Audeze EL8

amazon Audeze EL8 reviews

The Audeze EL8 is considered to be the first “door” to bring us to the hi-end audio path, even if you do not have any audio equipment that matches your ability to operate flexibly, Comes with a very impressive audio experience.

Instead, it is a pity that in the past there were too few headphones that made me personally impressed. Instead, most of the headphones from low to mid-range, despite receiving positive feedback, have been saturated in the market.

When Audeze, a branded headset from the United States, launched a new pair of headphones called the EL8 and the Deckard amplifier aimed at consumers “lower” than the market that Audeze used to target the LCD series itself. I was a bit nervous, in line with expectations, as consumers and audiophiles with “thin” bags would be able to enjoy the quality that Americans give them.

Need to reiterate a bit, I dropped the phrase “lower” into quotes, meaning that not every consumer can afford to pay for EL8. But compared to the names like LCD 3 or LCD X at the price of thousands of dollars, EL8 still owns the price too cheap for audiophile.

Hi-end style

With the price of $ 700, you will not be able to own the plastic case with water resistance, shock resistance for the headphones like Audeze has done for many years, but instead is one A cardboard box possesses minimalist lines. However, when one touches the headset, a very different Audeze immediately attention the user’s eyes.

Previously, the planar technology headsets produced by Audeze were huge, bulky with oversized, rounded earcup, with a leather-covered headband that seemed to be “drenched” between two giant earcup. EL8 is different. Our headphones have a much nicer design, with an oval earcup but still big enough to not overlap the wearer’s ear.

The EL8’s mechanical coupling system allows it to work relatively flexibly when two earcups can rotate 180 degrees around the shaft with the headband.

Although “stripped”, but it is still very own style of Audeze that rare brand is enough to copy. It is a combination of wood, metal and plastic, creating a modern, high-end.

The EL8 is similar to the LCD-X, Audeze’s hi-end headset, not long ago, with two closed back and open back versions. Like their name, the earcup covers of these two versions are clearly divided, a “hermetically sealed” type, and a molded earcup cover to create an open space for the headset. Of course, the sound quality of these two versions also varies considerably.

The only two shortcomings that I can think of in EL8 design are the long wearing experience and the headset’s connecting cable. After about 1 hour of continuous use, EL8’s leather earpad is quite hot and squashy, especially in the summer days.

Meanwhile, instead of using the old connection cable on the LCD series with a safety lock, the EL8’s signal port is just like a “big” version of the Lightning or USB-C signal cables. Easily popped out of the earphone, and even not allowed to plug in both directions.

Sound quality

Not only Audeze, but manufacturers of headphones with planar driver design like HifiMan, Fostex or Abyss are very famous. The products they created created a fan base that was no less impressive than the likes of AKG, Sennheiser, Audio Technica or Beyerdynamic.

Although each product will have significant differences in sound quality, however, it is possible to combine the strengths that planar earphones bring good speed, without the bass beat “fused” to each other. The driver was not able to adjust, besides the sound field, details and especially the mid range is very impressive.

where can you get a Audeze EL8 online

AUDEZE EL-8 Closed Back Planar Magnetic Headphones with In-Line Mic and Standard Audio Cable: Buy it now

Audeze – EL-8 Open Back Planar Magnetic Headphones with In-Line Mic and Control Cable for iPhone/iPod/iPad – Pro-Grade Sound Quality Plus Maximum Comfort – Made in USA: Buy it now

Audeze EL-8 Titanium Magnetic Planar Closed-Back Headphones with Integrated Lightning Cable and Built-in Mic for iPhone/iPod/iPad: Buy it now

AUDEZE EL-8 Open Back Planar Magnetic Headphones with In-Line Mic and Standard Audio Cable: Buy it now

My first impression of this headset was not at all distinct, but rather the ability to operate independently from low-power electronics such as a music player. Or cell phone. At the trial our brothers or sisters portrayed as “vegetarian”, phones like the iPhone, the Z10 or the HTC M8 still have the power to pull the EL8 large enough, detailed enough and even good enough for us to compare. This hi end product with a range of other headphones for mobile devices.

However, according to my own experiments, compared to the use of EL8 on high-end DAC / Amp systems for digital music, the headset only works at 70 to 75 percent of its capacity.

Tested with the Apple iPhone 5S, VOX digital music player and quality music tracks ranging from 16bit / 44.1kHz to 24bit / 192kHz, the closed version of the EL8, the headset alongside me during the long holiday By being excellent in the details, the singer’s voice, as well as the extremely lively, spacious and spacious music space with regard to a “closed” headphone as well as the consideration Plugging an audiophile headset into the phone.

This is a clear consequence of creating a headphone with impedance and sensitivity in turn is 25 Ohm and more than 130 dB SPL / mW. Even devices with very weak sources, such as phones, can make EL8 sing, even if it is not quite satisfactory for difficult ears.

However, the bass strings seemed to be short of breath compared to the mid and high ranges in the vegetarian trial when they only recognized the depth of each drum beat, each of the musicians’ contrabass, which was hard to satisfy with the thickness. Or the power of each bass beat. This is in contrast to the open version, when each rhythm of rugged but rudimentary contrabass rises.

Initially I thought that this is Audeze’s intent when the difference between the two EL8 versions is quite similar to the two LCD-Xs, with the “closed” slightly lower bass to avoid annoying echoes. Listeners when designing headphones sealed. However, when moving to EL8 testing with high end systems, everything was completely different.

With high sensitivity, with low impedance, like all other Audeze headphones, users will need a comparable DAC / Amp system for EL8 to work on its power instead of just the The amplifier “sticky meat” enough to pull the headphones as large as the DT990 or HD650. Doing so will cause the sound to break, which is difficult to enjoy.

In the higher test we used the Ifi Micro iDSD DAC / Amp, a device that received a lot of positive feedback from the audio community over the past few days thanks to its performance. The bass was almost perfect, full of both strength and fullness. While the mid-range, like many other planar headphones, still shines, full of charm and emotion. The percussion in the mid high is expressed with emotion.

Actually not like that, the EL8’s mid and mid bass strings are still close to the listeners’ ears when compared to the overall. However, a small advantage of the EL8 is that the sound is well sealed, with no leakage that affects people around you even when you listen to music in high volume.

On the contrary, when listening to music at night, the open EL8 works no less than computer speaker systems with loud noise. At the same time, EL8’s sonic pitch is the point that I do not like most with this headset, when the sound field is not really satisfied with the jazz or classical demand for spacious headroom.

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