[wht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechungster /img/forum/go_quote.gif I noticed this thing bugging me for a couple of days.. It seems as if some recordings, the vocals are pushed the left slightly away from centre. If I swap sides, the sound is just made the same but on the right this time... Could this happen from the tips quality or even the cable? (I hope it's not the cable) Or maybe because my ears are slightly different? Edit: I think the foam tips are to blame here. I think they are wearing down slightly, since the silicon ones are pretty much ok.

It is probably the recordings and nothing wrong with the hardware or your hearing because:

(1) if there is something wrong with your hearing, the vocal displacements would not have switched sides when you swapped over the phones.

(2) if there is something wrong with the hardware, the vocal displacements would have happened for all recordings and not only some recordings.

 

[mosso2000]

After many issues I fitted comply t400s and almost immediately found a good fit.
And wow.
A crescendo in one of Bob sinclar's favourite songs made me shivering like never.
I would'nt have expected such greatness in my wildest dreams

 

[showtest]

Is isolation on IE8 really that bad? I plan on getting one but am not interested in doing these mods.
Tips i have currently = sony hybrid and comply. Can anyone comment on isolation with those?

 

[decay]

Isolation isn't horrible, but you can't compare it to w3, um3x, shure 530, etc.
The benefit is of course you won't have to worry about not hearing traffic.
These "mods" are pretty simple, just put available components together and without
glues or such you get some good results, but for pure isolation comply should
provide the best, though YMMV.

 

[dura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by showtest /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is isolation on IE8 really that bad? I plan on getting one but am not interested in doing these mods. Tips i have currently = sony hybrid and comply. Can anyone comment on isolation with those?

Well, isolation is clearly less then my former IEMs (Sleek |SA6, Shure E4 etc.) but for me it is still enough to be usable f.i. on a plane, but I have to raise the volume slightly.

 

[Sayajin]

This thread just keeps going every day. Time for a large break guys?
Just kidding.

Sadly I doubt I will be the one of the very big lovers of IE8. The bass is simply too dominate and kills the airless and details. Not really my taste and that both with and without a good isolation.
Compare to the TF10 I feel the bass on TF10 were about the right amount and more my liking.

What else of the IEMs below could qualify my preferring of that experience I’ve got with the IE8 on bass only?

SE530
W3
UM3X

I believe an IEM like the phonaks will be no problem but I’m not sure if the other ones will be too much, especially SE530.

 

[decay]

Everyone's taste is different, so there's no problem at all for not liking IE8's bass. Hell,
HPA barely OKed it after 440 hrs, and it just became somewhat acceptable to him
after 700+ hrs, and not many will willingly wait for such a long time for the bass to
tighten.

For balance UM3X will be best, W3 has that mid-bass hump which might make music
interesting for some, and SE530 is great on mids but veild on lows and highs.
If you have a chance try W3, and if its bass sound unlikable then UM3X may be your
solution.

 

[Foxxy]

***Double post***

 

[Foxxy]

Just grabbed a brand new pair of IE8 on ebay.co.uk for £142, surely a bargain don't you think? However I'm worried these are fakes, the seller seems alright, 286 feedbacks, none is negative. But I'm a bit worried, are there fake versions of IE8 floating around the world right now and is it easy to spot if so?

Here is the auction: Sennheiser IE8 in-ear headphones, brand new, boxed on eBay, also Headphones, Universal MP3 Accessories, MP3 Player Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 25-May-09 12:27:06 BST)

Right now I'm so happy I got them for such a decent price, in Sweden they would cost a lot more, we are talking about £192.

I'm looking forward to get these babies, I read someone here was talking about 700 hours before I can consider them to be 100% finished. It's hard to imagine the sound can make such a huge improvent from out of the box to a pair of 700hours burned in music.

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxxy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just grabbed a brand new pair of IE8 on ebay.co.uk for £142, surely a bargain don't you think? However I'm worried these are fakes, the seller seems alright, 286 feedbacks, none is negative. But I'm a bit worried, are there fake versions of IE8 floating around the world right now and is it easy to spot if so? Here is the auction: Sennheiser IE8 in-ear headphones, brand new, boxed on eBay, also Headphones, Universal MP3 Accessories, MP3 Player Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 25-May-09 12:27:06 BST) Right now I'm so happy I got them for such a decent price, in Sweden they would cost a lot more, we are talking about £192. I'm looking forward to get these babies, I read someone here was talking about 700 hours before I can consider them to be 100% finished. It's hard to imagine the sound can make such a huge improvent from out of the box to a pair of 700hours burned in music.

The seller's feedback looks fine (except for one), although I noticed that quite a few of the item descriptions are listed as 'private' in his feedback. I never understand that

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about them being fakes, and as for the 700-hour burn-in, everybody reports different times. Mine took about 10 hours! Just keep listening to them and leave them playing overnight if it concerns you

And yes, it was a great bargain!

 

[Foxxy]

Alright, I hope for the best

Yes haha I never understand why they set the items to private, ebay privacy I suppose..

Longing for these babies to get in my mail box a lot now

To go from these cheap Sony Ericsson HPM-70s:

to

Will probably blow my ears out!

 

[rebski]

Quote:

The bass is simply too dominate and kills the airless and details.

I have seen this report many times now and I can't understand why my IE8's don't display these characteristics. I have never experienced this bass dominance which some have compared to the Atrio's.

Out of the box the bass was present but light – possibly even lighter than that of my PX-100s, after 300 hours burn in it is now strong and deep but only when the source requires it to be. It is not easily provoked to respond in a way which is inappropriate nor is it ever overwhelming

The presentation of Detail began after 100 hours and has continued to improve. Fine detail now astonishes, I hear things which I never heard before. But everything is separated, nothing intrudes where it shouldn’t or ‘kills’ anything else.

It occurs to me that maybe not all IE8’s are identical. Initially at least, after burn in they must all be comparable. While all interim observations are of interest and value, perhaps final judgement should be reserved until after 400/700 hours of usage.

 

[toughnut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebski /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have seen this report many times now and I can't understand why my IE8's don't display these characteristics. I have never experienced this bass dominance which some have compared to the Atrio's. Out of the box the bass was present but light – possibly even lighter than that of my PX-100s, after 300 hours burn in it is now strong and deep but only when the source requires it to be. It is not easily provoked to respond in a way which is inappropriate nor is it ever overwhelming The presentation of Detail began after 100 hours and has continued to improve. Fine detail now astonishes, I hear things which I never heard before. But everything is separated, nothing intrudes where it shouldn’t or ‘kills’ anything else. It occurs to me that maybe not all IE8’s are identical. Initially at least, after burn in they must all be comparable. While all interim observations are of interest and value, perhaps final judgement should be reserved until after 400/700 hours of usage.

Mine burned in 400+hours and the layer of warmness across the freq spectrum still exist.

 

[rebski]

the layer of warmness across the freq spectrum still exist.[/QUOTE
Hi toughnut, warmness is another and separate issue though don’t you thnk? Couldn't that be attributed to marque characteristic rather than a fault? Personally I don't mind a bit of warmth and at this moment it is not something I can comment on. Perhaps later after much more burn-in.

What we are talking about here is the report of dominant bass which 'kills' detail. This is a flaw and is unacceptable esp in a high end IEM. My contribution is to that specific issue.

What is your experience of bass dominance and intrusion after 400 hours? How have you seen the bass characteristic develop from out-of-the-box until now?

 

[toughnut]

Sorry, i overlooked the first paragraph lol

The bass (mid bass to be specific) reduced after the first 80-100 hours burn in and by 200+ hours, the lower end spectrum quite neutral. Amount of sub bass, bass and mid bass almost equal. Imo, the warmness hide the details but not completely killed.