Another update with 60 hours of burnin:
Highs: The highs are now very good. Excellent detail with no hint of simbilance. For people that like sparkly highs, these will probably fall just a tad short. Might be something EQ can fix. For me, this is just about right. I need to do more testing and burnin to make a conclusive judgement though.
Mid: The mids have really opened up since I first listened to them out of the box. They are still not as pronounced as the SA6's in this area, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think mids are not as pronounced due to overall better balance across the entire range. I'm able to hear much more detail across the board because nothing is over emphasized. Except for the low low end. Some songs I can hear it as being over powering the mids, but it doesn't happen too often so I'm not sure if it's the fault of the IE8's or the recording.
Bass: The bass is noticeably tamer now in a good way. There's a punch/snap to it now and with the bass knob at 3/5 I think I've struck a near perfect balance. I'll probably have to revise the settings after 200-300 hours of burn in, but for now a flat EQ and bass knob at 3/5 is great.
The bass just seems to extend forever and really shows off it's clarity in songs with a string bass. I can hear details that I haven't heard in my other IEM's.
Detail overall is amazing. In some live piano recordings I can even hear the performer take their breaths.
Binaural Comparison Ultrasone CD
I've test 2 of my favorite tracks on the Ultrasone CD to compare my IE8's, SA6, im716, and Super.fi Pro 5.
Track 6 - Wellen Am Sandstrand (the water wave/ocean recording)
IE8 - Soundstage there is no comparison. The IE8's are a good 6 inches wider (my best approximation) than anything else. The IE8's also do the best job of allowing you to hear the waves off in the distance. When I close my eyes, it sounds like I'm actually there, laying in the sand as the wave is washing over me. This is easily the most immersive experience I've had with any IEM/headphone.
Super.fi - With the Super.fi the distant waves are almost completely lost. And the sound is the narrowest of the 4. I though the Super.fi's had pretty good soundstage, but this track has proven my ears wrong. The waves don't sound as natural. It's not quite as bad as the im716's, but still not that enjoyable.
SA6 - The SA6's were a narrow 2nd in soundstage. The distant waves are still there, but not as detailed. You can't hear them as distinctly. This probably is due to the emphasized mids as the closer waves tend to wash out the distant ones. But wave doesn't sound balanced as it's moving from one side to the other. It sounds a tiny bit unatural compared to the IE8's, although still very good if I didn't have the IE8's to compare them with.
im716 - The soundstage was almost as good as the SA6's. I had to turn the volume to 30 for these and I think I could've used more. They are definitely hard to drive. The sound was accurate, but to a fault. The water just sounded lifeless. This would really sum up the sound from the im716 in general. Lifeless. It makes the recording just sound like a recording. It doesn't feel like you're there. It just sounds like you are listening inside a studio. There are places that sell alarm clocks and such that have "nature
sounds built in. Most of them have ocean sounds. If you know what I'm talking about, the im716 almost sounds that bad. I think that was the intention for these IEM's, but it sure doesn't make listening to them that enjoyable for me. Very analytical sounding.
Track 11 Feurewerk 2002 (Fireworks track)
IE8 - WOW...the soundstage is incredible compared to the others. The distant fireworks sound like they are coming from way left/in front of me. When I close my eyes, it feels like I'm watching fireworks at a lake and the distant fireworks are from the other side of lake. When the additional fireworks are lit the by the "spectators", it really has some pop to it. It sounds as if they are lighting them right next to you. Very realistic.
Super.fi - again, this track proves how wrong my ears were in judging the soundstage. All of the fireworks sound like they are inside my head. The distant fireworks lack detail. The imaging is completely wrong. When the background conversations start, they sound like they are coming from directly behind you instead of to the right. Same when the spectators light their own firworks. It sounds like it's coming from in the center instead of a bit off to the right. There's just not enough spatial separation between everything. And the separation that is there isn't accurate. This made for an odd listening experience after hearing the IE8's.
SA6's - The soundstage was again 2nd only to the IE8's. The imaging might actually be a tad better, but the fireworks don't have the extra pop. Probably because the SA6's tends to lack in the bottom end. These would be considered OK, but just not as realistic.
im716 - Wow...talk about lifeless. The fireworks lack any kind of pop at all. Again, these IEM's make it sound like you are listening in a studio instead of actually being there. The im716's don't necessarily lack detail, it's just that they don't do anything special with them. The soundstage was better than the Super.fi's but the distant fireworks was just lacking compared to the SA6's or IE8's.
I agree with some of the posts made recently about how the IE8's can be a bit fatigueing afterwhile. I can see how this may happen. But for me the IE8 really define the "listening experience". They make me feel like I'm there rather than listening to a recording. More so than my SA6's which I considered very good for that type of sound.
Now it's time for the long term burn in. I'll post more impressions after 250+ hours.
