[Aidoscuz]

Hey all

I'm looking into getting a new set of IEMs after the left channel of my Sennheiser CX95 died on me. I had initially set a budget of €150 ($225), but I saw the Senn IE8 on Amazon for €195 ($290) delivered and got tempted! I like Sennheiser's warm sound and mainly listen to electronic music at the moment (electro/house/techno) so I'm thinking the bass-heavy IE8 would suit me perfectly.

I'm a bit nervous about spending €200 on a pair of headphones though. They'll be used exclusively when out walking - I do a six mile round trip to and from college every day and do a lot of other fairly hefty walks as well. Given that I live in Ireland, it's inevitable that there'll be some random rain showers that appear of nowhere so the phones will probably get wet at some point. I'm going to buy some the Senn CX380 Sport II as well for running, and I'll grab them instead of the IE8 if it's raining when I'm heading out. That said, how would the IE8 stand up to an occasional bit of rain?

Also, I got a bit lazy with my CX95 and generally started wrapping the cable around my iPod and putting it a separate compartment in my bag when I got into college. Would it be ok to treat the IE8 like this or should I really get a case for them? It's kind of awkward to have to do that when you're running in late for a lecture though.

Thanks

 

[iponderous]

I can't comment about how durable the IE8's are because I use mine exclusively indoors. However, I would suggest that if you do end up purchasing them, to avoid wrapping them around your ipod. They should be kept in a protective case. The case that they come in is impractical in my opinion. I bought a semi-rigid mobile phone case for mine, which is similar to the Shure case for the SE530's and the Westone case for the W3's. That's an expensive IEM that you're thinking about acquiring so you should try and treat it with some care.

 

[bloodhawk]

Id say they are pretty sturdy....at least this is what the impression tons of reviews have given me so far...

 

[earthpeople]

The IE8s feel sturdy in my hand. They should be fine for walking, especially since if there's a problem with the cable, you can simply replace it. I would still avoid wrapping it around your ipod, but again if the cable develops issues, just replace it.

I would avoid exposing them to the rain because I guess there's a port for the bass, and if moisture gets in that's no good. I don't know how easy it'll be for water to get in though. If you put on a hood or a hat of some kind that covers your ears a bit, I suspect they would be alright.

 

[Aidoscuz]

Thanks for the replies. It does sound like they're solidly built phones and the removable cable is definitely a good idea.

I think I'll pick up a case, in another thread here people were saying they use this. Not fancy but it should do the job I presume. Or does anyone recommend any other case in particular that could be shipped to Ireland?

I'm slightly concerned about the bass port as well. I'll be wearing a hood if there's a reasonable amount of rain and using the CX380s if things are really bad, but still, I'd like to know how much of an issue it is. Can any IE8 owners comment - does it look like the bass port could let in any water?

 

[earthpeople]

The bass port looks like water can get in, but it's a really small hole so it shouldn't be easy if you have a hood on. Worst case, if water gets in, turn off your music ASAP and let the phones dry for a few days.

I guess you could also put some tape over it but I don't know how that would affect the sound.

 

[thechungster]

They're pretty durable from my experience. The cable is well built and the overall housing feels solid. Just a note, my first pair's left driver just died. It went incredibly quiet, but I got a replacement one for that. The pair lasted around 6 months.

 

[R3SET]

The problem you had with the cx95 is because the cable gets disconnected from the driver due to the strain on in. Similar issues with cx300/400/500. IE8 has seperate cables so no problems to be expected here. I use them outside as well, and do wrap them around my mp3 player sometimes. You should always protect them from even light rain by putting up your hood or something like that.

btw; if you can't send these cx95 back for warranty, you should open them up and reconnect the cables inside.

 

[ChroniCali]

Sennheiser has impeccable build quality IMO.

 

[MadDog]

This was my first IEM which could withstand my stepping on it on concrete floor. I got the deep scratches but that's about it. Yes, very sturdy.

 

[zardos]

The housing is extremely solid but the nozzle is not. It's not too hard to break the nozzle from the housing. I lost one pair by slightly stepping on it on a fluffy carpet. In general such an accident shouldn't completely destroy the IE8. It should be possible to re-bond the nozzle. But in my case the affected side was dead after the accident.

 

[skidu]

I've stupidly had mine dragged across the floor on more then one occasion ( usually when i take them off and tuck them between my jacket....then they end up slipping down and hit the floor)

Infact, i walked around a supermarket once with them just trailing behind me for a good couple minutes before i realised what had happened. Thankfully there was no physical damage and they still sound great.

But yea, they're pretty durable!

 

[chicagojammer]

search the forum, i saw some people complain about connector problems, and instead of Sennheiser fixing the earphones they just send new ones, which is cool but you have to burn in again which kind of sucks, I noticed you cant easily order spare wires from Sennheiser so i decided to just go with Westone universals, they will do wire repairs outside of their 2 year warranty too- for a fee thats around 20-30 bucks.

 

[Zalithian]

Everything is solid except for the jack, which has had some known issues.

 

[R3SET]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zalithian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Everything is solid except for the jack, which has had some known issues.

What exactly is not durable about the jack? Looks very solid to me.