Any Insight on Audeze EL-8, Grado RS2e, Shure SRH 1840?

[Phoenix Fieryn]

I'm looking to buy one of those, and all the reviews for them are great.

 

Which one would you recommend? I like to have solid/textured bass that's tight and punchy but not overwhelming. A little sparkle to the treble and very detailed articulation.

Don't worry about comfort, but design should be good

Thanks!

 

EL-8

SRH 1840

RS2e

 

[Belgarathian]

I'll be honest, once you go planar you'll never go back. I would recommend auditioning them if you can so that you can find the pair you like best. All should be driven with an external amp/dac if you're planning on using a 3.5mm or 6.3mm jack. 

 

I have the iSine 20's and have auditioned the EL-8 and in typical Audeze fashion found the soundstage to be incredible (open back), tight punchy bass with plenty of depth and clarity, mids and highs are clear, well defined, and have a rich tonality without sounding metallic.

 

The EL-8's have the benefit of the Cipher cable to if you use an iPhone or iPad which means you won't need an external amp/dac. 

 

 

[Phoenix Fieryn]

1 minute ago, Belgarathian said:

I'll be honest, once you go planar you'll never go back. 

 

I have the iSine 20's and have auditioned the EL-8 and found the soundstage to be incredible (open back), tight punchy bass with plenty of depth and clarity, mids and highs are clear, well defined, and have a rich tonality without sounding metallic.

 

The EL-8's have the benefit of the Cipher cable to if you use an iPhone or iPad which means you won't need an external amp/dac. 

 

 

Sounds great! I'll take that into consideration.

 

What makes planar so good to you? I'm just interested in the differences as the other two headphones hold their own very well in the clarity/detail department. I'm aware of the differences between planar and silk tweeters but I'm new to planar headphones

 

Thanks!

[Belgarathian]

7 minutes ago, Phoenix Fieryn said:

Sounds great! I'll take that into consideration.

 

What makes planar so good to you? I'm just interested in the differences as the other two headphones hold their own very well in the clarity/detail department. I'm aware of the differences between planar and silk tweeters but I'm new to planar headphones

 

Thanks!

My experience is going to be going from B&O H5 and B&W P5 Wireless to my Audeze iSine 20s, but pretty much the precision, response, and separation of the instruments was spine-tingling. Listening to live recordings felt as though you were front row of the crowd and you could hear someone clap their hands 20 meters away all while you can hear the vibration of the strings from the bass guitar on stage. There just isn't any muddling of lows-mids-highs. 

[Phoenix Fieryn]

1 minute ago, Belgarathian said:

My experience is going to be slightly bias as I went from B&O H5 and B&W P5 Wireless to my iSine 20s, but pretty much the precision, response, and separation of the instruments was spine-tingling. Listening to live recordings felt as though you were front row of the crowd and you could hear someone clap their hands 20 meters away all while you can hear the vibration of the strings from the bass guitar on stage. There just isn't any muddling of lows-mids-highs. 

Ah that sounds fantastic! I hope the El-8 sounds like that too. A lot of reviewers described the open back edition as being more closed that open. I definitely hope that's not the case or it's just tad closed off. From what I've seen, there's some membrane separating the driver from the back so it's kinda sealed. Interesting design...

 

Thanks!

[Phoenix Fieryn]

I went for the Audeze El-8 Open Back, I can't wait!

[seduce_me]

Good luck with QC from anything Audeze.