[Technocrafts]

Quote:

advanced mp3, contacted sennheiser and confirmed not fakes
 
also looked at the real vs fake comparison thread and my pair have nothing about them that shows they are fakes
 
like others have said our ears are different and i must be very very sensitive to sibilance as iv heard it on every pair i own, some a bit worse than others.
 
there seems to be no way to elminate it unfortunatly.

 
could it be my ipod classic?

I was just about to ask what is your sound source...No, definitely not the classic that would cause the problem, that's what I have and I find the IE-8 way too dark for my taste with the classic, rather less than desired on the high end, never mind sibilance. I'm using a cheap Sony Walkman instead with a 5 band eq, the last one(15 kHz) raised to the max. That is the only way I can get some decent highs out of these plugs, so I'm not sure why you would have this issue. Maybe they are defective? See if you can get Sennheiser to send you a replacement.
 

 

[alphaman]

Quote:

where did you buy yours? sibilance is not a marked characteristic of the IE8's; perhaps you were sold some fakes?

I ordered mine from Germany in Jan 2009 (computer online store; see earlier in this thread -- I think! -- as I forgot specifics) ... and only after I heard an IEM with less sibilance (ES SM3) that I noted a definite presence of this distortion in the 8's. Not a fan of the SM3s by far (and the IE8's remain my fave ... for the time being, anyway) but it was a notable "discovery".
Mine were/are NOT fakes per the criteria of that discussion (see H-F Archives)
 
 

 

[alphaman]

Matching impedance poll...
 
The answer to this query may either directly be answered by -- or can be derived with -- a bit of research almost or Archive/thread digging/data-mining. Being lazy, I'll ask a possible redundant question ... 
 
What's your experience with matching amp impedance? I.e., ideal matching (mating) impedance?
 
On my Meier Corda II, I recently switched to the 120-ohm O/P ... and found the IE8 sounded a bit less harsh/less-"glarey" or less-bright/more-focused ... than with the 0-ohm O/P I'd been using. Not sure how much of this has to do with purported bennies of higher impedance and/or bennies of using the volume pot. in its more-linear operating range.
 
BTW: Comparatively, the 32-ohm IEM, ES SM3, sounds worse using the 120-ohm O/P.
 
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I'm thinking of recabling my IE8's but there aren't  lot of custom cables out there.. Can anyone tell me what the cheapest cable is which kills the mid bass?

I got mine from a seller called zeroshoe off of ebay. I had his cheaper red angel cable and that did help somewhat. In all honesty you'll also have to eq the midbass on your DAP to get the best out of the IE8s because the midbass still was an issue for me even after the recable. But what the recable will yield is tighter bass, more extended highs and more forward mids. When eq the midbass down that will not induce distortion as you are taking away from the eq not adding to it. The red angel is about $70.00 I think. I ended up upgrading to his silver cable and I like that one even more.
 

 

[lee730]

I can't guarantee that the ipod is the main culprit but if you're ears are that sensitive to the sibilance maybe a warmer source and laid back for that matter could help the IE8s. I'd be worried though if it becomes too dark for you, but maybe not as you are very sensitive to sibilance to begin with. Maybe the hifiman 601 could help with your situation? I own one right now and I am finding it to pair very nicely with my IE8s. It wouldn't be a good combination for everyone though. I am mainly using it through its line out dock but through the headphone out it sounds very nice as well. Very smooth if you will and non fatiguing. Maybe that could be your fix to your issues. I think headroom also has a 30 day money back guarantee so take that into consideration. And if you're having issues with sibilance on the IE8s then I really think the Sony EX series would destroy your ears. The EX1000s are pretty bad for me with sibilance due to the treble peak.
Quote:

advanced mp3, contacted sennheiser and confirmed not fakes
 
also looked at the real vs fake comparison thread and my pair have nothing about them that shows they are fakes
 
like others have said our ears are different and i must be very very sensitive to sibilance as iv heard it on every pair i own, some a bit worse than others.
 
there seems to be no way to elminate it unfortunatly.

 
could it be my ipod classic?

 

 

[alphaman]

For taming sibilance and reducing general harshness/glare (and, IMO, improving overall SQ of the IE8) the std. 0-ohm O/P of DAP or amp has to go. I use an amp with a 120-ohm output jack. You can DIY a 75-ohm jack per Xin's instructions. Use high-quality parts, e.g. good jacks and metal-film resistors by Vishay Dale or Takman.
You will note reduced vol. so you need a powerful amp (no sense doing this tweak w/o one!). The audio may sound dull at first. Give it time. Going back to orig. 0-ohm is analogous to adding the infamous edge "enhancement" to video ... not real detail, it's distortion.
 
P.S. I wonder if the EX1000 can be similarly tweaked for the better? It's 32-ohm, so 2x IE8. Experimenting with another 32-ohm IEM, the SM3, actually made it sound worse w/120-ohm O/P (too bad -- that IEM needs way more help in HF harshness/glare than the IE8's minor sibilance issue). OTOH, full-sized Grados and beyers sound better at 120-ohm O/P. So a bit of a crap shoot. Still, for the IE8, it's a solid tweak.

 

[MusicalChillies]

IE8 and sibilance in the same sentence? wow.

 

[Deftone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lee730 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
And if you're having issues with sibilance on the IE8s then I really think the Sony EX series would destroy your ears. The EX1000s are pretty bad for me with sibilance due to the treble peak.

 
 

i had a listen to my friends Triple fi 10s and they made my ears bleed because of the razor sharp highs, definitely not enjoyable.
 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

i had a listen to my friends Triple fi 10s and they made my ears bleed because of the razor sharp highs, definitely not enjoyable.
 

Than most definitely you are very sensitive to hf sound. The TF-10 is my most favorite, to me they are irreplaceable for their high resolution and silky smooth, sparkling extended highs. The IE-8's hf range is more tamed, these should work for you once you find the right source to drive them. Beside the IE-8 I can't think of any IEM that would give you a decent sound stage with reasonable sound quality. If you haven't done so, try the Sony hybrid tips with them, those dampen the hf a lot. I hope this helps.
 

 

[alphaman]

Quote:

Than most definitely you are very sensitive to hf sound. The TF-10 is my most favorite, to me they are irreplaceable for their high resolution and silky smooth, sparkling extended highs. The IE-8's hf range is more tamed, these should work for you once you find the right source to drive them. Beside the IE-8 I can't think of any IEM that would give you a decent sound stage with reasonable sound quality. If you haven't done so, try the Sony hybrid tips with them, those dampen the hf a lot. I hope this helps.

Sensitive to highs, mids, lows, etc.? Well we can go back and forth there and simply spin our opinionated wheels.  ... Folks .... please use FREE and USEFUL resources available ... notably those that incorporate MEASUREMENTS and metrics ... E.g., If you find the IE8 treble "peaky" try, e.g, Monster Turbine Pro. WRT to the FR curve measured by Head Room (FWIW), the highs are a bit muted but you still have an IE8-like bass bloat, as noted here ...
 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

Sensitive to highs, mids, lows, etc.? Well we can go back and forth there and simply spin our opinionated wheels.  ... Folks .... please use FREE and USEFUL resources available ... notably those that incorporate MEASUREMENTS and metrics ... E.g., If you find the IE8 treble "peaky" try, e.g, Monster Turbine Pro. WRT to the FR curve measured by Head Room (FWIW), the highs are a bit muted but you still have an IE8-like bass bloat, as noted here ...
 

Wowww! Looking at the plot marked by the read line definitely makes me appreciate the IE-8 more, lol.
 
 

 

[i2ehan]

Let me begin by saying that I generally tend to refrain from equalizing any of my earphones, simply because I personally feel that any EQ adjustments I'd make would be made to, in a sense, correct where I felt the signature fell short/incompetent. Not to mention, I feel EQ adjustments aren't without their sacrifices, and to some extent (be it big or small) no longer retain certain aspects of the earphones true and intended signature. Hence, I much rather prefer to experience the 'true, natural, raw and uncut' sound of all my in-ears, per se. However, I recently purchased yet another set of IE8's through a friend, and it's been nearly 3 months since I last heard the IE8's. I'm no stranger to their signature however, and as I've stated many times over in numerous threads, I've owned my own set for nearly 2 full years time in the past.
 
Upon first listen, I wasn't too drawn in, and found one too many areas I personally wished to 'correct', if you will. For one, coming from the EX1000/RE252, they sounded much too dark. Not to mention, I felt the overemphasized midbass hump was stealing from my enjoyment. Yet, slowly but surely, the infamous staging begin to draw me in once again, and I felt almost compelled to EQ them. Long story short, I EQ'ed them via Windows Media Player equalizer (as is shown below), to what I feel truly brought out their analytical side, and they sound simply awesome! I've quite honestly never enjoyed the IE8's to this extent. Post-EQ, they sound more neutral, the midbass bloat has, for the most part, been replaced by sub-bass, and the lows retain their impact.
 
This is simply my way of hearing things, and I'm not suggesting it'll suit everyone's tastes. Nonetheless, for these ears, the way they sound post-EQ is levels above the way they sounded beforehand. This may not hold true for all genres, but for trance/progressive/EDM tracks, they sound yummy! 

 

 

[franklyshankly]

This is going to seem like a stupid question but I did a search and could find nothing. Right now I have Imgae S4 out of the Clip+, the sound is decent for the gym, chores, etc, but I'm looking for a pair of real high quality IEM's for more serious listening. I like the lushness of the S4's, but they seem a little dull in general, and I feel they could be much clearer, instruments could be more separated, and the highs could be smoother/more engaging. I guess my question is how would the IE8 compare with the S4? Does the IE8 clearly blow it away in basically every way (which is what I'm hoping/assuming), or are they just different? I do like lots of bass, but I also REALLY like a strong mid with plenty of detail, and a smooth extended high end. I feel the mids on the S4 are pretty boring, and highs are unrefined. Any comments?

 

[Poetik]

I feel like the ie8 has great highs but I wish it was a little more emphasized.  When listening to the ie8 you kind of feel that way because of the super mid bass bloat, it kind of smears everything in the 100hz to 1000hz range.  That's why if you look at that EQ graph above, you'll see someone EQ'n out the mid bass and loving the hell out of this iem.  I'm personally one of those people because the ie8 minus all the mid bass bloat = a really really good iem.
 
You got the incredible sound stage, clearer mids, more accentuated highs, and you have that great dynamic driver sub bass. 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

I feel like the ie8 has great highs but I wish it was a little more emphasized.  When listening to the ie8 you kind of feel that way because of the super mid bass bloat, it kind of smears everything in the 100hz to 1000hz range.  That's why if you look at that EQ graph above, you'll see someone EQ'n out the mid bass and loving the hell out of this iem.  I'm personally one of those people because the ie8 minus all the mid bass bloat = a really really good iem.
 
You got the incredible sound stage, clearer mids, more accentuated highs, and you have that great dynamic driver sub bass. 

 
Amen to that.