[OwOOwO]

... 1. I maxed out the bass boost screws.
2. I changed the tips to a V type silicon tips.
...

I personally would not do 1. for the sake of better isolation; the overwhelming bass often drown out other parts of the music.
Have you tried Comply tips? They really helped with isolation in my case.

 

[betula]

I almost always listen to music at home, with my opened full size can. I take the IE80s out 5-6 times a year, when I travel somewhere. Never used them with an external portable headphone amp (source is Fiio X3ii). This time (going abroad for a week) I decided to take my iFi Nano iCan, even though it is bulky, and not comfortable to carry around. The sound is just so much better. It is worth the hassle. It lifts the IE80s to the next level. Bigger space and soundstage, sometimes it feels like certain sound effects are coming from behind your ears. After the space the second most noticable improvement is in the bass section. Feels much cleaner, and definitely goes lower, The sub-bass is much more present, however still in balance with the rest of the frequencies. Mid-bass and higher bass is tamed, cleared down, equal partners of the delightful sub-bass. And all of this with losing nothing in the mid or high region. Just gaining more space and clarity. (With X-Bass and 3D function on). A more fun, more balanced sound. Never thought, IE80 can be improved this much with an amp. (Compared to Fiio X3ii hp out, using custom tips.) I am ready to take the hassle of carrying around a bulky mini hi-fi system, if the sound is this much better.
 The only thing sweeps away this portable music experience is my Fidelio X2 from the same player and amp. Getting back to my home rig after 8 days of the above mentioned portability is just another world. 
 A good amp puts IE80 on another level. 
[But X2 takes you to a different world, not just changing levels...]

 

[castleofargh]

  I almost always listen to music at home, with my opened full size can. I take the IE80s out 5-6 times a year, when I travel somewhere. Never used them with an external portable headphone amp (source is Fiio X3ii). This time (going abroad for a week) I decided to take my iFi Nano iCan, even though it is bulky, and not comfortable to carry around. The sound is just so much better. It is worth the hassle. It lifts the IE80s to the next level. Bigger space and soundstage, sometimes it feels like certain sound effects are coming from behind your ears. After the space the second most noticable improvement is in the bass section. Feels much cleaner, and definitely goes lower, The sub-bass is much more present, however still in balance with the rest of the frequencies. Mid-bass and higher bass is tamed, cleared down, equal partners of the delightful sub-bass. And all of this with losing nothing in the mid or high region. Just gaining more space and clarity. (With X-Bass and 3D function on). A more fun, more balanced sound. Never thought, IE80 can be improved this much with an amp. (Compared to Fiio X3ii hp out, using custom tips.) I am ready to take the hassle of carrying around a bulky mini hi-fi system, if the sound is this much better.
 The only thing sweeps away this portable music experience is my Fidelio X2 from the same player and amp. Getting back to my home rig after 8 days of the above mentioned portability is just another world. 
 A good amp puts IE80 on another level. 
[But X2 takes you to a different world, not just changing levels...]

instead of "A good amp puts IE80 on another level. ", in the somehow special case of the IE80, I believe that sentence would be more accurate: "A good amp puts the amp section on another level." ^_^
 
maybe the X3II isn't too pleased with really low impedance loads? that wouldn't be unheard of.

 

[betula]

  instead of "A good amp puts IE80 on another level. ", in the somehow special case of the IE80, I believe that sentence would be more accurate: "A good amp puts the amp section on another level." ^_^
 
maybe the X3II isn't too pleased with really low impedance loads? that wouldn't be unheard of.

Obviously I use the the line out on the X3, not the hp out. To avoid double amping.

 

[castleofargh]

yup that's how I understood it.

 

[betula]

  yup that's how I understood it.

I am not sure if I get what you mean by "A good amp puts the amp section on another level."

but this: "maybe the X3II isn't too pleased with really low impedance loads? that wouldn't be unheard of."
is probably right.

 

[OwOOwO]

Despite IE80's low impedance and high sensitivity, it never sounded good from my iphone 5 or Sony ZX1.
The only way I get it to sound well is to attach it to a dac / amp combo.

 

[Tail]

  Despite IE80's low impedance and high sensitivity, it never sounded good from my iphone 5 or Sony ZX1.
The only way I get it to sound well is to attach it to a dac / amp combo.

With me it was opposite, whenever I attached some amp I got worse sound, just some hiss and uncontrolled sound, too loud even on lowest volumes and usually something suffers

 

[willyvlyminck]

With me it was opposite, whenever I attached some amp I got worse sound, just some hiss and uncontrolled sound, too loud even on lowest volumes and usually something suffers

We all hear different and our brain get used to the sound you feed it. I am happy wih my IE80, there is nothing like it in this price class, that is why they did become a classic.

 

[castleofargh]

it's a case by case situation. some amps are good, others are bad. most are voltage amplifiers, so with the purpose of outputting more voltage(louder sound). absolutely not what is needed for a very sensitive IE80.
 
my leckerton UHA760 is very much built for this kind of situation(negative gain value for more fitting range of volume setting, digital control of the volume for almost no channel imbalance at any volume setting, no DC blocking caps so that the low end won't risk to roll off with a very low impedance IEM, super low noise floor, low impedance for IEMs with crossover or wild impedance), it is an effective way to listen to difficult IEMs and I never tried to get another amp since I had this one(but it is the wrong choice for any hard to drive headphone!!! different tools for different jobs). but when I look at the price and the sound improvement with my DAPs+IE80, I don't feel it's a reasonable choice. that's my honest opinion. I use it with other IEMs(JH13 mostly), almost never with the IE80.
 
of course I'm all but a hardcore audiophile, I have a list of demands(written on the palm of my hands..

) and anything past that is inconsequential to me. but I do get that despite diminishing return, others might think it's always worth improving on the source.
 
1/the IE80 is sensitive, so no need for power and as long as the source doesn't clip on current, it's all good.
2/the IE80 has virtually flat impedance, so having a bad damping ratio won't affect the signature much. well as long as we can stay good on 1/
3/ the IE80 has massive bass, so even if the source has some DC blocking caps and the combo with the low impedance IEM ends up creating an audible high pass filter, chances are that even with the added roll off, the IE80 will still be plenty bassy. of course that is entirely a matter of taste, I EQ down the bass on my IE80 most of the time(full untouched IE80 is really for fun).
 
so yes it's always possible to improve the signal with the proper source(think proper more than better), but the IE80 has IMO less reasons to do so than most mid/high end IEMs. as long as the background hiss is low, I'm happy with the IE80 as it is.

 

[yehgermeister]

Can anyone recommend a good quality cable with a mic? Preferably in black. 

 

[willyvlyminck]

Can anyone recommend a good quality cable with a mic? Preferably in black. 

Effect cable, not sure if they come with mic.

 

[Kingston12]

I'd be interested in a mic cable as well. I have got the IE8i one but would like better if possible.

 

[yangian]

Someone think IE80 has no need of long time burn-in. Recently, I notice such phenomenon.
I used to listen to IE80 several hours a day. To now, mine may have been listened more than 600 hours. But recently, I didn't listen to it for few days. When I graped it and listen, it sound muffle! And I compared with Puro, It's so veiled than Puro. But I want to keep listening to IE80 since it's still in warranty and I do like its unmatched huge soundstage. After few hours listening, I'm surprised its sound became much clear. And I compared with Puro again. Yes, it does become much clear!!
What does this mean? IE80 hasn't been fully burn out after >600 hours!! That may explain why so many people complain and don't like IE80!
Any similar experience?

 

[159650]

  Someone think IE80 has no need of long time burn-in. Recently, I notice such phenomenon.
I used to listen to IE80 several hours a day. To now, mine may have been listened more than 600 hours. But recently, I didn't listen to it for few days. When I graped it and listen, it sound muffle! And I compared with Puro, It's so veiled than Puro. But I want to keep listening to IE80 since it's still in warranty and I do like its unmatched huge soundstage. After few hours listening, I'm surprised its sound became much clear. And I compared with Puro again. Yes, it does become much clear!!
What does this mean? IE80 hasn't been fully burn out after >600 hours!! That may explain why so many people complain and don't like IE80!
Any similar experience?

The IE8/IE80 are a highly colored pair of earphones. They're really less about reference grade listening and much more about enjoyment. As such, they can seem off at the first listen. In fact, even now, when I put them in my ears, they sound completely off and even off-putting. But once I get over the initial impressions, they sound sublime and wonderful. This isn't the driver's fault, but your brain. You've probably been listening to something else and your brain got used to it. The difference can be even more pronounced with brighter sounding IEMs such as the TF10Pro which I also own. I also own the Westone 3, which are dark sounding and remarkably warm for BA UIEMs. But the IE8 still manages to sound off at the first listen, then gradually get better as my brain adjusts to the sound. 
 
The IE8/80 are not for everyone. For one thing, they're expensive and to certain listeners, polarized to say the least. They need an extremely long burn-in period followed by actual listening sessions to sound their best. I don't know if it's just a coincidence that the IE8/80 sound the say they do. Either that or the German engineers behind the design were so freakishly brilliant that they decided among themselves that they would tune the driver to sound their best once "burned into the brain". Either way, the first 20 minutes or so will either make people go "wow", or "What".