Astell&Kern + Beyerdynamic T8ie Shorty Impressions

This is certainly a surprise.

Listening done with AK100ii balanced, with UERM unbalanced as reference

- 1100 CAD. Well let's see what it offers
- Construction, accessories and designs are absolutely TOTL. MMCX design.
- Asymmetrical design of eartips allows very comfortable fit
- Bass in quantity is noticably moar than UERM. Certainly has body (quality), but one can desire more bass slam and sway - in other words, note attack was prolonged, softer and note decay was quicker than UERM. Unfortunately some uncontrolled bloominess was present, particularly in the midbass region. This results in some occassional intrution into mids and is my biggest complaint.
- Mids is sweet. Comparatively even more forward than UERM. I don't have much to rant here.
- Treble might have rolled off a bit early than desired. No sibliance, doesn't fake detail, which is a good sign. Also in the lower treble/higher mids region it smooths things out quite a bit, therefore lesser than stellar recordings can have good performance. This can be a good thing, as I'm thinking about a pair of IEMs less "blunt" than UERM.
- Microdetail retrieval aka planktons...well, I don't expect anything come toe-to-toe with UERM, but from my long-time-ago memories, T8ie resolves better than Angie and N6.
- Staging is still 3D, though flatter than UERM. Imaging rarely falls apart.
- Overall it's a pleasant experience. People who like dead neutral signature should look elsewhere. People looking for a relaxed kick-back listen may find the new T8ie a worthy candidate.

 

Whats a Canadian gotta do for a price like that?.

Looking for a good complement to my UERM

 

I assume the low end problem is caused by AK100ii's problematic output z. I'll use more appropriate gear the next time and I'll get either this or Campfire Jupiter, after which point I'll give whichever I get a more appropriate review.

 

So, would you say treble extension doesn't go to, say 16khz? Roll off can be either a straight lack of extension (like even many top-tier BA ciems just can't reach high up) or sometimes more of a shelved treble that's like my cousin. My cousin can swim a lap all the way from end to end of a pool, but his natural buoyancy is two feet under water... It's like watching a very pale porpoise.

 

I don't know how to say - I'm not familiar about frequency description and I'm not confident if I'm hearing things past 14khz. I'll say that today I listened to the T8ie again and there's some air to the treble. Not plenty. Some. My guess is that it has a gentle and minor lower treble peak, which starts rolling off at 12khz.

 

Using typical Spanish Harlem, I found there is some more midrange grain to the female voice on T8ie.

 

Thanks for the updates on what you are hearing. Have you heard the ie800 or another high-end dynamic to compare the t8ie to?

That it is more detailed than the angie is good news.

 

I have a very negative encounter with IE800. Despite it having a single DD, frequency cohesion was poor. Overall note presentation was too lean. Treble was hot. I do not consider IE800 TOTL. But also take into account that I hated Dita the Answer Truth, so I might be biased against most DD IEMs.

 

But you are liking the t8ie as a totl iem?

 

I like them enough as Canadian TOTL. To put it into perspective, K3003 is now nowhere to be found, while SE846 runs $1250.

 

"Canadanian TOTL" ouch, ha ha.

I'd like to see this compared to the Jupiter (or to compare it myself).

 

I had an initial experience of the ie800 similar to your on my first set. I hope you get to hear a more recent set sometime.

I'd like to hear this, the jupiter, the uerr and kse1500.

 

The pair I heard was in last December. I may need to hear it twice to confirm/repel my bias. My recent problems with UERM is kinda preventing me from wanting the UERR. I'm having great great expectations in Jupiter.

 

Well, couldn't hurt. Check out the ie800 review here for how another person is hearing his set differently. I think the UERR was tuned specifically to deal with the UERM's treble issues, iirc. So, I'm hopeful.

 

Just got them two days ago. I find it, it does everything pretty well, yet does not do anything crazily good as UERM, K10 ER4, etc.

Bass is well extended, but has slight bump on mid-bass area
Mid is quite natural well balanced nothing to complain much
Treble is pretty good. does not have airy feeling like UERM nor extension. I think I do hear up to 14khzish but not as clear as er4 and uerm
but it does not drops like JH IEM ( Most of JH series barely reach 10khz)
It sounds pretty clear, not as clear as what you would expect from $1000 dollar IEM (Much clear than Westone, JH IEM)
Overall mild U shape sound to my ear.

I do see some people ask comparison between IE800. I personally think IE800's Mid sound likt SH**. It sound very papery.
To me IE800's Mid sounds like I am hearing music with paper cup on my ear. I can hear there is hugeeeee Deep on mid~mid high on IE800
T8ie has much much much natural and linear sound on mid range. I do find IE800 has little better extension, but highs are quite sharp on IE800
T8ie has little smoother sound on high ( But I would not say T8ie has really smooth high I do hear some accent on mid high)

Found this measurement of T8ie. http://www.lesnumeriques.com/casque-audio/beyerdynamic-ak-t8ie-p28409/test.html
I do not know what kind of Ear simulator and compress curve they use so I can't really say anything about it but, Seems much better than IE800's measurement here
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/casque-audio/sennheiser-ie800-p30229/test.html

I personally think there are not many IEM that actually worth $1000 and for sure T8ie does not worth every penny. However I cannot say T8ie is bad nor not recommended.
If any of my friends or family who want a spend $1000 on IEM, T8ie would be one of my list.

 

This thing is really a mini T1 to my ears. The signature is so close, albeit the amount of bass is (by my book) a little much than I would like it. Nevertheless, it's good to meet a T1 baby!

 

Anyone having reliability issues with it? I'm already at my 2nd set 1 month in and some people in the "other" forum reported to having to change 3-4 times in the span of 3-6 months. I'm liking this very much coming from IE800, I'm quite lucky to have good fit with my IE800 but it is so fatiguing.

 

Word is that all unsold stock is being recalled. Turns out the breaks can fail when you're going down a hill and the ignition can catch fire if you're not wearing any pants.

I would wait on buying a set and see what beyerdynamic does to fix things. I doubt the sound will change, but the breaky-breaky might.