basementdweller
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2010
- Posts
- 299
- Likes
- 17
I'm not going to call this a review because I simply do not have the time to do a proper A/B comparison between these two phones and honestly that is what I would have to do to compare the sound quality between these headphones with my untrained ears; yes, they are that close. I will say that they appear evenly matched in most sonic areas, but the IE8s do have more base and the mid-base hump is a blessing or a curse depending upon the track whereas the Customs sound just right with everything.
Comfort is a wash for me. The IE8 seem to be designed for someone with my ear size in mind and the Custom 3 strikes me as a phone that would be comfortable for almost anyone. The Custom 3 isolates much better than the IE8 so much so that I didn't know what I was missing until I got the Customs (had the IE8 first). So, they are both very comfortable and sound great; that's where the discount price of the Custom 3 comes into play. Microphonics are atrocious with the Customs, the cabling is is so bad that...well...everyone said how awful the cable is but I'm not sure anyone has adequately described how bad they really are and I can't either. Basically, the Custom 3 cable is about as flexible as a piece of notebook paper twisted into a roll. The IE8 cable is perfectly flexible and robust.
I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before, but wanted to contribute a little to a great site. If you pick up the Customs, their sound quality seems to be a complete steal at the going price, just keep in mind that their cable basically limits them to stationary use. In case anyone wants to know, I listen to both phones through an ipod 5.5g, the latest generation nano, and an Icon uDac. These phones sound really nice through the ipods and phenomenal through the uDac...although there is an undeniable hiss through the uDac when no signal is present which I assume is due to the phones' sensitive nature.
Like I said, just some thoughts. I knew what I was doing when I bought both these phones and am very happy with the results. I suppose someday I'll go the real custom route in order to find a set of phones that embody all the best parts off both the IE8 and the Custom 3, but that's a lot of money for me and I can't bring myself to go there as of yet.
Comfort is a wash for me. The IE8 seem to be designed for someone with my ear size in mind and the Custom 3 strikes me as a phone that would be comfortable for almost anyone. The Custom 3 isolates much better than the IE8 so much so that I didn't know what I was missing until I got the Customs (had the IE8 first). So, they are both very comfortable and sound great; that's where the discount price of the Custom 3 comes into play. Microphonics are atrocious with the Customs, the cabling is is so bad that...well...everyone said how awful the cable is but I'm not sure anyone has adequately described how bad they really are and I can't either. Basically, the Custom 3 cable is about as flexible as a piece of notebook paper twisted into a roll. The IE8 cable is perfectly flexible and robust.
I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before, but wanted to contribute a little to a great site. If you pick up the Customs, their sound quality seems to be a complete steal at the going price, just keep in mind that their cable basically limits them to stationary use. In case anyone wants to know, I listen to both phones through an ipod 5.5g, the latest generation nano, and an Icon uDac. These phones sound really nice through the ipods and phenomenal through the uDac...although there is an undeniable hiss through the uDac when no signal is present which I assume is due to the phones' sensitive nature.
Like I said, just some thoughts. I knew what I was doing when I bought both these phones and am very happy with the results. I suppose someday I'll go the real custom route in order to find a set of phones that embody all the best parts off both the IE8 and the Custom 3, but that's a lot of money for me and I can't bring myself to go there as of yet.
