[duranxv]

So my replacement pair just broke in exactly the same way with the left driver going out intermittently.

0.5% risk? Doesn't seem like it. This time they lasted almost two months instead of two days.

I have exactly the same issue, except it was the cable rather than the driver

 

[Obizzz]

I have exactly the same issue, except it was the cable rather than the driver

I haven’t checked but I’m 90% sure it’s internal to the unit this time as well. There is a metallic ”ping” sound as if something is loose inside which was exactly how it was last time which leads me to believe it’s not just the cable. I will try switching the cable from left to right to confirm later.

I went back to my old IE 40 Pros which I’ve kept as a backup and while they lack a bit of resolution and detail compared to the IE 300 they’re better at pretty much everything else.

The tuning is better balanced. The materials and cable feel a lot more ”Pro” which is bit funny considering it was a third of the price.

The fit is also better for me as well as sound isolation. In a few ways the IE 300 is actually a sidegrade or even a downgrade.

I bought some different tips to try with the IE 300 but eventually went back to the stock ones as they provided the best tuning. The IE 40 Pros work very well with the AET 07 and Spinfit CP100 Plus tips though.
They were nice on the IE 300 but altered the tuning too much. AET 07 felt like they cut off but the top and low end and killed some of the detail. CP100 Plus worked very well for everything but the treble which became very harsh and sibilant. IE 40 tuning is less on the limit when it comes to the treble so the CP 100 Plus is pretty much perfect.

Considering the IE 300 are less than two months old I will get them replaced under warranty but I think I might actually prefer the IE 40 Pros after all

It sounds like the IE 600 tuning might be a good fit to what I like but with Sennheiser having the same issue I’ve had with IE 300, 400 Pro and IE 900 I’ll definitely wait before spending any more money on their IEM line.

 

[Obizzz]

Yep. It’s definitely inside the earbud. Switching left and right cables confirmed it’s not the cable.

Not that I needed to as even with the sound turned off I can hear a faint ticking/clicking noise when I put it in my ear and touch it the pressure created from the seal makes something connected to the driver move which means something inside is loose. I heard the exact same sound on my last pair when they gave up.

 

[Dust by Monday]

At first I was extremely high on the IE300. I loved the timbre, imaging is first rate, and the maturity in the sound is lush and beautiful...BUT...after I got the IE100 pro, the bass simply became overbearing when I'd side by side. With pop, hip hop and electronica/industrial, the IE300 was unmatched and just a pleasure, but when I switched to rock., classic rock and metal, which are my main staples, the bass intrusion simply became too much and interfered with the tone, speed and bass quality. The IE100 pro smoked them with a much more balanced and responsive speedy bass in those genres, and a little more airy and sparkly treble. That combo made it more pleasing with the IE100 pro, but for pop and bass driven music, the IE300 was BOSS.

That's odd that you would say that about the bass in the IE 300 vs the 100 Pro. I had the IE 100 Pro for a couple months and I loved them, but I recently upgraded to the IE 400 Pro and I'm enjoying the slightly fuller sound of the 400. Maybe I don't turn them up loud enough for the bass to really rattle me, but at about half volume on my iPhone, they sound only slightly bassier than my 100's did. Also, instrument separation is a bit better on the 400s too.

So like I said, I'm not sure what volume you're running the 300's at, but the 300 and 400 Pro measure almost exactly the same (especially in the bass region) and I was initially worried that the bass would be too much for me and ruin a lot of songs but I'm finding that it really doesn't. Rap songs sound thumpy, but rock songs sound normal, but you can hear the kick drum just a slight bit better. I like that. It's not too much.

 

[Dust by Monday]

It sounds like the IE 600 tuning might be a good fit to what I like but with the Sennheiser having the same issue I’ve had with IE 300, 400 Pro and IE 900 I’ll definitely wait before spending any more money on their IEM line.

What issue did you have with the IE 400 Pro? I have the 100 Pro and 400 Pro and they are both flawless as far as I can tell. Maybe I got lucky?

 

[Obizzz]

What issue did you have with the IE 400 Pro? I have the 100 Pro and 400 Pro and they are both flawless as far as I can tell. Maybe I got lucky?

I haven't had any issues with them since I've only had the IE 40 Pro and IE 300 but they seem to be plagued by the same issue I've had with both of my IE 300 https://www.reddit.com/r/sennheiser/comments/l34pc8/no_sound_in_one_ear/

There are multiple reports of this happening to users of the IE 300, IE 400 Pro and IE 900. I can't seem to find any reports of this happening on the IE 40 or IE 100 though.

Sennheiser even acknowledged that there is an issue but stated there is a 0.5% chance of it happening so they took the risk. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-ie300-review-measurements.952013/post-16338811

It's hard to tell from reports how common the issue is though since people generally don't post saying everything is fine. It's pretty easy to find reports of it happening to the IE 300. There are a few people with single or multiple failures in this thread and lots of posts over at reddit, amazon reviews and similar places for the IE 300.

Most reports concern the IE 300 but I expect they outsold the other models (not counting IE40 and 100) by quite a large margin so it's hard to draw any conclusions from that.

My IE 40 Pros have been flawless and I've used them a lot for about two years.

It's hard to know how common this issue really is and maybe I was just really unlucky with two pairs that failed but it's enough to make me hesitant about spending any more money on Sennheiser's IEM lineup.

 

[Dust by Monday]

I haven't had any issues with them since I've only had the IE 40 Pro and IE 300 but they seem to be plagued by the same issue I've had with both of my IE 300 https://www.reddit.com/r/sennheiser/comments/l34pc8/no_sound_in_one_ear/

There are multiple reports of this happening to users of the IE 300, IE 400 Pro and IE 900. I can't seem to find any reports of this happening on the IE 40 or IE 100 though.

Sennheiser even acknowledged that there is an issue but stated there is a 0.5% chance of it happening so they took the risk. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-ie300-review-measurements.952013/post-16338811

It's hard to tell from reports how common the issue is though since people generally don't post saying everything is fine. It's pretty easy to find reports of it happening to the IE 300. There are a few people with single or multiple failures in this thread and lots of posts over at reddit, amazon reviews and similar places for the IE 300.

Most reports concern the IE 300 but I expect they outsold the other models (not counting IE40 and 100) by quite a large margin so it's hard to draw any conclusions from that.

My IE 40 Pros have been flawless and I've used them a lot for about two years.

It's hard to know how common this issue really is and maybe I was just really unlucky with two pairs that failed but it's enough to make me hesitant about spending any more money on Sennheiser's IEM lineup.

Hopefully nothing happens to my IE 400 Pros, but I got that 2 year warranty, so there's that.

If they ever stop working outside of the warranty, I'll just go back to IE 100 as they sound pretty damn good and they're cheap enough.

 

[Dust by Monday]

Sennheiser even acknowledged that there is an issue but stated there is a 0.5% chance of it happening so they took the risk. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-ie300-review-measurements.952013/post-16338811

Even at .5%, that's 1 in every 100 pairs of IEMs. That's kinda bad.

I haven't seen a lot of people complain about the IE 400 Pro. Also, is there a chance that they've fixed the issue by now? I just got mine like a couple weeks ago.

 

[Obizzz]

Even at .5%, that's 1 in every 100 pairs of IEMs. That's kinda bad.

I haven't seen a lot of people complain about the IE 400 Pro. Also, is there a chance that they've fixed the issue by now? I just got mine like a couple weeks ago.

According the Sennheiser rep quoted in the post I linked they fixed it on the IE 300 almost a year ago which obviously isn't true unless both my pairs were from old stock which would be strange considering they were sold out for a while. With that said the chances that both my pairs were from the same batch would be pretty likely since I got them replaced by Amazon within a few days of buying the first pair.

I wouldn't worry about it. It might be a lot less frequent on the IE 400 or no longer an issue.

 

[Dust by Monday]

According the Sennheiser rep quoted in the post I linked they fixed it on the IE 300 almost a year ago which obviously isn't true unless both my pairs were from old stock which would be strange considering they were sold out for a while. With that said the chances that both my pairs were from the same batch would be pretty likely since I got them replaced by Amazon within a few days of buying the first pair.

I wouldn't worry about it. It might be a lot less frequent on the IE 400 or no longer an issue.

Aren't the 300s made in China whereas the 400 Pros are made in Germany?

 

[Sam L]

Couldn't resist... Not sure if they've dropped in price consistently or if this is just a flash sale?

 

[InvisibleInk]

Couldn't resist... Not sure if they've dropped in price consistently or if this is just a flash sale?

Best discount I've seen so far. I paid $250 USD for mine.

 

[Dust by Monday]

Best discount I've seen so far. I paid $250 USD for mine.

I’ve seen them for $199

 

[NecroPhage]

Hello folks,
I now have used the IE300 for more than half a year and payed full price for it.

First the positives :

1. The build
2. The fit
3. The looks

The negatives :

1. The mids are not transparent
2. The mids get crowded
3. Lack of upper midrange
4. Volume increase to have the mids high enough, this results in overbearing sub and midbass as well as high treble
5. Hollow midrange, lacking a bit of weight

Conclusion :

These are not worth it for 300 and even for the current price of 200 in Europe. The tuning alone make these a nonstarter headphone !

Comparison :

• IE300 vs TWS 1000XM3 => The tuning of the TWS makes them a better headphone, period !
• IE300 vs GR09 => no chance for the Sennheiser
• IE300 vs Titan S => again the tuning make these better, though the Dunu has shouty upper mids
• IE300 vs Tanchjim Hana V2 => again no chance

All in all, settle for the Sennheiser IE600 with proper mids according to the measurments

 

[Dust by Monday]

Hello folks,
I now have used the IE300 for more than half a year and payed full price for it.

First the positives :

1. The build
2. The fit
3. The looks

The negatives :

1. The mids are not transparent
2. The mids get crowded
3. Lack of upper midrange
4. Volume increase to have the mids high enough, this results in overbearing sub and midbass as well as high treble
5. Hollow midrange, lacking a bit of weight

Conclusion :

These are not worth it for 300 and even for the current price of 200 in Europe. The tuning alone make these a nonstarter headphone !

Comparison :

• IE300 vs TWS 1000XM3 => The tuning of the TWS makes them a better headphone, period !
• IE300 vs GR09 => no chance for the Sennheiser
• IE300 vs Titan S => again the tuning make these better, though the Dunu has shouty upper mids
• IE300 vs Tanchjim Hana V2 => again no chance

All in all, settle for the Sennheiser IE600 with proper mids according to the measurments

Do you think the IE 100/400 Pros are better than the IE 300?