like to listen to music at its most neutral state. For a long time, I relied on high-end speakers to listen to music but two things changed in my life: Our family welcomed a new little boy into our lives and he is sensitive to loud noises and I find myself traveling a lot for work these days. For the last few months, I've been on a bit of a headphone/IEM binge to find a few options to keep up the good fight. The idea is to have a great pair of both headphones (home use) and IEMs (travel).
I found the Primo 8s on Massdrop for what looked to be a great price and I bought the New version for a little bit of an up charge. It was an impulse decision based on the price and availability of these units. I finally received these after much delay but have yet to open it due to some negative reviews around it's un-natural sound signature, poor build quality in the cable, poor fit/adjustability in the ear loops.
Hear is what I can say so far - I have the custom UE Reference IEMs and really enjoy them. There's a little bit in the 8-9K range that bothers me but I have bigger issues with this pair - I had a bad audiologist fitting and will likely need to get an adjustment with UE. Ultimately, these will be used for times when I perform on stage so I still need a good comparable pair to travel with.
Should I open the Primo 8s or look at something else?
I don't have any experience with the UERM's, so I can't compare. I also had to check and see if I got the refurbished ones or not. I did get the refurbs, and agree that the cable needs to go. But overall I have trouble getting them into my ears. I do seem to have odd shape ears though. Kind of like a funnel maybe. The body hits before I can get the nozzle in far enough to seal well.
I thought comply P100's would fix them, but they actually made things worse. I guess the extra length runs right into the bend in my left ear. I slide them out a bit and get sound, but also some leakage, or push them in further and the tip gets closed off and I get a muffled sound. There is a tiny sweet spot in there, but a hassle to find. So I decided to try some etymotic glider tips. Those are an improvement, but maybe still not ideal. Tip rolling will be required for me at least.
And yes for me the ear hooks are garbage. They are one shape and size only. Won't adjust, and are simply way too big to stay behind my ears. Add that to the fit issue already, and it's annoying for sure.
As to the sound. When I get a good seal, and fit isn't bothering me, they actually sound pretty solid. They're not Etymotic ER-4 neutral, but a little more fun. They have a bit more mids/body, and definitely bigger punchier bass. There is something to the highs though, that isn't quite "right". Almost like there's a compressor on them. Kind of sibilant but kind of not. It's hard to describe. They're not world class end game by any means, but I've also heard much worse.
Which is why I'm in a similar boat. If I can find some tips that work, and get a better cable, they'll be a nice addition to my collection. I'm trying to find several pairs I can use for mixing, for different "perspectives". These are good enough for that, if I can fix the comfort issues. Would they ever be MY first choice? Probably not. But if I can get a decent cable and keep my total cost under $200, I couldn't complain, and might even recommend them, for someone just starting. I'm actually considering asking the keyboard player if he wants to try them. He uses the stock phones that came with our in-ear systems. They're pretty muddy sounding. These would be quite the improvement.
