Questions about IE8's for Shaun - HiFi Headphones Forum - online headphone & earphone community forums

krismusic · 10-06-2009, 10:56 AM

Hi, having received my IE8's a couple of questions. 1) What is your veiw on "burn in" of IEM's?
Do you think there is a benifit from playing music through them continuously. If so, what volume and for how long? I did rather like a comment on another forum, "The burn in period of a headphone is generally one day longer than the return period"!

ShaunG · 10-08-2009, 04:36 PM

Burn in is a subject that causes much debate.

It's very hard to prove, but many people report a bedding in period. This is especially the case with full size, on-ear headphones. This makes some sense as the drivers are larger and it seems likely that the materials need some time to adjust.

With in-ear earphones (especially balanced armature models) it seems to be less likely that you will see significant changes. However, the IE8 is a dynamic driver earphone and by looking at the design of the earphone body it appears the driver is larger than most.

I'd be very interested in your feedback on this.

Musicalmadness · 10-08-2009, 05:44 PM

Well i dont believe in burn in myself,i own a few cans and iems and they sound the same now as they did from day one.
It's more a case of your ears and brain getting used to different sound signatures.
As for the ie8 well mine sound the same now as they did about 6 months ago,just wish i could get em to stay in lol.
I found the fit much better worn down but then you have microphonics to deal with.
It's a great shame because the ie8 is a really really good earphone but i'm not convinced on its design at all.
Sorry for waffling there,but no ive never noticed a difference whether it be ba driver or dynamic,just different signatures.

ShaunG · 10-08-2009, 05:52 PM

It's really interesting. Some people will swear they have witnessed significant changes in sound!

I have a pair of IE8's and have gone for custom sleeves. This solves any fit issues and also improves the definition of the sound. Have a read of this review of the Sennheiser IE8 with ACS sleeves.

Musicalmadness · 10-08-2009, 06:03 PM

I know,I read things like the bass really opened up and the treble became more tame?????? sorry but i dont get it lol.
As for the moulds....Ooooh nice,now that's what i call a rock star.
Yeah i've thought about customs for a while now,maybe a christmas present for myself.
Trouble is with so many iems i have no idea which one i'd have them for.
But if it helps the 8's that well i think it would be for them.
Thank you for that.

krismusic · 10-08-2009, 06:16 PM

Thanks for the replies.
Well, I could be wrong but I think that burn in has improved the sound of these.
When I first heard these, I was very dissapointed. Bloated and "thick" sounding with a huge hump in the lower midbass IMHO.
Having left them playing music, I would say that after 10hrs, the midbass changed. Still over emphasised but the upper midbass seemed to have strenghthened.
After 30hrs, the treble seems to have "come together" a bit more. Smoother.
All this could just be me adapting to the sound but I do not think so.
Something that has made a huge difference to the sound is depth of insertion.
I expressed my dissapointment in the IE8's on another forum.
A couple of people were adamant that this was my problem.
I experimented a bit and found that there is indeed a sweet spot, with a slightly looser seal.
I question whether this is intended by Sennheiser's R&D. There is no mention in any of the literature.
I also worry that I will not have this option if, as I intend, I go for custom tips.
It seems to me a bit odd that having paid a premium for Sennheiser's top IEM, that I am having to faff around. I expected to put them on and go "lurvely"!
BTW Where are smilies for main text? Are there any on this page?

Musicalmadness · 10-08-2009, 06:24 PM

I hear you bud,what gets me is that senn rate the ie8 at 26db isolation? ive no idea where they got that from,and for me thats always been the problem with em,Its supposed to be an iem but it doesn't isolate that well which sort of defeats the object of them.
Dont get me wrong they are awesome and i get loads of enjoyment with them at home sitting down,its when i move the problems begin.
I had heard somebody had put forward to senn that maybe if the nozzle was longer they would fit more people so much better.
Whether anything comes of that who knows.

Nfes64 · 04-01-2010, 01:40 PM

In my experience, when moving from IEM to IEM, there is a period of adjustment as you become more familiar with the new sound signature. This is especially visible when moving from warmer to more analytical IEMs.

I tested my is IE8s, which had over 600 hours on them against a friends who had bought his new through my Sony S639 (good quality portable source). I honestly could not tell any difference between the two.

Having said that, I was sure there was a burn in effect when I first bought them, but I guess this is due to placebo effect and your brain adjusting to the sound.

10-06-2009, 10:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
krismusic Headphone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Questions about IE8's for Shaun Hi, having received my IE8's a couple of questions. 1) What is your veiw on "burn in" of IEM's? Do you think there is a benifit from playing music through them continuously. If so, what volume and for how long? I did rather like a comment on another forum, "The burn in period of a headphone is generally one day longer than the return period"!

10-08-2009, 04:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
ShaunG Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 180 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Sennheiser IE8 burn in Burn in is a subject that causes much debate. It's very hard to prove, but many people report a bedding in period. This is especially the case with full size, on-ear headphones. This makes some sense as the drivers are larger and it seems likely that the materials need some time to adjust. With in-ear earphones (especially balanced armature models) it seems to be less likely that you will see significant changes. However, the IE8 is a dynamic driver earphone and by looking at the design of the earphone body it appears the driver is larger than most. I'd be very interested in your feedback on this. __________________ Shaun @ HiFi Headphones HiFi Headphones - the UK Headphone & Earphone Store That's Serious About Headphones Ultimate Ears, Grado, Phonak Audéo, Klipsch, Shure, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and many other high quality brands - visit our store.

10-08-2009, 05:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
ShaunG Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 180 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Earphone burn-in It's really interesting. Some people will swear they have witnessed significant changes in sound! I have a pair of IE8's and have gone for custom sleeves. This solves any fit issues and also improves the definition of the sound. Have a read of this review of the Sennheiser IE8 with ACS sleeves. __________________ Shaun @ HiFi Headphones HiFi Headphones - the UK Headphone & Earphone Store That's Serious About Headphones Ultimate Ears, Grado, Phonak Audéo, Klipsch, Shure, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and many other high quality brands - visit our store.

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10-08-2009, 05:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
Musicalmadness Headphone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Well i dont believe in burn in myself,i own a few cans and iems and they sound the same now as they did from day one. It's more a case of your ears and brain getting used to different sound signatures. As for the ie8 well mine sound the same now as they did about 6 months ago,just wish i could get em to stay in lol. I found the fit much better worn down but then you have microphonics to deal with. It's a great shame because the ie8 is a really really good earphone but i'm not convinced on its design at all. Sorry for waffling there,but no ive never noticed a difference whether it be ba driver or dynamic,just different signatures.

10-08-2009, 06:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Musicalmadness Headphone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I know,I read things like the bass really opened up and the treble became more tame?????? sorry but i dont get it lol. As for the moulds....Ooooh nice,now that's what i call a rock star. Yeah i've thought about customs for a while now,maybe a christmas present for myself. Trouble is with so many iems i have no idea which one i'd have them for. But if it helps the 8's that well i think it would be for them. Thank you for that.

10-08-2009, 06:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
krismusic Headphone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Thanks for the replies. Well, I could be wrong but I think that burn in has improved the sound of these. When I first heard these, I was very dissapointed. Bloated and "thick" sounding with a huge hump in the lower midbass IMHO. Having left them playing music, I would say that after 10hrs, the midbass changed. Still over emphasised but the upper midbass seemed to have strenghthened. After 30hrs, the treble seems to have "come together" a bit more. Smoother. All this could just be me adapting to the sound but I do not think so. Something that has made a huge difference to the sound is depth of insertion. I expressed my dissapointment in the IE8's on another forum. A couple of people were adamant that this was my problem. I experimented a bit and found that there is indeed a sweet spot, with a slightly looser seal. I question whether this is intended by Sennheiser's R&D. There is no mention in any of the literature. I also worry that I will not have this option if, as I intend, I go for custom tips. It seems to me a bit odd that having paid a premium for Sennheiser's top IEM, that I am having to faff around. I expected to put them on and go "lurvely"! BTW Where are smilies for main text? Are there any on this page?

10-08-2009, 06:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Musicalmadness Headphone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I hear you bud,what gets me is that senn rate the ie8 at 26db isolation? ive no idea where they got that from,and for me thats always been the problem with em,Its supposed to be an iem but it doesn't isolate that well which sort of defeats the object of them. Dont get me wrong they are awesome and i get loads of enjoyment with them at home sitting down,its when i move the problems begin. I had heard somebody had put forward to senn that maybe if the nozzle was longer they would fit more people so much better. Whether anything comes of that who knows.

04-01-2010, 01:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
Nfes64 Headphone Newbie Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	In my experience, when moving from IEM to IEM, there is a period of adjustment as you become more familiar with the new sound signature. This is especially visible when moving from warmer to more analytical IEMs. I tested my is IE8s, which had over 600 hours on them against a friends who had bought his new through my Sony S639 (good quality portable source). I honestly could not tell any difference between the two. Having said that, I was sure there was a burn in effect when I first bought them, but I guess this is due to placebo effect and your brain adjusting to the sound.