[Tiax]

Not related to IE900, but i'm curious if there are multi-BA or hybrid iems that sound engineers at Sennheiser really like, and don't find disjointed/unnatural?

 

[jude]

Jermo, in the video I spend some time discussing the Harman Target. Can you discuss your thoughts on what I said, and perhaps also discuss the IE900's tuning and what your goals were for the IE900's tuning in your own words?

 

[Jermo K]

Hi everyone,

To start, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Jermo Koehnke and I’m the product manager for audiophile products at Sennheiser. I started at Sennheiser in 2014 as an integrated degree programme student in engineering and business administration. The focus of my degree was material science and joining technology for the automotive industry. Simultaneously, I finished an apprenticeship as an industrial engineer and had internships at various departments such as mechanical production, supply chain planning, regulatory compliance, strategic purchasing, and different product management teams.

As a headphone nerd, I really wanted to work with Axel Grell, and by chance I had an internship at his department in 2017. We enjoyed working together, so he was one of my examiners for my bachelors’ thesis in 2018, after which I officially joined the team. In 2019 I got responsibility for our entry-level portfolio of consumer devices, products I helped bring to the market were CX 150BT, CX 350BT, HD 350BT & HD 450BT. The first product I developed from start to end was the HD 250BT, which I’m still extremely happy about for bringing outstanding tonal balance to a very accessible price point.

In 2020 my predecessor moved on to our Business Communication division and I finally got back to developing our audiophile products. My first (and fastest) audiophile development was the HD 560S, where I built the first acoustic prototypes in my living room and which holds a special place in my heart. With the IE 300 and IE 900 launched, I’m proud that Sennheiser is becoming highly competitive in the audiophile in-ear space.

 

[Jermo K]

Jermo, in the video I spend some time discussing the Harman Target. Can you discuss your thoughts on what I said, and perhaps also discuss the IE900's tuning and what your goals were for the IE900's tuning in your own words?

Thanks so much for speaking out for so many in our industry. While I think that the science behind the harman-target is repeatable, it has lead to a simplification of headphone evaluation. The main purpose of audiophile headphones is to connect you with your music on a deeper level. Of course tonal balance is one aspect of it, but the perceived space in the music, low distortion or the perception of dynamic bass all play important roles. I know that measurements feel good because they give you something dependable in a highly subjective discussion. But in the end, headphones are so much more than what is commonly measured, so at Sennheiser, we make our tuning decisions based on listening tests, not by the shape of squiggly lines.

 

[xenithon]

I'd love to know how the acoustic back-volume works, in particular in regard to whether it has, as an objective, reduced ear fatigue. Is the aim here to minimize pressure on the ear drum or does it have a different purpose?

 

[a-LeXx]

Hi there,

what are the main differences between IE900 and IE300? Is there a substantial difference in a driver itself, or is it mainly different shell material?

 

[Jermo K]

What makes them $1300 single driver dynamic phones?

This is a fantastic question. Verbatim I also saw the comment "It's just the IE 800 S for $300 more.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. The jump in transducer engineering between the IE 800 S and the IE 900 has been the costliest single transducer development project at Sennheiser ever.

The only thing that has stayed the same is the diameter. That seems to be the most visible part of the headphone motor, so I understand that it’s the most intuitive aspect to look at. The IE 800 S transducer was built with many hand processes, which is not optimal for such a small transducer. A bit too much glue, a slight off-center placement of the coil will immediately have significant impact on the frequency response. We knew that the diaphragm size is optimal, so we developed the entire transducer from the ground up for automatic production and much higher performance. We improved the diaphragm material, the coil and the magnet assembly, and on top of that automatic assembly gives us much higher manufacturing consistency. This is crucial. The perception of bass differs a lot if the slope starts at 200 Hz or 300 Hz. With the IE 900 we have the luxury of the most advanced transducer assembly line in the world at the limit of its’ performance.

We understand that great engineering is not an easy story to tell compared to exotic materials (which we tried out and didn’t find worthwhile trade-offs.), but we think the benefits are clearly audible.

 

[Jermo K]

Does Sennheiser have any future plans to release a third IEM model that is priced in-between the IE 300 and IE 900?

I would love to see a model that uses the same driver and tuning as the IE 900, but made with more economic materials like the IE 300.

I wouldn't know anything about that

 

[jude]

Thanks so much for speaking out for so many in our industry. While I think that the science behind the harman-target is repeatable, it has lead to a simplification of headphone evaluation. The main purpose of audiophile headphones is to connect you with your music on a deeper level. Of course tonal balance is one aspect of it, but the perceived space in the music, low distortion or the perception of dynamic bass all play important roles. I know that measurements feel good because they give you something dependable in a highly subjective discussion. But in the end, headphones are so much more than what is commonly measured, so at Sennheiser, we make our tuning decisions based on listening tests, not by the shape of squiggly lines.

On my visits to Sennheiser's headquarters, there were measurements being done all over the place, some of which I'm not even allowed to discuss for reasons of confidentiality. Surely those play a role, don't they?

And just to revisit one part of my previous post: Can you give at least a general description of the tuning you were pursuing with the IE900, both generally and in comparison to one of its siblings like the IE300?

 

[Hanesu]

So how would you describe the tuning differences between ie800 (original) and ie900?

 

[batracom]

So how would you describe the tuning differences between ie800 (original) and ie900?

...and between the IE800S and IE900 if possible too please. I have both the IE800 and IE800S and do love them despite their wearability issues, but find them too warm especially when it comes to orchestral classical. I would love to have a more neutral rendition of the same expansive soundstage and detail...

 

[Jermo K]

Difference between IE800's D2CA and IE900's X3R tech? Any opinions about some website or KOL 's
specific target curve matters/ranked? (yeah, i mean Crinacle and ASR guys)

The X3R technology is much more accurate in pinpointing resonance peaks, so the overall response is smoother. The newly integrated acoustic vortex also adds some "general smoothing" to the area between 6-10 kHz.
I'm strongly against the concept of target curves because I believe that every acoustic concept deserves a specific tuning. The occlusion effect (how closed off our ears are) has a big impact on how we perceive bass: An open headphone with flat bass may sound more impact-full than a BA earphone with a bass shelf. So alone the amount of occlusion (highest for BA earphones, lowest for HD 800 S) requires different considerations for tuning. Target curves are too simplistic to cover this complex behavior.

Apart from that, I talked with crinnacle, and I believe his in-ear target to be more tonally neutral than the Harman target.

 

[Jermo K]

I do have a question for the session, since Jermo is really knowledgeable:

What is the difference between Helmholtz resonators and passive radiators?

For one, the purpose in this context is completely different: We use resonator chambers to reduce high-frequency peaks, passive radiators are almost always used to improve bass extension in loudspeakers. They function by using the energy directed inwards by the speaker and directing the energy outwards over another diaphragm without electronics attached. In a well-engineered context, they always result in a worse impulse response than bass-reflex systems, which Neumann for example uses.
Helmholtz resonators in the IE 900 provide a spring made of compressible air: At certain frequencies, the sound pressure compresses the air, and at the negative part of the acoustic signal the spring unloads and reduces the signal by a certain amplitude.

 

[Jermo K]

I'd love to know how the acoustic back-volume works, in particular in regard to whether it has, as an objective, reduced ear fatigue. Is the aim here to minimize pressure on the ear drum or does it have a different purpose?

It's our main instrument for tuning. This is one of the main innovations with the 7mm transducer platform we now use. Usually, you build a transducer (Chassis, magnet, diaphragm & voice coil) and do a lot of the tuning with the housing of the earphone. Our back volume provides a finite air volume for the transducer to resonate as well as dampening, ie. for slope steepness and level of bass. What makes us special is that the back volume is directly attached to the transducer in the automatic assembly machine. The transducer with the nozzle and back volume are the full acoustic module which you can put into your ear and listen to. This is amazing for quality control, since variations during earphone assembly have no impact on sound anymore.

 

[tranhieu]

Hi Jermo, thanks for being here today with the Q&A session, and thanks Jude for making it happen.

First of all the announcement of the IE900 is such a great surprise that hardly anyone here expected. I really love the way the metal shells are CNC-ed and all the technologies that were applied in this IEM.

My question is, based on the preliminary measurements the IE900 looks very similar to its predecessors (IE800 & IE800S). Is there any chance the driver used here is from the same family? We all know that dynamic drivers are very sensitive to the chamber it's being housed within and the IE900's resonance peaks are very similar (in terms of frequencies & amplitude) to that of the IE800(S).

I know the IE800(S) are brilliant IEMs so it makes sense to use the same great components. It's just the measurements are very interesting with all the similarities and so on.