[sainteb]

Any comments on cable comfort? IE 400 cable seems pretty thick around the ear and reminds me of the Etymotic ER3 stock cable which could be pretty uncomfortable. Also, how is isolation and leakage? Sennheiser says it's up to -26 dB so as long as it's close to that in real life, this should be good (currently using Etys).

 

[iems0nly]

The cables are slightly thicker with IE 400, but i find them to be really comfortable. The cable texture is smooth and they are supple with minimal microphonics. I like these cables better than the IE 500 Pros.
Etys rate their isolation at 42dB, so, you can say these will give you around half of the isolation you get from Etys. Like i mentioned in the review, they are decent, but isolation is not their forte, even with music on (at acceptable levels) some loud noise will seep through, like a speeding motor vehicle, for instance. That said, they are much better than any open back IEMs that you can think of (eg: JVC woodies, Sony EX800, ATH CKR100, etc).
Leakage is not a matter of concern, and i use them at work, and in bed beside my wife, they don't leak. If isolation is your top priority, these may leave you wanting a little bit.

 

[oknidius]

Like i mentioned in the review, they are decent, but isolation is not their forte, even with music on (at acceptable levels) some loud noise will seep through, like a speeding motor vehicle, for instance.

Leakage is not a matter of concern, and i use them at work, and in bed beside my wife, they don't leak. If isolation is your top priority, these may leave you wanting a little bit.

Yep. Exactly.

 

[iems0nly]

Adding this here as well - just so no one misses
Measurement comparison - IE 500 Pro vs IE 800S.
Baselined to match at 800 Hz.

 

[iems0nly]

After much tip rolling, i find the Moondrop eartips (i use the stock tips that came with Moondrop Crescent) to bring out the best in the treble! This makes for a significant improvement in overall clarity. If you got them, please try them with IE 500 Pro, they're awesome!
These are taller eartips with slightly longer stem.

 

[headphonesaddict123]

does anyone here still use ie400pro?

 

[xCJx]

does anyone here still use ie400pro?

I've had them for a bit more than 6 months now. I really like the sound but the build quality is questionable, to say the least...

Only a few weeks after I got them, the sound coming from the left earpiece became muffled while I was working out. I was about to send them for repair when the issue disappeared (I think some sweat got into it and eventually dried, but for something supposed to be used by musicians on stage, you'd expect this to happen). Then the plastic grill on the right earpiece broke, out of the blue. I put it back and the eartip was keeping it in place but still annoying. Then I started to have a bad contact between the cable and the left earpiece, forcing me to twist it a bit to get sound out of the latter. All this started to be annoying for daily use but not enough to send it for repair... Until last week, when the right earpiece just stopped working completely! When I inserted it in my ear without doing anything special... So I finally sent them for repair and Sennheiser provided me with a brand new pair immediately. No problem with after sale service but I hope I just got unlucky with the first pair and that this one will last longer...

 

[headphonesaddict123]

I've had them for a bit more than 6 months now. I really like the sound but the build quality is questionable, to say the least...

Only a few weeks after I got them, the sound coming from the left earpiece became muffled while I was working out. I was about to send them for repair when the issue disappeared (I think some sweat got into it and eventually dried, but for something supposed to be used by musicians on stage, you'd expect this to happen). Then the plastic grill on the right earpiece broke, out of the blue. I put it back and the eartip was keeping it in place but still annoying. Then I started to have a bad contact between the cable and the left earpiece, forcing me to twist it a bit to get sound out of the latter. All this started to be annoying for daily use but not enough to send it for repair... Until last week, when the right earpiece just stopped working completely! When I inserted it in my ear without doing anything special... So I finally sent them for repair and Sennheiser provided me with a brand new pair immediately. No problem with after sale service but I hope I just got unlucky with the first pair and that this one will last longer...

thanks for replying bro , im glad sennheiser served you well and you were happy with their assistance .

i was about getting one for myself too but i had similar issues with their other iems .... hoping sennheiser will step up their game in the IEM market!

 

[cfc7]

thanks for replying bro , im glad sennheiser served you well and you were happy with their assistance .

i was about getting one for myself too but i had similar issues with their other iems .... hoping sennheiser will step up their game in the IEM market!

Which are those?

 

[headphonesaddict123]

Which are those?

ie40 - loose connector and imbalanced volume (altho fixed)
ie8 - fragile build but cant remember details cuz its a long time ago

 

[532179]

Hey folks,

I got interested in the IE400 because they are on sale for 200€ this month.So I have only a week to decide. This is my first post here, because I'm really not sure if I should take the sale opportunity to get the IE400, the ie 500 or non of them.

What do I want? I'm doing sound engineering part time, mostly electronic music and jazz, and generally like a neutral sound, accurate impulses response, a tight sound with a noticeable bass that is not overwhelming other parts. I like the sound like you hear when played live. I want to use this for listening music on the go mainly, but I want to keep near my 'working sound'. It would be great also to be able to judge sound quality on the go with my future IEM.

I think the IE400 seems to fit pretty good to this needs, according to a lot I've read. I also saw some youtube reviews about them, and one Senheiser product manager said that the IE400 is more suitable as a reference headphone, while the IE500 is more to hear everything loud and clear on stage . I also had a look at all the frequency measurements here.

But I'm still lost. I still have two big questions. Maybe somebody have an opinion on that.

IE400 or IE500?
On the one hand I envy the seemingly even better impulse response of the IE500, at the same time the frequency response seems to be less neutral on the ie500. What a pitty! This review seems to agree with this too I tend to the IE400 because there are a lot of voices which say that it's more neutral. Do you agree?

Is the IE400 sibilant or harsh sounding?
I read some reviews, https://www.headphonecheck.com/test/sennheiser-ie-400-pro/, which said that it can sometimes sound sibilant on vocals. I know some consumer Senheiser IEM that sounds horrible due to treble spikes. I'm allergic to headphones that emphasize this area to sound clearer, with the result to have too sharp S tones in vocals, therefore, I'm a bit worried by this.
On the other hand, when I have a neutral sound and I hear sibilant sounds, I'm fine. I also don't want this area to be suppressed in the frequency response, it just should not be
emphasized to push a seemingly clearer sound. The ie400 seems to be more pronounced in the 6-10k area, which I'm a bit afraid of. Does anyone have an opinion on this for the IE500 and IE400 and maybe have compared it also with other headphones?

 

[headphonesaddict123]

i can testify my own experience (although a long time ago) with both ie400&500 , the impressions i have now is not 100% correct , so take it wit a grain of salt.

ie400 is way more exciting with great emphasis on bass an a treble extension , it does sound more "lively" and "engaging" than 500 , kind of reminds me of dt990 in a way. There's definitely a bit of harshness and sibilance in 400pro though , not a dealbreaker to me but some may not like it .


ie500 is thicker , less exciting but still prominent enough with instruments , i liked vocal here than 400pro , but overall IE500 was not very memorable to me despite having more ear-time .

 

[xCJx]

I can't compare with the IE500 but I'd agree with @headphonesaddict123 's description of the IE400 being lively and engaging. Not sure I'd really call it neutral though, the bass and treble being more emphasized than what you'd expect from a typical neutral IEM (significantly in the case of the bass so not exactly V shaped either). That being said, the midrange is still very nice and not overwhelmed by the other frequencies.

In terms of sibilance, I consider myself at least a bit sensitive to it and I don't hear anything annoying. Not a concern for me, YMMV.

Overall, I like the sound very much and they are and will remain my go-to IEMs for the foreseeable future. As pointed out in my earlier post above, I'd be more worried about build quality. No problem so far with my second pair, let's hope the first one was just an outlier.

 

[532179]

Very helpful replies. Thanks a lot. I wish I could test them before buying. A lively but still rather neutral sound is exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm afraid to sped 200€ and find out that too strong sibilance due to the treble peak is is making it difficult to listen to for me. I don't like the dt990 for example. Not sure why this is used by anyone in the studio.

Do you have by chance other recommendation in the 100-200€ range that are rather neutral, but still lively sounding and without treble peaks like the ie400 has? As far as I know the ie400 is considered a bargain at 200€, that's why I thinking about to get it.

 

[headphonesaddict123]

Very helpful replies. Thanks a lot. I wish I could test them before buying. A lively but still rather neutral sound is exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm afraid to sped 200€ and find out that too strong sibilance due to the treble peak is is making it difficult to listen to for me. I don't like the dt990 for example. Not sure why this is used by anyone in the studio.

Do you have by chance other recommendation in the 100-200€ range that are rather neutral, but still lively sounding and without treble peaks like the ie400 has? As far as I know the ie400 is considered a bargain at 200€, that's why I thinking about to get it.

haha i think at 200E it's already a great purchase , whether for mixing/studio use or not , i'm pretty prone to sibilance but that time i was okay with IE400 after enjoyin' different voices (adam levine , adele , diana krall etc....) the only reason i didn't get one was because i was short on money and i already had other iems i prefer more ^^