Every detail matters: Introducing the all-new IE 900
May 11, 2021 at 7:16 AM Post #31 of 148
There's also the Dunu Luna. If the IE900 can match or beat the Luna and A8000 (if not in pure technicalities but tonality) then they'll find a market for sure. The higher end single DD IEMs seem to all have been tuned quite bright and bass light for some reason.
Sometimes treble brilliance overshadows bass that is actually there, and the overall source volume must be lowered to compensate, and thus the bass feels anemic. Hope you get to try the IE 900 and experience the balance and articulation it brings.
 
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May 11, 2021 at 7:17 AM Post #32 of 148
The only single DD’s on the market atm over this price is the final and the dita flagship I believe. Both of which have compared favourably in some technical aspects to the U12t (arguably the “benchmark” iem for under $2,000). This is said to be on par with the Xelento which is nowhere near the technical level of the others mentioned and has been on the market for quite a while while retailing at significantly less than the ie900.
Also the JVC FW10000
 
May 11, 2021 at 7:20 AM Post #33 of 148
Personally, I really don't know how to feel about this release.

Sure, the frequency response measurements that were published so far don't look bad, and the IE 900, based on what I have seen on the internet, when compared to my IE 800, undeniably feature a superior integration of the removable cable, more "regular" ergonomics, a better (more protective) carrying case and seemingly better (but still not worthy of the price - this has never really been Sennheiser's strength when it comes to IEMs) cable, but these changes don't really seem to justify the price tag being around twice as high (the same goes for the pricing scheme when looking at the IE 80 -> IE 80S, HD 800 -> HD 800S, IE 800 -> IE 800S, and now these).
Hopefully you can listen to a set for a bit and determine if they are your style or not👍... For me all the stuff on paper disappeared once I got them seated 🤤
 
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May 11, 2021 at 7:22 AM Post #34 of 148
sound aside, I hoped for a more premium package over the IE300, especially for that big price. Same microphonic cable (though three of them ), same fabric case, same selection of eartips. Just an aluminum housing. I really liked the IE800/s housings. Ceramic is certainly rarely used in the in ear business.
Wasn't it durable enough to consider it for the IE900?
Aluminum offers far greater precision for the other acoustic elements.
 
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May 11, 2021 at 7:25 AM Post #35 of 148
Really digging the design and looking forward to impressions and availability in my country (South Africa). Out of interest is that a bass port at the bottom of the earpiece, under the logo? And is it tied to the "acoustic back chamber"? The one feature I do like to see in IEMs is some form of porting to control air pressure, for both the ear and the driver.
Not a bass port but a tiny duct to keep air pressure in the ear canal in check.
 
Sennheiser Stay updated on Sennheiser at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
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May 11, 2021 at 7:28 AM Post #36 of 148
Hey @Evshrug is this the official IE900 thread? If so, subbed.
This is the official announcement thread, but I’ll try to be checking wherever the discussion ends up becoming focused. For the IE 300, it seems the most discussion is on Jude’s review thread but still a fair amount on the announcement thread, the HD 560S’ discussion is clearly centered on its announcement thread, and of course the HD 800S, IE 800S, HD 650, and most other Sennheiser products have big discussion threads started by the community. Early days for the IE 900 😁
 
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May 11, 2021 at 8:33 AM Post #37 of 148
Personally, I really don't know how to feel about this release.

Sure, the frequency response measurements that were published so far don't look bad, and the IE 900, based on what I have seen on the internet, when compared to my IE 800, undeniably feature a superior integration of the removable cable, more "regular" ergonomics, a better (more protective) carrying case and seemingly better (but still not worthy of the price - this has never really been Sennheiser's strength when it comes to IEMs) cable, but these changes don't really seem to justify the price tag being around twice as high (the same goes for the pricing scheme when looking at the IE 80 -> IE 80S, HD 800 -> HD 800S, IE 800 -> IE 800S, and now these).

Look at other brands and you will see that it is normal.
 
May 11, 2021 at 8:52 AM Post #38 of 148
Look at other brands and you will see that it is normal.

Sure, it has become a rather "regular thing" in the past few years in the headphone/IEM/audio industry, but fortunately not all companies increase the price for same generation updates of existing products or new releases in the same category/performance range by that much.

Back when the IE 800 were released, they were considered as rather pricey and clearly among the most expensive single dynamic driver in-ears with only very few exotic (single dynamic driver) models from Asian manufacturers costing even more, whereas nowadays it seems like a new flagship product release cannot be considered a "true" flagship by the community if it doesn't come with a substantial price increase compared to the company's previous flagship model/other models from the same manufacturer in the same performance range.
 
May 11, 2021 at 8:53 AM Post #39 of 148
Hey everyone!
I'm borrowing an IE 900, and I'll be here for the next several hours tonight to try and answer questions!

It will be MSRP $1299.95 USD plus tax. Pricing and Preorder button will be added tomorrow morning German time.

By the way @jwbrent!! I need to expand my Trip Hop beyond Massive Attack and Portishead, can you give me a recommendation?

Please answer this question:

Why does it cost USD 1300 in the U.S. and at the same time EUR 1300 in the EU?

All American made products reflect the cost of import into the EU making them far more expensive for EU consumers. This product is made in the EU, why is it not cheaper here, why is it more expensive?
 
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May 11, 2021 at 9:06 AM Post #40 of 148
Sure, it has become a rather "regular thing" in the past few years in the headphone/IEM/audio industry, but fortunately not all companies increase the price for same generation updates of existing products or new releases in the same category/performance range by that much.

Back when the IE 800 were released, they were considered as rather pricey and clearly among the most expensive single dynamic driver in-ears with only very few exotic (single dynamic driver) models from Asian manufacturers costing even more, whereas nowadays it seems like a new flagship product release cannot be considered a "true" flagship by the community if it doesn't come with a substantial price increase compared to the company's previous flagship model/other models from the same manufacturer in the same performance range.
There is no such thing as “regular” under those senses for those products. What regular to me is that Sennheiser is providing the “flagship product” at “flagship performances” and for the “flagship retail pricing” as they used to be.

Let me put it back into perspective. Back then when HD800 was released, it was the most astronomically expensive Headphones. Who could have thought a pair of headphones could cost $1600 or so back in those days 2009 ? Sennheiser generated the market, and then came after is the waves of other products that came out trying to take the market and trying to prove to be superiors or better, but at what prices ? Yeah 4-5k is what they are aiming now. Is this normal ? Nope! Not at all

That doesn’t stop Sennheiser to continue their lineage of innovation for a products that could create ripples in the industry either, and Sennheiser is still pricing their newest product accordingly, and this to me is “normal” or “regular”, and for the other stuff ? let me be honestly clear, have been just a “Rip Off”

Pardon me, but I have seen these “rip off practices” many times, across many industries, investments, pyramid schemes.....etc....I can honestly tell you that Sennheiser is leading the industry the classical way, slow but steady, and with honesty.
 
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May 11, 2021 at 9:19 AM Post #41 of 148
There is no such thing as “regular” under those senses for those products. What regular to me is that Sennheiser is providing the “flagship product” at “flagship performances” and for the “flagship retail pricing” as they used to be.

Let me put it back into perspective. Back then when HD800 was released, it was the most astronomically expensive Headphones. Who could have thought a pair of headphones could cost $1600 or so back in those days 2009 ? Sennheiser generated the market, and then came after is the waves of other products that came out trying to take the market and trying to prove to be superiors or better, but at what prices ? Yeah 4-5k is what they are aiming now. Is this normal ? Nope! Not at all

That doesn’t stop Sennheiser to continue their lineage of innovation for a products that could create ripples in the industry either, and Sennheiser is still pricing their newest product accordingly, and this to me is “normal” or “regular”, and for the other stuff ? let me be honestly clear, have been just a “Rip Off”

Pardon me, but I have seen these “rip off practices” many times, across many industries, investments, pyramid schemes.....etc....I can honestly tell you that Sennheiser is leading the industry the classical way, slow but steady, and with honesty.

Sennheiser has definitely implemented some interesting acoustic technology into some of their products, that's not even up for debate, and in the past some of this clever tech hasn't even been marketed by Sennheiser even though it was and still is quite interesting and impressive from a technical point of view. In the end though, the result is what matters more than the technology and innovations, and some of it could be (and has been) achieved by other manufacturers as well but in a different way without trying to copy anything.

What I'm questioning though is Sennheiser's pricing policy - I simply don't see how just mainly some more accessories and design changes on an already existing platform (wherefore the research and development costs aren't nearly as high as if a completely new product were developed and released) (IE 80 -> IE 80S, IE 800 -> IE 800S, HD 800 -> HD 800S) justify the substantial price increase (this isn't exclusive to Sennheiser, but definitely noticeable about their product releases).
But I guess as long as this strategy works for any manufacturer, it won't change...
 
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May 11, 2021 at 9:21 AM Post #42 of 148
I have long been waiting for an IE800 successor, this is exciting!
 
May 11, 2021 at 10:10 AM Post #43 of 148
Please answer this question:

Why does it cost USD 1300 in the U.S. and at the same time EUR 1300 in the EU?

All American made products reflect the cost of import into the EU making them far more expensive for EU consumers. This product is made in the EU, why is it not cheaper here, why is it more expensive?
That’s above my pay grade, but I did notice the EU price includes VAT, and the US price is before tax 🤷‍♂️
 
May 11, 2021 at 10:40 AM Post #44 of 148
I absolutely loved the sound of the IE800 but never bought it because of terrible build quality, non removable delicate cable that felt like it would pop at any moment and nearly zero isolation. I think i will have to get my hands on these. Looking for some regular user feedback first
 
May 11, 2021 at 10:43 AM Post #45 of 148
I’m sure there are many, many factors involved. But just playing a hypothetical through my mind.

- They’re made in the EU (Germany) and sold at a certain price point.
- When exporting, for example to the US, they excl. EU / local tax, which I think is around 17.5-20%
- Upon arrival, my understanding is that there’s virtually no import duties or taxes that need to be added.

So while one needs to add shipping costs et al the export duties taken off the price could contribute to the comparatively lower RRP.

All just speculation and assumption based so I may be totally wrong :wink:
 

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