[frix]

Thank you for writing down some of the QA

 

[bizkid]

Thanks for the Interview. I would agree that pure frequency response measurements are highly hugely overrated in recent years. Why not measure impulse response for a change? It's important in (Studio) speakers so why not headphones. Also I think people are way too finicky about freq. response... moaning about 1-2db here and there seems crazy to me. Maybe on I don't fit in this community anymore because I can pretty much enjoy any tuning as long there is a base level of fidelity.

 

[KPzypher]

I decided to start my DAP/IEM journey (again ), and these all came in today.

So, the IE 300........

BLUF, I like it quite a bit.

While searching for new IEMs, I wanted at least one of my initial set to be a single DD and compact enough that I can comfortably wear tossing around in bed. And I thought these fit the bill perfectly. Low THD (for IEMs) is another factor that drew me in. I generally like Sennheiser products, and for this round, I wanted to avoid boutique Chi-fi products.

During the unboxing, I was genuinely surprised by how light and small these felt in my hands. I felt the cable weight more than anything. Aesthetically, the specks on the unit are more subtle in person than in the pictures. I typically don't prefer wired ear guides, but this one is very soft and well implemented. And most importantly, they fit my ears great, and are super comfortable to wear with no hotspots. To date, SE486 was the most comfortable IEMs for me, and the IE 300 are just as comfortable, if not more (YMMV).

Sound wise, I initially thought these were a bit recessed in the mids and off timbre, but quickly realized it was due to poor seal. The stem is a bit on the shorter side IMO considering the small unit size, and didn't insert deep enough. As a result, they did not provide a secure fit. Once I replaced the stock tips with the longer spinfits leftover from my portable days, they sounded much better. The included foam tips although fit well, sound a bit subdued and bloated (when low end is already boosted). I think longer pointier silicone tips will generally work better.

These to me have very similar sound signature (but better) to the momentum series. Overall on the warmer side with slight tilt towards the LF. The rest of the FR IMO have good tonal balance. It has all the right ingredients for a pleasing listen during long sessions and for casual listening.

So, few things I did not like. Several people mentioned microphonic cable, and it is terribly so (slight touch at the y-splitter makes loud noises). And the cable is quite stiff and retain its shape. I don't think the splitter is positioned too high but for some reason, the cable very uncomfortably wraps around my neck while the material of the sleeve makes the cable stick to my neck easily, which is my biggest complaint about this IEM. This makes wearing the IEM very "noticeable" despite the light weight and super comfortable fit.

Overall, I'm quite pleased.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

The Cable is so bad it should be considered defective.

 

[KPzypher]

The Cable is so bad it should be considered defective.

I wouldn't go that far, but soft, pliable, and lightweight cable will make this IEM so much more pleasurable to wear. I am not a cable guy but I can definitely make an exception in this case.

 

[autosleeper]

What were the conditions in which the right ear piece died on you?

From the moment I got them the sound in the right channel cut out on occasion, but came back when I adjusted the fit. I think I thought I just had an improper fit when this was happening. But then one day the right side just went completely dead.

Got my replacements today. No problems so far, touch wood. I’d really missed them!

 

[Evshrug]

Sorry, I missed his name

His name is Jermo (Yer-mo)!
MRSallee, you did a fantastic job writing down some of the Q&A! You did the bulk of the work (and some parts he spoke so fluently that it would have been hard to keep up while typing, at least for me!), I just want to expand and add a few comments

We identified that problem and removed it. 0.5% risk

Less than 0.5% and now even better. There was definitely a goal from the beginning to make these extremely robust and durable, now they’re even more so.

lightweight and very, very large drivers

Yes, Electrostat drivers are very lightweight... often lighter than air! This gives them low inertia, and that can allow for hyper fine detail. However, since the membrane is sandwiched between two stator meshes, the driver can’t extend much for those louder or deeper tones. To get air displacement equal or closer to a Dynamic driver, EST drivers have to have much more surface area, i.e. be larger.

But to make the Electrostatic driver small enough to fit inside an in-ear, you lose many of these benefits, and you also need to amplify them properly which can be cumbersome for portable use.

Around this time, and at a few other points, Jermo held up the acoustic capsule with the IE 300 driver and resonators, as well as the HD 800S’ ring driver. Seeing these parts separate from their headphones can tell you a lot about a headphone (Jermo said something about how they’re the heart of a headphone, but I’m also paraphrasing here!). He also mentioned how the HD 800S driver design principle has an unusually large size, but since it was also secured (fastened?) at the center (for that distinctive ring shape) the movement of the driver membrane could be exceptionally well controlled (less modal distortion... wibble-wobbling driver at high energy passages). Driver tech is fun!

If you want an emotional attachment, feeling the bass impact is closer to a realistic reproduction

He’s talking about a tuning target. Making a headphone sound like you’re at an audio engineer’s mixing studio sitting in front of monitor speakers is a fine place to start, but sometimes the goal (and probable listening environment) is to present more of an emotional impact than those dead-neutral studio monitors in a very dry, acoustically treated room.

A typical hi-fi (Jermo pronounced it like High-Fee, taking the abbreviation of High Fidelity very seriously ) listening room at home will have more reverberant walls and the perception of increased bass response compared to a studio, so sometimes a tasteful boost in that area will make it feel like a home listening room that’s really dialed in, and let’s be honest... sometimes we’re just in the mood for a bit more bass impact. It’s fun!

Again, you did a great job transcribing the stream for the people who may have missed it! There were a few other parts about driver discussion and what headphones he was wearing, etc, but you picked the most relevant parts and covered a ton!

 

[earmonger]

Would have been nice if someone with their acoustic prototypes had walked around the lab with the stupid cable and heard how microphonic it is.

I've been listening to the IE300 a lot and I have no complaints with the vocal registers. I hear male and female vocals quite clearly. The bass boost doesn't get in the way.

 

[autosleeper]

I’ve only ever experienced the microphonics issue when I had the cable under my shirt and kinda loosely hanging out my collar. When I let ‘em hang naturally (wink wink)there’s no problem.

 

[Evshrug]

I’ve only ever experienced the microphonics issue when I had the cable under my shirt and kinda loosely hanging out my collar. When I let ‘em hang naturally (wink wink)there’s no problem.

Someone’s living their best pandemic

 

[544592]

Seems the problem is more common than 0.5% ... I received my pair just yesterday and with less than 2 or 3 hours of use at lowish volumes the left IEM has gone kaput!



Having read other stories of the same nature with these I have lost all confidence in them. Not sure I'll get replacements although the bass extension and speed over the IE100 Pro's is nice and the mid/treble is more creamy. They are also a tad smaller but possibly too small, the IE 100 Pro's are a perfect size. Overall the performance and overall value over the IE 100's just isn't there for me.



I'll look at other options
Possibly looking like the IE900 will be there last hurrah with 1DD after the take over from the hearing aid company, in which in case if they start perfecting a 1BA IEM I'm ALL in!

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

wow they really sticking with the same connector with the IE900 and the annoying Memory wire within the cable. That's a HUGE No-No

Early Impression is seemed positive.

https://crinacle.com/2021/05/11/sennheiser-releases-new-flagship-iem-ie900/

 

[KPzypher]

wow they really sticking with the same connector with the IE900 and the annoying Memory wire within the cable. That's a HUGE No-No

Early Impression is seemed positive.

Thanks for the news. I'm excited.

Yeah looks like the same cable and eartips, and the only difference being the choice of termination in 2.5, 3.5, or 4.4.
Also, seems like the transducer used is the similar/same 7mm driver w/ some improvements in the chamber design, which is a bit disappointing considering the >$1K price tag. Let's see how much more they can squeeze out of that tiny driver.

On the other hand 0.05 THD is truly exceptional for an IEM. A spec most chi-fi companies fail to disclose for obvious reasons.

General Spec sheet if anyone is interested.

Not too worried about Crin's impressions (or anyone else' for that matter) as personal preference always plays a bigger role, at least in my case. Case in point, lots of people aren't too fond of the HD820, but I love it. I had to eventually get rid of them due to fit (lack of clamp force), but had no complaints sound wise. Nevertheless, I'm still excited about the IE900 despite few personal design drawbacks, and likely pick them up upon release.

Speaking of, any idea when these will be available?

 

[ericpalonen]

Thanks for the news. I'm excited.

Yeah looks like the same cable and eartips, and the only difference being the choice of termination in 2.5, 3.5, or 4.4.
Also, seems like the transducer used is the similar/same 7mm driver w/ some improvements in the chamber design, which is a bit disappointing considering the >$1K price tag. Let's see how much more they can squeeze out of that tiny driver.

On the other hand 0.05 THD is truly exceptional for an IEM. A spec most chi-fi companies fail to disclose for obvious reasons.

General Spec sheet if anyone is interested.

Not too worried about Crin's impressions (or anyone else' for that matter) as personal preference always plays a bigger role, at least in my case. Case in point, lots of people aren't too fond of the HD820, but I love it. I had to eventually get rid of them due to fit (lack of clamp force), but had no complaints sound wise. Nevertheless, I'm still excited about the IE900 despite few personal design drawbacks, and likely pick them up upon release.

Speaking of, any idea when these will be available

We were hoping for some questions about the 7mm transducer inside. Think of it as a platform for which so many possibilities and sound profiles are possible. The X3R tech is the overarching story here, as sound quality in ANY headphone/earphone/speaker is so much more than just the driver by itself. Come on over to the official thread for availability and some cool demonstrations of the internals:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/every-detail-matters-introducing-the-all-new-ie-900.957711/

Cheers!

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

imagine your Car only accept proprietary tires... yeah it's a hard pass until aftermarket or alternative cables are wildly available or easily obtainable.