[Kunlun]

I'd say the ie800 has a different tuning than the 846, so comparisons about which is better need to be made in consideration of personal preference. I use the ie800 over-ear and it works quite well on the go. Having said that, I do enjoy my silicone and acrylic ciems, as well as my custom silicone earsleeves. It's a different feel and I know there are people who prefer universals over customs as well.

 

[Pedro83]

I'd say the ie800 has a different tuning than the 846, so comparisons about which is better need to be made in consideration of personal preference. I use the ie800 over-ear and it works quite well on the go. Having said that, I do enjoy my silicone and acrylic ciems, as well as my custom silicone earsleeves. It's a different feel and I know there are people who prefer universals over customs as well.

Sadly I want the best of both worlds (for my personal preference at least), and in this instance isn't possible. From time to time after turning my head etc they can become loose and subsequently need poking back in as it affects the sound significantly as one would expect. I use mine under ear, if only the cable was slightly longer....

 

[xedjflowx]

  On the basis of 846 having the ability to be made custom, surely this edges them ahead of the IE800 a little more?
 
I'm not sure what to do, I want customs for the fit and complete seal whilst on the move, but do not really want to love away from the IE800 sound, which when paired with my iPhone 5S is stunning. I guess the answer would be to keep the IE800 and get customs for on the move. 
 
How do 846 stack up against Ultimate Ears ref 18?
 
Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

 

[musicinmymind]

 

 

 
Wow...these looks awesome, who did this custom mod?

 

[Pedro83]

   
Wow...these looks awesome, who did this custom mod?

+1 *eagerly awaits response*
 
These IEM's possess absolutely everything, and more, beyond the what you'd think to be possible in fact, IMO. 
 
But, why no detachable cables;
Why is the cable slightly too short;
No custom openly available option (until the kind poster informs us, at least).
 
I dare say I will never part with mine. 
 
I listen to everything from apart from Classical. Rock, Jazz, Folk and underground german techno etc. 
 
My Dad owns a very high end system, fed by all high end equipment and finally into a pair of Wilson Audio Sophia which retail at about £13,000 on their own. 
 
The IE800 reproduce every detail, and also the tone of the bass as per the WA Sophia. Hence I am staggered by these things. 
 
Am I right in thinking the designer of the IE800 uses an A&K240, i'm kinda hoping so as i'm buying one later this week. 
 
With an iPhone 5S on the move, I love them. 
Fed by a MBA/External SSD/Audirvana+/Explorer2 it's breathtakingly good. But more importantly, not in a non-fatiguing way whatsoever. I am lucky in that my job allows me to listen to as much music as I wish. 

 

[james444]

  Am I right in thinking the designer of the IE800 uses an A&K240, i'm kinda hoping so as i'm buying one later this week.

 
Maybe he uses one now, but the AK240 wasn't even out when he designed the IE800.

 
As for the custom mod, agreed it looks great. But let's keep in mind that the IE800's dampened-two-channel-absorber (D2CA) targets half-wavelength resonance at a specific insertion depth. I'm not convinced that this will still work as designed when you put the earphones into a custom shell.

 

[Pedro83]

   
Maybe he uses one now, but the AK240 wasn't even out when he designed the IE800.

 
As for the custom mod, agreed it looks great. But let's keep in mind that the IE800's dampened-two-channel-absorber (D2CA) targets half-wavelength resonance at a specific insertion depth. I'm not convinced that this will still work as designed when you put the earphones into a custom shell.

Thank you for clarifying that. 
 
With regards to the custom shells, I see how it makes sense now. Plus it would be a shame to mess with them, they're a stunning piece of IEM as far as quality goes. 

 

[James-uk]

I've been away from these little beasts for a while due to a couple of colds that blocked my ears . Finally got my full hearing back in my left ear so can fully appreciate headphones again. I have got to say that I missed my HD800s the most but the biggest smile appeared across my face when I put the ie800s back in. These things are incredible! They may not be accurate like the HD800 but I enjoy most music on them more . They have such a powerful dynamic sound that just doesn't seem possible from such a small driver. Needless to say the HD800s will have to wait a bit longer for headtime I am enjoying these way more !

 

[dwizard]

Sennheiser UK are no longer selling the ie800 on their website. I hope this means an update is in the pipe line.
I love the sound of these iems but the microphonic, garrotting cable is terrible.

 

[xedjflowx]

   
Wow...these looks awesome, who did this custom mod?

 

  +1 *eagerly awaits response*
 
These IEM's possess absolutely everything, and more, beyond the what you'd think to be possible in fact, IMO. 
 
But, why no detachable cables;
Why is the cable slightly too short;
No custom openly available option (until the kind poster informs us, at least).
 
I dare say I will never part with mine. 
 
I listen to everything from apart from Classical. Rock, Jazz, Folk and underground german techno etc. 
 
My Dad owns a very high end system, fed by all high end equipment and finally into a pair of Wilson Audio Sophia which retail at about £13,000 on their own. 
 
The IE800 reproduce every detail, and also the tone of the bass as per the WA Sophia. Hence I am staggered by these things. 
 
Am I right in thinking the designer of the IE800 uses an A&K240, i'm kinda hoping so as i'm buying one later this week. 
 
With an iPhone 5S on the move, I love them. 
Fed by a MBA/External SSD/Audirvana+/Explorer2 it's breathtakingly good. But more importantly, not in a non-fatiguing way whatsoever. I am lucky in that my job allows me to listen to as much music as I wish. 

 
More information here. Not much I can tell you because it's in Japanese
 
http://diy-ciem.blogspot.jp/2014/03/blog-post_10.html

 

[Spyro]

I couldn't care less whether the cables are attached or detachable as long as it has a 2 year warranty which IE800 does.  These engineers are much smarter than me so I would never try to outwit the engineer with a different cable.  I also take great care of my stuff so I have no issues with attached cable.  I almost prefer it.  After 2 years I will be on IE1200 by then anyway.
 
As time passes, the bass is really blowing me away.  Initial reaction after 20-30 seconds with IE800 is all about the pristine clarity and detail.  But after a few minutes and you start hearing familiar excerpts of music and you say to yourself, "I never have heard the bass portrayed that way."  It's like you don't really expect it but the texture and depth is unreal and I am not saying that casually.  It's like there is this refreshing "GAP" of space between the midrange and bass that never existed before.  And this gap provides very airy space to allow the instruments/vocals to breathe and project great detail.   I have had W60, SE846 and IE800 and I will say the most "noticeable" bass is surely the IE800 from the mere standpoint that mid bass is not mucking up the overall bass.  Not saying SE846/W60 have excessive mid bass but it is very apparent on both.....as it is on 85% of all IEM's out there today.  Most people have probably not heard bass any other way.  From memory the SE846 may have a better "enveloping fullness"  (as does W60) but the texture and depth is more apparent with IE800.  I think it comes across as more impressive.
 
It just seems impossible that a single 7mm driver could get such expansive range top to bottom, side to side.  IE800 could easily be in a class by itself for the most dramatic audio product introduced in 2014.  If I hadn't heard it with my own ears I would never believe it.  It makes boring music come "alive" with the great clarity.
 
It is so easy to get use to a certain level of lazy hazy veiled presentation.  IE800 has nothing to do with any of that.
 
While the earbud thing is extremely comfortable and easy in and out, it would also be nice to have this sound in the Westone/Shure ergonomic form factor.

 

[Falcaw]

 
Hi guys just thought I'd share my impressions of the IE800's.
 
I had been wanting to upgrade my IEM's for a while. I was thinking to go down the custom path but really didn't want all the trouble that goes with it. t have the ety HF5's and while they are good i was always missing my HD800's or lcd2's. (this is normal right). Well I went into a shop to buy some new tips to improve my ety's a bit as they are now a bit old. But they had the ie800's and Shure 846's for testing. So I thought, "well why not" they can't be that much better. I'm safe to try them. Well, lets just say I put the IE800's in my ears and immediately from the first trial song I knew i was going to be much poorer. The difference was immense! So unbelievably different! Like I was listening to mini HD800's or LCD2's, of course they aren't quite there but I surely don't miss them when i have these in my ears.
 
Interestingly though I tried the shure 846's just to be sure which one to buy. I was expecting big things from the reviews. Unfortunately for me I just couldn't get them to provide a good sound. The fit seemed fine. Good seal etc. But just no bass. They sounded like my ety hf5's with just a little more body in the mids....tried different tips. Filter was the blue neutral one.....Well a shame for me as i think i'm missing out on something here. But it made my choice very very very very easy. IE800's it was.
 
I have heard of some people finding the bass bloated and encroaching on the mids. So the ultimate test for this is Hans Zimmer's Inception. To really enjoy this music your system must reach quite low frequencies. But also the atmosphere he creates is totally ruined if there is any bloat in the bass. The very elegant layering of the music is also totally lost if this happens.
 
The IE800's did not have this problem. I absolutely enjoyed the entire album. So much so I listened to it twice in a row! I haven't done that since i got my hd800's.
 
I find the tuning of these IEM's just perfect....I couldn't have said it any better than this.
 
Quote:

  "I never have heard the bass portrayed that way."  It's like you don't really expect it but the texture and depth is unreal and I am not saying that casually.  It's like there is this refreshing "GAP" of space between the midrange and bass that never existed before.  And this gap provides very airy space to allow the instruments/vocals to breathe and project great detail.   I have had W60, SE846 and IE800 and I will say the most "noticeable" bass is surely the IE800 from the mere standpoint that mid bass is not mucking up the overall bass. 

 
Music is fun, dynamic, just the right amount of bass kick. Works great for huge orchestral pieces especially.
 
Small Jazz ensembles are also excellent Jacques Loussier's Plays bach encore is phenomenal. Actually i haven't come across an album yet that these headphones struggle with. Even rock. Which i usually just can't stand on IEM's as my ears fatigue very very quickly. I love it now.
 
Anyway if anyone is considering for IEM's of this caliber I would definitely audition these!
 
I am running iPod 6th gen > hifi m8 > IE800. 
 
A very very happy man!

 

[flaco]

  Sennheiser UK are no longer selling the ie800 on their website. I hope this means an update is in the pipe line.
I love the sound of these iems but the microphonic, garrotting cable is terrible.

Sennheiser germany isn't listing them too...us also

 

[fb24601]

haha...likely ie801 with detachable cable to be announced...

 

[flaco]

I just bought mine a week ago.. I don't want an update at the moment