[james444]

@OP please rename title to "Sennheiser IE80 impressions and IE10 speculations thread".

 
That said, I believe Sennheiser's reasoning is sound. Keep in mind that the €300 IE80 has been rated on par with the €1200 AKG K3003 in German HiFi magazines. So the IE10 only needs to be a tad better than the IE80 and still cheaper than the K3003 to beat their archrivals AKG at their own game.

 

[Inks]

lol I really hope they're not basing their SQ on a that German magazine. I hope they go for a more neutral sound like the HD800, IE80 doesn't seem to come close fwir. K3003 sounds promising aside from the price. 

 

[nikp]

Quote:

lol I really hope they're not basing their SQ on that German magazine. I hope they go for a more neutral sound like the HD800, IE80 doesn't seem to come close fwir. 

 
 
I agree with you. Sennheiser needs neutral IEMs.
 

 

[lee730]

 
Quote:

 
 
I agree with you. Sennheiser needs neutral IEMs.
 

 
Either that or a sound signature that isn't over emphasized or under in a bad way that is.

 

[stationwagon]

Well we will just have to speculate if there should be a IE10 available anytime soon, but most propably in the future, even if anyone would pay 800 dollars for a earphone it better be customs. lol.. anyway anyone have there IE80's ship??? I mean from the US.

 

[burtomr]

Quote:

...anyway anyone have there IE80's ship??? I mean from the US.

??? You want a US Senn Dealer that will ship to you outside the US?
 

 

[maniacal71]

Quote:

Well, since this has been renamed to "impressions thread", I thought I'd quote the essence of my impressions so far, to make them more easily readable:
 
Quote:

The wait is over (at least for me , as my retail IE80 from cyberport.de arrived yesterday evening. Right out of the box they appeared already clearer than my IE8, so I let them play from my home stereo overnight.
 
Today morning I only found time for a short A/B before heading off to work, so take these first impressions with a grain of salt. Make no mistake, the apple didn't fall far from the tree, these are still bassy IEMs! While I prefer to EQ my IE8 by -8db@80Hz to achieve a reasonable flat bass response, I'd need about -4 or -5db with the IE80 to achieve the same result. So my read is, Sennheiser chopped a few decibel off that mid-bass hump, but didn't dare to go all the way.
 
That said, bass peak seems to have shifted a bit towards deep bass, from 80-100Hz to maybe 60 or 70Hz, not a night and day difference, but together with its reduced impact a notable relief for the lower mids. What's more, they seem to have upped treble ever so slightly, which helps to give the IE80 better presence in comparison to the IE8. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the veil is completely gone (after all it's part of Senn's house sound , but vocals appear distinctly clearer and also a tad less chesty than on the IE8. But to put things into perspective, overall clarity is still a notch below IEMs like the Sony EX600/1000 or the Ortofon e-Q5.
 
Well, good things usually come at a price, and in case of the IE80 it's (a bit of) soundstage size. The IE8 are famed for having one of the most generous soundstage presentations among IEMs and giving a stunning out-of-head experience. Now, as a consequence of more clarity and better presence on the IE80, things seem to happen closer to the listener than with the IE8, meaning you get a bit less forward projection and slightly reduced soundstage size.
 
So far for the results of my short morning A/B session, after which I headed off to my daily commute. Isolation is unchanged from the IE8 (meaning only so-so) and the IE80's emphasized bass did a decent job in compensating for ambient noise, which tends to drown out bass more than higher frequencies. Vocal clarity remained pretty good and overall I was quite pleased with the IE80's performance on the move, except for some vague suspicion regarding the cable, but I'll get into this a little later. 

 
Quote:

Not much to add for now, I'm afraid. Tbo, I'm a little bit disappointed by the IE80's cable, as it seems to be a bit more rigid and a step down imo from the IE8's. Todays cold weather added to the stiffness and even over-ear it exhibited some microphonics, something I can't remember from the IE8. I'm still debating whether the cable's just brand new and will become more flexible over time, or Sennheiser actually decided to change the material. The latter would be a real bummer, since they already had the world's best IEM cable on the IE8.
 
Frankly speaking, if you don't shy away from EQing the IE8 to your liking, I can't see a compelling reason to upgrade (so far). On the other hand, if EQ is strictly no-go and you want to stick with Senns, it may well be worth it.

 
Quote:

Had another IE8/80 side by side listening session with one of my favorite classical recordings (Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Joseph Swensen). The difference in bass is pretty much negligible with this kind of music, but the mids struck me as noticeably more sweet on the IE8, whereas the IE80's mids sounded a bit dry. Quite similar impressions from the highs, the IE8's appeared slightly smoother and the IE80's a tad more edgy. Now, I'm certainly aware that my IE80 have only <=30 hours on them and the IE8 more than 1000, meaning the new ones will most likely smooth out a bit over time. Nevertheless, the outcome of today's classical audition, rather surprisingly, was a clear nod to the older IE8. Hmm...

 
Quote:

Well, it's a slightly different matter when it comes to more bass driven genres than classical. Listening to Markus Schulz / Progression right now and the IE80's low end is a most enjoyable step up from their predecessor's, with better deep bass and overall improved definition.

 
Quote:

But the good news is the IE80 actually seem to smooth out a bit and violins appear less scratchy than when I first A/Bed them with the IE8. They're well past the 100 hour mark now and even though I'm not a big believer in burn-in, I must concede that there have been slight changes. Not in sound signature though, which stayed exactly the same, but they're definitely a bit closer to my IE8 in smoothness than a few days ago.

 

So that is 2 of us having the same impressions, mine coming on that last note as i had already had maybe 100 hours or so before i could get my hands on an IE8 for comparison, overall I would say its a good buy. The bass hump isn't all that bass, the best thing about the IE80 is the clarity, bringing about a more balanced FR. Bach never sounded so good on an IEM before this imo.
 

 

[CantScareMe]

Quote:

......Platinum preferably. 

 
Replaceable cables (customish), a huge package (like the HD600), generous tips, certificate of authenticity, FR graph (matched drivers), lifetime warranty and most importantly a custom-killer SQ. Did I miss anything? 

....
 

...the UK price, because i've seen some very uneven pricing between continents. Luckily sennheiser have been on the good side of things. Around 6 months ago, Shure 535/ grado gr10 £400. Senn IE8 £160
 
Still can't believe AKG k3003 are selling at major stores for £1000, same as the hd800 price!!

 

[burtomr]

 
Quote:

...the UK price, because i've seen some very uneven pricing between continents. Luckily sennheiser have been on the good side of things. Around 6 months ago, Shure 535/ grado gr10 £400. Senn IE8 £160
 
Still can't believe AKG k3003 are selling at major stores for £1000, same as the hd800 price!!

Really? What's the UK IE-80 price? I've only seen £270 which is same as US price.
 
Please let us know if you find 'em for way less...
 

 

[archy121]

 

Really? What's the UK IE-80 price? I've only seen £270 which is same as US price.
 
Please let us know if you find 'em for way less...
 

X2

Amazon has ie8i for £199 if you interested.

Seems ie8 out of stock with most major UK online
stores & they don't have ie80's.

Anyone come across UK/EU trusted site with ie80s upto max
£200 ?

 

[Normy]

Can these be worn without looping the cable over your ears?
Planning on getting these but not sure if I should wait for the IE10s.

 

[jrkong]

Quote:

Can these be worn without looping the cable over your ears?
Planning on getting these but not sure if I should wait for the IE10s.

Yes they can, but do they look good when you do? not really

 

[Craigerz]

edit...

 

[Firefighter]

Quote:

Platinum preferably. 

 
Replaceable cables (customish), a huge package (like the HD600), generous tips, certificate of authenticity, FR graph (matched drivers), lifetime warranty and most importantly a custom-killer SQ. Did I miss anything? 

 

Yes you did... probably a russian chick to go with these and..maybe a 2 weeks worth of some cold beers too.... )))))
 

 

[beaver316]

Gonna be getting a pair of IE80s next week... i cant wait