[Jason36]

So after some deliberation and thought, I have decided to invest in a pair of ACS custom sleeves for my Sennheisers. At the moment I have a pair of IE6 which I am really happy with....however I am Unser whether to keep these or spend some extra money on the IE8's?

The Custom ear pieces for the IE6 are not compatible with the IE8's so whatever I get, I will be keeping for a long time. So my question is directed to Any IE8 owners out there. Are they worth the money and are they considerably better than the IE6?

I listen to a wide range of music....mainly rock, indie, accoustic and a lot of female vocals. 

So would the IE8 be a good investment with custom ear pieces....or should I save the money and keep the IE6. I also like the idea that the cable can be changed / upgraded on the IE8

 

 

[Eric_C]

FWIW (my comparisons were done a very long time ago):
I picked an IE8 over 6 and 7 for overall sound quality. I don't consider myself a basshead (older purchases include UM1, DT 880, SRH-440) but I also did not find the IE8 bassy, as people tend to say. If it wasn't for isolation, the IE8 would have been my final in-ear for a long long time. 
For reference: I kept the bass dial at 50%, and used the larger foam tips.
 
Why do you want the custom sleeves for the IE6? Is it an isolation issue?

 

[Jason36]

Quote:

FWIW (my comparisons were done a very long time ago):
I picked an IE8 over 6 and 7 for overall sound quality. I don't consider myself a basshead (older purchases include UM1, DT 880, SRH-440) but I also did not find the IE8 bassy, as people tend to say. If it wasn't for isolation, the IE8 would have been my final in-ear for a long long time. 
For reference: I kept the bass dial at 50%, and used the larger foam tips.
 
Why do you want the custom sleeves for the IE6? Is it an isolation issue?

I would be looking at the custome sleeves for a number of reasons.....additional isolation, comfort and also with custom sleeves I wouldnt need to have the volume as high.
 
When you say "if it wasnt for isolation", what do you mean by that....are they a leaky in ear? how well do they isolate outside noise and how much sound do they leak out??
 
I am very happy with my IE6 it was just a case of if I am spending £120 on custome sleeves, would I not be better upgrading to the IE8/IE80 at the same time. This means that I then have the to Sennheisser model with custome sleeves and should be sorted for a long time. if push came to shove I could quite happily keep the IE6 for a couple of more years.

 

[Eric_C]

I don't think the IE8 leaks any sound out at all, but they certainly let in a fair amount of sound. They were in between earbuds (like the free ones that come with iPods) and other in-ears I had owned before (Westone UM1) in that regard.
Not sure how the IE6 is built, but the IE8 has a vent/port that lets in sound. From what I understand, it's a necessary evil; the vent is an air chamber, and the "bass dial" on the earphone lets you adjust the size of the chamber to change the amount of bass.

 

[ZARIM]

I will recommend the IE8 for it's wider soundstage, higher resolution soundquality, great bass response and above average isoaltion, overall very good buy. The others IEMs like JVC FX700, Denon AH-C300 will match these genres well and both offers deep tight punchy bass with crisp clear mids, highs and fairly wide soundstage.

 

[Jason36]

Oh right,
 
Well I know the IE6 are a couple of models down from the IE8 (I think there is an IE7 in between). My IE6 are vented at the back, but I must say they let very little outside noise in, if any. When I wear at the gym and I have music playing, I cant here the music thats playing in the gym, or if I use them at home when the other half is watching TV I cant hear the TV or when she speaks to me.
 
I believe that the custom ear pieces would actually stop any ambient outside noise getting through, my understanding is that is one of the benefits or having them and hence why musicians use them. 
 
OK it sounds like the only question is am I happy with the IE6.....I believe that sonically they are similar to the IE8, but the IE8 gives you the benefit of being able to change the bass response up or down to individual taste.
 
Probably requires a bit of carefull thought on my part.

 

[Jason36]

Quote:

I will recommend the IE8 for it's wider soundstage, higher resolution soundquality, great bass response and above average isoaltion, overall very good buy. The others IEMs like JVC FX700, Denon AH-C300 will match these genres well and both offers deep tight punchy bass with crisp clear mids, highs and fairly wide soundstage.

Thanks for that Zarim,
 
Not really looking to change to another make of IEM as I am happy with the Sennheisers overall. I was just thinking that if I was spending the money on custom ear pieces it might be worthwhile looking at the top of the model Sennheiser at the same time.

 

[Eric_C]

Sorry I can't recall the sonic differences between the 6 and 8.
 
I highly doubt the custom tips will help with isolation at all. That just doesn't make sense to me. If an IEM is vented, then it's the vent that's letting sound in (assuming you have a good seal with the ear tips).
Custom tips, like fully custom IEMs, are used by musician because they offer a reliable fit and seal that can be achieved quickly. That's why you'll see stage musicians sometimes remove their monitors in the middle of a set, and then pop it back in later.
 
Custom IEMs sometimes have the option of building in a vent port, however, because it's unnatural to be completely isolated from the stage sound and--importantly--from the sound of the audience. Some customs don't offer this option; that's why you sometimes see musicians with only one side of their IEMs inserted.
 
You can trust me on customs re: isolation and stage usage. I upgraded from IE8 to a JH13, and I've got friends who play in the church band, where we recently moved to an IEM system instead of stage wedges, so I've asked them about how they use IEMs.

 

[Jason36]

Thats my point exactly and in my opinion why would they need to remove them or only have one, if the custom ear pieces didn't exclude external sound.
 
This is from the ACS Website:
 "ACS offer a cost-effective custom-fit solution that can make your favourite earphones the best they can be with optimum isolation, superb comfort and a broader soundstage."
 
and
 
"Standard tips can provide varying isolation depending on the design of the tip, whether you choose to use foam or rubber tips and the shape of your ear. Using custom-fit tips gives you a perfect seal every time meaning you get up to 26dB isolation from outside noise. This means that you will get better clarity from your earphones because there is less external disturbance, meaning that you can listen at lower levels avoiding distortion and allowing your earphones to deliver the sound they were intended to unhindered."
 
Whilst I aree they probably dont offer 100% isolation, they certainly offer more than the supplied stanard tips.
 
I would also suggest that the vents do not allow noise through...at the end f the day they are sealed at the other end with the drivers....the point of the vents is to move air and expel it from the enclosure (vented speakers work on the same basis), I believe therefore improving base response.
 
My IE6 isolate very well, if your IE8's do not it is more likely to be down to fit I would suggest.

 

[CantScareMe]

I'm sorry to say this my friend. 
 
Unless in the past year the ie6 have undergone a radical change, they are err, well, crap.
 
The £6 philips she3590 completely outclass them in every area. Yep, I can't think of a single area where the ie6's beat them. The ie8's are vastly superior to the ie6 (not that great of an achievment) and beat the philips but not by a great deal. Plus, I think the current models are ie60 and ie80- just a paint job according to early impressions, though this may not be the case now (I stopped following that thread some time ago).
 
Of course this is all in my opinion and experience. Oh, the main portable source that impressions are based on is the samsung i9000 (voodoo sound kernel).

 

[Eric_C]

OP: Like I said before, I'm not sure how the 6 is designed. I do, however, know for a fact that the IE8 does not isolate anywhere close to the levels of other universals I have had in the past, which include the trusty UM1 (with Shure olives) and some cheaper Audio Technica (with silicon tips). The 8's lack of isolation (versus other IEMs) is also well-documented throughout Head-Fi.
For the record, I had a proper seal on the IE8. 
 
Your listening environment at home and in the gym are relatively quiet compared to mine, which is the commute. 
 
I have to say I don't quite follow your thinking, though: you said the IE6 currently isolates enough for your current purposes, yet you're considering getting custom sleeves to increase isolation? 
 
In any case, you seem pretty dead set on either getting custom sleeves or buying the 8. You're obviously not convinced by my experience, so I'll leave you to it--nothing more I can contribute.

 

[devilsadvocate]

Is there a reason why we're talking about the IE8 and not the IE80?

 

[medeiro]

I have ie8, ie80 and ie6. There is not a substantial difference moving from the 6 to the 8 or 80. The 80's are the best but the 6s were amazing to me. I've had shures, sonys, klipsh, altrio, monster coppers and the best were the senns ie80, followed closely by the 8s and then closely by the 6s.

 

[davidcotton]

This (rather old now, but still relevant) thread may help the op :-
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/415905/review-acs-custom-tips-sennheiser-ie8
 
Cheers

 

[medeiro]

I'm going to get a set of those sleeves and review them. I also have a second of ie80s that I will do a burn in comparo bc I just don't believe in burn in.