Hi all, bit late to the IE600 party having only joined 2weeks back
just thought I’d share my thoughts and my ‘bumps in the road’. First IEM was IE9 (I think) tiny iem with huge bass, IE80 was better and both iPHONE/Samsung phones as sources. More funds and an itch to go higher end, paired IE800 with mojo for about 5years until one side of the IE800 drivers stopped in 2020. There wasn’t an event that caused it, just one day it ended. The cost in Australia was A$450 to fix, at the time (jun 2020) the Sydney store had 30% off so bought ie800s for A$1099, it seemed at the time to be the better move even if some of the press wasn’t too kind to it (WhatHIFI). These lasted a good while, circumstances changed and my home office was seperate from the family, the IEMs sat in a desk drawer for >1yrs and I was using my Linn high fi exclusively.
Circumstances changed again and i needed to use the IEMs, to my horror the IE800S were dead and the IE800 with one dud bud now had 2 duds. To make matters worse the new owners of Sennheiser don’t do any repairs, they offered 35% discount on IE900 but no extended warranty or anything to give comfort about the product. I was quite disgusted and told them politely that i was changing brands now.
When the IE800 broke I was in a dilemma, do i go with IE800S or Shure 846, I chickened out and stuck with the Sennheiser i knew (and loved ?!). This time round it was simple and i got the Shure 846s, I had them for a month and then returned to Amazon. Fit and ear tips took a little time to get the right ones, but after that the comfort was ok, the bass was really something and a big change from IE800s. My trouble began on 1st WFH day, with the IE800s i could listen for 5-6hours across a 8hr workday with no problem, during covid it was day after day like that. With the Shure 846s i kept getting slight headaches coming on after 1 hour or so, it wasn;t the fit it was the sound, my brain just thought something was not right. Kinda like watching tv with a 0.2sec lip sync delay, the brain can’t handle it and keeps informing you “its not real on screen” , very distracting. I gave the Shure the benefit of the doubt, and preservered for 3 more weeks with them putting in many many hours. Mixed experiences, with music i was less familiar with they were great, music with vocals i now well was a different story, there was just something not quite right. Researching it must have been balanced armatures as the bass decay is different to loud speakers. As my linn system has loud speakers and i was used to DD IEMs, my brain must have been fighting with me that something in the music was not “real”
I had a thought and used them to watch something on the iPad and again my brain kept telling me there was something not quite right. Anyway Amazon had a sale on IE600s for A$799 (usually A$1200) and the Shures (on sale) cost me $1100 so it felt like a no brainer to send shures back and give ie600s a go and pocket the difference, which i did. It took a little longer than expected with the tips supplied but medium silicone has been great in the first position. My brain likes these a lot (source mojo 2 flat EQ) as I’ve had a number of psychogenic shivers, its worth the money and more for those “buzzy feelings”. Safe to say the shures didn’t manage that, when i actually recall it I’m not sure how often they happened often with the 800s. The 600s in my view are definitely a step up from the 800s, they are more dynamic, the 800s were smother and more forgiving with poor tracks and you had to sit perfectly still or the cable noise would drive you quite mad !
I’d be super keen to give the IE900s ago, the reliability scares me though. I won’t be happy if these fail in year 3 but I’ve rationalised that A$400 per year (for the IE600s) to have beautiful music is not a bad expense. I will be taking better care of these though. The IE800 and 800s lasted 4 & 3 years in jeans pockets, they didn’t spend a day in their cases!, I’m very careful with stuff though. It must have been a humidity issue in the desk drawer, no mold as such but just can’t explain it. This is what the techs said about it … don’t neglect to use your IEMs !
“As for drivers "ceasing" after not being used for a period of time, we've not had much feedback on this as an issue. When I asked our technical team, they mentioned the below as potential contributing factors, but we can't be 100% certain that they're the cause.
- Driver Suspension and Diaphragm Degradation: IEMs use delicate materials for their drivers (such as dynamic driver diaphragms or balanced armature components), and over time, if not used, the suspension or diaphragm may degrade or stiffen. This could lead to a decrease in sound quality or, in rare cases, complete failure of the driver.
- Cable and Connector Issues: The cable can deteriorate over time, especially if stored improperly. If the cable gets frayed or disconnected from the driver due to poor storage conditions, the sound may be affected.”
Sorry for the long post. I’m on here from time to time and do appreciate all the contributions…. so doing my bit too for the community
