Astell&Kern AK T8iE MKII In-Ear Headphones,Earphones With Tesla Driver Monitors

These earphones are superb. I bought these based on reviews and price, to back up my 3 year old custom earphones and for use around town. Imagine my surprise when they quickly became my favorites...over some fairly stiff, more expensive competition. These phones manage to retrieve so much detail, while remaining musical and not analytical. Presence galore and intimacy with the music. They seem to provide a specific space for each instrument, and get you up close and personal.. I listen to Jazz mostly, and classical, but delineation is excellent for both. Top to bottom in frequency they offer control and precise separation of instruments. If i observed anything negative, it was an occasional edge in the high frequencies at times, perhaps owing to the recording itself. To mellow the detailed high end a bit I purchased some custom cables and was rewarded with an even more musical sound and deeper sound-stage. Bottom line...competition at the top is getting really keen, and in my view these earphones challenge the very highest speaker based systems and earphone competition.

J'avais choisi ces écouteurs à la lecture des bancs d'essai comparatifs publiés dans les revues hifi allemandes (notamment Audio, Stereoplay et In-Ears). Ils s'adressent à des utilisateurs qui recherchent une qualité hifi (et sont prêts à en payer le prix). Le résultat sonore est remarquable pour ce type de produit: détails, précision, neutralité, restitution équilibrée de tout le spectre sonore, dynamique. Les écouteurs sont fournis avec des embouts de dimension variée qui permet leur utilisation confortable dans toutes les oreilles. La sortie casque d'un smartphone, d'une tablette ou d'un PC, de piètre qualité (ces appareils ne sont pas conçus pour la haute fidélité), ne permet pas de profiter réellement de ces écouteurs. Il est indispensable de disposer soit d'un baladeur audiophile, soit d'un DAC externe portable à connecter sur le port microUSB d'un mobile. Sous Android, l'application ''USB Audio Player Pro'' (voir sur le Play Store) est ce qu'il y de mieux pour tirer le meilleur parti sonore de votre équipement.

1st construction ..uneven gap shown between 2 enclosure ,I checked on line video shown the same . housing mostly plastic .Light weight isgood but won't mind if there are more substance that can standup to long term use or drop! 2nd container box for the ear bud doesn't close well(too easy to "knock open " because the magnet too week . 3rd most tip don't fit well ,the comply tip that include block out too much frequency (into audio spectrum) 4th cable clip totally unsafe to be used which may cut the cable in due time. Unfortunately ,Pro is the sound when I used the comply foam T400 ,bought separately . workout just right to be comfortable and good seal without blocking out too much Audio frequency .I am an Audiophile but want to be convenient so I use LG V20 directly drive .and also tried use Blue tooth adaptor by Westone which connected directly to by MMXC cable . Bass istighter than Bose QC30 and 25 but very very slightly Mid bass heavy but could be my comply foam .also However, mid is very very good for vocal .It could be even nicer if u use a tube amp .addictive warm tune sound .D-amp'll make it live . The high is well control .The Xeneto could be more sparkle ,but I like a warmer sound so choose Astell wire connection does add more spacing and detail orientation of music . very musical to vmoda forza metallo wirless which has much more bass flows to mid sound but nice less warmer sound .However fit very well but not for sport as good as this . Value is not as good is construction is included .Sound 1000$ ,hmmm depend but much better than sparkle westone W60 and < akg 3003 ------- update ..8 27 17 after playing around with the cord and some "downgrade or upgrade " here is what I do : I used LG v 20 wire connected to ekcity Bluetooth transmitter w aptx ,then Astell&Kern direct wire to Westone Bluetooth module by MMX . in other word I have a wireless set up .(comply foam 400 ) Audio result , 1 freedom from wired set up. 2 Mid range audio little forward which I like and warm ,however instrument localization depend very much on a short very high quality cable that connected from LG V 20 to the Bluetooth transmitter . I luckily tried many and find one . (the cable is price independent ). I can almost feel the tongue of the singer and their lips tingling in my head ! eerie feeling ! 3 more stable because the Bluetooth transmitter can be put closer to the Westone Bluetooth module to keep the distance short . 4 overall sound very quiet ,almost dead silent when no music play . w the cmply foam That translate to very nice pure music listening . 5 It has a present of tube like quality . (of course cannot be competed with single end tube set up with a set of Quad speaker .) However , make it sound good this close for mobile is a dream for me .

My favorite IEM. I've paid twice as much for others and not enjoyed them as much as I enjoy these.

Comfortable and pleasant listening experience. Much more natural than se846 and w60. Sounds like a in-ear version of T1 2nd generation.