This review is for someone looking for a good pair of in-ear headphones after using over-ear phones; that's the situation where I am coming from at least, as I have been using Sennheiser's HD598 for some years now.
I can appreciate the professionalism and expertise that is apparent in the IE80, The sound quality is great and there is a lot of detail and clarity to be heard in the music.
The bass is not too overwhelming at least when adjusting the bass dial to the lower end, and that's how I like it. The treble/high end is not too bright or tiresome. However, HD598 has a more elegant overall sound, it's somehow cleaner and with a wider soundstage. This is of course due to the difference in the basic nature of these two kinds of earphones. Using an over-ear phone like HD598, no part of the headphone touches the ear itself, the sound comes to the ear canal from a small distance. With in-ear phones, the situation is of course different. The earbuds touch the ear canals and produce the sound right there. For me, that reduces the comfort somewhat and makes the sound more "metallic" (in lack of a better term), and less "ethereal". This is of course a general issue with in-ear vs over-ear phones (for me), not a shortcoming of IE80 in particular.
What is a particular problem for me with IE80, however, that it is difficult to find the ideal positioning in the ear. I have found that if I wear them like supposed to (with the cord over the ear), they don't stay deep enough inside but come a bit out, and consequently a lot of the bass/lower end is lost. I have noticed that if I let the cords hang freely, and not behind the ears, they touch the ear canals in a way that the bass is heard ok, but at the same time the wearing comfort is diminished somewhat, and the cords, protruding from the ears, so to speak, might look a bit funny.
I purchased the IE80 to have a pair that I can walk/jog/exercise with, something that HD598 is very clumsy for. The above-mentioned issues, a lot of which have to do with in-ear phones in general. have anyway made me consider purchasing on-ear phones, and not in-ear ones, for exercise etc. This is a personal preference and doesn't have anything to do with any possible shortcomings of IE80 per se - like I said in the beginning, they are of great quality and have few, maybe no faults, but probably in-ear phones are just not for me.
I can appreciate the professionalism and expertise that is apparent in the IE80, The sound quality is great and there is a lot of detail and clarity to be heard in the music.
The bass is not too overwhelming at least when adjusting the bass dial to the lower end, and that's how I like it. The treble/high end is not too bright or tiresome. However, HD598 has a more elegant overall sound, it's somehow cleaner and with a wider soundstage. This is of course due to the difference in the basic nature of these two kinds of earphones. Using an over-ear phone like HD598, no part of the headphone touches the ear itself, the sound comes to the ear canal from a small distance. With in-ear phones, the situation is of course different. The earbuds touch the ear canals and produce the sound right there. For me, that reduces the comfort somewhat and makes the sound more "metallic" (in lack of a better term), and less "ethereal". This is of course a general issue with in-ear vs over-ear phones (for me), not a shortcoming of IE80 in particular.
What is a particular problem for me with IE80, however, that it is difficult to find the ideal positioning in the ear. I have found that if I wear them like supposed to (with the cord over the ear), they don't stay deep enough inside but come a bit out, and consequently a lot of the bass/lower end is lost. I have noticed that if I let the cords hang freely, and not behind the ears, they touch the ear canals in a way that the bass is heard ok, but at the same time the wearing comfort is diminished somewhat, and the cords, protruding from the ears, so to speak, might look a bit funny.
I purchased the IE80 to have a pair that I can walk/jog/exercise with, something that HD598 is very clumsy for. The above-mentioned issues, a lot of which have to do with in-ear phones in general. have anyway made me consider purchasing on-ear phones, and not in-ear ones, for exercise etc. This is a personal preference and doesn't have anything to do with any possible shortcomings of IE80 per se - like I said in the beginning, they are of great quality and have few, maybe no faults, but probably in-ear phones are just not for me.
