EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks for the compliment and the opportunity Alex. Glad to contribute to T6. I hope my review lives up to T6 readers' expectations.
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.Also scanned QR code and just got redirected to a generic Sennheiser page
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.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.
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.
Has anyone tried to EQ their IE 80 S to be neutral-like? I'm interested to know your settings!