事先声明：本文原作者为国外论坛Headfonia的大神Lieven，此人美文很多，感兴趣的可以过去看看。
本文只是搬运并翻译出来供大家伙看看，如果涉及到版权归属问题我会第一时间删帖。
说正事
自从下单了VE8，本应安安静静耐心等待的我，反而更加按捺不住地关注VE8的各方面评价（说白了就是怕翻车）。无奈这个塞子上市半月有余，始终也没有一个详细的评测，哪怕是官方枪文。后来想想，都是去展会或代理那听一耳朵公模，私膜目前还没人拿到，没有评测也就正常了。
然后今天逛Headfonia，发现有人发了VE8的长篇评测，而且该歪国佬拿到了私膜，文章费了很大劲看下来，还是很懵比。。。所以想试着认真翻译下，又想着，左右要翻译下，顺便就贴出来大伙都看看好了。
水平所限，肯定很多地方词不达意，各位看个热闹就好，有不对的地方欢迎批评指正。

二。。。二楼？

地板！

@janyayan@獅子夢想@神Allen叶@jeffniis@加肥猫鲁伊@撕裂skull@jjkozxnqkzjsm@yudiyudiyudi33@魔法的城ms@秋天不是只有风@TC愉悦@莫空泪@老李飞笛@蚀光寒疫伊萨

REVIEW: VISION EARS VE8 – PERFECTION
Dsclaimer: Vision Ears sent us the Vison Ears VE8 free of charge in exchange for the review. The unit is a custom version and it doesn’t need to be returned. Vision Ears isn’t a site advertiser.
Vision Ears
If you’ve been following and reading HFN, than you certainly know this isn’t the first time we talk about the German Vision Ears. It’s been a while though as it was back in June 2015 that we reviewed their VE5 monitor and visited the guys in their lab. Not a lot of news came from VE since then but now they’re back with a new reference model, the Vision Ears VE8. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Vision Ears yet, here’s some info.
"Perfect sound is our passion – highest quality our demand."
Vision Ears is located in the heart of Cologne, Germany and they’re devoted to developing and producing their custom made In-Ears with great passion. Marcel Schoenen and Amin Karimpour were working for the same CIEM company last decade and they were linked by their vision of highest quality and outstanding customer service. After a few years of separation, the two got reunited and VISION EARS was born. Since 2013, the headquarters of Vision Ears is located in the Luxemburgerstrasse in Cologne’s central south. Their optimism and the lucky situation to be able to form a team that is as passionate for In-Ears as the founders are, makes VE a solid and reliable partner for all musicians and audiophiles around the world.
Did you know that Vison Ears has something called a “Family Deal”? That means that if you already own one of their monitors, you’ll get a discount on every other new monitor you order. This certainly isn’t something new but I haven’t seen anyone doing it on the record for CIEMs.
The VE8
The newest monitor in VE’s line-up is the Vision Ears VE8. An 8-driver monitor in a 2+2+2+2 configuration. That means two Balanced Armatures for the lows/bass, two BA’s for the mids and no less than four! for the treble. The VE is setup in a 3-way system with two bores and its sensitivity is rated at 120dB SPL@1mW with an impedance of 22Ohm.
It is the first 8-driver in the VE product range and up to now the famous VE6 XC – which Nathan reviewed – was their top of the line monitor. The eight drivers are extremely popular nowadays and all the CIEM brands are releasing new 8-drivers. A lot of companies have monitors with a higher driver count in their line-up but for Vision Ears, this is their TOTL model.
Breakdown
In contrary to a normal review I will use the same breakdown as I always do for my Custom Inear reviews:
1.Build quality & Comfort
2.Personalization
3.Cable
4.Price & Accessories
5.Customer Service
6.Sound
7.Competitors/Comparisons
8.Driveability & Sources

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　　　--无论多么无聊的帖子我都会回复的。

3.Cable
The cable that comes with the Vision Ears VE8 is a basic/standard cable and not an aftermarket one. You have the choice between a black and a transparent version. It’s a 4-way cable with a basic split and a straight plug and it comes with a Velcro VE-labeled cable tie hooked to it. The over ear “memory” part is achieved by using a short pre-shaped plastic sleeve.
The stock cable is non-microphonic, light and very comfortably. Sonically it doesn’t do anything special but it certainly is a good cable. I myself quickly replaced it with Effect Audio’s Leonidas cable which improves the VE8’s sound even more. While the stock cable is pretty good I have to admit that I at this price level, for a TOTL monitor, expected a little bit more than a cheap generic cable. I didn’t expect VE to go the ARES II-way like Jomo Audio did with the Jomo Samba 8-driver, but something more would have been nice. Then again, the Vision Ears VE8 comes with a huge amount of accessories already.
4. Price & Accessories
Vision Ears is King when it comes to accessories, it’s that simply. The VE8 comes delivered in a nice personalized hard case (paid option). The box is hand packed by Amin and he even leaves you a personal message on the wrapping.
Inside the box you’ll find the largest number of accessories:
Stickers
A cleaning tool
A cleaning spray
A cleaning cloth
A 6.3 to 3.5mm adapter
A pair of dry caps for storage
Two leather personalized cable binders
A user guide
A soft carrying pouch
The Vision Ears VE8 is well equipped but it does come with a rather hefty price tag. The VE8 starts at €2230 and that’s without any special personalization options. The VE8 is the most expensive monitor in my CIEM collection but in its defense you do get a perfectly built custom in-ear monitor that sounds nothing less than sublime.

5. Customer Service
Vision Ears invites everyone to come see them in Cologne (don’t forget making an appointment) and if you’re in the neighborhood I can absolutely advise you to do so. The VE guys are very nice and they will help you with all your requests and questions. If you can’t make it there in person you can always check out their easy to use CIEM configurator on their website and to see how your ultimate set of VE’s will look like and what the price might be.
I didn’t follow the normal ordering process so I can’t comment on this.

6. Sound
The guys from Vision Ears describe the new VE8 sound signature as follows:
“Powerful sound with overwhelming precision and clarity. Extremely tight and precise bass with crystal clear and smooth highs and a brilliant harmonic mid-structure”
The VE5 that we reviewed has less mid presence and it is extremely strong with vocals, so I was quite curious to find out how Amin and Marcel tuned the brand new VE8, especially as their communication was focusing so much on the “mids”. And to be honest, the Vision Ears VE8 is everything they said it would be.
When you first start listening to the VE8 you will notice its energy and high level of detail, combined with great clarity, speed and extension. The VE8’s sound stage is both wide and deep and its presentation is fast and tight, yet rich and musical. The tuning is neutral and linear but not cold or analytical, it’s more smooth and easy yet very natural and real. The weight is evenly distributed over bass, mids and treble, so there is no sign of a V-shaped sound curve this time. In balanced mode with the Leonidas cable and the AK70 the VE8 picks up some noise but it doesn’t with the AK380.
The Vision Ears VE8’s treble will blow you away, could this be the very best treble in a CIEM ever? The VE8 uses 4 BA’s to produce treble but I wouldn’t really say this is a treble focused monitor as the VE8 doesn’t push them upfront. The treble is perfectly in line with the bass and mids but it is incredibly detailed, clean, clear and precise. Treble is fast and price with great layering. It’s a please hearing such qualitative, energetic treble without it sounding harsh or sharp.
The bass, just like the treble, is detailed and fast. Bass is tight at all times and it has great richness and layering. Bass goes down low when needed but you don’t get any of the big body sub bass down low. You get quality bass with very good layering, speed and precision but it’s all in a neutral yet lively setting. Don’t expect woofer thumping bass is all I’m saying, expect quality bass with just the right amount of impact.
The mids in the VE8 are quite different from the more recessed VE5’s mids. In the VE8 they have more body making the whole presentation more linear. The mids have lovely texture with good depth and layering. They sound musical and natural and the voice are perfectly incorporated in it.
In short, the VE8 is detailed and clean, with great extension especially on the upper end. Bass goes deep when needed but it’s not for bass heads as its quality over quantity. The lovely textured mids have great body with an airy yet natural delivery. The overall presentation is neutral and detailed but smooth and musical. The combination of bass, mids and treble just works really well.

7. Competitors/Comparisons
All impressions below are with the Astell&Kern AK380 as source
The Vision Ears VE5 has great bass and it shows the same clarity, speed and precision as the VE8. The VE8’s treble is further extended, detailed and more energetic. The voices in the VE5 are more upfront and the mids are more in the back, giving the VE5 a more V-shaped signature with a strong focus on vocals. I still love this monitor’s sound but it isn’t the great all-rounder the VE8 is, the VE8 sounds more natural and the VE5 more airy.
The CustomArt 8.2 (in silicone) also has more forward sounding voices than the VE8. Bass is a little smaller in quantity but it’s still very good and goes low with great impact. I have the impression the VE8’s bass goes a little lower and has better layering. The mids are bit more in the back like in the VE5 (but not as much) and the treble, while very good, isn’t as extended. The Vision Ears VE8 uses 2 “extra” drivers for treble while the 8.2 uses those for “full range”. Both are great monitors, theyare just tuned differently with a different BA setup. The 8.2 also is neutrally tuned but it is thinner (mids) than the smoother and more relaxed VE8.
Jomo Audio’s Samba is bigger in size but the sound is very much like the VE8. They share the exact same configuration with 4 BA’s for treble. Bass and mids have the same amount of body and they both have great layering, detail and depth. The voices in the Samba are a little more lively while they’re softer in the VE8. Treble in the VE8 is further extended and energetic than in the Samba. A very comparable sound with only small difference in voices and treble.
The universal Inear ProPhile 8 with both switches for bass and treble in the “on” position, has less body then the VE8 and it sounds thinner. The VE8 has a more spacious, airy and full bodied presentation. The PP8’s bass goes very low but it is less in quantity, the voices in the PP8 are more like those in the 8.2 than they are like the VE8’s. The VE8 sounds more dynamic, musical and lively than the flatter and dryer sounding PP8.

8. Driveability & Sources
The VE8 is really easy to drive and it doesn’t need an amplifier to sound best, using a high-end amplifier however will make the VE8 sounds its very best and it will let you “change” its sound signature a little.
The AK380 on its own gives the VE8 a lot of detail with great speed, clarity and a big and deep sound stage. It’s also dead silent and it’s my favorite DAP for the VE8, and for most of all my other monitors really. For some reason it does pick up a lot more noise from the AK70’s balanced output. The iPhone 6S delivers a more concentrated sound with bigger body (bass!) and less depth. I can’t really say I’m a fan of this combination, as it misses some clarity, air and precision and shows a little too much bass. My Samsung S6 delivers a clearer sound with less imposing bass and more detail. It’s also much faster and detailed sounding which makes it a good combination.
The VE8 picks up a lot of noise with ALO Audio’s tube powered CV5 and as it’s audible during music playback, it’s a no go for me. When you can hear past the noise then you get a very rich sound with superb bass, rich mids and energetic treble. Such a shame about the CV5’s noise as this would have been a superb combination. With ALO Audio’s CDM in full balanced mode, you more or less get the same story but there is less noise which allows you to listen to music without it disturbing you. The sound is very clear, fast and precise with great dynamics.
With Cypher Lab’s fully balanced Duet amplifier the VE8 is nearly dead silent. The Duet is one of the very best portable amps on the market and it makes the VE8 sound its very best with top quality bass, very rich natural sounding mids and energetic treble. This combination (with the AK380 as source) is the best of all the setups I tried. Another wonderful amplifier to pair the VE8 with is Bakoon’s HPA-01M, especially if you like more bass. The Bakoon (current output) is dead silent and makes the VE8 sound incredibly natural and dynamic. The only down side of this setup is that bass and mid body is quite bigger than “neutral”, but all the rest is just candy to your ears. The voltage output doesn’t really match up to the VE8’s sound.
With Chord Electronic’s Hugo the Vison Ears VE8 picks up a tiny bit of noise which only is audible when no music is playing. Hugo itself is very rich, spacious and layered and that’s a great match for the VE8. It’s almost as good as with the Duet but you get less body and a little less bass while voices are a little more in the front. With everyone’s favorite, the Chord Mojo, the VE8 is dead silent , fast, detailed and precise, and all of that in a musical way with excellent bass. A very good combination.

鬼佬评测

Conclusion
What a great sounding monitor the Vision Ears VE8 is. It ticks away all the checkboxes of everything I like and it’s almost as if Amin and Marcel tuned this VE8 just for me. I really don’t see what’s not to like of VE8: it is detailed and clean, with great extension especially on the upper end and bass goes deep but its quality over quantity. The lovely textured mids have great body with an airy yet natural delivery. The overall presentation is neutral and detailed but smooth and musical. The combination of bass, mids and treble just works really well. It is fairly close to the Jomo Audio Samba and as a result the VE8 ranks among my very best and favorite monitors.
Absolutely stunning, in all possible ways.

3.咸菜
VE8自带的线是原厂的基础线材，不是友商做的升级线。这根原厂线有两个颜色：黑的白的，您随便选。此线是4芯的，一个分线器一个插头（能不废话么），集线器上还有个VElogo，线底部插头那儿用的是一个短的塑料套筒。
原厂线不是不带麦的，线材又轻又软，用着很得劲。声音上这根线没啥特别的地方，但是仍不失为一根好线。我反正立马就换上我的EA Leonidas了，这玩意对VE8能提升不少。虽然原厂线也还行，但我不得不承认，对于一款定制耳机，这个价格水平的线比起便宜的原厂线还是更值得期待的。Jomo Audio在他们的8单元定制Samba上配了根ARES II，VE不会这么大方，我也没抱啥希望，但其他方面VE还行，因为VE8的配件海了去了。
4.售价和配件
配件方面，简单来说，VE就是特么头子！我这条VE8是装在一个漂亮个性的硬盒里送过来的（这个盒收费）。这个盒是Amin亲自打包的，包装上还写着他的个人信息。
这个盒里老鼻子配件了：
贴纸
清洁棒
清洁喷雾
清洁布
一个3.5mm转6.3mm转换插头
一对干燥储存盒
两条皮的耳机线扎带
一个说明书
一个软收纳袋
咋样？VE8是不是配件齐全？我告诉你，那是因为它卖滴贵。VE8卖2230殴（16922RMB）————起，这是基础价，是啥个性定制的东西都没选的价。VE8绝对是我收藏的私膜里最特么贵的，但相对应的，买了它，你就拥有了一条声音顶级、做工完美的耳机。