[Marat Sar]

Hello the ie800 to bright??? With that bass and sub bass??? I think that the ear tips that you using are not the right for your ear canal ,try another size, the treble is in fact very alive but is perfectly balanced with the rest of the spectrum at least with cayin n6 and even better with the hm-901

 
I am quite sure there is a difference in hearing at work here - I sense it in most sibilance and harsh treble related hi-fi conversations. The high frequencies are where most of the difference in people's hearing lies. Very sensitive to age and also just how sensitive your ears are. This colours how people respond to TOTL Sennheiser products in general. I'm guessing they engineer the treble peaks in their top products so as to make the music sparkle for more seasoned, less sensitive ears. Seeing as seasoned ears come with seasoned wallets. I at least think I have very good hearing and I hear a silvery cloud of harsh smoke around the high frequencies in the IE800 and I'm pretty sure this is what I will hear in the HD800 too. 
 
The word "bright" might have been off though. It's not the lack of low end, it's the quality of the top end that's off for me.
 
Looks like I'm on the Sennheiser treble odyssey now. Brace yourself bank account, this is gonna hurt.
 

   
There's a mod presented in a previous post. I renounce the leaking effect for reducing the bass, otherwise it passably works for me. Equalizing is still mandatory, though, for both bass and treble (or to increase upper mids and lower treble, resp.). Which points to solution 3 – or 3b with the X3 II.

 
Mods. A classic chapter in the Sennheiser Treble Odyssey.  
 
I'm a bit worried about the amp section of that x3ii though. I'm afraid it won't sound good straight out of the headphone jack since it sounds ghastly out of the old x3.

 

[yangian]

Sennheisers was tuned for classical/symphony. Use 80/800 to listen to symphonies, you'll never have any desiring for others.

 

[denis1976]

Try the ie800 starting cayin n6 up forget the fiio x5 i used to own a x5 and that peak was there but was there with the ie800 , jvc hafxz-200, so the problem was not on the iem's , give ie800 what they deserve

 

[JaZZ]

  I'm a bit worried about the amp section of that x3ii though. I'm afraid it won't sound good straight out of the headphone jack since it sounds ghastly out of the old x3.

 
The 2nd gen. X3 is reported to sound more transparent and neutral than the 1st gen. I have both X3 II and X5 II, and although not identical, their headphone outs are on a similar level to my ears, the X3 II is just slightly less extended to both extremes (easily equalizable, though, by about +0.4 dB). The X5 II has the much better display, if that's a criterion.
 
 

Try the ie800 starting cayin n6 up forget the fiio x5 i used to own a x5 and that peak was there but was there with the ie800 , jvc hafxz-200, so the problem was not on the iem's , give ie800 what they deserve

 
I disagree. The peak is in the IE 800. It's not just there with FiiO players. If the N6 suppresses it, that's kind of weird and would qualify it as a highly coloring player.

 

[denis1976]

Ok its

The 2nd gen. X3 is reported to sound more transparent and neutral than the 1st gen. I have both X3 II and X5 II, and although not identical, their headphone outs are on a similar level to my ears, the X3 II is just slightly less extended to both extremes (easily equalizable, though, by about +0.4 dB). The X5 II has the much better display, if that's a criterion.



I disagree. The peak is in the IE 800. If the N6 suppresses it, that's kind of weird and would qualify it as a highly coloring player.

ok it's your opinion , to my the ie800 is one of the most forgiven iem even for bad recordings, so that "peak" does not exists , if im not wrong i think that the 6 to 8 khz got a special atention from the makers , if the n6 gives color...them i love color sound)

 

[Conext]

   
I am quite sure there is a difference in hearing at work here - I sense it in most sibilance and harsh treble related hi-fi conversations.
 
The word "bright" might have been off though. It's not the lack of low end, it's the quality of the top end that's off for me.

Whew! For a second there, I thought I was the only one who could hear the apparent excessive sibilance and "harshness" of the IE800.
 
That being said, I started compiling a list of songs in my collection that I find particularly sibilant on the IE800. Originally, I was going to use them as samples for testing out different materials to tame the treble. I haven't gotten that far yet. But, I did discover something interesting.
 
I listened to those same tracks on a totally different system with a totally different set of headphones. In this case, a pair of on-ear, Klipsch Image Ones—easily considered a "bass cannon".
 
I'll be damned if I still didn't hear all the sibilance, just as on the IE800—simply more subdued.
 
I suspect that many of the tracks that I find offensive have always had harsh treble. It's just that the "sparkly" and extra clear nature of the IE800s brought that characteristic of the recordings to the forefront.
 
Unfortunately now, as Yoda might say, I can't unhear what I have heard.

 

[Bayonetwork]

New IE800 owner here with a couple questions; were these meant to be worn cable down or cable over-ear and does it affect sound in any way (seal aside) to wear them "upside down?" If i go over-ear with them they seem to go into my ear canal deeper (better?) but I was under the impression these were suppose to sit fairly shallow to keep vents from being blocked. 
Also, Im fairly tall so while going over-ear gives me a better fit and eliminates the microphonics, the overall cable length is a bit short. Are there any aftermarket cables preferably with an inline iPhone remote and is the cable difficult to replace since the cable isn't removable?

 

[johnwamp55]

Get new cables, it has been done.

 

[LCfiner]

No IEM reaches HD800 level soundstage.
 
No other headphone reaches HD800 level. 
 
Biggest soundstage I’ve ever heard was the tralucent 1plus2 - reminded me of the th900. but the mids suffered too much to achieve that stage size.
 
Currently, I am loving the flare r2pro for having a slightly forward “in front of head” soundstage. it’s not at all wide but it is slightly projected forward, which is very nice for an IEM, in my opinion. IE800 is wider but I also feel it has FR issues compared to the R2Pro (thinner, more sibilant treble and a bit too much low bass).

 

[denis1976]

I'm earing right now the last Diana krall cd "wallflower" my god thin voice?she is singing right in front of me in full bodie) hifiman hm-901 with mini box amp card plus ie800

 

[privilege15]

There's been a lot of talk about Fiio E12A+IE800 so I decided to pay a visit to my favourite retailer for a little audition.
 
Before going any further I want to give a little summary of my current and previous experience. Currently I use my modded with Muses01 and LT1028ACN8 buffers iBasso PB2 balanced amplifier with my balanced headphones at home and with IE800 on the go. While PB2 is positioned as primarily balanced amp you still can use its SE (single-ended) connection for unbalanced headphones. Since all sound optimization is made for balanced jack, mini-jack is left second best in SQ hence I wanted to try a dedicated IEM amp like E12A (with Muses02) before considering buying iBasso P5 SE custom reference amp which I can mod with whatever I like and make it sound the way I like. Previously I tried a great deal of portable and desktop amps but the only thing they could do is just come close or be equal to the SQ of Muses01+LT1028ACN8. So these are how things are for me.
 
After auditioning I did notice that E12A is very refined from a technical point of view, there's no "plop" when you turn it on and actually very nice to look at and hold in hand. This amp has a nice sound which must be a very good upgrade to anyone who doesn't have an amp and is cheap but...still no match to Muses01+LT1028ACN8 inside PB2 which is still superior even through I use its sub-optimised SE connection.
 
iBasso P5 come to daddy, you are the last next to try with IE800.

 

[mikey1964]

I'm using my IE800 with a Fiio X3 II and I'm pretty happy with it, they're used only when I commute though.....and for those times when I'm in a lazy rut and just wanna chillax on my bed. I'd budgeted for a BA CIEM/Universal so I'd have a kickass dynamic and badass BA CIEM/Universal. Gave up on that and decided to spend the money on a Gustard H10 and X12 combo. Apparently, I'm more of a full size headphone user than an IEM guy. The IE800 and Fiio X3 II combo has some pretty good clarity, tight bass and great highs (doesn't sound sibilant to me, but then, I'm over 50 so my hearing's somewhat shot).

 

[Velomane]

  (doesn't sound sibilant to me, but then, I'm over 50 so my hearing's somewhat shot).

Too much Dead Kennedys and Black Flag in the 80's would explain that. At least it does for me

 

[holden4th]

Have you tried any of the online hearing tests? You might be surprised at how good your hearing is, even for your 'age'. I'm a decade older than you and got great results, especially at the higher end of the range which I thought I would fail badly. It's not quite as good as a 20 year old with top hearing but it's not far off it.

 

[HiFiChris]

Tried to wear them with the cable in "regular style" straight down today just for fun - dang, microphonics were loud, even with the splitter being pulled up... but it doesn't matter as I pretty much always wear them around the ear which eliminates all of the microphonics.