[krismusic]

I suppose you already know this, but the IE80's have a less pronounced "hump" and clearer highs. Also, have you tried the 'tape mod'? That can help, too.

That's interesting. I haven't heard that before. I thought that the two models were pretty much identical.
I tried the tape mod. Thought it screwed the upper frequencies and sounded kind of phasey.

 

[radiohead14]

just joined the IE 80 club.. got mine on sale at B&H... first impression... WOW! these sound big for an IEM! i finally hear what people have been describing with the impressive soundstage and huge bass. i'm a basshead, and i won't even go past the halfway point in the bass tuners with these. i'm wearing them straight down, as i found the isolation better this way actually. when i have them over the ears, the design makes for a big open sound, but i found it too open when commuting in NYC subways. using the double flange tips and wearing them straight down solved this issue for me.
 
one thing i'm not a big fan of is the cable. 1) why isn't it gold plated? i can hear crackling when the input gets moved in the jack. for the price of these.. this part just doesn't make sense. 2) today is cold and windy here in NYC.. the cable got so stiff that it made keeping the phones stay in my ears a chore. does anyone know if there are better/softer cables i could look into? preferably a flat type like Sony's. tho, i do like that these cables have low microphonics even when worn straight down.

 

[Inear]

  just joined the IE 80 club.. got mine on sale at B&H... first impression... WOW! these sound big for an IEM! i finally hear what people have been describing with the impressive soundstage and huge bass. i'm a basshead, and i won't even go past the halfway point in the bass tuners with these. i'm wearing them straight down, as i found the isolation better this way actually. when i have them over the ears, the design makes for a big open sound, but i found it too open when commuting in NYC subways. using the double flange tips and wearing them straight down solved this issue for me.
 
one thing i'm not a big fan of is the cable. 1) why isn't it gold plated? i can hear crackling when the input gets moved in the jack. for the price of these.. this part just doesn't make sense. 2) today is cold and windy here in NYC.. the cable got so stiff that it made keeping the phones stay in my ears a chore. does anyone know if there are better/softer cables i could look into? preferably a flat type like Sony's. tho, i do like that these cables have low microphonics even when worn straight down.

 
I live in NYC a well and looking into a new pair of IEMS, I hear that IE80s are amazing for bass but not to good for sound isolation. How did you find the isolation on the Subways and walking down the streets of city? Also are they will on sale at B&H?

 

[radiohead14]

   
I live in NYC a well and looking into a new pair of IEMS, I hear that IE80s are amazing for bass but not to good for sound isolation. How did you find the isolation on the Subways and walking down the streets of city? Also are they will on sale at B&H?

i have to use larger tips than what i usually use.. the double flange one, and i found it pretty good. i was worried that it might sound too open, thus me having to put up the volume more than is safe. but with the right fit, i didn't find NYC noise much of an issue. also, wearing it straight down helps. and yes.. B&H still has them on sale (currently $369), but they have very limited stock. i had to wait about a month to get mine.

 

[Inear]

  i have to use larger tips than what i usually use.. the double flange one, and i found it pretty good. i was worried that it might sound too open, thus me having to put up the volume more than is safe. but with the right fit, i didn't find NYC noise much of an issue. also, wearing it straight down helps. and yes.. B&H still has them on sale (currently $369), but they have very limited stock. i had to wait about a month to get mine.

 
 
Thank you will check out.

 

[marshallmole]

Personally I find replacing the stock cable with some OCC cable very beneficial. It really clears up the mids and improves imaging. The stock cable not only sounds but also looks low quality.
If you like bass, try the comply foam tips, they provide a good seal and bass is very well defined and present. Or if people prefer more balanced sound, go with the double flange tips, makes the sound more airy and detailed.

 

[radiohead14]

  Personally I find replacing the stock cable with some OCC cable very beneficial. It really clears up the mids and improves imaging. The stock cable not only sounds but also looks low quality.
If you like bass, try the comply foam tips, they provide a good seal and bass is very well defined and present. Or if people prefer more balanced sound, go with the double flange tips, makes the sound more airy and detailed.

do you know of any cables that will be softer and more flexible than stock? it really stiffens up even with slight cold weather

 

[marshallmole]

Yeah that's one problem with the stock cable... But my current cable is also kind of stiff, which is a property for the OCC wire itself I believe, but it's also very strong and flexible at the same time. I'm sure you can find many offering of upgrade cable for these.

 

[krismusic]

I don't live on a cold country but I find the stock cable to be excellent. Kevlar reinforced. No microphonics and easy to keep untangled. Afaik it is OFC copper. I don't know what OCC is but I think improvements to the sound from cable type is purely in the imagination.

 

[marshallmole]

 I don't know what OCC is but I think improvements to the sound from cable type is purely in the imagination.

For what I know, OCC stands for Ohno continuous cast, a technology that makes metal with very large crystal grain size, or very low grain boundary density. Normal metal tend to have small grains and very dense grain boundaries. Grain boundary can have moderate effect on electricity transmission, but not a major one. It's been shown in some journal articles that such wire has better physical properties such as strength, flexibility and conductivity, albeit not a very dramatic improvement. I think there's no scientific study that argues whether this will have audible effect. 
 

 No microphonics and easy to keep untangled.

I certainly agree with you for that.
After all, as I haven't used the stock cable for long, everything said is just based on memory, and maybe false memory. We do tend to justify our acts of buying, or not buying...

 

[radiohead14]

I don't live on a cold country but I find the stock cable to be excellent. Kevlar reinforced. No microphonics and easy to keep untangled. Afaik it is OFC copper. I don't know what OCC is but I think improvements to the sound from cable type is purely in the imagination.

 
i wasn't aware that the stock cable is kevlar coated.. quite possibly the cause of it becoming so stiff when exposed in cold climate.

 

[krismusic]

Re OCC. Another thing that I learned today.
Very pleased that you sound good and sane on this subject.

 

[marshallmole]

Yeah all I know is that I'm pretty much settled in terms of IEM now...

 

[lee730]

  Yeah all I know is that I'm pretty much settled in terms of IEM now...

Or at least you hope so... 

 .

 

[marshallmole]

You can always say that.

  I am not reading any of those CIEM threads. But I honestly can't imagine how much better IEMs can be over IE80s.
Currently on the full-size cans journey...