[peeves]

Quote:

I finally got myself an IE8 with silver cabling , however later on due to comfort issue I switched to using stock cable. 
 
At first i found the sound (w stock cable) veiled and bassy but after awhile it became very balanced sounding with very nice and realistic tone/timbre.  Despite its clarity doesn't match armatures like um3x, sm3 etc... the ie8 just sound more realistic to my ear and its a definately an upgrade to ie7. In the past i only had clarity in mind but now i place tone/timbre accuracy above the 'perceived' clarity in importance

Are these the same silver cable: http://zanreviews.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/review-silver-dragon-cable-for-sennheiser-ie8/
I've been trying to find a USA seller but no luck. :/
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Are these the same silver cable: http://zanreviews.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/review-silver-dragon-cable-for-sennheiser-ie8/
I've been trying to find a USA seller but no luck. :/
 

I'm pretty sure they are. you can always contact the seller and inquire if they are actually silver cable and not silver plated cable.
 
 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

I finally got myself an IE8 with silver cabling , however later on due to comfort issue I switched to using stock cable. 
 
At first i found the sound (w stock cable) veiled and bassy but after awhile it became very balanced sounding with very nice and realistic tone/timbre.  Despite its clarity doesn't match armatures like um3x, sm3 etc... the ie8 just sound more realistic to my ear and its a definately an upgrade to ie7. In the past i only had clarity in mind but now i place tone/timbre accuracy above the 'perceived' clarity in importance

 
After spending more time listening trough the silver cable, do you find the IE-8 to reach the awesome high extension of the HD-600 and Triple-fi 10? With the right ear tips I was able to get a more balanced sound out of the IE-8, but I'm still missing the spark of the high frequencies many other high end gear offer. To some extent my source can also be blamed, I'm using a 6th gen ipod classic LOD-ed to a D2 Boa or T3 (yes, it is an upgrade to the classic, despite many claims that it does not offer any sound improvement)  .
I find the IE-8 to perform a lot better with a Sony Walkman with eq disabled, which tells me that I may have never heard the IE-8 at its full potential. I would be interested how much the IE-8's high end improves with the silver cable.
 
Thanks

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 
After spending more time listening trough the silver cable, do you find the IE-8 to reach the awesome high extension of the HD-600 and Triple-fi 10? With the right ear tips I was able to get a more balanced sound out of the IE-8, but I'm still missing the spark of the high frequencies many other high end gear offer. To some extent my source can also be blamed, I'm using a 6th gen ipod classic LOD-ed to a D2 Boa or T3 (yes, it is an upgrade to the classic, despite many claims that it does not offer any sound improvement)  .
I find the IE-8 to perform a lot better with a Sony Walkman with eq disabled, which tells me that I may have never heard the IE-8 at its full potential. I would be interested how much the IE-8's high end improves with the silver cable.
 
Thanks

With silver cable the highs are the most improved out of all the other 3 frequencies. The sparkle isn't as apparent as say the Sony's Ex1000s but its there in my opinion (not overly apparent like the Ex1000s can be) with the cable upgrade. For me the sparkle is most apparent with the snare, and guitar. You get that sparkly glitter effect with the snare and guitars are very defined. I guess a good example of a song with the snare where I really noticed the difference is "you can do magic" by America and with guitar would be "Love" by Fiji. Things just popped out at me that I wasn't aware of before. I'm used to it now but when I first heard these things I was shocked. I've listened to these songs several times and yet they sounded so different.
 
Also overall clarity is improved and not stuffy due to the tightened bass. I still feel that the midbass needs to be eq down but that is minor and induces no distortion (especially when getting use to the balanced midbass on the EX1000 it becomes and issue). Mids are also improved (vocals the most). They are more forward and intimate. And you also have a point about the source which your IE8s are connected to. The better the source the better the sound you'll get with the IE8s. I notice more detail and sparkle on my Sflo2/UHA4 combo over my iphone4/sansa fuze.
 
Edit: Saturday love by Cherrelle is a better example of the snare sparkle on the IE8s.
 

 

[Technocrafts]

Quote:

With silver cable the highs are the most improved out of all the other 3 frequencies. The sparkle isn't as apparent as say the Sony's Ex1000s but its there in my opinion (not overly apparent like the Ex1000s can be) with the cable upgrade. For me the sparkle is most apparent with the snare, and guitar. You get that sparkly glitter effect with the snare and guitars are very defined. I guess a good example of a song with the snare where I really noticed the difference is "you can do magic" by America and with guitar would be "Love" by Fiji. Things just popped out at me that I wasn't aware of before. I'm used to it now but when I first heard these things I was shocked. I've listened to these songs several times and yet they sounded so different.
 
Also overall clarity is improved and not stuffy due to the tightened bass. I still feel that the midbass needs to be eq down but that is minor and induces no distortion (especially when getting use to the balanced midbass on the EX1000 it becomes and issue). Mids are also improved (vocals the most). They are more forward and intimate. And you also have a point about the source which your IE8s are connected to. The better the source the better the sound you'll get with the IE8s. I notice more detail and sparkle on my Sflo2/UHA4 combo over my iphone4/sansa fuze.
 
Edit: Saturday love by Cherrelle is a better example of the snare sparkle on the IE8s.
 

I never heard the EX-1000, at one point I was thinking about getting the ex-700 a few years back, but I didn't like the design, and many reported harsh highs and sibilance to plague them. Sounds like Sony corrected that problem on the next upgrade. So far what I'm getting from your experience that the silver cable is a worthy upgrade. Its a shame Sennheiser does not ship the unit with similar wire components since otherwise they come with the best quality stock cable I have ever seen so far. No micro-phonic effect, no cracks developing from sweat, no stiffening, very few earphones exist on the market that offers that. Too bad they screwed up the wire composite and they too cheap to at least terminate it with a gold plated plug. Given the fact that these phones often imitate the triple-drivers with added sub woofer, the cable upgrade is an intriguing thought. Wish there would be an option of try before you buy.
 
Thanks for your reply.

 

[Poetik]

Quote:

 
After spending more time listening trough the silver cable, do you find the IE-8 to reach the awesome high extension of the HD-600 and Triple-fi 10? With the right ear tips I was able to get a more balanced sound out of the IE-8, but I'm still missing the spark of the high frequencies many other high end gear offer. To some extent my source can also be blamed, I'm using a 6th gen ipod classic LOD-ed to a D2 Boa or T3 (yes, it is an upgrade to the classic, despite many claims that it does not offer any sound improvement)  .
I find the IE-8 to perform a lot better with a Sony Walkman with eq disabled, which tells me that I may have never heard the IE-8 at its full potential. I would be interested how much the IE-8's high end improves with the silver cable.
 
Thanks

The TF10 with stock cable definitely was more sibilant than the ie8 with the silver cable.  There is definitely more extension in the treble of the ie8's but not near the level of the tf10's.  It does end my craving for more highs from the ie8 though which is a great thing. 
 

 

[lee730]

Thats exactly how I feel. It added more treble which made it more enjoyable overall. But not too much where I'd be in agony. I can actually pump up the volume and listen without fatigue. I can't do that with my Sony EX1000s. But the added sparkle in the highs is what did it for me. It really changes the sound for the better. Before they IE8s lacked the sparkle as if it were smoothed over. Now its clearly there but not slapping you in the face. You just have to listen and its there.
 
Quote:

The TF10 with stock cable definitely was more sibilant than the ie8 with the silver cable.  There is definitely more extension in the treble of the ie8's but not near the level of the tf10's.  It does end my craving for more highs from the ie8 though which is a great thing. 
 

 

 

[Craigerz]

Guys....just found this thread and really didn't have time to read through almost 500 pages...but...
 
Is there a mini-amp someone would recommend to use with these? Or would the built in iPod amp be enough to power them?
 
Sorry, I'm a noob...

 

[dfkt]

The IE8 work perfectly fine with any quality MP3 player. I didn't notice any improvements by amping them.

 

[fallingreason]

Quote:

The IE8 work perfectly fine with any quality MP3 player. I didn't notice any improvements by amping them.

 
They don't really need an amp, tho some people think they benefit from one.
 
Give the Fiio E6 a try and see what you think.  
 
 

 

[goobafish]

I finally ordered these, hopefully they arrive soon. In the meantime, I bought Sony Hybrid tips, a Fiio E11, and a Cowon S9. Hopefully this setup is awesome!

 

[beraken]

The comply foam tips will work better~
 
Quote:

I finally ordered these, hopefully they arrive soon. In the meantime, I bought Sony Hybrid tips, a Fiio E11, and a Cowon S9. Hopefully this setup is awesome!

 

 

[rangerid]

I really would not use complies on these, the highs are already lacking energy and those foams will soak up whats left of it and leave it sound extremely dark. 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

The IE8 work perfectly fine with any quality MP3 player. I didn't notice any improvements by amping them.

I noticed improvement with my UHA4 amp with the IE8s. They will still sound pretty good out of a decent source but with an amp it will bring further improvement in my opinion.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

The comply foam tips will work better~
 


 

The comply foam tips didn't work for me at all. I ended up breaking my IE8s due to them plus the tips increase the bass presence (mid bass is not good to increase) and the highs are muffled.