[lee730]

I got my cable for around $110.00 still noticeably cheaper than $200+
 

 

[AppleDappleman]

Anyone know the cheapest place to grab a pair?

 

[anoxy]

Man, I just bought some Etymotic ER4B and I love them, but I don't think I'll be able to wear them out and about hiking or riding my bike because the isolation and microphonics are so intense. 
 
EDIT: Just pulled the trigger on some IE8 for $190. Let's hope they're in good condition. 

 

[Rangotherabbit]

Just wondering if its possible for 2 pairs to burn in differently... my pair of ie8's are very "burnt in", the bass is strong and clear, although i have to give them a fair bit of treble with the eq on my walkman. 
 
My friends pair had less burn in, so the treble was very harsh and the bass was a bit muddy, but they had very little bass and tons of treble. i had too change the eq so i could compare the bass too mine, which they lacked greatly.
 
(we both have the bass screw to max)
and here's the thing... he used an ipod nano, he listens to treble heavy music really loudly, so lots of treble and very little real bass.
 
I use my walkman with clear bass on 3, and the eq is: 0.4: -2, 1: -1, 2.5: +3, 6.3: +3, 16: +3. (all in kHz).
The clear bass greatly increases the bass below 100hz, so my ie8's play alot more real bass than his. 
 
The +3's n the eq are there because it seems to lack mids/highs, without it it sucks.
 
My friends ie8's sounded great with 2.5 changed to 0, 6.3 changed to +1 and 16 changed to 0. 
His pair are slightly different with the clearness of the plastic rubber stuff on the cable joints, but otherwise i thought they should sound the same.
 
Yet they don't, there is a massive difference.
Could it be the different sound level of frequencies played during burn in/normal use, or are they different versions?

 

[james444]

^ Sounds like your friend's pair may be fake.

 

[Rangotherabbit]

I was wondering that, i thought one pair might be fake. I checked mine extensivly, and they are definitely legit, and now they've burnt in they sound legit, and i checked his too. They may well be fakes... The logo's all look legit, sharp well done, but the plastic/rubber stuff isn't as clear as mine. The red chip wire... ill need to check that again on his. The way they sound though... there's way too much treble. Far too much. The bass on his isn't very loud too, I played sme music and removed all sounds above about 80hz and there seems to be very little bass. Ill check for sure soon, but I'm not sure ill tell him his are fake if they are... He loves his ie8's and I don't want to ruin that.
At least mine are real.....

 

[james444]

^ Contrary to popular belief, I don't think there's much of a burn-in effect on the IE8. Here's something I posted in a different thread:
 
Quote:

 
I'm quite a fan of the IE8, they're excellent IEMs apart from their bass hump - and the latter is easily correctable. I've had my first pair since they came out in 2008 and recently bought one of the last remaining pairs from a local shop as a backup (since they've been discontinued and replaced by the IE80).
 
You know what, both pairs sound exactly the same and I couldn't tell the four year old from the brand-new one in a blind test.
 
Of course that's just one person's statistically insignificant observation. And I can't rule out that my old pair might have meandered through a myriad of burn-in induced sound signature changes over the years, only to arrive where it startet off.

 

[Kaffeemann]

Quote:

I was wondering that, i thought one pair might be fake. I checked mine extensivly, and they are definitely legit, and now they've burnt in they sound legit, and i checked his too. They may well be fakes... The logo's all look legit, sharp well done, but the plastic/rubber stuff isn't as clear as mine. The red chip wire... ill need to check that again on his. The way they sound though... there's way too much treble. Far too much. The bass on his isn't very loud too, I played sme music and removed all sounds above about 80hz and there seems to be very little bass. Ill check for sure soon, but I'm not sure ill tell him his are fake if they are... He loves his ie8's and I don't want to ruin that.
At least mine are real.....

Here is a nice graph:

 
The green line is the original IE8, the red one is the fake one.
If you friends IE8 don´t have bass they are probably fake.

 

[Rangotherabbit]

Now i have to decide whether to tell him the bad news... or just leave him in his bliss. 
Ill check his again of course, and if they still have tons of treble... Ill know for sure.
Although i should probably tell him, but god knows what he might brake afterwards....
Oh well, it only cost him $110. Could be worse...
Thanks for the graph. That confirms my suspicion in the lack of bass.
I can rethink my theory of burn in too....

 

[krismusic]

Just my two pennorth. If your friend is happy with his 'phones I would leave it at that. We all aspire to be happy with our chosen 'phones. If we achieve that. Job done. Who cares if they are "fake"?
 

 

[anoxy]

I used to be happy with my apple earbuds. Then I found out how much further I can take that happiness...I think you should help your friend out. 

 

[Vladimir_F1]

Guys

How long IE8 can work?

I'm using a pair for 3 years already This is the first product which lasts for so long That's why i'm curios 4 how long they will work ok ?
3 more years? 10 years ?

 

[muscular]

Quote:

Guys

How long IE8 can work?

I'm using a pair for 3 years already This is the first product which lasts for so long That's why i'm curios 4 how long they will work ok ?
3 more years? 10 years ?

Mine is on it's 4th year alrdy.
I think depends on how much u take care of it.
And also whether u left it to burn in initially.
 
If the IE8 was to be faulty, it would likely be because of the amount of run-in the IE8 driver received.
Much like how long LED lighting can last before they degrade and die out eventually. but sonic drivers are pretty long lasting, especially one by sennheiser, ill give it 10 years.

 

[Billyjoegunrack]

After IE80 was released.
Quote:

I guess that is true but the more db you add the worse the IE8 is gonna get already having a +5 db difference. For me that +5 completely ruined the sound making the mid range cloudy and the bass bloated. It even overshadowed the treble somewhat.
 
Use EQ (a big no no IMO for such an expensive IEM) and you close the gap mostly.
 
Lets be honest, most people who sold their IE8s did so due to the mid bass bloat and where not willing to have to live with using EQ to just get decent sound out of IEMs at a premium cost...

 
 
Same guy before the IE80, describing the IE8 in this very thread. Someone steal your password?
 
 

I see no issue with EQ at all to solve this issue. EQ down does nothing negative to the sound. Its when you EQ up that you start to induce distortion. I'd rather have over abundance and EQ down than lack quantity and have to EQ up. Although it would be nice to not have to use EQ at all. But lets be realistic. All headphones will sound better with some sort of EQ. Speakers is where it's at if you rather not use EQ. I could easily live with my Open-back Denon 5000s though without EQ (they remind me of much improved Sony EX1000s).

 

[cactus_farmer]

Are the Sennheiser IE8's discontinued?
 
Couldn't find them on their official website