Recording - May 2017 - 45

outward into a sort of exploded view. Individual elements in the mix occupy their
own very distinctive points in the stereo
field, including the impression of depth as
well. It's fascinating to hear a tiny shaker
part in a jazz arrangement lift out of the
background and be easily audible just
there, off to the left of the drum kit.
There is absolutely nothing congested
or muddy about this headphone in
any frequency range. The bass is quite
remarkable in that it's full and very powerful
as one might expect from a closed design,
yet clear and detailed, the beef of the
fundamental solidly present with a
full representation of harmonic structure.
Acoustic bass, low synthesizer notes,
kick drum, and grand piano all sound
gorgeous. The mids might seem a tiny
bit scooped at first, but that's primarily
because they're not all muddled together
in the center of the soundfield; vocals,
lead guitar, and the upper harmonics of
picked bass parts sound with their own
voices and don't step on each other, so
there's no impression of weightiness from
the conflict. And the highs are simply
delightful, with plenty of clear extension
and not a hint of brittleness.

We worked with the EL-8 Open-Back
for several long listening and mixing
sessions, and quickly got used to how it
presents music. While it gives a forceful
delivery to straight-up rock mixes, it really
does shine on material that's heavy
on acoustic sources. Jazz, Americana,
classical, and acoustic-based indie rock
are simply gorgeous to hear.
Interestingly, if you do a lot of softwarebased production, the EL-8 is also a fantastic
choice, simply because its huge soundstage
is exceptional at highlighting common mix
mistakes that can creep into this style of
work. Just as one example, these headphones let you clearly hear the difference
between elements like guitars, mono vintage synths, and vocals-which all have (or
should have!) a very specific and deliberate
stereo placement-as opposed to the sloppy
and smeared "stereo effects" present on so
many synthesizers today, spread from edge
to edge in the stereo field like a too-thin layer
of jam on toast.
These headphones also highlight some
of the silly decisions made when creating
software-based rhythm tracks without a
firm idea of what a drummer's supposed to
sound like in a mix. Sorry, guys, Jean-Michel

Jarre put autopanned hi-hats all over one of
his albums 25 years ago; it was cool then
(barely) and it's not cool any more... and if
you hear them in the EL-8, you'll realize that
before you inflict them on your audience.

Conclusion
The EL-8 Open-Back sounded fantastic on
every audio source I paired with it. While
it did justice to my iPhone in a remarkable
way, it really shone through the best
converters, like those in my MIYO interface
(reviewed November 2015), or through
a great headphone amp like the Hafler
HA15 (review coming soon).
It's not inexpensive, so there's a real
investment involved here... but as a mixing
and editing headphone, it's going to pay
for itself eventually in the improved quality
of your final product. I'd be intrigued to
hear one of Audeze's closed-back designs
someday, but for now, the EL-8 Open-Back
is one heck of an impressive introduction to
the Audeze sound.

EL-8 (Open-Back or ClosedBack), $699; EL-8 Titanium, $799

PRICES:

MORE FROM: Audeze, www.audeze.com
http://www.audeze.com
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