Vision Ears VE8

First of all, i tested the Universal Version. Mialage might vary for the CIEM.

I tested the VE8 because i am not completely satisfied with the fit/comfort of my IER-M9 and TG335. Both are okay, but if you use them for 4+ hours, the ears start to hurt, no matter what.

First of all, the fit and comfort is perfect as long i use them with foam. I can absolutely not understand how people can wear these with silicone. There is in instant air pressure issue, obviuosly, its an closed IEM.

Not sure how an company that is spezialised on monitors can ship an closed IEM without foam... but anyway. I used them with several foam (to check if the foam might influence the sound), but as i use S-Size and deep insert them, i was happy do not find any relevant difference between different foam tips. Thats already a good point.

After i was highly disappointed testing the VE6X1 and VE6X2, i had high hopes for the VE8.

It is much better than both VE6, but it still inherits a lot of their issues. The Bass sounds absolutely unrealistic and artificial. It has no impact whatsoever, it can not build up pressure. Some people might say "Duh, of course, its an BA, get an DD if you want that", but the IER-M9 and TG335 can do that perfectly fine.

And i am not complaining about the amount, nothing is wrong with the amount, its the Quality thats bad. Not bad, that is wrong, it is not bad, but its nothing special. Its just so boringly average.

Every acoustic instrument that needs impact, and not just bass instruments like double bass and bass guitar, also things like the stick impact on cymbals, violins and so on all sound completely unrealistic and just strange.

But there is nothing really wrong with the VE8. Nothing sounds out of place or harsh or shrill or sharp, everything sounds pretty much how it is supposed to sound for an monitor which is good... but you can get this for 350-700€, easily.

How on earth is this IEM so expensive. I would have gotten it anyway just for the awesome comfort, even though i am not satsified with the bass quality, but for >2000€? No way... Vision Ears must be kidding.

It is an very good IEM but way to overpriced. It is not even close to what the IER-M9 or TG335 and a lot of other all BA sets can deliver. I have nothing against BA bass, the opposite, i love this extremely fast and dry and controlled bass but the VE8 just sounds insanely boring, and not in an positive way (You don't want an monitor to sound fun, its an monitor. But you want it to have very high quality, and this one is just very average).

I was initially thinking about doing an In-Depth review posten which songs i listened to and how it sounds on which part... but the VE8 sounds so average that i don't even know what to say.

Its like... yes its there. If you don't care about its price, its ok. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't want to spend 2000€, get the Moondrop S8 which is as good and costs 700€ or get the FiiO FA9 which sells currently for 350€

And don't even get me started about the pricing in Japan. 250'000yen, not in your wildest dreams is this IEM even remotely worth that price. You need to be an die hard Vision Ears fan to buy it for that price.

Its crazy how every single Vision Ears i tested so far let me feel disappointed. Not because they are bad, not at all, but because they are so insanely expensive.

Overview:

Amazing. There - a one-word review. Done. Nothing else to see here. Why are you still reading? Go home, hug your kids, kiss your wife, and empty your bank account to buy a pair of these. Then, be happy, be very happy, because your music will sound amazing and you won’t need money anymore. Give away your other headphones, stop going to work, and live on the street listening to music on your DAP with the VE8 happily playing away in your ears. WAIT! Don’t do that, you need to pay for electricity so you can charge your DAP and you need money to pay for Tidal. In fact, maybe don’t do any of the above except for the part where you buy some VE8s, they’re really, really good.

The Vision Ears VE8 (VE8) is the former flagship from Vision Ears, though quite frankly, it still sounds like it could be the flagship – and still is for their VE line. Now though, the much raved-about Phönix, EXT, Elysium, and EVE have stolen the thunder from the VE8, meaning that YOU can probably get these at a really good price, half the price of the Phönix even over at Bloom Audio. The 8 in VE8 indicated the 8 BA drivers on each side, which is becoming the exception, not the norm in the modern era of hybrids with ESTs, DDs, and Bone Conductors all shoved into a tiny shell. BUT, the VE8 accomplishes more with those 8 drivers than most hybrids.



Build Quality / Comfort:

The build quality on the VE8 is fantastic (more on the cable in a minute) and the shells look and feel like they will be around for many more years. The shiny metal (which I tried to capture in my photos) throughout the shells looks amazing in the light and I found myself surprised more than once as I walked by a mirror and the light from them caught my eye. The carrying case that comes with the VE8 is built like a literal tank and could probably be run over by a car without any damage to the headphones. The box the VE8 comes with is VERY high quality, with cleaning solution, silica gel, and all-foam ear tips. This is quality packaging and more companies should put this level of detail into their products.



The cable, however, needs a paragraph of its own. Not because it’s good, oh no, check out the photo of it below. It’s not good, not good at all. In fact, it is quite possibly one of the worst cables I’ve ever seen on an IEM. This is hard for me to say, but it reminds me of the non-removable cable on the Moondrop Chu – an $18 IEM. The $25 7Hz Salnotes Zero comes with a better cable – so does the $29 KZ x HBB DQ6S (embarrassing these are even mentioned in this review at 1/100th the price). I’m sorry, but these still retail for $2,420 – there is no reason a cable THIS BAD should come with IEMs THIS NICE. OK, got it, they spent all their money on the actual product, but maybe I don’t need ear tip cleaner, or a 6.35mm jack, or foam ear tips, or a tank box quite as much as a decent cable. Anyway, mine luckily came with the Queen of Audio RUM (RUM) – a fantastic modular cable that I will be using for this review – replace the stock cable ASAP - the RUM and the Kinnera Leyding are both awesome modular cables.



I didn’t feel like using the stock tips because used tips gross me out. So, I’m using the Small Spinfit W1 tips from my MMk2 (here if you want a set: https://amzn.to/3XSOXtN.) They fit my ears very well and get a good seal (important with the VE8…and any IEM really.) Over a long enough period of time, they can get a little uncomfortable because they fit snugly. But, I really appreciate their overall characteristics. The ear hooks on the RUM are very comfortable, and there’s not a bad weight to the cable either, though I’m sure it's heavier than the stock twist tie cable. The VE8 are what I would call medium size, they’re not tiny like the Chu, and they’re slightly smaller than the Monarch – though they do have a “shelf” on one side like the DQ6S. There can also be some ear pressure over time as they are not vented like the u12t.



Sound / Source / Comparisons:

I am going to start off with the squig.link frequency chart below because I think it is important to highlight the similarities and differences between the VE8 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk2 (MMk2). These are both excellent headphones and the Monarch is the closest competitor I have heard to the VE8 (despite costing 40% as much). The monarch clearly has more sub-bass, but their mids-bass through mids are VERY similar (I kind of think that Thieaudio used the VE8 as a baseline for the MMk2 tuning, though it almost perfectly mates with HBB’s target, so we’ll likely never know.) Then, through the high-mids to the treble, both IEMs change drastically with the VE8 climbing to some pretty peaky highs in the 6-7k region before dropping below the MMk2 for the rest of the frequencies. The monarch meanwhile remains relatively neutral through the highs, with minor dips and rises.

I am powering these through my Shanling M3 Ultra (M3U), which is still one of the best price/performance DAPs on the market, using the 4.4mm balanced jack on the RUM cable and sourced from Tidal Hi-Fi. A quick note on power: these are the easiest-to-drive IEMs I’ve ever used with a balanced connection (19/100 on the M3U.) The MMk2s are around 35/100 on a balanced connection, so the 8 BA drivers on the VE8 are VERY efficient, which saves battery life on a portable DAP. Moving on to sound.

I don’t like breaking down headphones solely by frequency range since every song has bass, mids, and highs (and I can’t tell the difference between vocals at 1900 Hz and 2100 Hz.) So, I will start with bass-heavy songs, and break down each song by how all the pieces are presented. You can find my Tidal test tracks playlist in my signature if you want to compare them to your headphones. The first song I will be listening to is a bass-heavy song by Basshunter called “All I ever Wanted.” I chose this song because the VE8 has great mids, and this song not only has excellent bass but good mids as well. The intro vocals and piano come in cleanly and to the front of the soundstage. The bass drums that come in at 0:19 hit hard with good impact and clarity – they don’t overwhelm the mids here like they can on some very bass-heavy headphones. The transition at 0:53 shows off how well the bass can perform on the VE8, once again without overwhelming the synths.

Up next in bass-heavy songs is David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue).” This song is great for testing the whole range of frequencies. The intro bass drums come VERY hard, almost a little too hard. The synths at 0:38 though are super clean and do justice to the original Eiffel 65 song. The sub-bass at 0:38 has that breath/heart-stopping quality that I look for in this song. The vocals are extremely clean and are not overwhelmed by any other parts of the music. If I had any complaints about this song, it’s that the mids are just slightly recessed compared to the lows. The highs also come in cleanly throughout the song without any of the harshness that some IEMs can exhibit (MEST Mk2.)

Moving on to mids-heavy songs: Skillet’s “Stars” sounds fantastic with excellent, mids-forward, vocals and a good bass-synth in the background. The bass and snare drums come in cleanly and nothing overwhelms the vocals, which are the true star (get it?) of this song. The highs on this song can come in very sharp on some headphones and IEMS, but that’s not the case at all with the VE8, it sounds exactly as it should – that’s pretty high praise.

Next is Thousand Foot Krutch’s “I See Red.” The intro vocals come in very forward and sound excellent – a defining characteristic of the VE8. The guitars and bass guitar in the background are clean and clear without overwhelming the vocals. The transition at 1:42 comes in cleanly with low distortion and good balance. I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but the mids on the VE8 are just so good. Another song that highlights this point is Staind’s “Something to Remind You.” I absolutely love this song, but it can sound pretty terrible on a bad source. The VE8 does a good job representing the guitars in the background while letting Aaron Lewis’s voice shine through. The bass guitar in the background 1/3rd of the way through comes in cleanly and doesn’t get overshadowed by any other parts of the song. Mids are one place where these shine – just like the MMk2.

Highs. The downfall of a great many headphones and IEMs. My current Sibilance test song is “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco. The horns in the intro come in cleanly with massive breadth and presence. The vocals also appear accurate and clean with no sibilance of note (on some headphones, this song is filled with painful “S” sounds that can sound like nails on a chalkboard.) The snares come in cleanly with the bass drums in the background. The horns in this song sound fantastic in the background (sometimes you can hardly hear them at all on other headphones.) Overall, one of the best representations I’ve heard of this song.

Michelle McLaughlin’s “Across the Burren” is another song where highs can be sharp or grating. The subdued low-treble on these really helps them on this song. Every note comes across cleanly with no harsh reverberation. I couldn’t even get through this whole song with the UM MEST Mk2, so the clean representation here is very welcome. Some people will complain that there's no "sparkle," to me that just sounds terrible, so I'm glad there's no sparkle.

So, how do these compare to the MMk2? The VE8 has better highs, the Monarch has more reverberation in “Across the Burren” to point of almost being painful, but not quite. The VE8 may have the best treble I have heard on an IEM (my preference, you may love sharp treble.) The MMk2 has a bigger soundstage, this is especially apparent in “High Hopes” where it feels like an open room vs the VE8s recording studio. Both IEMs avoid the sibilant “S” sounds here. The bass on both headphones has a ton of impact. The sub-bass on the Monarch is definitely stronger in “I’m Good (Blue)” where it almost overwhelms the rest of the song – I prefer the VE8 bass here, but maybe you love bass, in which case the MMk2 or MEST Mk2 would work better for you. On both “I See Red” and “Something to Remind You” the bigger soundstage on the MMk2 is apparent. Otherwise, the vocals, guitars, and bass drums sound very similar on both IEMs (which, realistically, they should after looking at their freq chart.) I would say that the vocals are more forward on the Monarch though, but only just slightly. Guitars are also slightly cleaner on the MMk2 in “I See Red” - likely due to the driver difference. Both IEMs are great, but for s cheaper IEM with more sub-bass, slightly better guitars, and stronger highs, get the Monarch. For easier-to-drive with less sub-bass and better highs with no sibilance, get the VE8.



Conclusion:

Great bass, great mids, and top-notch highs. The VE8 is a triumph for Vision Ears. It’s astounding that they have new IEMs that are supposedly EVEN BETTER than the VE8. Hopefully, someday I’ll get to try them someday. Until then, the VE8 and Monarch will continue to battle it out for 1st place on my desk.

Headphone Scoring - Each category can be split into quarter points

VISION EARS is a small yet well known, owner driven company in the heart of cologne/Germany. They are well known in the audiophile community and other sound enthusiast communities and have been making a lot of configurations of iems (mostly customs) for the past decade. The best thing is, these are the best guys I have talked to ever; they are always helpful and do answer my queries as soon as they can. Their VE Premium line which includes the EVE 20 and ELYSIUM and now the PHOENIX and the EXT and their VE custom line consisting of VE2 - 8 (now having Universal options too) have created a great deal of name and fame for their wonderful Sound Signature and looks. But today I am going to review one of the universal line-ups of their VE customs- VE 8 Universal Design which is an excellent and well received TOTL model of VE. But does it hold up its place on the top, Let’s find out!!!

DISCLAIMER-Today I am getting to review the VE 8 Universal Design with a majestic faceplate (pics will make it look awesome)- the warm and emotional tuned iem of VE line-up. This has been provided to me by Vision Ears in exchange for my honest opinion for which I am grateful to both Vision Ears @Vision Ears, Amin Karimpour and @suman134 for including me in this tour. You can clink on VE8 to know more.

TECHNICAL DATA-

• Three-way-system with eight drivers
• Drivers: 2 x Bass – 2 x Mid – 4 x High
• Sensitivity: 120dB SPL at 1 mW
• Impedance: 22 Ohms (at 1 kHz)
• The ambience system opens the In-Ear a bit to the outside and diminishes the feeling of isolation.
• Extra sound-canal connects ear-canal and outer world.
• 3 differently strong dampers define the strength of the opening.

PRICE-
2150.00 €/ 2350.00 €

UNBOXING EXPERIENCE-

Now given the price of this iem and the atrocious Indian customs (which we still had to pay) this was sent in a small packet, inside which was a beautiful metal case written VE on top and a 'M' sized Symbio tips.



On opening the metal case with beautifully printed VE on top, there were two pink iems with coloured bubbles on the faceplate. It looks beautiful. The light reflects over the silver writing on the iem and just makes it more wonderful overall to look at.




The cable is as always, a 4core cable with soft housing and 3.5mm termination.


BUILD & FIT-

1) IEMS- This is a custom face plate edition and so obviously eye catching to say the least. The faceplate has blue and red bubbles on semi-transparent bottom which is very less seen. It looks quite good and man, it blows most of the iems I have seen in looks. But as the other VE lineups I have seen, this is similarly built with a strong sense of carefulness and serial number written on the concha side of the iems. They are made up of Resin it feels like.




2) FIT- The fit is a bit big and tight for me and sealed completely but there was very little sense of vacuum. Though it did become uncomfortable after 1 hours and had to be readjusted as the wing part could have been made a little smaller to enhance the feel more. Well I guess now why do they have customs!!!

3) WEIGHT- Nonexistent as per my ears

4) NOZZLE- Its 0.9cm long from the body and has a diameter of 0.6cm. No machine marks this time and it was pretty great looking.

5) CABLE- The cable is 4 strand, black soft plastic-coated ending on a 3.5mm connector. The cable is soft, non-microphonic and really vanishes with the iem (has the weight of hair haha ). The connectors are 2pin and have a small red circle and a small blue circle on either of them to indicate right side and left sides connectors
respectively (same as the entire VE lineup, except the upcoming Phoenix or the EXT finally new cables with 2.5mm balanced ). It’s a 2pin cable since the iem is 2pin (not changing anything from previous since its all the same on entire VE lineup haha ).


POWAH REQUIRED-

It’s really easy to drive even phones are sufficient to drive it easily. But this will require some power to show its dynamic range but the change is around 5-10% mostly YMMV

NOTE- This IEM is used with

• N6ii and T01 module & R01(mostly R01 since it adds more naturalism to the iem and also better stage) for portable on chair listening experience for the most part of the review.
• On desktop- N6ii LO and A30s (Burson V5i D) and XDUOO MT602 Sylvania tubes (beautiful pairing but then low gain on N6ii and also volume at 08 but I would stay since it becomes a beautiful Cough Syrup!!!) has been used.
• Sometimes LG G8x as phone source.
• Tips used were FINAL AUDIO E ‘M’ sized tips and Symbio tips both were great.

NOW COMING ON TO THE SOUND OF THE VE-8 CUSTOM FACEPLATE- (This is subjective and your opinions may vary)

SUB BASS-

WHY SO SERIOUS – HANS ZIMMER AND JAMES NEWTON HOWARD & BLENDER- YELLO (Haha!!) – The subbass in the first track, everyone knows (uhm BATMAN- The DARK KNIGHT ) and it shows how hard and deep the drivers will go!!! While in the second song (great funny lyrics), subbass presence is from around 56 sec, felt more on the right side and goes on for a lot longer!! Now I chose this track to check how much do they emphasize it and how does it do with vocals and other instruments. For instruments you could try from 2.09 mins.

The sub-bass is something to love here. For an all-BA set, this comes so close to an DD iem, that you will be surprised. Its something like when the DD and BA had a baby . The sub-bass has great amount of rumble, with lots of texture. Dynamics are not lost at all, which becomes evident from the “WHY SO SERIOUS TRACK” (it picks up on the volume slowly) and with the natural decay, you will be wanting more of that sub-bass, it’s addicting!!! The tonality is on the natural to slightly warm side which makes it great for a long listening session (would advise not to do it). There is no mixing of bass and subbass and neither overpower each other, it’s so much coherent tuning wew!!! Warning- the rumble will spread around you and get you hooked, good luck escaping!!


BASS-

PULL ME UNDER – DREAM THEATER – Now the above track has a lot of traditional percussion instruments which wasn’t fair to one of the modern most used percussive instruments – the drums!!! So, I added this track which shows the toms and snare drums used in a very detailed manner and we’ll separated, so it’s easier to judge them!!

WOODFALL TEMPLE–REMIX – THEOPHANY -Now this has a lot of things going but the most notable thing is the number of percussive instruments this song has!!! Experience it once to know the different kind of drums and piano and the multiple small notes – just everything going with so much coherence that it’s a pure heavenly feeling!!! (Don’t worry I am still alive!!! )

Given that I am confused between a DD and BA driver now (in bass) after trying out this iem, I would still say this has one of the best DD like BA bass ever. It has a slightly warm tonality present with almost natural decay. The timbre is real and gives off a wandering note into the sonic headroom (aka fancy way of saying the head stage), which will impress you and make you follow it. The toms in the first song with the snare and hi-hats, feel real and will impress the listener a lot. The beats are all separated at the body, the beginning and even at the edges. The midbass punch of the hits are also present without undermining other stuff going around, hence presenting a wholly energetic yet well coherent music that enchants the listener. The second song depicts some difficult combination of music and sounds with lots of different percussive instruments ranging from African djembe and conga with large drums in the background, but with this iem, there is not a single hint of mix of sounds but everyone has their own position but remaining coherent. The texture of the big drums does come around among everything too which is just wonderful. In summary- a wonderful presentation.


MIDS-

MALE VOCALS (This time it’s male first)-BEYOND THE SEA- BOBBY DARIN AND AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH- IL DIVO, MARVIN GAYE- Both of the songs have different vocalists (silly me obviously from the names LOL), but what I mean is their pitch. The first vocalist has lean and more balanced voice while in second song, there’s 4 different vocalists, all having different pitch and different highs they can go. The first song is vocals with wide distribution of instruments and the second song having vocals all different going sometimes together with also the instruments like placed near a lot to make it more energetic and drums going just behind them which makes it easier for me to distinguish mid bass bleed.

Male vocals are depicted as the vocalist dictate, if they change the pitch, the iems just changes but still keeps slightly thicker tonality overall. The notes change and voice change is handled exceptionally well. They feel like they have the freedom to open up and they extend nicely throughout everywhere. If there are more than 2 vocalists like in the second song, it still maintains the difference in their voices and lets them shine separately. The thickness in their words do come up and gives a beautiful impression. In short this is something which is just close to perfection.



FEMALE VOCALS- UNINVITED(Album version)- ALANIS MORISETTE- The female vocalist just impresses with their change in her pitch and gasps to add more feel to the song. There is also great charge in pace too with sudden addition to many instruments makes it a good challenge for an iem. With the slight musical queues and big drum hits in the back with the slow piano strokes makes the beginning a truly different difference. Wait for the entire thing to open up from 1.45min and you will be interested with the violin and other instruments just popping in, wonderful

Female vocalists sound real. They don’t have that way too enhanced feel when they extend their voices. Every breath comes through beautifully and the ‘sss’ have very minimal presence leading to no sibilance at all. The way the vocalists takes on the breath before going in makes it much more emotional and musical plus, the way this handles the microdetails in the vocals (like few lip hits, small breaths) so musically, it’s beautiful. The words have great body to them, not missing a single register and then the extension wow . Further more the change in the pace and loudness of the vocals are also beautifully presented. With some chorus music going on, with the main vocalist singing in the middle (THE TIDE IS HIGH- BLONDIE – EXAMPLE OF SONG), the difference is so easy to find plus you will the slight thicker voice so easily too. It’s also so well separated from the instruments that, it feels that have a space of their own surrounded by the music. In simple terms – one of the most lushest yet balanced presentation I have heard.



INSTRUMENTS IN MIDS- WONDER WOMAN’S WRATH- RUPERT GREGSON-WILLIAMS, HANS ZIMMER, - A just beautiful mixture of drums, violins and bass, electric guitars. Wait for the ends part of the song, where you can peacefully listen to the piano and violin. In this song, in between the big drum hits, the smaller hits are also present. Plus, check for the guitar placement it’s at the back.

ROUNDABOUT- YES- One of the most separated songs. Multiple things will just come and go in this song. Wait for the pace change in this song with small instrument hits in the song. It gets quite busy as the song proceeds further and further.

What is a tea without tea leaves so are the mids in a song. It’s not the whole part of the song but it’s what makes it exciting and let me tell you this iem didn’t squander that at all. This iem has a beautiful warm tonality with lots of great character. The instruments have very good separation with excellent micro details giving them a revealing presentation, but this presentation comes to be musical, so not a hint of tiredness even after 2 hours of music. The transient cues are also musical but have great resolution too. The decay is natural with organic timbre (both my amp and R01 and BTR5 and my phone LG G8x) that made it just have so much analogue feeling that I enjoyed it a lot (sometimes a little change is needed). The notes have great body with edge definition and beautifully emphasized beginnings that made them crystal clear even in instrument heavy tracks. The lower mids and upper mids have equal presence and both sound powerful wonderful. The dynamics are also great but the notes height, if could have been done a little more would have been more better. The air around the instruments like guitars felt slightly less than the competition but more of it in the treble section


TREBLE-

STAMPEDE- ALEXANDER JEAN- the change in the types of violin and added guitars and the odd percussive instrument is epic to listen overall. Wait for change in the pace of the music and added vocals makes it a wonderful listen plus the vocals and the violin’s extenion is well recorded and gets wonderful.

STAR WARS AND THE REVENGE OF THE SITH- JOHN WILLIAMS- Do I need to say more of this, it’s one of the best music tracks there. A beautiful amalgam of sax ,trumpets, drums and violin with slight hints of slightly ‘ting’ causing instrument Watch for the change of musical instruments pace and addition of bass / thicker trumpets which gives another feel at all from 1.40min. Another change coming in for use with much bigger drums and small transient sounds from 3.20min Further changes are also coming but I won’t spoil it, have fun

Let’s just say it’s not lacking at all. It has a great tonality with natural timbre. The wind instruments have good amount of air in them but still a little less that the competition. The presentation is smooth with adequate energy but slightly less sparkle. The decay is natural overall, especially with the trumpets and sax giving them great extension into the head-room but not enough sparkle to make you feel that high energy in those notes (aka smooth for me). Best thing this helps to enjoy the music over long time. The cymbals might slightly be too much in certain recordings but that’s very rare. The violin and other strings like electronic guitars sound lovely involving you with their timbre and presence into the head-room. Tambourines, bells and other metallic instruments don’t have that BA timbre rather slightly smoother presentation maintaining the tonality though. The notes dynamics are strong but this will need an improvement. The notes are well separated with very great definition to each part of them. The inter-instrumental separation is also wonderful, but the layering could have been improved. The positioning of the instruments is immaculate giving a strong sense of imaging and the projection of the notes of the instruments, makes it to have a grandeur yet smooth presentation. Notes height could have benefited from having a great height, still the note height differences between different instruments was well perceived so it’s given a plus in my book. The resolution was also very high but not at the cost of decreasing musicality which is very high plus in my book. Overall, a very smooth, energetic and organic performance.

HEADSTAGE AND IMAGING-

It has a wide head stage (not the widest but wide enough) with good amount of depth (-y axis). The stage depth is also great but the layering of the instruments could have been done better. The height is also slightly less than what I expected . The positioning of the instruments is very good and combining it with great stage, gives it great imaging. It maintains the musicality still and the projection of notes helps it for that too. The space around the instruments is also pretty great but slightly more air would have had that planar like presentation.

RESOLUTION AND SEPARATION-

The resolution is this iem is on whole other level. It’s pretty much too much revealing, but not at the cost of musicality which is very good way to keep me hooked to this iem. Every transient has a body even whispers feel like people talking haha (watch “Grudge” THE MOVIE– you will know ). Separation is pretty great. The inter notes separation is pretty great but each party well differentiated. The inter inter-instrumental separation though is pretty good too, not a hint of entanglement. But slightly more air would have been better.


COMPARISONS-

With RHAPSODIO INFINITY MK2-

Ohh damn!!! I never wished to compare the either of two!!! But they are so different in what sound signature they are providing, it’s really easy to contrast but in this price range you won’t go wrong with either. The Rhapsodio MK2 is more of an analytical signature iem with great treble sparkle and details with great in stage depth and honestly slightly thinner notes. On the other hand, the VE8 is a very natural iem with musicality as its main focus, it provides way thicker notes and a great energetic in mids but smoother treble yet a musical experience. It lacks the stage depth and stage height of Rhapsodio but adds up with beautiful bass something that reminded me of a DD driver for sure. The notes of different instruments height, is much better in Rhapsodio but the natural timbre makes it up in VE 8. The decay is natural on rhapsodio while a little slower in VE8. I can go on forever but with either of them, it would be a great pick.

WITH EARSONICS GRACE-

TBH, this had me confused as to what would I prefer since I wanted to keep one of them, so I went on to extensively compare both of them. Now I won’t bore you guys with the extensive writing of them, but I will put up a short one for you all to read and then enjoy the CHRISTMAS. The VE8- beautiful and lush midrange and DD equivalent BA bass, natural timbre, great details, thicker notes, good transparency and a smooth treble while the GRACE (stock cable is shittier than even VE so yeah I used my XINHS Black GOLD – Graphene plated copper & Gold plated copper hybrid cable / the MEST MK2 stock cable / much better option the Rhapsodio stock cable) – neutral with stock cable/ Energetic with others, the bass has more texture and feel but not that DD feeling of VE8, layering and soundstage is much better, Treble extension and energy is much better, great details, Separation is much better, similar but slightly faster timbre and decay, notes slightly thinner than VE8. Now given the two, I would have kept both, but Grace provided that musical feel (with change of cables of course and I did try some with VE8 namely SAKESHI, Stock cable of MEST MK2 and also ARES II and yes the XINHS BLACK GOLD) with added staging and layering which was something that bewildered me and kept me coming for it more than VE8, plus I think the small shells helped with the fit so Grace was more comfortable. So, in very little words- Grace is technically superior but VE8 has that musicality aspect to it and Grace has great layering, in stage depth and better separation and VE8 has better bass energy and sub-bass but Grace, also changes with cable, so I kept the Grace and hence, friendzoned VE8 .


SUMMARY-

This is a wonderful organic iem and guess what!!! You get DD Bass on BA configuration of an iem. The details are top notch, the transparency is great and guess what you get a beautiful timbre. It just needs some good layering and staging and its gonna be something great!!! It provides a great musical experience that just makes you wanna hear it forever. Just the price keeps me at ground . But if you have that much to spend, you won’t be disappointed at all.