[JonathanHF]

I've been a fan of sennheiser and own MX550 and HD650.
And I am very satisfied with both, even unamped.
That's what drew me to try the new senn's IEM.
Just receive my IE7 a few days ago.
My first impression is they have excessive, over-bloated bass that almost kills
the entire spectrum of music. The mids and highs are still there, but nothing special.

Burn in:
30 hours: the bass seems to reduce, gain better control, and become less muffled. The sound opens up slightly compared to the first day.
40 hours: the excessive bass comes back again

, which makes my ear fatigue after 10 minutes of listening. The overall sound is still the same.

Side note:
when I grab my old Sony EX85(they are dynamic phones btw) I was surprised by how similar they sound compared to IE7. The soundstage is almost identical. The main difference is that the IE7 has more body and more quantity on the bass.

I was expecting more from sennheiser. Before I make any final judgment on those, I'll burn in the IE7 more to give fair comparison and objection.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Jon, 40 hours is pretty much next to nothing when it comes to burning these in. Try at least 200-300 before making a final decision. The bass definitely does tone down and gets very refined and detailed. Don't worry

 

[Butter123]

Jonathan, don't give up on your IE7 just yet. When I was got it, I was like: "what is so special about this, did I just brought a $300 earphone that sounds just ok" after about 150 hour of burnin, the bass become less muffled and amount. The bass is very deep, hitting those 20-30hz notes really well. The high is amazing with a crisp and well blended detail. The IE7's vocal became much more emotional and forward. one thing that the IE7 do lack on is the spark, which mostly can be only found in armature drivers. I use to be a basshead but after getting those earphone, I really changed. Before I thought my HD555 was bass-less, now I think they are bass heavy after listening to the IE7. They are that great. Another thing great about the IE7 is the build quality, they are the most durable earphones yet, much better than my UE superfi 5 eb, which developed cracks only 1 day of use and my image x10's joins was starting to torn apart after a week. The sennheiser IE7 still looks fresh out of the box after a month. WOW

 

[Vincethedevil]

just bought used ie7 for 130$ i think it's a good deal i can't wait for them to arrive.

 

[Hiron]

I received my IE7 2 weeks ago. The burn-in process is now at a state where I truly enjoy the IEM. My first impression was also waaaaay too much bass(I dont like bass).
After 30 hours the bass was reduced a lot, but mids is a bit lacking. Fortunately, after 60 hours the overal sounds become more balanced.

The next big change for vocals is 150+, bass is slightly reduced, bit clearer high and powerful/deeper vocals. At this point I dont have to use the EQ anymore.

Just when I thought Im done with burn-in, at 200+, listening with this IEM became so much more relaxing and enjoyable. The overal sound was suddenly warmer/smoother.

Oh and damn you Head-Fi for hurting my wallet >_>

 

[Butter123]

$130 off ebay? beware there are fake IE7 copies already been made. there is a ebay seller who sells the ie7 without box and tips, he only include the regular tips. write back and see if they are real.

 

[kloan]

^^ that guy is ripping people off. he sells IE8 the exact same way...

you know what his reply his when i asked why? "i don't have access to that stuff at this time"...

buyer beware!

 

[Butter123]

lol, I asked him if they are genuine, he told me they are and they are refurbished. however sennheiser says they don't do refurbished item. He also sells BOSE QC2 and i don't think there are fake QC2 around. Maybe he is just selling the sample unit or returned item. idk, I would wait for newegg to drop the price again then buy it.

 

[JonathanHF]

Thanks DeusInvictus7 and Butter123, I can't wait the IE7 to fully gain its potential.
The bass right now fits well on most of the music, and with more than enough on some tracks, but compared to the first day it's much better.
Interesting that Sennheiser made the IE7s very brutal bass monster right out of the box, which I have no doubt will suit the most demanding bass heads, but terrify the majority of the listeners.

I'll keep the journey update after some burn ins.
I do feel they are still constantly changing.

 

[Butter123]

most dynamic driver earbuds are bass heavy fresh out of the box. Not so much with armature drivers. My superfi 5eb had really muddy bass when I first got it, now is clear and low. Ie7 should really start to change after around 150hour. I recomand using pink noise, freq sweep and white noise. Mix them up a bit. If you have any question just ask

 

[Butter123]

hmm, I just got my Superfi 5 eb back today and it has different sound signature. fresh out of the box, I like the extended semi-clean low bass of the eb, but the high is really harsh especially with the ssssssss, and the mid is being over powered by low and high. The eb's sound stage is very different than that of the ie7, the bass is not blended in the music (separate 13.5mm bass driver), however it feels really big, feel like the movie theater type of bass. I will burn my eb more and see which one to keep, this is very hard to choice. should I go with deep low bass and movie theater sound stage or well blended sound with a great mid/vocal. I listen to all kind of music including classic, rap/hip hop, pop, punk rock, rock, vocal country, i like all music except for hardcore screaming metal rock. Please help me choice head fier

 

[akki007]

Well, I got a set of the eBay double flange tips for my IE7s. They are HUGE! How big are peoples ears on these forums that these tips are fitting? Are you people secretly elephants?

The absolute best fit and sound I can get is from the Senn medium double flangers. The single tips are really thin sounding and the foam ones only came in small and large so they either fall out of my ears, or, err, fall out of my ears.

 

[Butter123]

I also use the senn medium double, they are very hard out of the box, but it gets softer after use.

 

[MuzeY]

Well that's my IE7s had around 150 hours worth of burn-in. Huge improvement in the sound (as said by many people, hundreds of times; the bass has settled significantly) and I'm delighted with these now.

As to the choice of tips - I had been using the Senn medium double-flanged set, and I thought I was happy with them. But then the eBay set arrived!

As Akki commented above, they appeared too big for my ears too. However, they fitted perfectly and comfortably. More importantly though, the difference in sound produced when using these as opposed to the Senn medium doubles was surprising. I find the eBay tips really bring out the middle, and to a lesser extent, the high ranges much more than the Senn tips. Also, I find the eBay tips to block-out a lot more ambient noise. Of course the effects won't be the same for everyone, but I'm chuffed!

Cam

 

[Butter123]

are those double flanged tips same as the one that came with ultimate ears? they look the same. however, i can not get a seal on them what so ever