[percula]

I just got the IE 7s from Ebay for $80 so I'm hoping these are not imitations :\
Out of the box, they sound VERY muffled with very loose bass.  I know there's a burn-in time, but good god, it sounds like crap right now.  My cheapy 
$20 headphones sounds much better.  Am I missing something?  
The source is The Planets CD with Jupiter playing...On my Grado 225i (with 50+ hrs burn in), sounds amazing for mids/highs..Bass could use some work, but i know Grados are not known for bass..so I have my beyerdynamics DT770 32ohms for bass.  
 
So back to the IE 7...need some re-assurance these will sound ALOT better over time or should I return?
 
thanks in advance

 

[jleewach]

Quote:

I just got the IE 7s from Ebay for $80 so I'm hoping these are not imitations :\
Out of the box, they sound VERY muffled with very loose bass.  I know there's a burn-in time, but good god, it sounds like crap right now.  My cheapy 
$20 headphones sounds much better.  Am I missing something?  
The source is The Planets CD with Jupiter playing...On my Grado 225i (with 50+ hrs burn in), sounds amazing for mids/highs..Bass could use some work, but i know Grados are not known for bass..so I have my beyerdynamics DT770 32ohms for bass.  
 
So back to the IE 7...need some re-assurance these will sound ALOT better over time or should I return?
 
thanks in advance

Honestly, it seems very possible you bought counterfeits. Strike 1; you purchased from Ebay. Strike 2; you only paid $80 for them. Strike 3; you're saying they are VERY muffled w/ loose bass. Definitely NOT characteristic of IE7 SQ. Not in my opinion anyway. 

 

[fallingreason]

Sounds like fakes to me.  
 
How is the quality of the cable?  That's a pretty easy way to tell if everything else seems to be real.
 

 

[percula]

thanks for the feedback.  I'm demanding a refund now.  Here's a great link to compare fakes from the originals.  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/463826/so-i-got-some-fake-sennheiser-ie7-s-hq-pics-inside

 

[decayed.cell]

Quote:

thanks for the feedback.  I'm demanding a refund now.  Here's a great link to compare fakes from the originals.  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/463826/so-i-got-some-fake-sennheiser-ie7-s-hq-pics-inside

Mate you know you can get them off Amazon refurb for $94? http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00125UBVA/ref=dp_olp_refurbished?ie=UTF8&qid=1299031283&sr=8-1&condition=refurbished
 
I got mine from there sound is great. I'm pretty sure mine are genuine - came with the Sennheiser box, jack is semi transparent etc. I have to say though, I bought Comply T-400s and the isolation and comfort have improved heaps, but the bass is a bit too heavy now
 

 

[TrantaLocked]

Quote:

Custom 3's are my go-to for fast metal and rock.  They make the music sound much more exciting and alive than the IE7.
 
However, these are also worn over-ear.

Aren't the Custom 3s like at least $100 more expensive? I would assume any thing in the next league above the IE7s would sound better at any genre, unless you mean the Custom 3s only win in metal against the IE7s?

 

[fallingreason]

Custom 3's were going for $99 brand new for quite a while, and under 100 used here.  Not sure if you can still find them at that price.
 
I did mean just at metal/rock.  The IE7 timbre was far more realistic and enjoyable for acoustic, classical, jazz, etc.   I only enjoy Klipsch's bright signature when listening to some genre's.  YMMV  
 
I'm not sure I would classify the Custom3 as a league above the IE7.  If I had to choose between the two entirely, I would go with the IE7 hands down.

 

[TrantaLocked]

I wish I could hear both to decide.

 

[DefQon]

Received mine couple days ago. As a previous owner of the T.fi 10's, these are definitely nice, maybe the mids being not as good as the T.fi 10's (been long time since I've last heard them) but after approx 20 hrs of burn in, the soundstage has really opened up sounds really great, bass has opened up alot as well, a little bit loose (tighter bass after longer burn in time?) but definitely accurate and punchy right on the spot when it needs to, highs are alright now maybe it will gradually get better after longer burn in process? Mids can improve I'm guessing also after a longer burn-in period, right now its just the bass and soundstage that is filling up the sound but doing so really good. But I guess over 100hrs of burn in, I will see some more significant improvements. I'm using the large foam tips that came with the earphones, they are a bit uncomfortably for long time, but they do provide a good sell and blocks outside noise really well. Unless someone here could recommend me medium sized eartips for these great IEM's that provides a good seal as well as being comfortable. I will update my impression on these after 50 hrs of burn-in (plugged to my phone playing overnight on shuffle and repeat all)
 
(P.S Listening to Ophidian - Butterfly VIP edit makes me wanna cry over the nice piano intro

 

[lee730]

Burn them in for 250 hours and they will be awesome. I couldn't stand to listen to mine until about 220 hours of time when coming from a pair of IE8's so I constantly burned them in til 220 hours time and they sounded great ever since.
Quote:

Received mine couple days ago. As a previous owner of the T.fi 10's, these are definitely nice, maybe the mids being not as good as the T.fi 10's (been long time since I've last heard them) but after approx 20 hrs of burn in, the soundstage has really opened up sounds really great, bass has opened up alot as well, a little bit loose (tighter bass after longer burn in time?) but definitely accurate and punchy right on the spot when it needs to, highs are alright now maybe it will gradually get better after longer burn in process? Mids can improve I'm guessing also after a longer burn-in period, right now its just the bass and soundstage that is filling up the sound but doing so really good. But I guess over 100hrs of burn in, I will see some more significant improvements. I'm using the large foam tips that came with the earphones, they are a bit uncomfortably for long time, but they do provide a good sell and blocks outside noise really well. Unless someone here could recommend me medium sized eartips for these great IEM's that provides a good seal as well as being comfortable. I will update my impression on these after 50 hrs of burn-in (plugged to my phone playing overnight on shuffle and repeat all)
 
(P.S Listening to Ophidian - Butterfly VIP edit makes me wanna cry over the nice piano intro

 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I just got the IE 7s from Ebay for $80 so I'm hoping these are not imitations :\
Out of the box, they sound VERY muffled with very loose bass.  I know there's a burn-in time, but good god, it sounds like crap right now.  My cheapy 
$20 headphones sounds much better.  Am I missing something?  
The source is The Planets CD with Jupiter playing...On my Grado 225i (with 50+ hrs burn in), sounds amazing for mids/highs..Bass could use some work, but i know Grados are not known for bass..so I have my beyerdynamics DT770 32ohms for bass.  
 
So back to the IE 7...need some re-assurance these will sound ALOT better over time or should I return?
 
thanks in advance

Get your IE7's from adgtron on amazon.com. They sell refurbished (like new) for $94.00 and they are a Sennheiser Authorized dealer so you get warranty.
 

 

[sjondenon]

hi there,
 
I'm looking for a replacement for my Jays Q_Jays and i'm considering to buy the IE7. Before my Q-jays I owned the sennheiser cx300-II, cx400I and II, Sony MDR-EX300  and the Sennheiser cx870.
I'm switching back to sennie because i like their warm sound. My question is: can someone give a comparison between the IE7 and the Q-Jays? I like the highs and the recoil of the bass on the Jays, but they sound cold and produce not enough bass...  And can you compare the depth of the bass of the IE7 to the sony EX300? (the sonys go really deep)

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

hi there,
 
I'm looking for a replacement for my Jays Q_Jays and i'm considering to buy the IE7. Before my Q-jays I owned the sennheiser cx300-II, cx400I and II, Sony MDR-EX300  and the Sennheiser cx870.
I'm switching back to sennie because i like their warm sound. My question is: can someone give a comparison between the IE7 and the Q-Jays? I like the highs and the recoil of the bass on the Jays, but they sound cold and produce not enough bass...  And can you compare the depth of the bass of the IE7 to the sony EX300? (the sonys go really deep)

The IE7's floors the Q-Jays in the mid range IEM section (that is burned-in over around the 150-200hr mark). From experience the Q-Jays don't require any sort of burn-in as they are based on two micro armature drivers, they also have good isolation with punchy bass straight out of the box, but if your sensitive to sibilance, then the Q-Jays aren't for you as the highs can be too bright or too harsh sometimes. The drawback of the IE7's is that its based on a dynamic driver which takes a while to burn to get the best sound out of. The mids and highs are pretty much controlled and forward on the IE7 (comparable to IE8), the bass is tight and goes quite deep and punchy when needed to also not to mention is has a huge soundstage (no distortion at high levels whatsoever). Two minor drawbacks with the IE7 is that you need time to burn them in (Straight out of the box the bass is quite muddy, loose and the lows aren't really present) this is due the dynamic drivers used in the IE7, and I think some IE7 owners have had problems with fit and isolation, I'm using the largest stock foam bud's and the T-400 tips and they both provide great isolation and comfort not to mention great tight bass reproduction (T-400 slightly better seal), but you can always try the green olives from the Shure's, T-400 tips, or the hybrid tips from Sony's high-end EX range. Basically a burned-in IE7 will be much better then the Q-Jays. Regarding to your last question does the depth of the bass of IE7 compare to the EX300, I'd say its bit better with bass depth, but the bass is much more fun and comfortable to listen to, as the EX300's are a bit muddy. 
 
Hope this mini comparison review helped you make your decision on which to purchase.

 

[wilzc]

Quote:

thanks for the feedback.  I'm demanding a refund now.  Here's a great link to compare fakes from the originals.  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/463826/so-i-got-some-fake-sennheiser-ie7-s-hq-pics-inside

 
Let us know how the refund went!!
I'm also looking at a few eBay items and am just wondering about the refund process.
 

 

[sjondenon]

Quote:

The IE7's floors the Q-Jays in the mid range IEM section (that is burned-in over around the 150-200hr mark). From experience the Q-Jays don't require any sort of burn-in as they are based on two micro armature drivers, they also have good isolation with punchy bass straight out of the box, but if your sensitive to sibilance, then the Q-Jays aren't for you as the highs can be too bright or too harsh sometimes. The drawback of the IE7's is that its based on a dynamic driver which takes a while to burn to get the best sound out of. The mids and highs are pretty much controlled and forward on the IE7 (comparable to IE8), the bass is tight and goes quite deep and punchy when needed to also not to mention is has a huge soundstage (no distortion at high levels whatsoever). Two minor drawbacks with the IE7 is that you need time to burn them in (Straight out of the box the bass is quite muddy, loose and the lows aren't really present) this is due the dynamic drivers used in the IE7, and I think some IE7 owners have had problems with fit and isolation, I'm using the largest stock foam bud's and the T-400 tips and they both provide great isolation and comfort not to mention great tight bass reproduction (T-400 slightly better seal), but you can always try the green olives from the Shure's, T-400 tips, or the hybrid tips from Sony's high-end EX range. Basically a burned-in IE7 will be much better then the Q-Jays. Regarding to your last question does the depth of the bass of IE7 compare to the EX300, I'd say its bit better with bass depth, but the bass is much more fun and comfortable to listen to, as the EX300's are a bit muddy. 
 
Hope this mini comparison review helped you make your decision on which to purchase.

Yeaah thanks for your comparison! The highs on the q-jays are indeed to bright. I'm owning a pair of large hybrid tips which came with the stock earphones from my Walkman A847 so I will use them. 1 last question: Do I have to wear them over the ear or is it also possible to wear them straight? It can be a bit uncomfortable for me as I'm wearing glasses...