Sennheiser IE8 Noise-Isolation In-Ear Stereo Headphones

Comment:
OK, I have owned many IEM's over the past year including Monster Turbines, Ultimate Ears Triple-fi 10, Audio Technica CKS70, Bose Inears, and a slew of under $50 entry level IEM's. Most of these, especially the higher end items had their strengths along with at least 1 or 2 weaknesses sonically and ergonomically.The TF10's had great treble, decent bass, but a recessed midrange, they had great detail, the soundstage was better tan a lot of IEM's but not as big as a fullsize headphone, and they were hard to get comfortable in ear.The Monster Turbines were comfortable and had a bass that never colored the rest of the sound along with nice mids and a decent treble with decent detail but they had no soundstage.The Audio Technica CKS70 was the first bass centric IEM I owned that made me want that type of sound, they also had the largest soundstage I had ever heard and were extremely comfortable, unfortunately they had very recessed treble that lost alot of the detail. (They are a decent poor mans IE8 though if you can live with the loss of treble and actually were the main impetus for me buying the IE8).The cheaper IEM's were a mix of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned above but with alot less detail.I had been reading about the IE8 during all this buying of other IEM's but I just could never bring myself to spend the money on them. Finally I couldn't stand it, I sold most of my other gear and odered a pair.When they arrived and I tried them out, my initial impression was, "am I crackers! why did I spend all this money for this sound!". But I had been reading that these needed to be burned in to sound their best and having seen the benefits of burnin with my other dynamic based IEM's I faithfully plugged them in and left them to burnin using white and pink noise for 25-30hrs.When I plugged them in to my Ipod and had another listen after the burnin I was SHOCKED! The change was the most dramatic one I have ever experienced with any headphone/IEM I have owned. These went from mediocre bloated bassy, rolled off treble, recessed mid, narrow soundstage monsters. To wide open, controlled bass, mid neutral, highly detailed treble headphones that were sublime.Once burned in for the initial 24hrs these have everything I have been searching for in an IEM, a soundstage that rivals my HD600 fullsize headphones, a nice neutral midrange that allows singers to shine, and treble that is detailed without being sibilant. The good news is that from all accounts these will simply continue to get better for the next 2-300 hours of use. Some will recommend burning these in for that long before using them. I think this is unnecessary, once that initial burnin is complete these are very pleasant to listen to and I think most people will enjoy listening to their IE8 grow up.If you are new and just want the best sound possible, these will float your boat nicely. If you have been testing the mid-fi waters on cheaper IEM's and have always come away wanting more, then I suggest you take the plunge and give these a try. The only people I would warn away from these are anyone who does not like alot of warmth and or bass in their music as these will not fit your needs.

Comment:
bought these phones about 2 months ago and the sound keeps getting better after each weekpros: sounds great after a couple months of burning in fits like a glove and doesnt feel uncomfortablecons: expensive I would definetly buy these phones again. If you love music and want to hear the best you can buy these.

Comment:
The Sennheiser IE8 is a real gem. It is among the best IEM I have tried. Pretty much tied if not better than the Westone 3. It is a step above the Monsters Turbine. Of course, if your sources (mp3) is low quality, you will hear the differences... Buy it if you feel your $100 IEM is missing something and got money to spend. I believe you won't regret it!