Hey guys, I was just wondering something. Everybody seems to be so full of praise of the IE800, some saying they are better than the SE846 etc. I had the IE800 for 2 weeks, and was instantly impressed with their soundstage, clarity and instrument separation.
But overall, they sounded very thin (IMO), especially compared to the warm sounding Earsonics SM64. The sound just appeared to lack 'body', or fullness which was a pretty big turnoff. I won't argue that the IE800 sounds excellent for certain genres like classical or jazz, but to me they sounded off when the music required some kind of energy. I'm talking about EDM, hip hop, electro, pop and music like that. Now I'm not talking about the bass; bass is fine. I'm talking about the overall musicality.
Before you all ask, I briefly considered if they were fake. But the serial code matched, and the soundstage and clarity were so superb that I seriously doubt a knockoff could mimick that. I've spoken with 2 other head fi'ers that had both the SM64 and IE800, and they felt exactly the same. Both of them bought theirs directly from a dealer (mine was from head fi). In fact, I came in contact with one of them because I offered to trade my SM64 + cash. He had already sold the IE800, but strongly advised I kept with the SM64 because overall it sounded better, albeit with a much smaller soundstage.
Now just to be clear. I'm not here to bash the IE800. I'm genuinely here to ask if anyone recognizes what I'm saying concerning the thin sound, but doesn't care because it suits there music taste. Or, if everyone hear says that the IE800s sound very full and there was possibly something wrong. Or maybe the SM64 is just an exceptionally full sounding iem, which just makes the IE800 sound thin. I thought the same about the Grado GR10 btw, very thin sound compared to the SM64.