[klanse]

Hey guys,
 
I broke my ie8 nozzle. Any chance of getting it fixed?

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

Got a pair of these recently, only about 80 hours of pink noise burn in on them so far, so I'm holding off on commenting (probably until the often stated ~300 hour mark), but I am concerned about a certain lack of detail in some songs (even after eq'ing) which my old apple iem's (the pre-addiem ones) have no problems with. I'm really hoping this clears up, but at 80 hours so far I am starting to get concerned.
 
A perfect example of this missing detail is on the slayer song aggressive perfector... there is a second guitar playing in the intro that is quite clear with my apple iem's, but can only be heard very faintly in the first few bars then disappears on my ie8's.
 
I'm wondering if a matched amp such as the icon mobile would fix this, if it just needs more burn in, or if the ie8's genuinely can't show details a £30 pair of iem's can. Would appreciate someone more knowledgeable's input on this seeing as I have next to no experience with high end iem's, having only owned said apple iem's and cx300's previously.
 
edit: decided to create a 4 second crop of the song I was just talking about to illustrate what I'm saying, with my ie8's the second guitar mirroring the first at a higher pitch is just about audible in the first half of the clip but isn't audible at all in the second half. Perhaps someone else with ie8's could let me know if they get the same result as me or if not what their setup is. BTW my source is an iphone 3gs, though have also tested this through my pc using a creative audigy 2.
 
clip: http://www.sendspace.com/file/jff24q

While a headphone amp will boost the IE-8s significantly, don't expect a lot of details and precision out of them that you would get from BA based IEMs. These phones are fun to listen, very comfortable even without an airtight seal. I'm using mine only when I don't want to focus too much on the music, while reading or working on something.What you describing actually was the first thing that struck me when I listened to these for the first time, coming from the UE Triple-Fi 10. If you want precision and very high resolution, you may want to look elsewhere...

 

[MusiCol]

I use an iBasso D10 DAC/amp which make a massive difference whether using IE8's or full-size cans. One thing to bare in mind though is that even a fairly budget amp will make poor / low bitrate recordings sound harsh and unpleasant by simply showing you their faults, while good recordings will make you glad you invested in an amp! But I don't think the amplification is the problem here...
 
Quote:

Quote:

Got a pair of these recently, only about 80 hours of pink noise burn in on them so far, so I'm holding off on commenting (probably until the often stated ~300 hour mark), but I am concerned about a certain lack of detail in some songs (even after eq'ing) which my old apple iem's (the pre-addiem ones) have no problems with. I'm really hoping this clears up, but at 80 hours so far I am starting to get concerned.
 
A perfect example of this missing detail is on the slayer song aggressive perfector... there is a second guitar playing in the intro that is quite clear with my apple iem's, but can only be heard very faintly in the first few bars then disappears on my ie8's.
 
I'm wondering if a matched amp such as the icon mobile would fix this, if it just needs more burn in, or if the ie8's genuinely can't show details a £30 pair of iem's can. Would appreciate someone more knowledgeable's input on this seeing as I have next to no experience with high end iem's, having only owned said apple iem's and cx300's previously.
 
edit: decided to create a 4 second crop of the song I was just talking about to illustrate what I'm saying, with my ie8's the second guitar mirroring the first at a higher pitch is just about audible in the first half of the clip but isn't audible at all in the second half. Perhaps someone else with ie8's could let me know if they get the same result as me or if not what their setup is. BTW my source is an iphone 3gs, though have also tested this through my pc using a creative audigy 2.
 
clip: http://www.sendspace.com/file/jff24q

While a headphone amp will boost the IE-8s significantly, don't expect a lot of details and precision out of them that you would get from BA based IEMs. These phones are fun to listen, very comfortable even without an airtight seal. I'm using mine only when I don't want to focus too much on the music, while reading or working on something.What you describing actually was the first thing that struck me when I listened to these for the first time, coming from the UE Triple-Fi 10. If you want precision and very high resolution, you may want to look elsewhere...

The only sound on the left channel is when Kerry scrapes his guitar strings near the end of that intro (that's what's on the 4-second clip you posted), just before the song kicks off - but I can assure you there is nothing else on the left channel while Jeff is playing the intro on the right channel. I had the same effect on my old cassette tape of Metal massacre 3 - I thought Kerry must have been playing a harmony in the intro but the only thing that's actually there is a brief scrape of his guitar strings. It's plain as day on the box-set "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" (which is very well mastered). So, you're just missing an artificial harmonic which was never actually present in the original recording. IE8's may not be the most agile of IEM's but they're plenty good enough to show up details like that. However, I would say that it will take a bit more patience to get the best out of them - as I, and many others, have found. Hope that answers your question.

 

[stacey]

I just bought the IE8is for $298, (Roughly 200 Euro) and I got a  free pair of Sennheiser branded Adidas Mactelo sunglasses to go along with them as part of the promotion. Good deal? And I was wondering how long of a burn-in time should I allow for these IEMs to sound top notch, or will it sound great out of the box? Any idea anyone?

 

[HawkinsT]

Thanks both of you for your replies...
 
Perhaps on that example you're right MusiCol (although there is definitely audible notes present in the apple iem that don't exist in the ie8), although regardless, perhaps I'm focusing in on a few minor details in certain tracks too much, on the whole the ie8's are considerably better than the apple iem's and cx300's (given the right tracks).
 
Technocrafts: I am still enjoying my ie8's a lot, though have been strongly considering getting a second pair of high end iem's, something to contrast these (eq-7's look appealing), being able to hear every detail in my music (even imperfections, which I know a lot of people won't understand) is really desired by me - though maybe it's better to wait a few months just to fully get acquainted with the ie8's first.
 
A portable amp I'd be happy to buy if I knew exactly how/if it would improve my iem's (anything I care to listen to more than once every 6 months I have in 320kbps on my iphone - and almost everything on my pc is high quality - so showing up problems in a recordings rendering I am happy with), though looking further around here there seem to be so many conflicting reports as to the merits of them (especially in low impedance iem's), that I'm now thinking I'd really want to find somewhere I could try a few out without having to purchase, although I guess that's probably easier said than done (or a strong argument for trying to make it to the uk head-fi meet MusiCol =).
 
Anyway, still giving it some time before I'm ready to give my full impressions of the ie8's, but one other observation I have to share... I went skiing a couple of weeks back; I'm not sure if it's the air pressure or the cold, but they really did sound fantastic in the mountains, almost to the point where I may need to fund another 'research' trip to investigate =). But is this something others have experienced too? I'm fairly sure it's not just a mental thing.

 

[HawkinsT]

Quote:

I just bought the IE8is for $298, (Roughly 200 Euro) and I got a  free pair of Sennheiser branded Adidas Mactelo sunglasses to go along with them as part of the promotion. Good deal? And I was wondering how long of a burn-in time should I allow for these IEMs to sound top notch, or will it sound great out of the box? Any idea anyone?

 
I have to say I was quite underwhelmed with them when I first got them. Also sonically I haven't experienced the huge difference in burn in often stated about the ie8's (after 120+ hours burn in so far), the sound has improved a fair amount, but honestly a lot of that I can put down to my ears adjusting the the ie8's as well as playing with different tips and insertion - and finding the right songs to really show off the ie8's qualities. I am now liking them a lot though, and they do sound especially great with certain live tracks. I also must say, having never worn over-the-ear iem's before, despite how comfortable the ie8's supposedly are, I felt a lot of pain wearing them for even short periods of time at first, but after a few days this went away and they are now genuinely comfortable to wear. Anyway, hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of the when they arrive, and should you care to share your first impressions on them, I'd be interested in reading them.

 

[Technocrafts]

 

 

[HawkinsT]

Hmm, not sure if you mistakenly removed all content from your last post or not, but either way I did read it and since you took the time to write out a reply I think I should take the time to write a response =).
 
After some further research, the er4's seem like a good choice to me for a complimentary iem to the ie8's so perhaps soon I'll order a pair of those. A friend of mine who I'll be seeing in a couple of weeks recently bought a pair of hf5's so I'll probably hold off until then though so I can audition those and see how I like them since I understand they have a similar sound signature.
 
Amp wise the D2+, while appealing, is just too big for my purpose at present (pocket sized portability) and from what I've read the T3 offers little the iphone 3gs out doesn't already provide. Since the icon mobile gets so many reports of great synergy with the ie8 however, I may order one of those to try out.

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

Hmm, not sure if you mistakenly removed all content from your last post or not, but either way I did read it and since you took the time to write out a reply I think I should take the time to write a response =).
 
After some further research, the er4's seem like a good choice to me for a complimentary iem to the ie8's so perhaps soon I'll order a pair of those. A friend of mine who I'll be seeing in a couple of weeks recently bought a pair of hf5's so I'll probably hold off until then though so I can audition those and see how I like them since I understand they have a similar sound signature.
 
Amp wise the D2+, while appealing, is just too big for my purpose at present (pocket sized portability) and from what I've read the T3 offers little the iphone 3gs out doesn't already provide. Since the icon mobile gets so many reports of great synergy with the ie8 however, I may order one of those to try out.

Yeah, I tried to make a few corrections to the previous post, than the text just disappeared so I didn't see the point retyping it.
I certainly agree that the T3 is not your best option for the IE-8, I like the D2 a lot more with them. I'm very curious of your findings regarding the hf5. I have the ER-6i, but they are one of the most uncomfortable plugs I ever wore, producing a weird "piston"effect on my ear drums, so I can't tolerate them for too long, otherwise I love their sound.

 

[kadath]

I have a T3 but all this talk of the Icon Mobile working better with the IE8 is pushing me toward buying one. Would it really be worth it? I'm trying to not make any unnecessary purchases.

 

[PANGES]

Quote:

I have a T3 but all this talk of the Icon Mobile working better with the IE8 is pushing me toward buying one. Would it really be worth it? I'm trying to not make any unnecessary purchases.

I tried the icon mobil w/ the IE8's, and to my ears, I didn't notice any differences in sound quality. YMMV.

 

[Train]

Sadly, my right ear likes to poop out IEMs after an hour or so of listening if I leave it alone. That side's ear canal is also smaller than the left side. I'm already using the stock medium bi-flange tips which work much better for me than the stock single flange tips with generating a good seal and staying inserted. I've yet to try the small bi-flange for the right side, but my experience with tip sizes for previous IEMs makes me think they will be much too small for my right ear. I'm hesitant to try foam tips from what I've heard of them muffling some of the sound, not to mention the high cost of lifetime replacements.
 
Anyone else had a similar predicament? I could really use some suggestions.

 

[HawkinsT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrafts /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Yeah, I tried to make a few corrections to the previous post, than the text just disappeared so I didn't see the point retyping it.
I certainly agree that the T3 is not your best option for the IE-8, I like the D2 a lot more with them. I'm very curious of your findings regarding the hf5. I have the ER-6i, but they are one of the most uncomfortable plugs I ever wore, producing a weird "piston"effect on my ear drums, so I can't tolerate them for too long, otherwise I love their sound.

Sure, I'll let you know... though I may just order the re0's in the meantime as they're only £50 =).

 

[DoomSludge]

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That's a bit pricy, methinks. In Austrian stores they mostly go for EUR 169, and we usually have higher prices than elsewhere.

That's pretty cheap.  It's £182 in amazon.co.uk, but having trouble finding cheaper deals online (for the authentic ones at least).  Feel like I gotta pull the trigger soon. 

 
They're £150 on Play.com!  Although they do tend to use third parties, and there's always the risk of counterfeits I suppose.  I might buy these, I have the CX300 and am looking to upgrade, and I must say, being a bass player I do enjoy the bump in the mid-bass region!
 
I'm currently trying to decide between these, the EQ-5, Monster Turbines, TF10s or HJE900s...  not 100% made my mind up yet though.  I did read a comment that the IE8s are awesome for doom metal due to their full and rich bass and low mids, and wide soundstage, that's what's swaying me towards these at the moment!

 

 

[kadath]

     Quote:

I did read a comment that the IE8s are awesome for doom metal due to their full and rich bass and low mids, and wide soundstage, that's what's swaying me towards these at the moment!

Not sure what kind of doom you listen to but I recently listened to Bongripper's "Satan Worshipping Doom" with my IE8s and it sounded great.