Post by Rabbit on Jun 26, 2020 13:36:22 GMT
The old ie8 is getting long in the tooth and has been run into the ground. Since getting it when it first came out, I have used it for both live performance monitoring as well as listening to music generally. (Along with so many others) it has gone through three wire changes and it had custom tips so isolation for me was excellent, without having to force bits of rubber in.
What I liked about it was the sound signature allowed for loud volume listening so I could sing and monitor it at live volume from a radio recever in my pocket. That way, it didn’t make me sing like a mouse to balance. The treble never went sharp and nasty and bass was pretty healthy.
They started to play up and since I no longer perform much other than local stuff or for videos for Helena’s customers, I was in two minds about replacing it.
In the end, I just felt that other iem’s don’t give the robust sound that the ie8 gave. They tend to shriek in the treble when louder, so they didn’t suit me at all for live stuff unless the feed was heavily subdued in the top end. Then some of them went into distortion.
So I got these ie80S iem’s that are supposed to be some kind of update on the series. Not cheap but just a single driver just like the old ie8. It has some similarities with the old sound, thank goodness, so I do like them a lot. I think the Senn ie8xx series are pretty well made and sound like full sized headphones.
These ones are similar to the ie8 in the top end. Maybe a fraction more clarity up there. (Or my old iem started to fail) Also, now I’m using rubber tips rather than custom fit tips. So the top end is similar, but the bottom end seems different to me.
It’s not massive until a really deep thud happens. Then you realise that these iem’s go really deep; even with the bass adjustment to its minimum. However, at minimum, I felt that a little body was missing so I upped the bass adjustment to 50% The bass smacked in with such a kick, that it began to overwhelm. So I readjusted to 25% and for me, that was the sweet spot between a slight lack of body and too much bass thickness.
Listening now, I feel as though they are V shaped so perhaps the mids are a little back in the mix, but boy, these iem’s are good. I think a slight improvement on the old ie8 with just a little more clarity and definitely a slightly more detached and harder hitting bass. The depth of the bass is really surprising. Listening to Electronic music really reveals an unbelievable depth that I only normally get from bigger headphones.
I think they slightly less sensitive than the ie8 so volume needs to go up a bit more. Not a lot, but actually, that’s a good thing since lesser players might hiss a little less in silence. (You know, amp noise)
They are very light in the ear and seem to be well built as were the ie8 iems, so overall, I think these are pretty good.
The big off putter is the price I guess. Kids these days wouldn’t consider £200 as a realistic price for iems since there are so many cheap Chinese ones out there. It’s not until you hear them that you might get just how full bodied and weighty these are by comparison to most other iems.
The only one I have that is close is the One More Quad. Similar in the bass but not the same clarity in the treble as these. The Quad seems budget sounding by comparison actually and a bit too dark. These hit the spot for sure so my old ie8 has been replaced after many years of extremely solid use!
What I liked about it was the sound signature allowed for loud volume listening so I could sing and monitor it at live volume from a radio recever in my pocket. That way, it didn’t make me sing like a mouse to balance. The treble never went sharp and nasty and bass was pretty healthy.
They started to play up and since I no longer perform much other than local stuff or for videos for Helena’s customers, I was in two minds about replacing it.
In the end, I just felt that other iem’s don’t give the robust sound that the ie8 gave. They tend to shriek in the treble when louder, so they didn’t suit me at all for live stuff unless the feed was heavily subdued in the top end. Then some of them went into distortion.
So I got these ie80S iem’s that are supposed to be some kind of update on the series. Not cheap but just a single driver just like the old ie8. It has some similarities with the old sound, thank goodness, so I do like them a lot. I think the Senn ie8xx series are pretty well made and sound like full sized headphones.
These ones are similar to the ie8 in the top end. Maybe a fraction more clarity up there. (Or my old iem started to fail) Also, now I’m using rubber tips rather than custom fit tips. So the top end is similar, but the bottom end seems different to me.
It’s not massive until a really deep thud happens. Then you realise that these iem’s go really deep; even with the bass adjustment to its minimum. However, at minimum, I felt that a little body was missing so I upped the bass adjustment to 50% The bass smacked in with such a kick, that it began to overwhelm. So I readjusted to 25% and for me, that was the sweet spot between a slight lack of body and too much bass thickness.
Listening now, I feel as though they are V shaped so perhaps the mids are a little back in the mix, but boy, these iem’s are good. I think a slight improvement on the old ie8 with just a little more clarity and definitely a slightly more detached and harder hitting bass. The depth of the bass is really surprising. Listening to Electronic music really reveals an unbelievable depth that I only normally get from bigger headphones.
I think they slightly less sensitive than the ie8 so volume needs to go up a bit more. Not a lot, but actually, that’s a good thing since lesser players might hiss a little less in silence. (You know, amp noise)
They are very light in the ear and seem to be well built as were the ie8 iems, so overall, I think these are pretty good.
The big off putter is the price I guess. Kids these days wouldn’t consider £200 as a realistic price for iems since there are so many cheap Chinese ones out there. It’s not until you hear them that you might get just how full bodied and weighty these are by comparison to most other iems.
The only one I have that is close is the One More Quad. Similar in the bass but not the same clarity in the treble as these. The Quad seems budget sounding by comparison actually and a bit too dark. These hit the spot for sure so my old ie8 has been replaced after many years of extremely solid use!