Sennheiser IE 7 Earphones

DISCLAIMER: I am not an audiophile. I am an audio appreciator. I hope.

I had these for one year before the sound seemed to "drop" in volume/quality on the right side. However, I had been frustrated with them for quite awhile before then due to their shortcomings in design.

VALUE:

I give this an overall positive value simply because the sound on these is really quite good.

AUDIO QUALITY:

High - Clean

Mid - Full, rich, good body, well produced

Bass - Good. Not booming, but good. Not messy, but it lacks a bit of 'presence' to give it oomph.

Actually, it was these IEMS that got me started on really appreciating music on a whole new level. They brought things out of the song that I'd never heard before. At one point I thought something was distortion only to realize it was the creaking of the chair as the artist played the harp in the recording!

DESIGN & COMFORT;

I'm putting these together, as it's the poor design for the IEM that kills the comfort! They are awkward to get in,and (for me) can fall out rather with very little effort/exertion. The cord is put behind your ear with little pieces of plastic that can easily slide up or down the cord, requiring you to readjust it every time you put them on. The design of the housing did not suit my ear at all, and it always felt really awkward when I put it in.

ISOLATION:

The isolation was almost non-existant. Pretty much everything bleeds through. Probably in part because it sits right on the top of your ear canal and doesn't go into that far. There was some sound isolation, it's better than an earbud that doesn't go into your ear, but not by very much. A crowded space will go right through any isolation the IE7 is trying to provide.

OVERALL:

If it fits your ear, great. If not, it'll mean a LOT of fiddling for you.The sound is great, the design is terrible. Get another brands IEMs and try some of Sennheisers over-the-ear headphones. They're way better.

(May I recommend the HD650?)

Bass is slightly boosted with a bit of extra warmth thrown in, but nowhere near the amount present in IE8.

Mids sound a bit aggresive with some 3.5k boost.

Highs are present, though not exactly delicate. Some 6k hump exists. Extension is ok, but the highest lack volume.

In general, the response is bass oriented, which is easy to correct with an equalizer. Timbre is a bit fat on this one. Not smooth, but a kind of "substantial", heavy-handed sound with not a lot of microdetail.

Comfort is excellent.

Isolation is mediocre - the vented design and shallow fit take its toll.

A decent set of tips is included in the package - single flange, biflange of 3 sizes and smallish olives. Cable is perfect, thick, tangle free and supple, with high quality straight 3.5mm jack, zero microphonics. Both ends are well strain-relieved.

Soundstage is huge and pretty far away, but intimacy is correctly rendered. Positioning precision could be better.

If not for the heavy handed detailing, these could be called an older brother of VSonic GR07. Sound signature is similar, with more bass emphasis and definitely no sibilance in the Sennheisers, but some slight veil.