IEM general discussion thread

The Sennheiser IE 800 S has been leaked.



Key Features
- High-fidelity ear-canal headphones for natural, balanced sound and high noise-isolation
- Improved acoustics with a refined bass sound
- Choice of three cables, including 4.4mm Pentaconn and 2.5mm balanced connectors or a standard cable with a 3.5mm jack
- Sennheiser proprietary 7mm transducers
- Patented dampened dual chamber absorber (D2CA) technology
- Ergonomically designed memory foam ear pads from Comply™ ensure a custom fit for supreme comfort and excellent attenuation of external sound
- Two protection meshes, one in earpad and one in the nozzle for easy cleaning
- New matt black ceramic-crafted design
- New premium leather case
- Engineered and handcrafted in Germany

 

Isn't pentaconn 5 pole though? It's even in the name, penta-conn.

 

Fingers crossed!

The choice of cables seems to imply that Senn has indeed heard all the complaints about the cable. Huzzah.

I imagine we'll see some FR shaping like with the HD800S, although obviously not the exact same changes as we're talking two very different products. I think it'll stay V-shaped, but maybe a bit less?

 

It will be interesting to see what sennhesier price these at

From memory they were around $1k when they launched (I also seem to remember spitting coffee over my computer monitor), but the market has changed considerably since then...

 

Price will be 999 €.

The IE 800 launched at 799€ but after a few months they dropped it to 699€.

 

I agree with you to a point. When I use closed IEMs, which is very rarely, I don't tend to listen at high SPL. The distortion goes up very quickly as they get loud, but it's not really an issue at a <70dB average level. At those levels I haven't yet heard anything I like as much, let alone better. And I tried, for a while.

In fact, except for a brief refresher for this review I don't think I've voluntarily picked up the ADDIEMs since I started working on a client matter that had me making regular flights over the Atlantic last year. I used to use the ADDIEMs on planes, but with lots of travel I picked up Bose QC20i in-ear noise cancelers and never really looked back.

 

Interested to see how this turns out as well. I own ie800s but am about ready to sell them unless I hate the Dita Dream.

I'd be somewhat annoyed honestly if Sennheiser released a killer DD iem right now right when I take a risk on the Dita as it's also a DD.

I am curious as to what tweaks they are making to it. I actually think the ie800s are kind of a guilty pleasure, I enjoy its ridiculous signature with a bunch of genres.

 

Do any IEMs have decent warranties? My Future Sonics Spectrum G10 are shot and they only have a 1 year warranty. Thought maybe I'd grab Fender FX-A2 instead but they have the same 1 year warranty.

I'm I just spending $200 a year on IEMs at this point and assuming they'll die?

 

Ironically ie800 is 2 year.

 

Noble is 2 years, but I think cable issues will be under normal wear and not covered.

 

yeah, the captive cable would prevent me from auditioning it, there's really no excuse for that, esp for something that costs more than 90$ tbh

 

It's got the same 1,1m Kabellänge, so it seem they've gone with the same cable design? Seems awfully short. I tried them ages ago but didn't pay attention to it.

 

not usually one for ostentatious aesthetics but these look rather smexy http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1074379.html

 

Just got some Dita Dreams. I only have ie800s to compare them to, but I'm very impressed by the detail. They are noticeably clearer. Also using it with the iBasso DX200 and Mojo trying to figure out which if them I like more.

I've never heard bass this crisp out of an iem including the SE846s (though I didn't have the best amp for them).

The Dreams seem rather unforgiving of bad recordings to me. Rise Against's newest album sounds terrible. Like I know it was mastered poorly, but it sounds worse on these than Utopia or HD800.

 

@Galm - Congrats on the Dreams! My personal advice would be to get a good headphone amp and try playing the Mojo through it. The CV5 from ALO was one of my favorites with the Mojo. Or alternatively you could try a DAP will take the Dreams even further, such as the NW-WM1A or even better the 1Z. They're pricey, but I find them to be worth it. Cheers and happy listening

 

Playing the Mojo through it? Like using it as a dac?

I'm using the iBasso because it's an aio solution I can actually use in my pocket. I have Utopias for my desktop set up so I'm all set there.

The problem with those two daps for me is no Tidal is a huge dealbreaker. Otherwise 100% would have got the WM1A.

The iBasso has impressed me so far though, and the amp is modular, the amp2 is already better and amp4 is confirmed. So hopefully amp4 will be a nice upgrade.

Thanks though! I'm impressed and have tested them through my WA7s which have more than enough power. They sound great!

Edit: I'd also say people should give these things a chance. For some people I don't think much will top them.

 

After months of lusting after the Prophile-8 I came to the realization that I just cant justify a 1200$ earphone. Its just ridiculous - and the only reason why we look at it and dont realize the obscenity is because the market has been polluted with even more ridiculous pricing from far less accomplished manufacturers. I want earphone for daily commutes, one back and forth long-distance flight a year and the occassional hour of music before falling asleep in bed. Thats just not enough to justify 1200$.

In other and related news: I just pulled the trigger on the 300$ Oriveti New Primacy. All around good reviews (although quite contradictory in their contents), detachable cable, sleek, sexy and under-the-radar optics, ergonomic and apparently decent isolation. The adjective every reviewer seems to fall back on when discussing these iems is 'smooth', so I'm excited to hear that. I might report back with a review once I've received them and have been able to listen for a week.

Does anyone here have experience with Oriveti?
How long should I expect shipment to take?

 

See I use iems for hours a day, so it made sense to get nice iems since it's the main thing I use. Technically having Utopia makes no sense because I can't really use it all that often for all that long.

All depends on what you do.