[EagleWings]

Thanks for the compliment and the opportunity Alex. Glad to contribute to T6. I hope my review lives up to T6 readers' expectations.

 

[DangerMouseUK]

Just got some IE80S love the sound signature.

The Comply tips - do you really have to shove them on? Can someone show me a picture.

Also scanned QR code and just got redirected to a generic Sennheiser page - were bought direct from Amazon UK so hardly going to be fake.

 

[maniac2003]

Also scanned QR code and just got redirected to a generic Sennheiser page

Had the same experience while trying to verify the GSX 1200 Pro. Send out a tweet to Sennheiser Benelux but no answer. Didn't expect a answer though. They only possess one-way communication skills.
To bad, I really like Sennheiser products but the after-sales here in The Netherlands is not Sennheiser worthy in my opinion.

 

[Pinkus]

I don't get it, personally. I got these as a replacement for my ie80 which needed repairs. which was generous of Sennheiser, but - and the ie80 was by no means perfect - i am not getting on with the ie80 s at all. My mind is boggled by people saying that the 'veil has been lifted' because they sound really murky to me. that's the best word to describe my issues with them, but it's not just that... the treble is really painful sometimes and i find myself turning the volume down a lot, but then wanting to turn the volume back up again to get the bass. Something's not right with them. Luckily i fluked upon a cheap pair of IEMs in the meantime that sound good enough to use instead. But i'm not sure whether to sell these on or ask if i can get the old ie 80 back instead. I keep reading people praising them, and then giving them another go, maybe with different tips...but it's not happening.

 

[Stillhart]

I don't get it, personally. I got these as a replacement for my ie80 which needed repairs. which was generous of Sennheiser, but - and the ie80 was by no means perfect - i am not getting on with the ie80 s at all. My mind is boggled by people saying that the 'veil has been lifted' because they sound really murky to me. that's the best word to describe my issues with them, but it's not just that... the treble is really painful sometimes and i find myself turning the volume down a lot, but then wanting to turn the volume back up again to get the bass. Something's not right with them. Luckily i fluked upon a cheap pair of IEMs in the meantime that sound good enough to use instead. But i'm not sure whether to sell these on or ask if i can get the old ie 80 back instead. I keep reading people praising them, and then giving them another go, maybe with different tips...but it's not happening.

I found that I had to turn the bass all the way down and use the double-silicone tips to get the sound to a place that I liked. With the foam tips (my usual go-to), the bass was too wonky for me.

But I think what you're hearing with having to turn it up and down is the recessed mids. I have the same problem with any headphone with recessed mids: I keep turning it up to hear them better but then the treble hurts or the bass gets overwhelming or whatever. Getting the bass toned back as much as possible helps with this a lot. I haven't had an issue with the treble being painful; I find it to be splashy without being peaky. But maybe if I had to turn it up too much... try backing off the bass (via the tuning knobs and the tips) so the mids aren't as relatively recessed and see if that helps.

 

[melons]

I found that I had to turn the bass all the way down and use the double-silicone tips to get the sound to a place that I liked. With the foam tips (my usual go-to), the bass was too wonky for me.

But I think what you're hearing with having to turn it up and down is the recessed mids. I have the same problem with any headphone with recessed mids: I keep turning it up to hear them better but then the treble hurts or the bass gets overwhelming or whatever. Getting the bass toned back as much as possible helps with this a lot. I haven't had an issue with the treble being painful; I find it to be splashy without being peaky. But maybe if I had to turn it up too much... try backing off the bass (via the tuning knobs and the tips) so the mids aren't as relatively recessed and see if that helps.

I don't get it either, obviously device biased but with standard cable & buds the ie80s's sounded great with an AK70 Mkii DAP (playing flac). When I swopped out the std cable for a Forza Audio Hybrid balanced 2.5mm TRRS the frequency spectrum widened greatly, I got better everything, from deeper bass all the way to much higher treble (not sibilant at all, just much higher). I played with adjusting the bass setting but this just seemed to compromise SQ over the spectrum. Ended up adding some Comply tips which reigned in the treble (not sure if it was an uber solution as I miss the wider spectrum on some albums, but it works for 80% of my music). Since adding the after market cable the iem's have sounded open & glorious, no 'senheiser veil' or muddy'ness at all, but the bass adjustment imo is a crime against music and should never ever be used

 

[Focux]

I've pulled the trigger and ordered a pair from Amazon. I simply had to try them myself.

One things must be said loud and clear: Sennheiser's own silicone tips for the IE series suck. They're absolutely terrible. I've tried the IE80S with the standard pre-mounted medium silicone tips and it sounds nothing like it should. Boomy bass, heavily recessed mids, and shrill highs with tizzy cymbals and even sibilance in the vocals. Simply terrible, sounds like you'd expect a counterfeit to sound like. For some reason, Sennheiser dropped their hard foam tips and only provide single- and double-flange silicone tips - none of which ever gave me a good fit with the IE8 and IE80.
Luckily, they do provide Comply tips of all sizes, so in spite of my gripes with Complys, I resorted to using the small ones.

With the Complys, the IE80S finally does sound like the Sennheiser that it is.

Whatever you think about its sound signature, there's one thing I hope everyone can agree on: the soundstage is GIGANTIC. Like the IE8 and IE80 before, this is a soundstage so expansive that I've never heard anything remotely comparable from other IEMs. It's wide, very wide, and after a while it's like you're floating in it.

This, of course, may come at the cost of intimacy. If you like your sound to be very upfront, this is not the IEM for you. The IE80S is smooth; there's really no better word to describe it. The bass is, to me, fantastic. Yes, I can see how people used to neutral sound signatures can easily find it to be excessive. I myself think it's a bit exaggerated with some recordings. But it's warm, bouncy, engaging; it gives body to the sound, where I find so many other headphones are missing something. It's truly what the "base" of the overall sound signature should be.

The vocals are clean and precise, but yeah, definitely a little recessed. "Bathtub-shaped sound" is excessive criticism in my opinion, but vocals could easily be that little more upfront and nothing would be lost - quite the contrary, actually. They do get a bit lost in that expansive soundstage. Vocals are there, but not close to you.

As for the highs, they're... smooth. Present, fast, energetic, but very controlled. No hint of sibilance, cymbals have nice detail and snap but they'll never hurt your ears if you're sensitive to high frequencies.

Yet, the overall presentation of the IE80S is fun. I've tried other Sennheiser models such as the original Momentum, and even the HD650. The HD650 I found to be simply boring: smooth to the point of having no energy and snap at all, and with insufficient bass emphasis. The Momentum was great in the lower frequencies but it had virtually no highs at all: very warm, very smooth, but too slow, incapable of giving the slightest energy to any track.
The IE80S - like the other IE8x Sennheisers - to me is just right. It's really fun, always smooth, never shrill, and pretty quick.

I'm still on the fence about the IE80S being a worthy upgrade to the IE80. It's less flashy, less plasticky, and the earpieces are slightly smaller, providing better insertion and fit, but it's still anything but ergonomic. I don't know why Sennheiser went with this design when so many other IEMs come in a much more ergonomic shape.
The cable is thicker, but still not stiff enough, and it still doesn't have a memory section at the end. The IE80S also has a straight headphone jack, rather than the L-shaped jack of the IE8 and IE80. I don't know why straight headphone jacks are back, some years ago everyone on Head-Fi and audiophile sites was clamoring for L-shaped jacks. Maybe it's about smartphones dropping the headphone port and providing dongles, where L-shaped jacks would put more strain on the cable?

Anyway, the IE80S is quite expensive and the sound doesn't seem to be that much improved from the previous model. I still haven't made an A/B comparison with the IE80, but I may end up returning the new model as it does sound quite similar and I was more than satisfied with the original IE80. Both offer something that you can't find in any other IEM in the same price range, but I can see how they're not for everyone.

I don't get it, personally. I got these as a replacement for my ie80 which needed repairs. which was generous of Sennheiser, but - and the ie80 was by no means perfect - i am not getting on with the ie80 s at all. My mind is boggled by people saying that the 'veil has been lifted' because they sound really murky to me. that's the best word to describe my issues with them, but it's not just that... the treble is really painful sometimes and i find myself turning the volume down a lot, but then wanting to turn the volume back up again to get the bass. Something's not right with them. Luckily i fluked upon a cheap pair of IEMs in the meantime that sound good enough to use instead. But i'm not sure whether to sell these on or ask if i can get the old ie 80 back instead. I keep reading people praising them, and then giving them another go, maybe with different tips...but it's not happening.

definitely got to agree with these, demo'ed them before i bought the BJ's as i'd been a long time IE80 user but alas, like Pinkus mentioned it sounded veiled/murky. i still keep my IE80's tho =)

 

[royneo]

Has anyone tried to EQ their IE 80 S to be neutral-like? I'm interested to know your settings!

 

[EagleWings]

With the regular 10-Band EQ, you can't do much. With a Parametric EQ, you can get somewhat close.

300Hz, -3dB, Q = 0.6
800Hz, +3dB, Q = 0.6
2.5kHz, +7dB, Q = 1.2
6kHz, -5dB, Q = 2

Here is something you can try with the 10-Band EQ, but it won't be as good:

250hz: -4dB
1kHz: +3dB
2kHz: +6dB
8kH: -4dB

 

[cfc7]

Has anyone tried to EQ their IE 80 S to be neutral-like? I'm interested to know your settings!

With 5-band EQ:
1khz= +4 db
2.5khz= +4 db
6khz= -6db

With 10-band I use one more for 250Hz: -2db.

I will try to test the IE80 with Neutron's parametric EQ also, but I'm not quite familiar with those settings.

 

[royneo]

Thanks for sharing guys, much appreciated! Will give those 10-band EQ settings a try once my IE 80 S arrives.

 

[marvin3003]

Tomorrow my ta-zh1es sony amp arrives and i was wondering if any of you has a good recommendation for a balanced cable for the ie 80s. it would be great if the mids could could come a little bit more forward.

What are your experiences with these iems and balanced cables in general?

 

[SlothRock]

So I’ve had these for about a year and my left earbud is now making staticy sounds as if it’s getting overloaded in parts of songs. I’ve listened to a few different types of songs to make sure it’s the earbud and not the song itself.

What are the odds I just need to replace the cable vs the earbud itself being broken? Reaaaalllllyyyy hoping it’s just the cable

 

[Tagheuer]

Hi guys,this earphones really sounds good,but price is pretty higher.Any alternative for Sennheiser IE80 S? Thanks in advance.

 

[AltoBajo]

Anyone sitting on the fence over the ie80s,rest assured,they're a big improvement on the earlier iterations.They still have a large soundstage,tamed but present and focused bass,as well as an airier treble. I've had ie8s,several pairs of ie80,and now the ie80s.I use a Forza Audioworks Hybrid copper & silver cable,really takes everything up a notch or two.A smooth,full and detailed soundscape,what's not to like?