[DannyBai]

Quote:

Did you get your upgrade cable yet? Curious to see if you will be happy with them.
 

I won't have em for another couple of weeks because he's working on a repair issue I have with another iem.  
 

 

[alphaman]

May have missed this somewhere along the line ...
HeadRoom has measured the IE8, but this was a while back. Newer HR reviews and Tyll's IF site have somewhat more comprehensive metrics.
E.g., here are some metrics for the Sony EX1000 dynamic IEM:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDREX1000.pdf
 
Has anyone tested the Impulse Response on any Senn. IEx IEM?

 

[lee730]

The treble peak is what is turning me off from my Sony EX1000s. Otherwise I would love to keep them. I'm selling them if anyone is interested.
Quote:

May have missed this somewhere along the line ...
HeadRoom has measured the IE8, but this was a while back. Newer HR reviews and Tyll's IF site have somewhat more comprehensive metrics.
E.g., here are some metrics for the Sony EX1000 dynamic IEM:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDREX1000.pdf
 
Has anyone tested the Impulse Response on any Senn. IEx IEM?

 

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

The treble peak is what is turning me off from my Sony EX1000s. Otherwise I would love to keep them. I'm selling them if anyone is interested.


 

I agree but I've been tweaking them with the equ app with my iphone to tame the treble and it works quite well.  
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I agree but I've been tweaking them with the equ app with my iphone to tame the treble and it works quite well.  
 

I may have just found a tip that eliminates the treble issue. Or at least its a make shift tip. I combined that weird grey looking tip from the IE8 tips and put a large single flange over it. It give me a nice seal. I'm surprised the seal makes that much of a difference. Now I'm listening on regular setting on the Hifiman 601 and its not so fatiguing. I may just end up keeping them after all.
 

 

[alphaman]

HeadRoom has a "Build-a-Headphone-graph" comparison-engine tool ... FWIW, here are the FR curves of certain "higher-end" universal models I'm interested in (I'm interested in more, e.g., UE, ES-SM3, etc., but HeadRoom has only tested certain models ... as of this writing. Some newer tests have more graphed metrics, such as Impulse Response but (alas) not IE-8) ...

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

I like the IE8 a lot but I have to fault it for its bass which is too bloated. That's why I'm interested in the Sony EX-1000. 

The EX1000 has the best quantity and quality bass I've heard.  The treble needs to be tweaked tho.  Maybe lee730's mod will help with that.  

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I like the IE8 a lot but I have to fault it for its bass which is too bloated. That's why I'm interested in the Sony EX-1000. 

The cable has helped with the bloat quite a bit for me (silver cable) and of course the biggest issue with the IE8s is the mid bass hump. Just eq it down and problem solved.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Put a small piece of tape over the bass dials. It will tame the bass significantly. I've tried it myself and it works.
 
Quote:

I don't think that recabling or equalisation is the answer to the IE8's bloated bass. I don't want to tinker with replacement cables and equalisation in the hope of changing its sound signature. The IE8 is what it is. I accept that and find its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. It might be time to try a different flavour and the EX-1000 appeals. I'd rather have two pairs of earphones than two pairs of earphone cables.

 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

Put a small piece of tape over the bass dials. It will tame the bass significantly. I've tried it myself and it works.
 


 

 
Well, I'll be damned, it sure does! Now I can listen to them without eq, Thanks!

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

Put a small piece of tape over the bass dials. It will tame the bass significantly. I've tried it myself and it works.
 


 

It does work like magic but I prefer the bass.  
 

 

[lee730]

So it lowers the midbass hump as well? That was the main issue with them to begin with. Although there is quite a bit of sub-bass the midbass is what ruined the IE8s.

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

So it lowers the midbass hump as well? That was the main issue with them to begin with. Although there is quite a bit of sub-bass the midbass is what ruined the IE8s.

I only tried briefly but to me it took away most of the bass in general and I didn't care for it.  

 

[alphaman]

Re: tape over tuning-port ...
 
I tried something like this quite a while back. Did not like the results (it just doesn't affect bass (which to my ears becomes too light) ... mids become way too beamy, etc.). You can go part way by perforating the tape with a pin -- but even this is ruinous to the orig sound. 
 
The IE8 was not designed for acoustic suspension -- it's a damped/tuned/bass-reflex system. While I think the low end can't be dialed as far down as I'd like, plugging-up-the-port approach is not a way to correct the issue. To sound optimal, the dynamic transducer inside the IE8 has to breathe ... with its genetic mouth/nose. 
 
All that said ... this experiment may be valuable in demonstrating the fundamental design limits of the stock IE8: that Senn (or a cloner or sophisticated modder) may need to re-engineer the basic design -- in a proper science laboratory, with purpose-built dummy-heads and powerful data-acquisition equipment. I'm sure Senn., and other electronic giants, have these labs.
 
IAC, and given its limits*, and among the models I own or have sampled, the IE8 is still the best IEM I've heard to date. 
 
* IE8 cons include: tubby bass; poor isolation; not-as-detailed overall sound as other top uni's (e.g., ER 4S). IAC, I would not trade bettering these any of these cons if any of the IE8's orig pros were sacrificed.

 

[alphaman]

Quote:

The treble peak is what is turning me off from my Sony EX1000s. Otherwise I would love to keep them. I'm selling them if anyone is interested.

A lot of IEMs treble-peak. But some (Grado, Monster Turbine PRO, etc.) drop the treble energy too early in the spectrum. If you look at HR's measured FR for the IE8, it is quite extended (but rolled off gently). IMO, it's pretty much Goldilocks.
 

 
About the EX1000 ... that Impulse Response does not look too impressive . The almost-20-year-old ER 4S has probably the best IR I've seen. See http://sonove.angry.jp/ for more tech. details.