Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[jandl100]

I thought it was time that I joined the Planar Magnetic Club.



Audeze EL8.

My inner ear problems persist although they are slowly improving.
Left ear is 3-6dB down in level at the moment (it varies, and started off 8-9dB down) and moderate to loud treble is accentuated and distorts.
Curiously, headphone listening is definitely the way to go with this medical condition - with some tonal equalisation and L/R balance skewing (courtesy of a Behringer 2496) it can sound pretty good, still far from optimal but at least it's listenable. Speakers don't really sound right at all for some reason.

So I thought that broadening my headphone options would be fun and interesting.
My usual cans are standard dynamic type - Fostex TH600 - and although at the same price point (typical new price £500-600) they sound very different to the Audeze.

Both are closed back (necessary in my home environment, Mrs jandl doesn't like the squeaky noises inflicted on those near open backed cans), but they have a very different presentation.

The level of detail is very similar; both are very revealing, although I would give the Fostex the nod.
But the Fostex are way more open and spacious sounding. The Audeze are very much 'in my head' in comparison.
Where the Audeze excel is in the solidity and focus of the sound. Dynamics are more forcefully presented and I suspect they are a bit tonally richer, too.

Rock music and big orchestral especially are much harder hitting and exciting with the Audeze, aided and abetted by a very impressively controlled mid to low bass.

Both are very enjoyable in their different ways, and I feel I need a bit of pampering at the moment!
It will be interesting to see if my opinions change once my damn ear issues are sorted.