EBS_freak

6 Ohm indeed - so looking at the specs on my Shure P9RA receivers... minimum impedance for those is 9.5.... Given that the Shure is the standard IEM system in the US, that doesn't seem to have been the smartest move. I'm seeing what 64 come back with. Sorry if that causes the N8 to be pulled for a while 😕

Was watching the latest Mackie announcements last night... looks like theres some significant updates to their DL range... iOS/Android/PC/Mac controllable mixers, extra fx, stagebox format hardware... another suitable candidate for those wanting a decent mixer for an IEM setup.

Yeah, I'm surprised that they have taken the A8s away - the N8s appear to be more of a relative to the 12t than what was the 8, in both frequency response and driver count (quad low switched out for single dynamic). I know dynamics produce a lot of bass but certainly not as much as quad balanced armature setup. The hyped bottom end of the V8 and A8 seems to be now a thing of a past... (cue all bass junkies sobbing) No - in the actual technical specs of the IEM.

oo-er - @dood - I've just spotted something that I really don't like in the specs. I've emailed 64 about it because it could be a bit of a humdinger for them! Let me see if you can work out what it is. As I say, I don't know if it's an issue or not - hence why I've not written anything up here... but I'm interested to read their response. PM if you can't figure it out.

I've just realised that they've killed off their 2 top, 2 mid, 4 bass A8 piece. (I suspected it may have been for the chop when they didn't put the tia in it). Aw man. No way, that was a peach of an IEM.

If you want to stop people, there's always subsafe - not my cup of tea really though. Neither are scrims to be honest. with regards to drink, if it's not the subs, its usually somewhere else inappropriate.

Hey @dood - I've been watching the news of the n8t since it's announcement at NAMM earlier in the year and stalking the opinions that are on headfi. I'm a bit apprehensive about it all to be honest. There definitely seems to be a trend to jump onto the hybrid (dynamic plus balanced armature) bandwagon at the moment. For example, UE with their new flagship, UE Live, JH with Lola, N8t and even ZT are in on it. I would be surprised if the introduction of the N8t wasn't a direct move from 64 to cater for a market - the hybrid IEM fan. Nathan East was consulted to help develop this IEM... but less of a noise was made by JH - they did exactly the same product development with Slash to get Lola to market. And of course, now UE Live - which is getting a very interesting reception (in that it's both amazing and not amazing depending upon your viewpoint!) Am I a hybrid fan? I'm not really sure. The Lola has certainly got a different voicing to it... and it's Jerry's earpiece of choice. Unlike everybody else though, he's used the dynamic for the mids, not the lows. I've not yet heard the N8t or the UE Live but they are both IEMs I am certainly interested - especially since the loss of my Roxannes. Will my next be hybrid? I dunno. My current list is looking rather Roxanne and 12t centric. I'm prepared to spend the cash as they are such a central part to my enjoyment. Why not the Layla or the 18t? Well, the Layla is a bit sterile for me... and the 18t impedance is not great for use with wireless packs. What I do know, whatever I do choose won't be opaque -those carbon fibre ports were a git to clean - you could never see if anything was in there! Oh - and 64 - it's not the first artist IEM... I know at least of one other manufacturer that released a signature IEM in conjunction with a named artist. ACS and their George Martin reference IEM.

Digital vs Analogue. Meh, good and bad for both. Considering a lot of stuff that is coming out of studios now is largely in the box mixing, done with digital plugins, you'll be hard pushed to say that digital can't keep up with analogue... and if it is, the labels don't seem too fussed by it.

That kind of confirms that there's defo an issue with the fit of your IEMs - the improvement in the low end is that first tell tale sign. Like I've said before, the seal is the most important thing with regard to keeping the bass response as good as it can be - thats why I would urge people to keep away from vented ports/ambient ports. It may be the case that your inear is literally a fraction of a mm too shallow and that is what is causing the fit issue... or maybe you have lost a little weight. Instead of the wraps, maybe replace them with some pies? 😛 Some of the audio nuts experiment with all sort of modifications to their inears, from cables and tips and in this case, guys that despite having a perfect fitting inear, wanting that feeling of resistance that the additional wraps give. That's not to say the fit is bad in that case, just not what the end user is wanting - hell, if anybody wants to have ear canal pain whilst listening to music, all the power to them! When I saw that JH included this wraps, it did make me raise an eyebrow as it kind of gives the impression that their fitting is bad - which on the whole they are not! Refits are inevitable, it the nature of the business - I'm sure Paul from CIEMco will confirm that - but given the technology that I've mentioned previously, that number has reduced greatly over the years. Given the number of impressions he alone takes ever year and the number of refit requests, his fit ratio is super, super, super high. Dont forget though - our ears continue to grow and change shape... so the general rule is allow for a refit every 5 years (I know you haven't had yours that long). Having said that, my oldest IEMs, still fit perfect. Other folks may not share the same story though. Like many things, mileage may vary.

No worries - you may want to give some wraps a go. They may seem pretty DIY - but they actually work well. JH Audio supply them with some of their monitors now also - https://www.complyfoam.com/products/customwraps/

It's more than the impression that leads to a good fit - fit is getting more consistent as more of the industry is using 3d printing to create the shells. The thing is, some of the less established companies are still casting the shells by hand... and this is where the fit issues can arrive. In short, an impression is taken and shipped. During that period, the impression can be exposed to all sorts of temperatures and over time, the impression can shrink. So historically, it was important that the negative impression is made from the the impression pretty quickly. Before casting, the impression has to be trimmed and coated in wax to make it completely smooth. Obviously, this changes the size of the impression a little - but it can be potentially significant. Nowadays, the impressions are generally taken and laser scanned and then emailed. A lot of the historical problems are removed by doing this. After this, the negative impression is used to make the resulting monitor - but remember, the negative is the size of that with the wax on it... so the resulting monitor has to be trimmed down a little. Too much and the result will be a loose fit. The other thing is... is that your ear can actually change. As you age, the ear changes shape... and additionally, if you change weight, the ear canal dimensions will also change - and this can also impact the fit. This also changes from person to person also - just to make things more complex! The loose fit is not actually that big of an issue - all which is done is that they'll add some additional acrylic to whats already there and polish it up. It sounds like this is what needs to be done on yours. The fit should be tight - but not such that it hurts... but it should consciously take a bit of working to get into your ear canal for a proper fit. If it hurts, or hurts after a while, the inear is too big. (In which case, they shave down a slither of acrylic).

I have T1 Lives (triple driver). At the time they were the flagship. I watched with interest when they decided to bolster the number of drivers in their new range... but then facepalmed a little when they decided not to go with extra drivers in the low to introduce a bit of headroom for bassplayers and drummers. All the guys I know how have been with ACS and moved on have exactly the same issue. Andy however, is dead set against boosting in the lows because of the increased risk of hearing damage. There's a fine line - having enough headroom... but then entrusting people not to run their inears at ludicrous volumes. The T1s are a lot more revealing, "hifi" and faithful in their ability to reproduce audio. So what the ACS has in clarity, the ZS10 has in headroom. The ACS is light in the bass compared to the ZS10s... and boosting the lows in the ACS means that you run out of headroom very quickly. The soundstage of the ACS is also definitely wider than the ZS10s. There's definitely something wonky in the topend of the ZS10s - but I think I had already guessed that when I was looking at the response curves. The vocals are mids do a feel a bit recessed... although the mids are quite thick - probably helped along by the dynamic drivers. Dont get me wrong, I don't think the ZS10s are sonically great by any means... but they have a lot of headroom, built well... and the sonic signature may be better suited for longer playing on stage without ear fatigue... and above all, lets not forget the price of them. Defo preferable to the 215s as an entry level inear monitor.

@mrtcat- in my experience, silicon offers slightly more isolation over acrylic but in real world terms, this is negligible in a band context. If this SPL is high on stage, even with -26dB isolation on the inears, thats still a lot of sound to try and cut out. Remember, the rest of your face etc, is still being subjected to the sound - so this will be transferred through your skull etc, into your ears. But to answer your question, silicon is not going to make a big enough difference for you to even notice. I am assuming your fit is correct - push the inears in slightly - if there is a difference heard and the isolation improves, your fit isn't as good as it could be.

There's a bass in this picture?

So spent quite a bit of time with these ZS10s. Quite a different sound to what I’m used to. Warm, with not a particularly wide soundstage (blocking the port makes this worse) with the recessed upped mids and treble clearly audible. So whilst I don’t particularly dig on them for casual listening of music, this trait could be quite favourable for onstage use as it will keep your ears fresher for longer. Having said that, I do like the warmth of the dynamic but I do find them quite a fatiguing listen generally - but I think that may be down to the mid range bloom. What I will say though, for the money - great. This or a 215? No competition. And if you think that this whole setup is comparable to the cost of an entry level cable from the big boys... not a bad thing to have in the spares bag either!

Have you seen one in the flesh? The reason I say this, is that they photograph REALLY badly. They don't appear to look half as bad in situ. But again, I'm kinda used to the way that they look now! 😛

The drivers are still better in the 745 than the comparable 4Pro. The upside of the 4Pro is that imho, they look way better than the 745. The NX45A is the nicer looking version of the 745.

Top tip - never get involved with courier companies. 🤡s

It's his hat, right?

You missed off the bit where dood stated combo jack (as in both 1/4" and XLR)...

Stainless DR Hi Beam. Untouchable. If you want higher tension... Stainless DR Lo Rider.

Don't do this - you over compensate for your open ear and the volume coming into your ear from the IEM will be dangerously loud and you risk permanent damage.

Hot glue gun!

@jensenmann - I'd be interested in your thoughts on the Orchid box, I still reckon it's the best DI box for the incredibly cheap price (I moved from BSS). Even the SOS guys seem to agree - http://orchid-electronics.co.uk/Sound-On-Sound_Orchid_DI_Boxes_review.PDF

So confirmation - jiffy bag found sans peli case with Roxannes inside. I guess the customs declaration of "earphones" and their value was too much of a temptation for some light fingered miscreant.