[Xennon]

Related to the arguments about tips, does anyone know any pair of tips in order not to increase but to decrease the bass quantity? It is just unbelievably high after getting used to ER4S.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Related to the arguments about tips, does anyone know any pair of tips in order not to increase but to decrease the bass quantity? It is just unbelievably high after getting used to ER4S.

I'd advise you to try using smaller sized tips if possible. Let them sit a bit more loosely in your ear canals.
 

 

[CEE TEE]

Quote:

...I still feel a lot of such improvements have more to do with other variables such as time of day when listening to music, getting used to a particular sound sig (brain burn-in), and something I've not seen mentioned elsewhere - those times when we don't listen to music for an extended period of time (a music fast?), eg a day, or two or a week or longer, and then come to find our IEMs sound better. I liken this to most things in life where if you have too much of something you just don't  appreciate it enough. This happens to me often with red wine where I often have a glass a day. There are times when I don't for 2 or 3 days and then it's as if the very same wine tasted so much better. That's certainly happened to me with all my IEMs and headphones. And then, of course there's source material.

This seems to me to be a very good description of some phenomena that I have certainly experienced.  (Music fast or listening at night in relative quiet after the ears/brain have been tuning up all day...)
 
Along the same analogous lines- I am hoping that I can attend a California Bay Area meet to try some things out side-by-side sometime soon.  (A sound "tasting room.")  It will help to have people there to educate me on what I'm hearing (what to look for, etc.). 
 
A little while with silence and my music/gear does taste better!  Thanks for a good analogy.

 

[midoo1990]

 
Quote:

Well over a year! I like the sound signature so much I just bought a pair of HD650 to hopefully recreate it on my home rig.
 

you will enjoy the 650s immensly if you like the ie8,but dont forget to amp them properly.


 
Quote:

I'd like to hear your impressions comparing HD 650 to IE8. I'm curious if its an upgrade with a or if its truly only a sidegrade. I'll be picking up a Nuforce HDP and a pair of full-size cans (flip flop every day on which ones since I haven't been able to audition any) in August for my first desktop rig.

 

its an upgrade in eeryway except the soundstage width.
mids on the hd650 are less veiled and less thicker,highs are more sparkley and the bass is very deep and tight(on my wa6) although it doesnt have the last word in texture and detail.they are more detailed than the ie8 and the soundstage has better depth.
 
they have the same characteristics.warm lush very euphoric relaxing sound.
Quote:

I am so happy you are liking yours!
 
I was listening to mine today, these really are headphones on forgets that you are wearing. I just get lost in the music, they are so musical!
 
I agree, mine sounded great right out of the box but I have to tell you, if you think they sound great now, just wait..It gets even better!

ie8 was the only iem/headphone that i truly felt i was lost in the music and thats because their excellent shallow fit and very light housing.
 
to elaborate more,i felt that instruments were outside my head and that the soundstage  go infantly.
with the jh13 for example,it has huge soundstage with razor sharp imaging but because of the snug tight feel of it in my ears,i dont feel that the soundstage is infinatly going or i feel that the presentation is very open and "light".with the ie8,it was the only iem/headphone that i felt everything is floating and open and a great reason for this feeling is because of the very shallow fit and the very light house.
 
 
its very hard to describe unless you hear it.

 

[D4R]

Quote:

 
ie8 was the only iem/headphone that i truly felt i was lost in the music and thats because their excellent shallow fit and very light housing.
 
to elaborate more,i felt that instruments were outside my head and that the soundstage  go infantly.
with the jh13 for example,it has huge soundstage with razor sharp imaging but because of the snug tight feel of it in my ears,i dont feel that the soundstage is infinatly going or i feel that the presentation is very open and "light".with the ie8,it was the only iem/headphone that i felt everything is floating and open and a great reason for this feeling is because of the very shallow fit and the very light house.
 
 
its very hard to describe unless you hear it.

Wow.  Thanks for that.  This is the first post I've read the IE8 compared favorably against a custom, and the JH13 at that.  I wasn't looking, but it's nice to know what the notable difference is between this universal vs the JH13.

 

[midoo1990]

 
Quote:

Wow.  Thanks for that.  This is the first post I've read the IE8 compared favorably against a custom, and the JH13 at that.  I wasn't looking, but it's nice to know what the notable difference is between this universal vs the JH13.

to be honest,all what you read about customs is exaggerated.i dont know if most headfiers that buy customs try to justify their purchase,or are secretly dissapointed because of the money they dropped but the exaggeration is gross imo.
 
if we want o talk technically about the sound of the jh13,it is better than anything that i have ever heard,be it any universal iem or headphones.out of my ipod touch,its better than my hd650 out of the wa6 or my previous headphones.
 
But when it comes to 'tonality',it is a side way upgrade from what i have and what i heard.There are many times where i prefer the tonality of my hd650 to jh13.and by tonality i mean the lush,relaxing,warm extremly enjoyable sound of my hd650.
 
i still cant digest listening to classical via jh13.although again the sound technically and to my ears is very true and accurate.timbre,detail,correct imaging and portraying the exact size of instruments is very liconvencing and true.
 
But when listening to classical,i rest on my Ikea reclinear,dim the room and fire up my wa6 andclose my eyes and listen to my 650s.
i dont care about hearing how the orchestra breath or blow into the instruments,i dont care about the pages getting turned,i dont care about hearing the correct shimmer of the cymbals...all i care is the 'tonality' and how much i am enjoying the sound and thats where the hd650 shine.
 
so if you going to ask me,is the jh13 technically better than home setups and universals?i will say definetly.
if you are going to ask me if the jh13 is more enjoyable than the ie8 and destroys it in everyway?i will disagree....strongly.
 
as i said its a side upgrade but not a step above interms of musicallity and how much i enjoy the music and there are times where i miss my ie8 because of their unique soundstage,laid back sound,and the thick beautiful female vocals on it.
 
do i regret selling the ie8 to fund jh13? no,i was very curious of how the jh13 sound and there are many things that the jh13 does that i havent heard in any headphone and one of these things that i personally get shivers whenever i listen to jh13 is Decay and the blackness. i never heard instruments sound so real and the decay to sound so damn fast.when listening to jazz,the sax is blowed and then when the blowing stop,complete blackness and ecay happens.same goes with piano,guitar......unbelievable blackness.same also goes with echo and female vocals.High pitch,then absurdly excellent echo,decay and then complete blackness.truly astonishing.i should also add that the jh13 treble is the best i have ever heard.no honks anywhere,no metallic sound,no sharp edge,nothing artificial or fatiguing.it is the spot on treble.no one can actually fault the jh13 or criticize its sound,its sublime.
 
i dont regret getting the jh13 at all(although the customer service and communications really suck along with the quality control) but i regret getting it for $1100,its not worth it. if it was $700-800,its maybe well worth it but $1100 is damn too much.

 

[music_4321]

 
Quote:

to be honest,all what you read about customs is exaggerated.i dont know if most headfiers that buy customs try to justify their purchase,or are secretly dissapointed because of the money they dropped but the exaggeration is gross imo.
 
if we want o talk technically about the sound of the jh13,it is better than anything that i have ever heard,be it any universal iem or headphones.out of my ipod touch,its better than my hd650 out of the wa6 or my previous headphones.
 
But when it comes to 'tonality',it is a side way upgrade from what i have and what i heard.There are many times where i prefer the tonality of my hd650 to jh13.and by tonality i mean the lush,relaxing,warm extremly enjoyable sound of my hd650.
 
i still cant digest listening to classical via jh13.although again the sound technically and to my ears is very true and accurate.timbre,detail,correct imaging and portraying the exact size of instruments is very liconvencing and true.
 
But when listening to classical,i rest on my Ikea reclinear,dim the room and fire up my wa6 andclose my eyes and listen to my 650s.
i dont care about hearing how the orchestra breath or blow into the instruments,i dont care about the pages getting turned,i dont care about hearing the correct shimmer of the cymbals...all i care is the 'tonality' and how much i am enjoying the sound and thats where the hd650 shine.
 
so if you going to ask me,is the jh13 technically better than home setups and universals?i will say definetly.
if you are going to ask me if the jh13 is more enjoyable than the ie8 and destroys it in everyway?i will disagree....strongly.
 
as i said its a side upgrade but not a step above interms of musicallity and how much i enjoy the music and there are times where i miss my ie8 because of their unique soundstage,laid back sound,and the thick beautiful female vocals on it.
 
do i regret selling the ie8 to fund jh13? no,i was very curious of how the jh13 sound and there are many things that the jh13 does that i havent heard in any headphone and one of these things that i personally get shivers whenever i listen to jh13 is Decay and the blackness. i never heard instruments sound so real and the decay to sound so damn fast.when listening to jazz,the sax is blowed and then when the blowing stop,complete blackness and ecay happens.same goes with piano,guitar......unbelievable blackness.same also goes with echo and female vocals.High pitch,then absurdly excellent echo,decay and then complete blackness.truly astonishing.
 
i dont regret getting the jh13 at all(although the customer service and communications really suck along with the quality control) but i regret getting it for $1100,its not worth it. if it was $700-800,its maybe well worth it but $1100 is damn too much.
 

midoo1990,
 
We may not agree when it comes to football or doing research

, but we may agree on some aspects related to Hi-Fi, even though I know you dislike (or is it hate?) the UM3X.
 
Here's a thread I created just over a year ago which deals with some of the things you mention: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/429275/are-custom-iem-s-overrated
 
And yes, so far I do prefer my ES3X but the IE8s are excellent IEMs and I can't stress enough how good their build quality is. My ES3X cost nearly 3 times as much (including cost of ear impressions) and the ES3X is probably only 10-15% better than the IE8 - that's high praise indeed in my book for the IE8s. BTW, Westone's customer service is absolutely first rate.

 

[midoo1990]

 
Quote:

 

midoo1990,
 
We may not agree when it comes to football or doing research

, but we may agree on some aspects related to Hi-Fi, even though I know you dislike (or is it hate?) the UM3X.
 
Here's a thread I created just over a year ago which deals with some of the things you mention: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/429275/are-custom-iem-s-overrated
 
And yes, so far I do prefer my ES3X but the IE8s are excellent IEMs and I can't stress enough how good their build quality is. My ES3X cost nearly 3 times as much (including cost of ear impressions) and the ES3X is probably only 10-15% better than the IE8 - that's high praise indeed in my book for the IE8s. BTW, Westone's customer service is absolutely first rate.

interesting,i will begin reading the thread.finally we agree on something

.
um3x is probabaly the worst iem that stepped to my ears,i swear i enjoyed my skullcandy titan over it a year and a half ago.
 
i payed close to $1600 on jh13 including shipping back and forth because of the fitting,wrong colours...which is not worth it in my books.
if i see the ie8 at a good price in the FS forum,i will snag it.
 

 

[D4R]

"so if you going to ask me,is the jh13 technically better than home setups and universals?i will say definetly.  if you are going to ask me if the jh13 is more enjoyable than the ie8 and destroys it in everyway?i will disagree….strongly."
@midoo1990,
I appreciate your candor and the additional insight you’ve provided.  I for one am extremely content with my IE8.  I know its strengths and appreciate that it cannot go to some places where Customs can reach as you have so stated.  It is very enlightening to know just how much of a difference there actually is between the two kinds and that a universal can actually best a custom in some areas, like soundstage.  Thanks again.

Here's a thread I created just over a year ago which deals with some of the things you mention: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/429275/are-custom-iem-s-overrated
@music_4321,
Thanks for the link.  More info to crunch on.

 

[ianmedium]

This is very interesting what is being said about customs, in particular the JH ones and it confirms what I have been thinking and feeling.
 
I have been toying with the idea of getting the latest set up from JH but now I am re-thinking, not only because of what has been written here by Midoo and music but also because of over thirty years of HIFI listening.
 
I kept reading about the customs and the more I read the more I began to understand that these are pro monitors, designed to be able to hear every last detail in the mix so that musicians can base their playing on what they are hearing. That is wonderful..If you are a musician and you need to hear every last detail!
 
For us, the consumer, well, that is not what it is all about, what we are trying to do is to get close to the performance of the musician..Two completly different things. The performance is about emotion and feeling, not every last ounce of detail. What a musician hears up on stage through monitors is not the same as what we are hearing in the audience, if it were we would be thinking what an emotionless concert or recording.
 
I have been very fortunate to be involved with several recordings of late, we listen through monitor speakers designed to eek out every detail in the mix so that we can clean it up and adjust it. But the mixer, producer and artist do not intend for the album to sound like that as it is not very invloving,The final tweeks are given to then get the emotion back so the listener feels involved.
 
In my experience that is the last part of the magic of the mixer, engineer and producer so what we, the consumer hear is the not only the detail but the energy and feeling of the performance.
 
You will of course get that with highly detailed monitors as it will reveal the final mix but you will also get the absolute detail and I am not sure that is a good thing! When you go to a live concert you don't think about resolution, detail or soundstage, you hopefully get lost in the energy of the music, same with something well recorded. I have listned and foolishly purchased many audiophile CD's over the years, yes you can hear the eyelash movements of the bass player who is exactly 3 feet behind the singer but that is all I focus on..Not the music! For me the IE's remind me once again what this hobby is all about..Music and the energy, flow and feeling, not the last ounce of detail at all cost!
 
I remind myself that in the old days the worst set up at home that I ever owned was technically the best, every last ounce of detail was wrought but it left me cold. I ended up going back to the store and exchanging it for a system that though not top of the tree left me with my feet tapping and a relaxed smile on my face!
 

 

[cravenz]

the most important thing is really to enjoy your music from whatever medium you use. The often debated point is how people derive that satisfaction and enjoyment. I don't deny the fact that some derive that from the most technically gifted and revealing earphones/headphones out there, but that really isn't the case for everyone nor is it for me.
 
For any earphone/headphone you choose, choose what suits you best, choose what you think you will enjoy the most. If you get to test them out before buying, all the better. But I can't stress enough that all our music preferences are different, how we perceive sound is different, our human bodies (e.g. ears) are made differently and so no one earphone/headphone will please everyone.
 
I hope that the IE8s will continue to give you the enjoyment that you have experienced so far, as have many of us here. Remember, a lot of the customs being spoken about are tailor made for musicians, but many of us are mere casual listeners who enjoy music.
 
@ ianmedium: just read and agree; tapping away as I have the IE8s in my ears right now.

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

the most important thing is really to enjoy your music from whatever medium you use. The often debated point is how people derive that satisfaction and enjoyment. I don't deny the fact that some derive that from the most technically gifted and revealing earphones/headphones out there, but that really isn't the case for everyone nor is it for me.
 
For any earphone/headphone you choose, choose what suits you best, choose what you think you will enjoy the most. If you get to test them out before buying, all the better. But I can't stress enough that all our music preferences are different, how we perceive sound is different, our human bodies (e.g. ears) are made differently and so no one earphone/headphone will please everyone.
 
I hope that the IE8s will continue to give you the enjoyment that you have experienced so far, as have many of us here. Remember, a lot of the customs being spoken about are tailor made for musicians, but many of us are mere casual listeners who enjoy music.
 
@ ianmedium: just read and agree; tapping away as I have the IE8s in my ears right now.

Thanks Cravenz. I agree also with what you have written, what you said explains it all I think. I was only yesterday talking with a friend who has a lovely high end set up and he was talking of his experiences of visiting another friend who has high end hifi and how he simply does not enjoy listening to the system due to it being over analytical and that throughout the music his friend is constantly tweeking and looking for flaws in the system so he can improve it rather than just sitting back and enjoying the performance!
 
Each to his own but I know what I prefer.. Of to plug my IE's in I think!

 

[cravenz]

Quote:

Thanks Cravenz. I agree also with what you have written, what you said explains it all I think. I was only yesterday talking with a friend who has a lovely high end set up and he was talking of his experiences of visiting another friend who has high end hifi and how he simply does not enjoy listening to the system due to it being over analytical and that throughout the music his friend is constantly tweeking and looking for flaws in the system so he can improve it rather than just sitting back and enjoying the performance  
Each to his own but I know what I prefer.. Of to plug my IE's in I think!

Yup. I don't ever want to be there, trying to fix something that shouldn't be broken. Sometimes, the perfection is in the imperfections presented. I don't ever want to end up over analysing the music. I'm not a sound engineer after all. But I'll leave it here before I ramble on. I'm just enjoying my music now and reading a book I just got a few days back. 

 

[midoo1990]

@ianmedium ,i wonder how you enjoy music with k701.there is nothing that sounds natural on them.artificial soundstage and air,metallic sharp highs,weird mids,wrong timbre,anemic bass,overly analytical......i am surprised you like the ie8 and k701.completely different sound signatures and the ie8 is more accurate.
 
as for jh13 i am not taking credit from it,it is excellent by all means and i think everything i get after it will be sidegrade and i like to have different tonality and swap between it.the 13s is very seductive and doesnt sound like BAs,it has astonishing timbre just like dynamics and not blunt. probably the biggest upgrade if anyone is considereing the jh13 and wants to leave universals is as Shigzeo says in most of his custom reviews "Bone conduction'. if you like the tactile feedback of ie8 or fx500 and reverbations of the drivers in your ear,wait till you hear the jh13,it is on another level althogether.that exact reason and the decay and blackness i was talking about,is worth it for me.........but still not $1100 worth

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

@ianmedium ,i wonder how you enjoy music with k701.there is nothing that sounds natural on them.artificial soundstage and air,metallic sharp highs,weird mids,wrong timbre,anemic bass,overly analytical......i am surprised you like the ie8 and k701.completely different sound signatures and the ie8 is more accurate.
 
as for jh13 i am not taking credit from it,it is excellent by all means and i think everything i get after it will be sidegrade and i like to have different tonality and swap between it.the 13s is very seductive and doesnt sound like BAs,it has astonishing timbre just like dynamics and not blunt. probably the biggest upgrade if anyone is considereing the jh13 and wants to leave universals is as Shigzeo says in most of his custom reviews "Bone conduction'. if you like the tactile feedback of ie8 or fx500 and reverbations of the drivers in your ear,wait till you hear the jh13,it is on another level althogether.that exact reason and the decay and blackness i was talking about,is worth it for me.........but still not $1100 worth

It is funny you mention that! Since getting the IE'8' I rarely listen to the AKG's for the exact reasons you mention! I am grateful as well for your description of the JH13's. I do like the idea of them but each time I keep thinking, is it worth that much more money than what I have with the senn's, I think to be honest I am done with new purchases for a while. I enjoy the sound both the IE's and  Stax give me and that will do, The AKG's just do not get any listening time I am afraid!