[Jermo K]

How do the helmholtz resonators differ between the IE300 and IE900?

The IE 300 uses just one large, injection-molded resonator chamber and a specific plastic with high friction which reduces excessive acoustic energy. You can see it clearly in the product video as well. The IE 900 uses multiple milled chambers and a vortex. One is a simple, but effective solution and the other precision German engineering that gets every detail right for the low, low price of super complex and expensive manufacturing.

 

[Jermo K]

Hi, Nice to meet your team here.

From the FR response I see that the bass line is not linear from 100Hz to 20hz, it increase by 5db. From my experience, +2db in bass is noticeable, my preference and library is almost classical music. Why you choose this approach of tunning.

For resonator chambers, it is very interesting but I still wondering about the effects, in my assumption it might control some injection of indirect, reflected inside the chamber. It might have effects but may color the sound. Do you evaluating each chamber resonate by listening session?

Hi, I hope we can introduce engineers at a later date as well. They're brilliant people and awesome to be around (that's why I work here ).

The tuning reflects the psychoacoustic effect of decreased bass perception at higher occlusion levels. The more open your headphones are, the flatter the bass can be to sound natural. Speakers usually sound awesome flat or just a very slight bass lift. The HD 800 S also doesn't need +6 dB in the bass to sound correct. With closed headphones, you may already look at something like +6-10 dB, depending on the audience. Earphones are the most closed acoustic systems and require the highest absolute SPL to sound subjectively correct. Relative to 500 Hz, the IE 900 has roughly +10 dB at 20 Hz, and some test listeners thought it could use a little more.
To now get to your question: The most important thing about bass is getting the slope right. The famous "mid-bass hump" of open headphones takes away from the perceived speed/dryness of bass, strongly depending on where it is. We spent a lot of time getting the slope exactly right on the IE 900, so that it's subjectively super clean (important for classical music) and yet satisfying for bass-heavy genres. And that's crucial: You can't just say, "This curve is perfect", but you have to listen to the system and see how well it reacts to different music. Different acoustic systems require different tunings to sound at their best, and you reach your goal by listening, not by looking at lines. The lines are still useful to corroborate your listening experience, of course!

I don't quite get the second question. But it's correct, we verified the acoustic chamber dimensions by listening tests. And not the fun ones, but something like 2 dB more at 8k and 1 dB less at 9k, doing that too much drives you mad. But it was worth it!

 

[Jermo K]

I have a question @Jermo K about the cable, no one have seem to ask it but from my experience with HD800S the stock cable on that headphone was so incredibly good that even when I tried aftermarket cables I had an inferior sound quality or it changed the tuning into not so best direction.

I would like to know what approach and take did sennheiser took here to make sure that all the maximum performance of the ie900 was maintained and not bottle necked by the cable.
Also so we can skip the crazy need for crazy aftermarket cables and their ludacrious sky moon rocketing price tags

Important too is, how resistant is it against microphonics, comfort and durability. I also see you opted for 3 different cables rather than an implemented switchable interconect adapter with different dongles... I believe its due to a better signal transmission and better sound quality as a result.


Thanks!
Tiger Ears


PS:
HDV820 is my all time favorite dac/amp desktop unit, I second my wm1z as its the closest in sound signature to hdv820.
If one day you could creat a portable dac/amp hdv820 ala ( ifi idsd signature ) it will be my dream device as I love its textures, details and signature tuning. It haven't left my heart even after so many years I still cant let it go out of my mind and soul. Its the best of what I heard.
Unfortunately I am on the go and absolutely no ways to own the hdv820

Hi Vitaly, thanks so much for your kind words and for sharing our enthusiasm for the IE 900!
Regarding the cable, you're getting in the right direction. Our goal for the IE 900 was an absolutely flawless signal transmission. That may sound trivial at first, but the MMCX-connector does pose interesting challenges. As you probably know, it has not been conceived for sustained and dynamic mechanical stress that portable devices need to resist. There are countless stories of MMCX connectors failing, and many people are treating their high-end earphones with the greatest care possible. Of course, they should be able to use a device without worry because it has been designed to withstand any stress that may occur during normal use.
As a strong foundation, we chose the Delta Fidelity + MMCX connector. They provide one of the most expensive, but also the most reliable solution. It easily survives hundreds of mating cycles, so you don't need to count how often you've disconnected the cable. Another element of our development was rotational durability. Again the connector survives thousands of turns without problems, but that wasn't enough. The rotational durability also has an important impact on the user experience. Some MMCX implementations turn very easily, so that it may be cumbersome to put them in or the feeling is just not "right". Here is where our specially recessed connector comes into play: It also provides additional rotational resistance. This means that it's better to use, but also increases the longevity of the product.
We spent a lot of time looking at connectors through microscopes, and as the end result you'll get a cable (with great connectors!) that'll last for a decade at least. Of course you're free to experiment, but we designed the transducer of the IE 900 in such a way that it sounds incredibly consistent among devices. No matter whether it's plugged into a sterile DAP or a warmer amp with Tubes, the IE 900 will retain their spectacular performance, and you'll hear the differences of your source alone.

 

[Kentajalli]

Well it looks more like my IE 400 pro's, and not much like IE800 or 800's.
I wonder which one it is more similar to.
I had to physically modify mine to bring the high treble spike down a bit, and use a heavy EQ to control the bass, upper bass and low midrange.
IE 400 pro's have a pronounced V-Shape sound.
having said that, I love the sound, particularly the wide bandwidth sound. Bass goes subsonic, treble goes cleanly to ultrasonics.
resolution is second to none.
if this is an improved IE 400 pro, it has its job cut out, specially considering price difference .
I just hope this is not another Sennheiser V-Shape iem .

 

[Kentajalli]

Burn it for 2500 hours LOL

That's one expensive way to get a warmer sound .

 

[Vitaly2017]

Well it looks more like my IE 400 pro's, and not much like IE800 or 800's.
I wonder which one it is more similar to.
I had to physically modify mine to bring the high treble spike down a bit, and use a heavy EQ to control the bass, upper bass and low midrange.
IE 400 pro's have a pronounced V-Shape sound.
having said that, I love the sound, particularly the wide bandwidth sound. Bass goes subsonic, treble goes cleanly to ultrasonics.
resolution is second to none.
if this is an improved IE 400 pro, it has its job cut out, specially considering price difference .
I just hope this is not another Sennheiser V-Shape iem .

This not supposed to be V shape. We where well explained, its balanced and balanced in a way that treble and bass are in line. None should be stronger the other. And it also has good meaty sound with not too much thickness...

My inner tiger feelings are whispering me that there will be a nice juicy bass lift for very strong vibrant emotions

 

[szore]

It looks like the same cable as the IE300. Are they really sticking the buyer with a super-microphonic noisy, non-replaceable cable on a >$1000 flagship?

Why is it non replaceable? It's mmcx connection, right?

 

[feverfive]

That's one expensive way to get a warmer sound .

When burning-in cables uses as much energy as mining bitcoin.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Why is it non replaceable? It's mmcx connection, right?

Yep replaceable, I think he meant the ie800 microphonic not replaceable one.

 

[ericpalonen]

Why is it non replaceable? It's mmcx connection, right?

Definitely replaceable, and the spec has a very low barrier to entry:

Post in thread 'Sennheiser IE900 Review, Measurements, & Harman Target Talk' https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...ments-harman-target-talk.957709/post-16356990

 

[Kentajalli]

This not supposed to be V shape. We where well explained, its balanced and balanced in a way that treble and bass are in line. None should be stronger the other. And it also has good meaty sound with not too much thickness...

My inner tiger feelings are whispering me that there will be a nice juicy bass lift for very strong vibrant emotions

I hope you are right.
because I did have IE800 .
V-Shaped with capital V.
and that fixed Y cable!
I flogged my 800's only because of the treble spike - bass could be controlled with minor modification.
otherwise, the 800 sounded stellar.
BTW, on my 400's, I removed the ear-loops . uncomfortable .

 

[joshnor713]

I hope you are right.
because I did have IE800 .
V-Shaped with capital V.
and that fixed Y cable!
I flogged my 800's only because of the treble spike - bass could be controlled with minor modification.
otherwise, the 800 sounded stellar.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of that stark of V-shape either. The IE 800 S evened things out a bit, though still has a noticeable recess in the mids. In other words, changed from "V" to "U" shaped. Wonder how the IE 900 compares.

 

[frix]

According to the graphs the sound signature is along the lines of the IE800(s). So i wouldn't expect something completely different.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of that stark of V-shape either. The IE 800 S evened things out a bit, though still has a noticeable recess in the mids. In other words, changed from "V" to "U" shaped. Wonder how the IE 900 compares.

According to the graphs the sound signature is along the lines of the IE800(s). So i wouldn't expect something completely different.

If I remember correctly headfonia said in hes review that female vocals sounded better then male and that the mids where beautiful and addictive with a slightly more forward mids presentation.

But he also mentioned that he had eartip fit issues so it leaves us to judge with our own ears once we get them on hands.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Hello there! And a great topic to boot. Some of our products have already enjoyed an extraordinarily long life and have become a reference in their category. Meanwhile the taste in music and preference have shifted towards more sub-bass content. E.g. if you would've visited a high-end fair 15 years ago you'd rarely hear electronic artists. Nowadays it's common for testing bass.
This is reflected in our ongoing product developments, and we're also looking at potential performance increases in our existing portfolio. One thing I want to clarify at this point is that "openness" in a headphone has immediate audible benefits (spatial reproduction, clarity), but is more demanding of the transducer to produce low bass. You can just slap more closed earpads on 600 series headphones and will get more SPL at 20 Hz. But the quality of sound will deteriorate in favour of something that can be done via EQ. So we won't go for the quick bandaid and continue our goal to retain the unique qualities our headphones have: great tone and clarity, resulting in a natural listening experience. Stay tuned!

This is really really wonderful to hear! As someone who has similarly become more focused in electronic music over the years and have tastes that have evolved to match what you have described here.

My current favorite for high end EDM acoustics is Audeze, however it is a bit of a pain to get their DSP tuning integrated into my mobile phone or laptop uses.

The idea of sennheiser releasing a high performance headphone that has incredible acoustics reproduction which requires no DSP is quite the exciting prospect for me!