Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
Sennheiser IE 80
Source:
Personal unit.
Miscellaneous:
Back in the day, they were Sennheiser’s most expensive (in-ear) model (years ago before the IE 800 that I bought as well and that are on a clearly higher level when it comes to technical performance), and generally considered as expensive for dynamic driver in-ears.
The small graph on the back of the packaging that illustrates how the small screw on the faceplate changes the bass quantity is straight misleading and impertinent as it shows the frequency response to vary from fairly flat to bassy and warm even though the latter is already the case in the screw’s minimum position.
Nice selection of ear tips.
I really like that there is a Sennheiser logo on the included shirt clip.
Really nice and unique carrying case that contains a “drawer” that is securely held in place by a magnet and has even got integrated holders for spare ear tips as well as a build-in holder for the bass adjustment/cleaning tool and last but not least a small compartment for small silica gel pads.
However, as nice and unique as it is, it is ultimately not very practical at all as it takes some time to store the in-ears inside, and likely not the best solution for the cable’s durability either.
The cable doesn’t feel premium at all but is at least not of the cheapest possible kind. It’s removable, though (2-pin connectors).
A chin-slider is not lacking and it reads “IE 80” on the y-splitter, which is a nice touch that I personally like.
While I like the unique shell design and while the build quality seems to be good, the light plastic shells don’t necessarily feel premium.
One does not get much tactile feedback from turning the bass adjustment screws as they don’t feel very precise and don’t give much feedback either as there are no tactile notches.
Very comfortable fit.
The engineering behind how the bass adjustment screw works is pretty unique and shows that definitely some thoughts went into its design. It’s a completely acoustic design and basically just a variable valve that control’s the dynamic driver’s front cavity vent opening that was re-located from the inner half of the shell where one would normally expect it towards the faceplate for easier access and so that it isn’t unintentionally covered/blocked by the user’s ear; for this, Sennheiser used a fairly clever internal routing that one can see on disassembly photos of the IE 80 on the internet.
One dynamic driver per side.
Sound:
Largest included single-flange silicone ear tips.
Tonality:
Bassy, very warm v-shape already when the valves are fully open (i.e. minimum position) to bass-heavy, even warmer v-shape with the valves fully shut (i.e. maximum position.
No matter at what setting the bass adjustment screws are, the lows clearly radiate into the central mids as they already start to climb around 900 Hz.
With the screws in the minimum position, the climax is around 150 Hz with a quantity of around 10 dB compared to in-ears with a flat bass tuning such as the Etymotic ER4SR/my ER-4Sm and a roll-off below 100 Hz towards 20 Hz that are about in-line with the central midrange wherefore the sound is very full, warm and with a strong upper bass punch, but not much rumble from the sub-bass.
When the screws are turned into the maximum position, the bass peaks around 40 Hz with a quantity of around 15 dB, with no roll-off below that, and about an extra 4 dB boost at 100 Hz, wherefore the sound gains a lot of sub-bass and midbass energy.
Needless to say, the midrange, as a result, is always very warm, full and coloured, also somewhat mushy, and even warmer and mushier, more veiled with the screw set to maximum (which is beneficial for the mid-and sub-bass perception but definitely not for the midrange and fundamental range).
The central midrange and upper midrange are mostly accurate to somewhat more on the relaxed side, and thankfully not much recessed.
Going up, one can spot a peak around 5.5 kHz as well as another one around 7 kHz and finally a last one around 10 kHz wherefore the full, bassy and warm sound is ultimately more of a v-shaped signature.
Ultimately, those peaks lead to the highs being on the more metallic side, however as they aren’t sharp and as the warmth and bass are the dominating elements, they are not annoying or obtrusive, which is something where the IE 80 fortunately differ from Sennheiser’s older, less expensive dynamic driver in-ears.
Interestingly, those peaks appear much worse and unfitting when performing sine sweeps or looking at frequency response measurements, while in real world listening scenarios, they are not bothering at all, which, as mentioned, is most likely due to them acting as some sort of compensation for the lows’ bloom and warmth.
Quickly compared to my Shure SE215m+SPE, the Sennheiser are always warmer, fuller, thicker and more coloured sounding in the lower midrange.
IE 80's screw set to minimum: Both have got comparable bass quantity at 100 Hz but the Sennheiser roll off below that whereas the Shure peak in the lower midbass and keep constant sub-bass level below that.
IE 80s’ screw set to maximum: The Sennheiser are clearly warmer and bassier at any frequency below 1 kHz.
Both have got almost similar treble quantity around 5 kHz. Above that, however, the Shure are definitely on the dark, relaxed side, whereas the Sennheisers’ treble is on the brighter side, however less even.
The question whether it is best to have the screw in the minimum or maximum position is a tough one, as the former rolls off audibly towards the sub-bass and only really highlights the higher upper bass and root, whereas the latter does introduce a nice sub-bass boost, however adds even more warmth and thickness to the already really warm sound (it makes the lows even slower and softer, too). Despite the rolled-off sub- and midbass (compared to the root and higher upper bass), I prefer the screw in the minimum position due to aforementioned introduced disadvantages that come with the screw set to the maximum position.
Generally, I only really like my IE 80 for slow, acoustic singer-songwriter stuff.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation (Screw set to minimum Position)
ER-4S-Compensation (Screw set to maximum Position)
Generally, the treble peaks on the graph don’t match with the frequencies that I perceive when performing sine sweeps, and I also perceive them as much quieter in amplitude. With the bass screw set to the maximum position, however, I hear the lows as being slightly stronger than on the graph.
ProPhile 8-Compensation (Screw set to minimum Position)
ProPhile 8-Compensation (Screw set to maximum Position)
Effect of the Bass Screw
Resolution:
While the midrange resolution and speech intelligibility seems to be subjectively above that of my Shure SE215m+SPE to some degree, the Sennheisers’ bass is just mushy, slow and lacks control even in the screw’s minimum position, and becomes even worse by increasing it, which also affects the rest of the resolution that is reduced audibly, wherefore the IE 80 are only halfway decently resolving (which is a bit of a stretch for the price anyway) with the bass screw in the minimum position.
Generally, the resolution isn’t great for the price at all, especially in terms of bass quality; the in-ears sound slow, soft and just lack details. The general transient response is audibly pretty bad.
Good treble separation? Definitely not. The presentation is quite smeary and not differentiated at all.
Only when the music material is slow, doesn’t contain many instruments/tonal elements and generally doesn’t have high demands on the in-ears, the IE 80 sound decently controlled and resolving with a nice midrange; however even already with “averagely paced” music and tracks that don’t have a very demanding bass line, the drivers clearly show their lack of control and just sound plain slow, which should not be present at this price point at all.
In contrast, my Shure SE215m+SPE, Moondrop Starfield or the Etymotic ER2XR don’t give in nearly as early nor nearly as much with fast and more demanding music material, which just shows that the Sennheisers’ limits are reached really early whereas the other dynamic driver in-ears still have got (partially plenty) of reserves in comparison and generally sound tighter, faster and better controlled, while the IE 80, when compared to my Shure, are slightly ahead when it comes to pure midrange resolution (but are outperformed by my Moondrop and the Etymotic).
In pre-conclusion, slow and not really demanding, mild acoustic singer-songwriter music is really about the only niche where the IE 80 perform and sound decent.
Soundstage:
The only area that the IE 80 really manage to set themselves apart from many other dynamic driver in-ears is their very large, very open, three-dimensional soundstage.
It expands greatly into all dimensions and presents a large sphere of music that my Shure SE215m+SPE (whose stage is pretty wide, but without much spacial depth to speak of, and ultimately not as wide as the Sennheisers’) don’t have (which also applies to the ER2XR and also somewhat to my Starfield when compared to the IE 80s’ soundstage size).
While this is something that makes the IE 80 nice and rather special, the imaging precision isn’t very high at all, and similarly to the resolution, the soundstage struggles to keep up and collapses the more complex and the faster the music gets.
Conclusion:
The Sennheiser IE 80 are in-ears that only sound nice when used with slow, undemanding, sparsely occupied recordings wherefore they are predestined for slow acoustic singer-songwriter stuff that really suits them and where they sounds nice, effortless, open, spacious, pleasantly warm as well as full, and where their fairly low technical performance in relation to the price isn’t brought to the limits. Therefore, they are clearly not all-rounders but niche in-ears with a large soundstage that perform well on slow recordings but almost fail with everything else as their drivers’ limits are reached very early.
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
Sennheiser IE 80
Source:
Personal unit.
Miscellaneous:
Back in the day, they were Sennheiser’s most expensive (in-ear) model (years ago before the IE 800 that I bought as well and that are on a clearly higher level when it comes to technical performance), and generally considered as expensive for dynamic driver in-ears.
The small graph on the back of the packaging that illustrates how the small screw on the faceplate changes the bass quantity is straight misleading and impertinent as it shows the frequency response to vary from fairly flat to bassy and warm even though the latter is already the case in the screw’s minimum position.
Nice selection of ear tips.
I really like that there is a Sennheiser logo on the included shirt clip.
Really nice and unique carrying case that contains a “drawer” that is securely held in place by a magnet and has even got integrated holders for spare ear tips as well as a build-in holder for the bass adjustment/cleaning tool and last but not least a small compartment for small silica gel pads.
However, as nice and unique as it is, it is ultimately not very practical at all as it takes some time to store the in-ears inside, and likely not the best solution for the cable’s durability either.
The cable doesn’t feel premium at all but is at least not of the cheapest possible kind. It’s removable, though (2-pin connectors).
A chin-slider is not lacking and it reads “IE 80” on the y-splitter, which is a nice touch that I personally like.
While I like the unique shell design and while the build quality seems to be good, the light plastic shells don’t necessarily feel premium.
One does not get much tactile feedback from turning the bass adjustment screws as they don’t feel very precise and don’t give much feedback either as there are no tactile notches.
Very comfortable fit.
The engineering behind how the bass adjustment screw works is pretty unique and shows that definitely some thoughts went into its design. It’s a completely acoustic design and basically just a variable valve that control’s the dynamic driver’s front cavity vent opening that was re-located from the inner half of the shell where one would normally expect it towards the faceplate for easier access and so that it isn’t unintentionally covered/blocked by the user’s ear; for this, Sennheiser used a fairly clever internal routing that one can see on disassembly photos of the IE 80 on the internet.
One dynamic driver per side.
Sound:
Largest included single-flange silicone ear tips.
Tonality:
Bassy, very warm v-shape already when the valves are fully open (i.e. minimum position) to bass-heavy, even warmer v-shape with the valves fully shut (i.e. maximum position.
No matter at what setting the bass adjustment screws are, the lows clearly radiate into the central mids as they already start to climb around 900 Hz.
With the screws in the minimum position, the climax is around 150 Hz with a quantity of around 10 dB compared to in-ears with a flat bass tuning such as the Etymotic ER4SR/my ER-4Sm and a roll-off below 100 Hz towards 20 Hz that are about in-line with the central midrange wherefore the sound is very full, warm and with a strong upper bass punch, but not much rumble from the sub-bass.
When the screws are turned into the maximum position, the bass peaks around 40 Hz with a quantity of around 15 dB, with no roll-off below that, and about an extra 4 dB boost at 100 Hz, wherefore the sound gains a lot of sub-bass and midbass energy.
Needless to say, the midrange, as a result, is always very warm, full and coloured, also somewhat mushy, and even warmer and mushier, more veiled with the screw set to maximum (which is beneficial for the mid-and sub-bass perception but definitely not for the midrange and fundamental range).
The central midrange and upper midrange are mostly accurate to somewhat more on the relaxed side, and thankfully not much recessed.
Going up, one can spot a peak around 5.5 kHz as well as another one around 7 kHz and finally a last one around 10 kHz wherefore the full, bassy and warm sound is ultimately more of a v-shaped signature.
Ultimately, those peaks lead to the highs being on the more metallic side, however as they aren’t sharp and as the warmth and bass are the dominating elements, they are not annoying or obtrusive, which is something where the IE 80 fortunately differ from Sennheiser’s older, less expensive dynamic driver in-ears.
Interestingly, those peaks appear much worse and unfitting when performing sine sweeps or looking at frequency response measurements, while in real world listening scenarios, they are not bothering at all, which, as mentioned, is most likely due to them acting as some sort of compensation for the lows’ bloom and warmth.
Quickly compared to my Shure SE215m+SPE, the Sennheiser are always warmer, fuller, thicker and more coloured sounding in the lower midrange.
IE 80's screw set to minimum: Both have got comparable bass quantity at 100 Hz but the Sennheiser roll off below that whereas the Shure peak in the lower midbass and keep constant sub-bass level below that.
IE 80s’ screw set to maximum: The Sennheiser are clearly warmer and bassier at any frequency below 1 kHz.
Both have got almost similar treble quantity around 5 kHz. Above that, however, the Shure are definitely on the dark, relaxed side, whereas the Sennheisers’ treble is on the brighter side, however less even.
The question whether it is best to have the screw in the minimum or maximum position is a tough one, as the former rolls off audibly towards the sub-bass and only really highlights the higher upper bass and root, whereas the latter does introduce a nice sub-bass boost, however adds even more warmth and thickness to the already really warm sound (it makes the lows even slower and softer, too). Despite the rolled-off sub- and midbass (compared to the root and higher upper bass), I prefer the screw in the minimum position due to aforementioned introduced disadvantages that come with the screw set to the maximum position.
Generally, I only really like my IE 80 for slow, acoustic singer-songwriter stuff.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation (Screw set to minimum Position)
ER-4S-Compensation (Screw set to maximum Position)
Generally, the treble peaks on the graph don’t match with the frequencies that I perceive when performing sine sweeps, and I also perceive them as much quieter in amplitude. With the bass screw set to the maximum position, however, I hear the lows as being slightly stronger than on the graph.
ProPhile 8-Compensation (Screw set to minimum Position)
ProPhile 8-Compensation (Screw set to maximum Position)
Effect of the Bass Screw
Resolution:
While the midrange resolution and speech intelligibility seems to be subjectively above that of my Shure SE215m+SPE to some degree, the Sennheisers’ bass is just mushy, slow and lacks control even in the screw’s minimum position, and becomes even worse by increasing it, which also affects the rest of the resolution that is reduced audibly, wherefore the IE 80 are only halfway decently resolving (which is a bit of a stretch for the price anyway) with the bass screw in the minimum position.
Generally, the resolution isn’t great for the price at all, especially in terms of bass quality; the in-ears sound slow, soft and just lack details. The general transient response is audibly pretty bad.
Good treble separation? Definitely not. The presentation is quite smeary and not differentiated at all.
Only when the music material is slow, doesn’t contain many instruments/tonal elements and generally doesn’t have high demands on the in-ears, the IE 80 sound decently controlled and resolving with a nice midrange; however even already with “averagely paced” music and tracks that don’t have a very demanding bass line, the drivers clearly show their lack of control and just sound plain slow, which should not be present at this price point at all.
In contrast, my Shure SE215m+SPE, Moondrop Starfield or the Etymotic ER2XR don’t give in nearly as early nor nearly as much with fast and more demanding music material, which just shows that the Sennheisers’ limits are reached really early whereas the other dynamic driver in-ears still have got (partially plenty) of reserves in comparison and generally sound tighter, faster and better controlled, while the IE 80, when compared to my Shure, are slightly ahead when it comes to pure midrange resolution (but are outperformed by my Moondrop and the Etymotic).
In pre-conclusion, slow and not really demanding, mild acoustic singer-songwriter music is really about the only niche where the IE 80 perform and sound decent.
Soundstage:
The only area that the IE 80 really manage to set themselves apart from many other dynamic driver in-ears is their very large, very open, three-dimensional soundstage.
It expands greatly into all dimensions and presents a large sphere of music that my Shure SE215m+SPE (whose stage is pretty wide, but without much spacial depth to speak of, and ultimately not as wide as the Sennheisers’) don’t have (which also applies to the ER2XR and also somewhat to my Starfield when compared to the IE 80s’ soundstage size).
While this is something that makes the IE 80 nice and rather special, the imaging precision isn’t very high at all, and similarly to the resolution, the soundstage struggles to keep up and collapses the more complex and the faster the music gets.
Conclusion:
The Sennheiser IE 80 are in-ears that only sound nice when used with slow, undemanding, sparsely occupied recordings wherefore they are predestined for slow acoustic singer-songwriter stuff that really suits them and where they sounds nice, effortless, open, spacious, pleasantly warm as well as full, and where their fairly low technical performance in relation to the price isn’t brought to the limits. Therefore, they are clearly not all-rounders but niche in-ears with a large soundstage that perform well on slow recordings but almost fail with everything else as their drivers’ limits are reached very early.