InEar ProPhile 8 In Ear Headphones Review

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InEar ProPhile 8 Pros&Cons

InEar ProPhile 8 Specs

• Impedance: 34-ohm @ 1kHz
• Drivers: 8x Balanced Armatures (2x sub, 2x low, 2x mid, 2x high) – 4-way crossover
• Frequency response: 10-20,000 Hz
• SPL: 120dB (1mW @ 1kHz)
• Cable length: 140cm
• Cable connections: 2-pin

Packaging

The ProPhile 8 comes in some rather simplistic packaging. You don’t get any fancy magnetic closures or any sort of multi-layered boxes. Instead, a mostly-black square box is used, with a clear window to display the IEMs. No information such as frequency response or other specs/features have been printed on the box. It should be noted, though, that this is the packaging employed as of writing this review (22/05/2017).

 

 What’s in the box?

• ProPhile 8
• Hard storage / carrying case
• 3x Pairs Comply eartips
• 4x Pairs SpinFit eartips
• 4x Pairs silicon eartips
• 16x Pairs replacement wax-guards
• Cleansing / tuning tool
• 1/4″ adapter
• 3x Cleansing wipes
• Drying capsules
• User guide

 Accessories

One thing that has to be said about InEar: they went all out with the ProPhile 8’s accessories. A total of no less than 11 pairs of eartips are included, featuring various sizes and types. The inclusion of 4 pairs of SpinFit tips are particularly nice, and will surely benefit many buyers. Three pairs of genuine Comply foam tips also make an appears.
Perhaps the most interesting accessory are the replacement Cerumen filters. Because of how IEMs are designed to be worn, earwax build-up is always an undesired but inevitable problem. Thankfully, the included replacement Cerumen filters will ensure that users can get the ProPhile 8 back in tip-top shape when the original filters become blocked.
Interestingly, InEar included some “drying capsules” as well. These are to be placed in the storage case, and will divert any moisture away from the IEMs. This may prove to be exceptionally useful in humid climates. The capsules don’t last forever though, and will change colour when they can no longer be used.  As expected, a 1/4” adapter is also included.

 Read: DUNU DK-3001 In Ear Headphones Review

Design

As the name suggests, the ProPhile 8 houses 8 BAs (2 drivers for sub, low, mid-high, and high frequency ranges respectively) along with a 4-way crossover network in each IEM. This may seem like a bit of an overkill, but at the end of the day, results are all that matter (more on that later).
InEar have also gone the extra mile to measure each and every single driver, then matching it to another driver that measures the same. This is done to ensure that the left and right channels are as well balanced as can be. But, they don’t stop there. After the left and right IEMs have been built, they are again tested and compared to InEar’s reference curve, after which the crossover network is corrected until there a difference of no more than 1dB between the left and right channel. This makes for an incredibly well-balanced set of IEMs. No two ears are the same, and we do have natural imbalances in our hearing. As such, the only way you could probably improve upon the ProPhile 8’s channel balance is to measure each specific person’s ears and then adjust the crossover network to match their ears. But let’s not forget, the ProPhile 8 is a universal, so what InEar have done is more than adequate.
As far as the housing is concerned, InEar went for something a bit different here – a super sweet, stealthy matte black finish. It would seem that the majority of IEMs come out with shiny plastic housings, so the matte black finish is a refreshing change.
For the most part, the housing does seem very well designed, albeit it rather bulky due to the “need” to house 8 BA drivers per IEM. Because of this bulkiness, fit and comfort can be an issue for some, and you also shouldn’t expect anywhere near a negative profile (the ProPhile 8 does stick out quite a bit). Another thing to keep in mind is that the ProPhile 8 does insert deeper into the ear than most IEMs out there. This needs to be mentioned because you will very likely find that you’ll end up using a smaller eartip size than what you would with other IEMs. Personally, I usually use either a large or medium eartip, but found that even the very smallest silicon eartip included with the ProPhile 8 produced a perfect seal (although comfort was better one size up).
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the ProPhile 8 is the ability to tune the sound to your preference. On a few other IEMs you’re also able to tune the sound, but this requires you to fiddle with tiny little acoustic filters in the nozzles. The ProPhile 8, on the other hand, offers this tuning ability by way of little switches that enable you to boost the bass region by 3dB or treble region by 2dB (or both at the same time). Of course, the acoustic filter method does offer more versatility, but the use of switches is far more convenient and user friendly. However, it can be a little confusing as to which position of the switches will actually enable the boost. The user guide states that “up = ON / down = OFF”. But which direction is up, and which is down isn’t made clear. After asking InEar about this, they said, “If you hold the IEM in the position that you would wear them in your ears, up=ON”. Perhaps a simpler way of describing would just be to say that the ON position is when the switch is flipped AWAY from the nozzle, and vice versa for OFF.
The ProPhile 8 also features 2-pin removable cables. Whilst removable cables are always an appreciated feature, 2-pin cables can be somewhat troublesome. This is mainly due to the fact that you must ensure that the cable is inserted in the correct orientation. All cables have a positive and a negative wire, and so, if you insert the cable in the wrong orientation, you’ll inevitably switch the phase. It’s OK if both cables are inserted in the wrong orientation, but the point is that both cables must match. If one is in phase and the other out of phase, things just aren’t going to sound right. So, in reference to the ProPhile 8 cables, pay close attention to the little red and blue markings on the 2-pin connectors. These correlate with the colour of the Cerumen-filters in the IEM’s nozzle in order to distinguish the left from the right IEM (right = red, left = blue). They are quite small though, and the blue dot can be particularly difficult to see, especially in low-light.

The instruction manual states that the coloured dot on the 2-pin connector must face UPWARDS (in reference to how the IEM is worn in the ear). Basically, hold the IEM in one hand with the nozzle pointing directly at you, then insert the left cable so that the blue dot is facing to the left, whilst the right is inserted so that the red dot is facing to the right. The ProPhile 8 also sports a much-appreciated design-element, namely the larger nozzle. This large nozzle size makes tip-rolling (trying out different tips) much easier, as many of the aftermarket tips tend to have larger connecting bores.

 

Sound

Test Setup
Source: Hidizs AP60
DAC/Amp: IFI Micro iDSD Black Label

 

Straight to the point, shall we? The ProPhile 8 is a masterpiece.

Ok, now let’s elaborate further. At an asking price of roughly $1450, the ProPhile 8 is definitely the most costly IEM I have personally tried. But of all the audio equipment I have reviewed, time and again it is proven to me that there isn’t always a direct correlation between price and performance. By that, I mean that I still love my $200 MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 more than the $420 EarSonics ES3, in the same way that I prefer the $550 IFI Micro iDSD Black Label far more than the $1000 Shure SHA900. That being said, the ProPhile 8 is certainly the best sounding IEM I’ve gotten my hands on.
Now, of course, the term “best” is relative, so let me explain. My personally philosophy, when it comes to music, is as follows: music should sound good because it had been recorded, produced, and edited well. It should not be up to my DAC, AMP, and/or headphone/IEMs to MAKE it sound good. As such, I want my equipment to be transparent and faithful to the original recording. In fact, it’s only when you listen to modern music using neutral equipment that you realise just how poorly some of it has been recorded. But that’s a whole other topic; back to the ProPhile 8.
InEar really have created something quite remarkable here. It honestly is the first time I’ve listened to an IEM that I felt deserved to be placed in the “reference” category. The Pinnacle P1 has a surprisingly similar tonality, but the ProPhile 8 bests it in every single category (except perhaps comfort).
Before going into more detail, it should be mentioned that you’re going to want to experiment with various eartips. As mentioned before, you may very well find that the ProPhile 8 compels you to use a smaller size than usual. But more importantly, the actual eartip design is going to have a significant impact on the sound. I personally felt that the included SpinFit tips simply don’t do the ProPhile 8 any justice. They just roll-off the highs and compress the soundstage too much. Actually, I’ve found this often to be the case with SpinFits, whereas the black silicone tips offered a surprising amount of comfort and less colouration than the SpinFits, but still didn’t quite sound right either. I then turned to my trusty JVC SpiralDot tips, and then the ProPhile 8 just made sense – everything just sounded right.

Unfortunately a reference sound can come across as “boring” to anyone who is accustomed to a bright, dark, or v-shaped signature. But there’s a more important reason why most headphones/IEMs out there don’t offer a neutral and reference sound.

Above is a graph to illustrate what we would perceive as an equal loudness across the entire human hearing range.
You see, we don’t “hear” flat either. As part of the evolutionary process, our hearing has become more sensitive within the frequency range that speech and the cry of an infant occurs. What this means is, even if a bass tone is played at a level of 20dB, it won’t sound equally loud as someone who talks at a level of 20dB. As such, it makes sense that headphones/IEMs/speakers have a v-curve frequency response. The problem is that it’s incredibly difficult for headphone/IEM/speaker manufacturers to hit just the right v-curve for things to sound neutral to us. This is part of the reason why the ProPhile 8 is on the pricey side of the spectrum, because InEar have managed to get to that sweet-spot. Other manufacturers tend to go for a deeper v-curve because, well, it sounds “exciting”, and it requires less effort in terms of R&D. But once you learn to appreciate a reference sound, and how it can make music sound balanced and natural, you’ll never look back.
And really, that’s the thing about the ProPhile 8…it’s there, but it’s not there. At no point does it feel like it’s interfering with any part of the music or trying to “enhance” it artificially, but rather that it’s only there to play it into your ears. It remains balanced, faithful, detailed, and coherent. It’s for this very reason that conductor Nick Glennie-Smith and a number of Hans Zimmer collaborators such as Pedro Eustache, Satnam Ramgotra, and Guthrie Govan are using the ProPhile 8.

But of course, having the ability to “tune” the ProPhile 8 just sweetens the deal. Essentially, you could make it more v-curve, more bass-heavy, more treble-happy, or leave it at reference. This ensures that the ProPhile would appeal to more people. If you’re more accustomed to a deeper v-curve signature, flip the switches to make it a v-curve whilst you allow yourself to rehabilitate and ease into the reference sound.
Thankfully, I have become accustomed to a more neutral signature, and so my impressions are based on the reference setting.

The first 2 things that hit me about the ProPhile 8 was how convincingly it placed instruments along with their relative separation from one another. If this isn’t perfection, it is awfully close to say the least. It doesn’t ever feel like instruments are having to fight against each other.
Bass goes pretty darn deep, well into the sub-bass region. But it’s accurate, never bloated. As can be expected from a BA bass-driver, the bass attack is quite fast, yet still managing to offer a hint of that rumbling decay that you’d find with a dynamic driver, but without bleeding into the mids.

Vocals are clear and detailed, and the ProPhile 8 doesn’t seem to have a preference between male or female vocals. When listening to music such as Norah Jones, Livingston Taylor, Amber Rubarth, or Melissa Menago, voices sound incredibly natural and realistic. But when listening to more pop or modern rock, the processed and edited vocals can come across unfavourably. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast when you combine an accurate IEM with a less-than-great recording.

Highs are sparkly and energetic, but rarely come across as sibilant. Again, this is going to depend on the recording.

Isolation is also great thanks to the above average depth of insertion.

Something else to keep in mind is that, to truly get the most out of the ProPhile 8, it really should be paired with a good DAC/AMP. But at the same time, using the ProPhile 8 with a good DAC/AMP will also allow you to appreciate the quality of the DAC/AMP.
Sure, you could go ahead and simply plug the ProPhile 8 into you smartphone and call it a day, but when you consider the technical limitations of a smartphone’s audio circuitry, it really won’t do the ProPhile 8 any justice.
That would be a bit like building up a gaming computer, using the best motherboard, RAM, CPU, SSDs, and monitor available, except sticking to integrated graphics instead of using a proper graphics card. You’ll just never be able to experience and enjoy the full visual quality of a graphics intensive game.

Value

There simply is no getting around it…the ProPhile 8 sure does cost a pretty penny at an MSRP of Eur.1298 ($1450). That works out to a touch over $180 per driver. Well now, Shure’s SE315 only has a single BA driver, and it’s being sold online for around $180. So, if that’s the obscurely twisted logical route you need to take in order to justify the cost, then go ahead. It’s not a particularly strong argument, but it does make somewhat sense.
Anyways, let’s back to the ProPhile 8. It’s pretty darn difficult the fault the sonic performance of the ProPhile 8. It’s technical capability, along with its first-class German-engineering is truly something to admire. However, much of its value is simply going to come down to personal preference. You could splash out on the ProPhile 8 and rest easy at night knowing you own a truly excellent set of IEMs. Or, you could spend considerably less on something like the DUNU DK-3001, which gets relatively close to the sonic level of the ProPhile 8, but isn’t as comfortable or feature packed. In this price-bracket we are well past the balancing point of diminishing returns…so much so that you may even consider it to not even be a relevant factor anymore. If we were to convert it into car terms, the DK-3001 would be a Nissan GT-R, whereas the ProPhile 8 would be a Formula 1 car.
Honestly though, InEar may as well have called it the Formula 1 rather than the ProPhile 8. Really, that’s what the ProPhile 8 represents – a precision-engineered masterpiece.
But at the end of the day, only you can decide what you value most; absolute sonic performance and functionality, or a healthy balance between capability and cost?

 

Rating

The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.

Packaging
Look and feel: 5 / 10

Included Accessories
More than 3 pairs of eartips included: YES
Protective case: YES

Build
Quality control: 10 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Microphonics: 8 / 10
Comfort: 9 / 10

Sound
Relatively balanced signature: YES
Soundstage: 9 / 10
Detail retrieval: 10 / 10
Sibilance: 9 / 10
Instrument separation: 10 / 10
Isolation: 9 / 10
Hiss: 8 / 10

Portability
Small size: 8 / 10
Relatively low power required: 8 / 10
Weight: 9 / 10

Value
Competitive price-point: –
Relative value: 8 / 10

Basic Rating: 8.6

Bonus points
Removable cables: YES
Number of cables included: 1
Premium cables: YES
Pairs of eartips above 3 pairs: 8
How premium the case looks and feels: 8 / 10
Battery life above 8 hours: –
Bluetooth: –
Apt-X: –
Volume/remote controls: –
Metal body: –
Tuning system: YES
Premium look and feel: YES
Use of exotic materials: –
Bluetooth connection quality: –
1/4” adapter included: YES
Cable management:
Aircraft adapter: 

Final Rating: 9.7

 

Many thanks to InEar for sending us the ProPhile 8 for review!

 

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