[nevrsumr]

i love my ie800 but the fit is just not for me, so i'll be putting them on for sale... my one concern is what am i going to replace them with?

can someone please suggest a good viable apples to apples replacement for ie800 for less than $400?

i love the clarity and details of the ie800, mainly listen to classic rock, jazz, indie, and would love something that fits my ears better. no stock sennheiser tips really work for me, and i bought the comply tips that someone suggest work on these -- they don't, they got stuck in my ears...

anywho, need an alternative, realize that i may never find the same sound for the cost of these second hand but need to explore -- please advise.

I think they can grow you a new ear now.

 

[Dobrescu George]

i love my ie800 but the fit is just not for me, so i'll be putting them on for sale... my one concern is what am i going to replace them with?

can someone please suggest a good viable apples to apples replacement for ie800 for less than $400?

i love the clarity and details of the ie800, mainly listen to classic rock, jazz, indie, and would love something that fits my ears better. no stock sennheiser tips really work for me, and i bought the comply tips that someone suggest work on these -- they don't, they got stuck in my ears...

anywho, need an alternative, realize that i may never find the same sound for the cost of these second hand but need to explore -- please advise.

Nothing has the same signature as IE800, literally nothing.

The closest you can get is HIFIMAN RE800 and HIFIMAN RE2000, but both have a slightly different signature than IE800, and neither is below 400 USD.

The only thing I can recommend is getting a custom fit tip for your IE800, that might help quite a bit, but otherwise, you're either going to be looking for a different signature (which you might like even better, who knows ), or EQ what you're getting

On a more budget oriented variant, you can always go for

DK-3001: https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.com/2017/08/dunu-dk-3001-surprise-relaxed-and.html

Falcon-C: https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.com/2018/04/Dunu-Falcon-C-Clear-Vivid-Personal.html

F9Pro: https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.com/2018/03/fiio-f9-pro-harder-better-faster-fiio.html

Either of those should be great, each for its price

 

[iridium7777]

interestingly enough i bought F9Pro and absolutely loved them but they're extremely cheaply made and the left IEM has connecting issues so i'm in the process of returning it to amazon -- perhaps i should order a replacement pair and give it a go.

while not quiet the same as IE800 they were extremely close, possibly because of the bright sound, from what i recall the bass seemed to be lacking compared to IE800.

yes, i realize that nothing probably compares to IE800 and i don't have the money to try IE800S as an experiment, but what good is phenomenal sound if i can't use it all the time

Nothing has the same signature as IE800, literally nothing.

The closest you can get is HIFIMAN RE800 and HIFIMAN RE2000, but both have a slightly different signature than IE800, and neither is below 400 USD.

The only thing I can recommend is getting a custom fit tip for your IE800, that might help quite a bit, but otherwise, you're either going to be looking for a different signature (which you might like even better, who knows ), or EQ what you're getting

On a more budget oriented variant, you can always go for


F9Pro: https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.com/2018/03/fiio-f9-pro-harder-better-faster-fiio.html

Either of those should be great, each for its price

 

[Dobrescu George]

interestingly enough i bought F9Pro and absolutely loved them but they're extremely cheaply made and the left IEM has connecting issues so i'm in the process of returning it to amazon -- perhaps i should order a replacement pair and give it a go.

while not quiet the same as IE800 they were extremely close, possibly because of the bright sound, from what i recall the bass seemed to be lacking compared to IE800.

yes, i realize that nothing probably compares to IE800 and i don't have the money to try IE800S as an experiment, but what good is phenomenal sound if i can't use it all the time

You are right, F9Pro has much less bass than IE800, especially in the sub-bass.

I don't have IE800S yet to say how it compares to the original, but I should have it sometime soon.

As for your quest, yes, it is quite sad, but nothing has that thinner, sparklier, but full of sub-bass tuning of Ie800, it simply is one of a kind tuning.

My advice would be to try to seek comfort with the IE800 ytou have, at least a bit more. It was terribly uncomfortable for me at first, but I kept trying because I loved the sound, and eventually it worked better than I hoped it will. Just be careful and wash the tips after 3-4 usages, otherwise it gets slippery and becomes uncomfortable

Another thing I figured out later is that IE800 simply won't stay for more than about half an hour straight in your ears, but if you just gently clean your ears and ie800 with your shirt, then place them back in, they are comfy for another half an hour

These days I'm using the spinfit tips for most IEMs, and they are much more comfortable than basically anything else, but IE800 became something like good in terms of comofrt after learning how to get along with them.

 

[nevrsumr]

I haven't heard a lot of IEMs yet but when I got my ie800's the first time I ended up returning them because they sounded close to my Sonty N3APs and I didn't think they justified the cost increase. Also I find sometimes the ie800's with certain songs that are active in that "sparkle" zone can almost get fatiguing. Problem was after I returned them I couldn't stop thinking about them and for songs that play nice with the tuning, there isn't a substitute so I ended up re-buying them again. Point being the Sony's pretty much are a great all-arounder and I haven't found anything they don't do well. V shape with very smooth mids. They have great sub bass but not as controlled as the 800's. Plenty of detail, not the level of sparkle as the 800's, but its there.

**Also, if you read through the N3AP thread on headfi, you will see over and over again they are the most comfortable IEMs for a lot of people. I think I read the whole thread and never one complaint.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I haven't heard a lot of IEMs yet but when I got my ie800s the first time I ended up returning them because they sounded close to my Sonty N3APs and I didn't think they justified the cost increase. Also I find sometimes the ie800s with certain songs that are active in that "sparkle" zone can almost get fatiguing. Problem was after I returned them I couldn't stop thinking about them and for songs that play nice with the tuning, there isn't a substitute so I ended up re-buying them again. Point being the Sony's pretty much are a great all-arounder and I haven't found anything they don't do well. V shape with very smooth mids. They have great sub bass but not as controlled as the 800s. Plenty of detail, not the level of sparkle as the 800s, but its there.

**Also, if you read through the thread on headfi, you will see over and over again they are the most comfortable IEMs for a lot of people. I think I read the whole thread and never one complaint.

They changed the cable length and a few other details on the Ie800S version, so they might be much more comfortable than the IE800.

As for the sparkle, Ie800 is very sparkly, that is part of what makes it IE800

 

[nevrsumr]

They changed the cable length and a few other details on the Ie800S version, so they might be much more comfortable than the IE800.

As for the sparkle, Ie800 is very sparkly, that is part of what makes it IE800

I should have used better grammar. I meant ie800's. Fixed my above post.

 

[jwbrent]

I don't have IE800S yet to say how it compares to the original, but I should have it sometime soon.

Can’t wait to read your thoughts on the sonic difference between the S and original.

I love my IE 800 just as it is, short cable included. In regards to tips, I’m a big fan of the final e-series tips, and I use them on all my IEMs. The medium fits just perfect for me (or maybe it’s the large, can’t recall). In order to use these tips on my IE 800, I used a tiny drop of crazy glue and that did the trick in keeping them from falling off.

 

[kdphan]

can somebody chime in and tell me if I've sold fake IE800? I bought these from a local Headfier and they sounded like normal IE800. I don't take selling fake items lightly so i'm very interested in finding out.

here are some pics.

 

[clinkzclinkz]

can somebody chime in and tell me if I've sold fake IE800? I bought these from a local Headfier and they sounded like normal IE800. I don't take selling fake items lightly so i'm very interested in finding out.

here are some pics.

It is indeed a fake one

 

[kdphan]

It is indeed a fake one

Mind providing more info? Both the buyer and I are intrigued.

 

[Audiofiend1]

Mind providing more info? Both the buyer and I are intrigued.

Hey @kdphan, there was a thread that was started a while ago just for people like you who might have fake IE800, here you go!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fake-senheiser-ie800.700604/

 

[Audiofiend1]

excuse the double post by mistake, good luck with your checking!

 

[kdphan]

excuse the double post by mistake, good luck with your checking!

Thank you!

if mine are indeed fake, they sound great for fakes

 

[clinkzclinkz]

Thank you!

if mine are indeed fake, they sound great for fakes

The fake ones sound not bad actually but from the photo it is a fake one