[Pianist]

IE8 with the stock tips sounded like crap to my ears - way too laid back, grainy in the treble and with a bloated upper bass. IE8 with ACS custom tips is completely different story - huge, natural sound!

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif IE8 with the stock tips sounded like crap to my ears - way too laid back, grainy in the treble and with a bloated upper bass. IE8 with ACS custom tips is completely different story - huge, natural sound!

From only 1 page ago

Similar effects without the cost!

Quote:

Originally Posted by average_joe /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, I use this configuration for my tips. This helps bring the mids forward, widens the stage, brings the details out, and makes them more transparent. Negative is they stick out!

 

[iponderous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HONEYBOY /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey iponderous you got them already!! Man you're fast haha. I thought you were supposed to be still "pondering" about whether you want them or not! The IE8 are some brilliant sounding phones and they match very well with the touch 2G. I too liked them out of the box, the improvement I noticed was in the treble, it becomes more natural and exquisite with usage! Congrats and Enjoy your music!

Yes, that's exactly what my wallet said.

I expect to be enjoying my music through these for some time to come. I'll leave the hand wringing over burn-in, tip choice, mid-bass, amping and the dreaded Sennheiser veil to others.

Thanks HONEYBOY and cheers.

 

[winwin]

Double post. How does that happen?

 

[winwin]

Guys,how many days does it take for an item to arrive from Madisson to LA? My IE8 was shipped on 16 and hasn't arrive until now. The problem is, a relative of my gf is coming home today and I'm gonna have her bring it over to the Philippines. I tracked it. It says accepted on 16, left Madisson 18, arrived in California sort facility 19, arrived in California sort facility 22. Then it also says the item left the sort facility and is transit to the destination. Does that mean it's on it's way to the hous?

 

[Sid-Fi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by winwin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Guys,how many days does it take for an item to arrive from Madisson to LA? My IE8 was shipped on 16 and hasn't arrive until now. The problem is, a relative of my gf is coming home today and I'm gonna have her bring it over to the Philippines. I tracked it. It says accepted on 16, left Madisson 18, arrived in California sort facility 19, arrived in California sort facility 22. Then it also says the item left the sort facility and is transit to the destination. Does that mean it's on it's way to the hous?

That definitely sounds like its on the truck on the way over. From my experience receiving packages, the tracking page usually says something pretty close to this when its on the delivery truck to be delivered that day. Good luck getting your IE8 today.

 

[88Chris]

slowdive's "souvlaki" through these is pure amazingness.

 

[Sid-Fi]

--I apologize for bringing this stale question here but OMG I'm so sick of reading through flame war threads or threads full of self-aggrandizing business lectures as to why Apple is so smart. I've also followed a lot of threads asking the same question, but they have somehow always failed to attracted posts (burn out anyone?). --

I am looking for impression from those of you who have compared the SQ between Ipod 5-5.5G and 6G-7G classic or Touch 2G-3G with their IE8 through LOD with a portable amp. If you have ever compared these, PLEASE give me your frank impressions.

Here is my situation and why I am so interested in this question. I am using my old 5G Ipod LOD with my rolled D10. I am very happy with this combo. I use D10 through USB when I'm at home, but have been pretty happy with Ipod 5Gs DAC > LOD D10 when I'm on the go. However, it is only 30gb and already like 5 years old so I am looking to upgrade it for increased storage and a fresher unit in general. I simply am trying to figure out which model to replace it with. This will pretty much be between 64GB Touch 3G, Ipod Classic (6-7G), or simply a another 5-5.5G Ipod with 80GB. I care only about SQ and only about SQ through LOD.

I plan to purchase Wadia 170i in due time for living room and bedside use. Obviously the Classic will be best here since it has the most capacity and since the Wadia will bypass its DAC and amplification. However, I don't want to sacrifice SQ very much on the go for the sake of the extra capacity over the 80GB 5G, which will be good enough for me for a decent while. I have read a ton of impressions that seemed lacking in credibility and that were based on headphone out (could care less about HP), but really want to hear impressions from people here whose opinions I have grown to trust over the almost 5,000 posts-to-date. Thanks.

-EDIT-
Please feel free to PM me with your impression also as I don't want to sidetrack the thread.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid-Fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif --I apologize for bringing this stale question here but OMG I'm so sick of reading through flame war threads or threads full of self-aggrandizing business lectures as to why Apple is so smart. I've also followed a lot of threads asking the same question, but they have somehow always failed to attracted posts (burn out anyone?). -- I am looking for impression from those of you who have compared the SQ between Ipod 5-5.5G and 6G-7G classic or Touch 2G-3G with their IE8 through LOD with a portable amp. If you have ever compared these, PLEASE give me your frank impressions. Here is my situation and why I am so interested in this question. I am using my old 5G Ipod LOD with my rolled D10. I am very happy with this combo. I use D10 through USB when I'm at home, but have been pretty happy with Ipod 5Gs DAC > LOD D10 when I'm on the go. However, it is only 30gb and already like 5 years old so I am looking to upgrade it for increased storage and a fresher unit in general. I simply am trying to figure out which model to replace it with. This will pretty much be between 64GB Touch 3G, Ipod Classic (6-7G), or simply a another 5-5.5G Ipod with 80GB. I care only about SQ and only about SQ through LOD. I plan to purchase Wadia 170i in due time for living room and bedside use. Obviously the Classic will be best here since it has the most capacity and since the Wadia will bypass its DAC and amplification. However, I don't want to sacrifice SQ very much on the go for the sake of the extra capacity over the 80GB 5G, which will be good enough for me for a decent while. I have read a ton of impressions that seemed lacking in credibility and that were based on headphone out (could care less about HP), but really want to hear impressions from people here whose opinions I have grown to trust over the almost 5,000 posts-to-date. Thanks. -EDIT- Please feel free to PM me with your impression also as I don't want to sidetrack the thread.

You will be happy with the 80gb 5.5G iPod video > LOD > D10 if you are happy with the 30gb via LOD. I thought my stock 5.5G line out was nice sounding, but I still did the iMod because sound quality was #1 and even a 10% improvement was worth it to me. I have spent time with 3G and 4G nano via LOD and the 3G was slightly better than the 4G and at least as good as the 5.5G ipod video. But I don't have much experience with the current Touch models. I did have a 1G touch for a few months that sounded much better via LOD than via headphone out. iPhone 3G and 3GS via LOD or headphone out are also better than a stock 5.5G ipod video or any G Nano.

 

[Sid-Fi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif You will be happy with the 80gb 5.5G iPod video > LOD > D10 if you are happy with the 30gb via LOD. I thought my stock 5.5G line out was nice sounding, but I still did the iMod because sound quality was #1 and even a 10% improvement was worth it to me. I have spent time with 3G and 4G nano via LOD and the 3G was slightly better than the 4G and at least as good as the 5.5G ipod video. But I don't have much experience with the current Touch models. I did have a 1G touch for a few months that sounded much better via LOD than via headphone out. iPhone 3G and 3GS via LOD or headphone out are also better than a stock 5.5G ipod video or any G Nano.

Thanks for the quick answer Larry. I really appreciate it. For some reason, I have the impression that having an iMod would require an especially bulky LOD connector since I have read reviews that criticize its portability. Is this true or totally unfounded? Also, any idea if iMod would still be able to dock with the Wadia 170i?

For future impressions, I should also clarify that I most interested in the comparison between the Wolfson and Cirrus DACs in the 5-5.5G and 6-7G Classics respectively. The much larger capacity in a thinner form factor would be awesome, but I still don't think I could sacrifice SQ for it. Without reassurances, I'll probably go the 80GB 5.5G route.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid-Fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the quick answer Larry. I really appreciate it. For some reason, I have the impression that having an iMod would require an especially bulky LOD connector since I have read reviews that criticize its portability. Is this true or totally unfounded? Also, any idea if iMod would still be able to dock with the Wadia 170i? For future impressions, I should also clarify that I most interested in the comparison between the Wolfson and Cirrus DACs in the 5-5.5G and 6-7G Classics respectively. The much larger capacity in a thinner form factor would be awesome, but I still don't think I could sacrifice SQ for it. Without reassurances, I'll probably go the 80GB 5.5G route.

The iMod can use a normal sized LOD that has small blackgates in the connector, and I have a few from various builders (barqy, ALO, stevenkelby, etc). You can also use it with a Wadia dock for digital out, but I don't know how the analog outputs would respond to the DC offset not being removed by caps before the dock. Is the Wadia a simple pass-through analog or amplified/volume controlled? With a pass-through you can just connect something like like a Vcap box between the Wadia and your amp to use the analog out.

 

[winwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid-Fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif That definitely sounds like its on the truck on the way over. From my experience receiving packages, the tracking page usually says something pretty close to this when its on the delivery truck to be delivered that day. Good luck getting your IE8 today.

Well, that's a relief. I do hope it does arrive today. It would be so much of a hassle if it doesn't make it in time.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid-Fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif For future impressions, I should also clarify that I most interested in the comparison between the Wolfson and Cirrus DACs in the 5-5.5G and 6-7G Classics respectively. The much larger capacity in a thinner form factor would be awesome, but I still don't think I could sacrifice SQ for it. Without reassurances, I'll probably go the 80GB 5.5G route.

I am interested to hear an answer also. From what I have read the Wolfson is much better than the Cirrus after the mod.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought my stock 5.5G line out was nice sounding, but I still did the iMod because sound quality was #1 and even a 10% improvement was worth it to me.

Thanks for the info Larry. How would you compare the iMod to the stock line out? I would appreciate it if you could tell me how the soundstage, detail, bass, mids, treble changed/improved.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by average_joe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info Larry. How would you compare the iMod to the stock line out? I would appreciate it if you could tell me how the soundstage, detail, bass, mids, treble changed/improved.

The transparency, extension, detail and size of the soundstage all improved - how much depends greatly on the iMod dock you use. You don't have to do the iMod to enjoy the LOD, but like I said before it does eek out that last few percent when using compact docks.

With something like a borrowed Jensen copper foil cap dock it brought my iMod closer to my Apogee mini-DAC, but the Apogee still adds that last few percent over and above the iMod. With the Vcap dock it's not quite as good as with the Jensen, but still better than most compact portable iMod LOD. With my ALO or Piccolino iMod portable LOD, the iMod is very close to the Pico and D10 DACs, and better than all those PCM2702E Japan DACs.

These days, if you don't plan to walk around listening to the iMod with a portable amp, it's cheaper to get a Wadia iTransport and get bit-perfect digital out into a home DAC from your iPod. For me, when I went to CanJam 09 my iMod/Piccolino LOD/P-51 went everywhere with me.

Back on topic - I got around to trying the iBasso D10 with TLE2141-CA/EL8201 opamps with the IE8, and the IE8 are much better than when I had the AD744-OBCA/EL8201 or AD743/AD8616 combo of opamps in it. However, from memory I think the D10 was better with IE8 when using the AD8599 opamp, because at the time it seemed closer to the ALO Amphora which has always been perfect with them.

I have not revisited the AD8599 in the D10 since I only need to use the IE8 with the Amphora anyways, and the AD8599 didn't sound good with my other IEM. But this TLE2141-CA/EL8201 opamp combo not only improved the D10 with the IE8, it also improved the D10 with all my other IEM and is perfect for the UE11Pro. It still not perfect with the IE8, but I could live with the sound now.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif The transparency, extension, detail and size of the soundstage all improved - how much depends greatly on the iMod dock you use. You don't have to do the iMod to enjoy the LOD, but like I said before it does eek out that last few percent when using compact docks. With something like a borrowed Jensen copper foil cap dock it brought my iMod closer to my Apogee mini-DAC, but the Apogee still adds that last few percent over and above the iMod. With the Vcap dock it's not quite as good as with the Jensen, but still better than most compact portable iMod LOD. With my ALO or Piccolino iMod portable LOD, the iMod is very close to the Pico and D10 DACs, and better than all those PCM2702E Japan DACs. These days, if you don't plan to walk around listening to the iMod with a portable amp, it's cheaper to get a Wadia iTransport and get bit-perfect digital out into a home DAC from your iPod. For me, when I went to CanJam 09 my iMod/Piccolino LOD/P-51 went everywhere with me.

Thank you, great post as always! So it is all about the capacitors used after an iMod. And I was thinking of modding a 5th gen myself.