[lordofbahamut]

I dont know about IE8, I wish i had it hahahaha. But I can assure that IE7 is as comfortable as CX300 if not even better to my ear. Sound wise, IE7 blowed both my CX300 and mdr-ex90. the freq responce value doenst mean anything about the sound quality.

 

[Electric_Mofo]

So is there anybody in here who doesn't have any isolation problems? I mean its pretty shady for Sennheiser to state the IE8's isolation as 26db when people aren't getting that. Or is it more an issue of finding the right tips?

 

[schneller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electric_Mofo /img/forum/go_quote.gif So is there anybody in here who doesn't have any isolation problems? I mean its pretty shady for Sennheiser to state the IE8's isolation as 26db when people aren't getting that. Or is it more an issue of finding the right tips?

This is my concern as well.

We need some concrete answers: Do the IE7/IE8 isolate? If so, how well? Or should they be regarded as more of an open IEM?

 

[Aevum]

i think you have to take in to account several issues, the first being that the IE6-8 seem to be manufactured by sennhaiser themselfs, and not by foster like the rest of the IEM/canalphone line, also the stractural integrity could be somewhat compromised by the fact that they put a hole for the screw that adjusts the bass,

but then again, it could be a matter of just finding the right tips,

 

[jwbrent]

I just bought a pair and will get them next week, so I'll report back on their sound and isolation. For me, isolation is not a big deal, in fact, since I do a lot of hiking I like the idea that I'm not totally isolated from the world.

Does anyone know which country these are made in? Also, are the earpieces made of plastic or metal?

 

[MfiveM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwbrent /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know which country these are made in? Also, are the earpieces made of plastic or metal?

They are made in China and are plastic.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael M /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are made in China and are plastic.

what isn't made in China these days? the servers for this forum are prolly made in China as well lol.

 

[ADD]

Just on the subject of that adjusting screw, I don't think I have seen described the actual mechanism by which it works. Is, for example, the adjustment purely electronic or does the adjustment mechanically change the parameters of the enclosure? (in the same sort of way that some high quality bass reflex speakers can be tuned with various adjustments to the port).

If the adjustment is electronic (and seemingly analogue, not digital), I would personally worry that these earphones might suffer from electrical noise down the track (as did my PXC350, but at least with that you can just buy a new cable for it).

 

[miniduncan]

I think i saw it mentioned that the screw changes the shape of the diaphragm, which would make it mechanical rather than electrical.

I could be making that up though, not sure. Someone should be able to verify.

 

[jwbrent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael M /img/forum/go_quote.gif They are made in China and are plastic.

Thanks for the info. I was surprised to see "Japan" on my Victor FX500s. I figured every earphone comes from China, except Westone.

 

[ADD]

Well I just picked up a pair of IE7s today. I never intended them to be my main phone, but was hoping they might be an improvement on my long term CX300 for computer use.

Anyway, thus far I am incredibly underwhelmed. Where do I start? Well, I won't comment much on the sound except to say that currently they sound absolutely abysmal. Possibly the worst headphone in history for the accurate portrayal of acoustic instrumental timbre and the worst for classical music in the history of reproduced sound on planet Earth. Treble is massively rolled off beyond 10 Khz requiring a 3 dB boost 8 Khz and 10 dB boost at 16 Khz just in order to sound anything remotely approaching normal to my ears. Forget about violins - god, they are absolutley flippin' hopeless beyond recognition and this comment comes from a violinist of 30 plus years. with my "reference" PXC300, violins sound extremely believable with absolutely zero EQ required. And the Klipsch X10 totally trounces this IE7 in every conceivable way. I have never been so disgusted by the price / sound ratio of a headphone - my CX300 are much, much better considering they cost a quarter of what these IE7s did.

Anyway, my opinions might change to be a little more positive after burn-in, so I will leave it at that.

I have seen others comment about the excellent build quality of the IE8. Perhaps the IE7 is totally unrelated in this respect but I would have expected they come off the same production line in the same factory. Perhaps we are not singing from the same hymn book, but the build quality is absolutely appalling in my opinion. Cheap looking, super-light plastic that makes my translucant, Hong Kong water pistol from 1969 look like a collectable item from the House of Dunhill. These are as far removed from the Westone and Klisch products as I could possibly imagine - bar the cabling. And to cap it all off - a silly, shiny, cheap looking mirror-silver Sennheiser logo most brilliantly positioned on the housing exactly where it is going to get pressured and rubbed - day in and day out.

If these had been the cheap $5 buds packaged with a $50 MP3 player, I would not have been surprised at all...

But there are good points - comfort is indeed excellent and the cabling does appear to be heavy duty - quite a contrast given my feelings about the build quality of the units themselves. Klipsch ought to look at how Sennheiser handle the cabling side of things and think about this for their next generation IEMs.

Isolation is poorer than my CX300 -which means it is not particularly good. It is barely enough to prevent my computer fans and hard driver from annoying me and would thus be rather useless on a public transport commute where the ambient SPL is around 20 dB higher again. That said, if you want an IEM with minimalist isolation properties (say roughly the same as my Etymotic ER15 musician's ear plugs), then these fit the bill. So roughly around 15 dB.

Incidentally, some poor overworked factory worker mis-packaged my IE7s. I got three small biflange tips and 1 medium biflange tip. Not to worry though - for me the large single silicon ones are the better ones and the glossy medium black things are not too bad either.

Anyway, as seems to often be the case, my opinion will most likely contrast totally with almost everyone else here. But I would say that everything I hear is referenced to my years of experience as a musician which includes conducting an orchestra -so I know what it is all meant to sound like - and these IE7s are so far removed from that it isn't funny - it's bloody tragic.

I can't believe the same company that made my beloved PXC300, PXC150 and CX300 made these horrific little concoctions

Sure they will change with age, but that change had better be something like 75% in order to make these things worth the money I paid for them.

 

[vedye]

ADD, personally I just wonder how u ever could possibly stand the crap sound of CX300 and uses it as one of ur main phones all these time ---- after u have given so much crap about IE7, even though yeh CX300 is cheaper.

As for the build quality, It almost sounds like this is ur first time that have ever got a close look to any earphones that is more than 200 dollars. When ppl say its build quality is good, they say it for a reason.

or, maybe u did get a fake one which only worth $5?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I just picked up a pair of IE7s today. I never intended them to be my main phone, but was hoping they might be an improvement on my long term CX300 for computer use. Anyway, thus far I am incredibly underwhelmed. Where do I start? Well, I won't comment much on the sound except to say that currently they sound absolutely abysmal. Possibly the worst headphone in history for the accurate portrayal of acoustic instrumental timbre and the worst for classical music in the history of reproduced sound on planet Earth. Treble is massively rolled off beyond 10 Khz requiring a 3 dB boost 8 Khz and 10 dB boost at 16 Khz just in order to sound anything remotely approaching normal to my ears. Forget about violins - god, they are absolutley flippin' hopeless beyond recognition and this comment comes from a violinist of 30 plus years. with my "reference" PXC300, violins sound extremely believable with absolutely zero EQ required. And the Klipsch X10 totally trounces this IE7 in every conceivable way. I have never been so disgusted by the price / sound ratio of a headphone - my CX300 are much, much better considering they cost a quarter of what these IE7s did. Anyway, my opinions might change to be a little more positive after burn-in, so I will leave it at that. I have seen others comment about the excellent build quality of the IE8. Perhaps the IE7 is totally unrelated in this respect but I would have expected they come off the same production line in the same factory. Perhaps we are not singing from the same hymn book, but the build quality is absolutely appalling in my opinion. Cheap looking, super-light plastic that makes my translucant, Hong Kong water pistol from 1969 look like a collectable item from the House of Dunhill. These are as far removed from the Westone and Klisch products as I could possibly imagine - bar the cabling. And to cap it all off - a silly, shiny, cheap looking mirror-silver Sennheiser logo most brilliantly positioned on the housing exactly where it is going to get pressured and rubbed - day in and day out. If these had been the cheap $5 buds packaged with a $50 MP3 player, I would not have been surprised at all... But there are good points - comfort is indeed excellent and the cabling does appear to be heavy duty - quite a contrast given my feelings about the build quality of the units themselves. Klipsch ought to look at how Sennheiser handle the cabling side of things and think about this for their next generation IEMs. Isolation is poorer than my CX300 -which means it is not particularly good. It is barely enough to prevent my computer fans and hard driver from annoying me and would thus be rather useless on a public transport commute where the ambient SPL is around 20 dB higher again. That said, if you want an IEM with minimalist isolation properties (say roughly the same as my Etymotic ER15 musician's ear plugs), then these fit the bill. So roughly around 15 dB. Incidentally, some poor overworked factory worker mis-packaged my IE7s. I got three small biflange tips and 1 medium biflange tip. Not to worry though - for me the large single silicon ones are the better ones and the glossy medium black things are not too bad either. Anyway, as seems to often be the case, my opinion will most likely contrast totally with almost everyone else here. But I would say that everything I hear is referenced to my years of experience as a musician which includes conducting an orchestra -so I know what it is all meant to sound like - and these IE7s are so far removed from that it isn't funny - it's bloody tragic. I can't believe the same company that made my beloved PXC300, PXC150 and CX300 made these horrific little concoctions Sure they will change with age, but that change had better be something like 75% in order to make these things worth the money I paid for them.

These are a dynamic driver IEM if I recall, and so I agree with you that they might need a bit of burn-in. If you can hear the fans on your computer a poor fit/wrong tips could result in poor sound as well. You may want to leave them running with music for a few days and go back and listen again - you may (as you hope) find them to be improved.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vedye /img/forum/go_quote.gif ADD, personally I just wonder how u ever could possibly stand the crap sound of CX300 and uses it as one of ur main phones all these time ---- after u have given so much crap about IE7, even though yeh CX300 is cheaper. As for the build quality, It almost sounds like this is ur first time that have ever got a close look to any earphones that is more than 200 dollars. When ppl say its build quality is good, they say it for a reason. or, maybe u did get a fake one which only worth $5?

I don't think anything you have written above even warrants a reply...

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif These are a dynamic driver IEM if I recall, and so I agree with you that they might need a bit of burn-in. If you can hear the fans on your computer a poor fit/wrong tips could result in poor sound as well. You may want to leave them running with music for a few days and go back and listen again - you may (as you hope) find them to be improved.

No, they are actually sealing exceptionally well. They do have the opened vents at the back though, but they seal so well I get somewhat of a nasty suction effect when pulling them out if I am not careful. The best tips for sealing are the large bilflange but the single flange silicon do a good job too. These are a phone that don't go deeply anyway, unlike say the X10 which burrows like a worm.

I agree about the burn-in given they are dynamic drivers, but I remember the sound of my CX300 never perceptably changed over time. And I bought a backup pair and they sounded precisely the same as my old pair. IE7 could certainly be different and I'll leave them for about a week attached to a portable player.

If they can undergo significant improvement in top end resolution and improve the rendition of timbres, they would make a suitable phone for non critical, low-fi background listening at work where the relatively low levels of isolation would actually be a bonus.