InEar ProPhile-8: Reference Universal With Two Switches

... unless they had been previously weakened by another impact or two...

 

Any idea when the PP8S will be available?

 

I'm very interested in this IEM, but I'm dubious about the build quality. The one I saw in the shop was in poor state and now I just saw one on Ebay and the shells are poorly aligned and full of scuffs.

Any comments from owners? Care to share pictures of your set?

 

One of the shells of the demo pair I tried last Sunday had a partly visible seam with some white glue stuff (maybe ear gunk?) in it. The other one looked fine. Both were properly aligned. The demo pair I tried in Hong Kong looked fine.

Can't find any on eBay. Got a link? I would think scuffs would be due to negligent handling. I would think the matte finish would be fairly resistant to scratches.

 

Thanks for the input.

The eBay sale is down... http://www.ebay.com/itm/162695886872?ul_noapp=true

 

The prototype didn't look seamless. You could clearly tell the faceplate apart from the shell. They had slightly different colors too. You can see it on the picture here. You can also tell the material isn't polished yet.

But on my final unit it's nearly impossible to see, even if you know it. Also no scratches, no scuffs, no signs of usage at all. I mean, that's normal for me, but I let a friend travel with them for two months and there are still no signs of wear and tear.
Perhaps they sent out prototypes to shops. But my guess is some person was too interested to see what the inside looks like. In the end, you can open and close the PP8 like any CIEM. That would be my guess.

 

Its back up. .. just one shell was broken and was crazy glued together...i would rather buy something in mint condition with warranty

https://m.ebay.com/itm/InEar-ProPhi...%3Ae7aa83f015e0ab64c3e12bdbffff7f25%7Ciid%3A1

 

I heard back from Marco @InEar.

 

I think I’m one of the first 20 then. They changed the serial number from 8-PP to PP-8 after the first 20, I think. I have the former.

 

Proud owner now... Went back to the HK store today and did long listening session vs Katana. The Katanas will be going up for sale on the "other" forum.

 

So in the end, you decided this wouldn't be a problem? Or did you roll some tips to solve the issue?

 

I think if you stop listening to Andromeda for a day, this shouldn't be a problem at all because actually the mids aren't forward unless you use tips with broader bores than the stock. Compared to Etymotic the PP8 is v-shaped with boosted sub-bass and top-end. It's an IEM, after all. You can shape a larger soundstage with warmth and treble-peaks, but going by measurements and sinus-sweeps the ProPhile has an even slightly recessed midrange.

 

@gixxerwimp pretty much what he said. Once I started doing B2B with the Katana, the forward mids became less of an issue. It also highlighted painfully clear how the highs (6-8kHz) of the Katanas are just too much. It creates this wow effect at first and sounds quite spacious and exciting, but compared to something more reference tuned like the PP8 it fell apart and sounds too harsh. The spacious sound of the Katana is not very accurate.

Also, somehow my right ear was bothering me much less today. Maybe because I was way less hungover today.

The ergonomics are really something. The way it almost clicks in place and always seems to get a good seal is very refreshing. Those Nobles are terrible really in that respect. For one, none of the stock silicon tips are good. Spinfit helps a little, Symbio Mandarin is better but too hard to be comfortable for long hearing sessions.

Things that convinced me today to buy (and sell katana) :

• Dat bass... I really think the choice of going with 4 large BAs for lows was a great idea that paid off. The bass is effortless, tight, layered, textured and extended way down (confession : it's the most important FR range for me, electronic music is my jam)
• Overall signature sounds very Neutral but not boring. Other than the slightly forward high mids, nothing offensive going on. A tool like this is very useful for me.
• Stereo image. I didn't read the whole thread back, but for me it's one of the biggest plus. As much as you can have a "realistic sound stage" with iems, this one nails it. Good depth, yet a strong centre image, wide yet with focused instrument positioning. In can't describe it much better, it just sounded right. Even the SE846 does this better than Katana or even Andro in my opinion. I have a not very scientifically founded feeling that IEMs with smooth 3k to 10k regions (I.e. no sharp peaks) are good at this. To be looked into more closely later.
• Ergonomics & fit. As described before.

 

@Marvey - Any further thoughts on starting up a PP8 tour? Personally would like to put it up against my CA stuff and see how well it pairs with the 1Z. Cheers

EDIT - Nevermind. Just saw the "Quick impressions" thread where you said "After hearing all the hype about the ProPhile 8, I could not resist purchasing one for the SBAF loaner program."

So where do I sign up?

 

Effect of output impedance on PP8. Normalized to 0dB @ 640 Hz (= roughly middle of 20 - 20kHz).
The impedance curve was smooth quite a lot in the 1 to 10 kHz range, but the main idea is definitely captured well enough.

 

I guess this is measured with the stock cable?

So replacing the stock cable with a cable that has a lower impedance than stock would actually lower the midrange and boost treble. Because I just recently switched the Plastics1 with NF Audio upgrade cable that should lower the overall output impedance by around 2 ohms. But it's not as if a 0.4 dB difference would be easy to hear... But that matches my impression.

 

I just copied the values from Marveys graph. I still need to do measurements, no time today.

My not very accurate multimeter measurements tells me the stock cable is roughly 1.7Ohm each way.

EDIT: shit, I just noticed that graph goes up to 100k hahaha. I'll put it up again tomorrow.

 

The first time I heard PP8 was out of micro iDSD with iEMatch on High, which I measured to have a Zout of 4Ω. The second time was out of ZX2 (2Ω). Pretty sure I wouldn't have noticed the difference in the lower mids, and a difference of -1dB to -0.4dB in the upper mids is probably beyond the limits of my sonic sensitivities.