The Official Sennheiser IE800S thread!
Jun 10, 2018 at 10:11 PM Post #916 of 1,278
A new owner of ie800s and new to iem. I found something interesting about ear tips.
I have the same good seal using both M and L size silicon ear tips.
The M size tips sit deep inside my ear canals. It is very comfy to wear and the ie800s just disappears in my ear. However, the sound is dull, lacks energy and attacks but with impactful bass slump (sometimes too hard for me).
The L size ear tips sit a little more far away from my ear canals and its bigger size makes me less comfy. However, the ie800s transforms.
Sound signature become a trace thinner, soundstage width and depth expand a lot, more airy, better separation, layering and imaging although some bass slump is lost.
It seems to me that having a good seal is not the only factor to get the best listening experience, distance from the eardrum is also important.
I wonder which sound signature is the intended one by the designers of ie800s.
I also doubt the reviewers that claim ie800s are dull and not engaging didn't experience all the ear tips.
I think what you are hearing with the L tips is what you should be hearing...
 
Jun 11, 2018 at 1:19 AM Post #917 of 1,278
A new owner of ie800s and new to iem. I found something interesting about ear tips.
I have the same good seal using both M and L size silicon ear tips.
The M size tips sit deep inside my ear canals. It is very comfy to wear and the ie800s just disappears in my ear. However, the sound is dull, lacks energy and attacks but with impactful bass slump (sometimes too hard for me).
The L size ear tips sit a little more far away from my ear canals and its bigger size makes me less comfy. However, the ie800s transforms.
Sound signature become a trace thinner, soundstage width and depth expand a lot, more airy, better separation, layering and imaging although some bass slump is lost.
It seems to me that having a good seal is not the only factor to get the best listening experience, distance from the eardrum is also important.
I wonder which sound signature is the intended one by the designers of ie800s.
I also doubt the reviewers that claim ie800s are dull and not engaging didn't experience all the ear tips.

Hello,

I have tried several tips, and settled on the M silicone for a while, thinking that deeper insertion was better. But I did find the sound to become easily muffled, so I switched back to L and have exactly the same findings. My interpretation is that a seal that is too good create some sort of a succion effect which degrades openness of the sound.
 
Jun 11, 2018 at 1:22 PM Post #918 of 1,278
Hello,

I have tried several tips, and settled on the M silicone for a while, thinking that deeper insertion was better. But I did find the sound to become easily muffled, so I switched back to L and have exactly the same findings. My interpretation is that a seal that is too good create some sort of a succion effect which degrades openness of the sound.

Yeah, I'd say you're spot in about the suction effect. I don't have the ie800, but noticed something similar when using the silicon tips on my SE846. Shove them in too much and the vacuum created by the seal makes everything quite literally sound like you're listening in a vacuum.
 
Jun 14, 2018 at 11:53 AM Post #919 of 1,278
^ Only silence can be heard in a vacuum. :D

Anyhoo, me again. I went and auditioned the Atlas again the other day and honestly came away feeling underwhelmed. Its bass is too punchy and lacks texture in the sub-bass area.

The Atlas does beat the IE800S in terms of energy, and when listening to a DJ like Dave Clarke I can hear what he’s doing in the mix a great deal more than through the IE800S. Specifically when he’s rapidly switching the crossfader back and forth the IE800s miss some of that all important decay from the speakers (the set I’m referring to here was recorded live at the Amsterdam Dance Event). I’m wondering if this can be remedied with EQ?

Nevertheless I am probably going to end up with the IE800S. I keep coming back to it. Eventually it will be a part of a duo: One pair of IEMs for electronic music and another for more critical listening.

One burning question I have, though, is whether or not wearing the IE800S over-ear will wear out the cable prematurely? Luckily I can just get away with it.
 
Jun 18, 2018 at 2:51 AM Post #920 of 1,278
Yeah, I'd say you're spot in about the suction effect. I don't have the ie800, but noticed something similar when using the silicon tips on my SE846. Shove them in too much and the vacuum created by the seal makes everything quite literally sound like you're listening in a vacuum.
Thanks for sharing experience. I will try this with other iems.
 
Jun 18, 2018 at 2:58 AM Post #921 of 1,278
^ Only silence can be heard in a vacuum. :D

Anyhoo, me again. I went and auditioned the Atlas again the other day and honestly came away feeling underwhelmed. Its bass is too punchy and lacks texture in the sub-bass area.

The Atlas does beat the IE800S in terms of energy, and when listening to a DJ like Dave Clarke I can hear what he’s doing in the mix a great deal more than through the IE800S. Specifically when he’s rapidly switching the crossfader back and forth the IE800s miss some of that all important decay from the speakers (the set I’m referring to here was recorded live at the Amsterdam Dance Event). I’m wondering if this can be remedied with EQ?

Nevertheless I am probably going to end up with the IE800S. I keep coming back to it. Eventually it will be a part of a duo: One pair of IEMs for electronic music and another for more critical listening.

One burning question I have, though, is whether or not wearing the IE800S over-ear will wear out the cable prematurely? Luckily I can just get away with it.
Why bother to wear over-ear? To reduce microphonics? Regarding this I found moving the y-splitter up close to the chin so that the two cables touch the cheek can reduce microphonics a lot.
 
Jun 18, 2018 at 3:04 AM Post #922 of 1,278
While walking primarily, and having worn cables over-ear for years it feels really weird not having something there that provides a sort of ballas (for lack of a better word).

I really wish I could take these puppies home now... Currently auditioning them for the third time and will probably do so again between now and when I pick them up next Tuesday.

I auditioned them alongside the JH Lola today and was immediately struck by the Lola’s tuning. As per its endorsements and literature they are tuned for rock and metal: Amorphis and Insomnium sound as I’ve never heard them before. Techno, on the other hand, along with stuff from the Cafe del Mar series sounds lifeless and near-boring.

Precisely the inverse is true of the IE800S.
 
Jun 18, 2018 at 6:14 AM Post #923 of 1,278
The IE800 have always been high up on my shortlist as I never wanted to go a fully BA driver route but decided on the Shure 846 because I found it new at a really agreeable price.

From all the opinions and reviews I've read on the two it could be summarised as:

IE800
  • airier sound
  • way more treble extension
  • slightly recessed mids
  • harder hitting (but perfectly controlled) mid-bass
  • wider soundstage
SE846
  • much better isolation
  • more fiddly, but secure ergonomics (while moving about)
  • warmer, darker sound
  • weightier more forward mids
  • deeper extending sub-bass
Came to the conclusion that once I learned about the differences between them it can't come down to what's better, as they're so different in every aspect, that it's purely preference. In the end the 846 fitted what I was looking for better. I commute >50 miles on a motorcycle daily and from previous experience with IEMs that have the ergonomics of the IE800, it just wouldn't have been practical to have them under my helmet.

I'd still love to hear the IE800 or its S version at some stage but for now I feel the 846 is the perfect all rounder for my needs. If you removed the inherent sound differences between IEM and full-size headphone, the IE800 could have a similar signature to my Elear?
 
Jun 18, 2018 at 7:02 AM Post #924 of 1,278
The SE846 cops a bit of flack for its treble roll off. Well they kept me happy for 3.5 years! :D Yes treble extension is a weak spot and so too is its intimate soundstage which may leave some people wanting.

But that sub-bass though...! And they do midrange fairly well too.

I suppose the JH Lola is a refined SE846, for it too has quite relaxed treble, meaty mids and textured, at times impactful bass.

The IE800S is I think worth the upgrade from the original, for the original from memory had midrange that seemed far too lean. The S is like going from minute steak to New York strip. The SE846’s mids is a T-bone and the Lolas’s a rib-eye on the bone.
 
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Jun 18, 2018 at 7:23 AM Post #926 of 1,278
It could have been worse... I could have used a default (for me anyway) craft beer analogy haha.

Essentially what I meant was the original IE800 was lean, the IE800S less so (for some tracks a little more body would be desirable), the SE846’s being full and the JH Lola being, well, insofar as some of the midrange I’ve heard in IEMs among the fullest and best.

Pity the Loa’s sound signature only accommodates a narrow spectrum of genres, whereas the Shures (and the IE800S) are a terrific all-rounder.

In terms of energy combined with the ability to enthrall I think the IE800S has nailed the sweet spot.

Roll on next Tuesday!
 
Jun 23, 2018 at 12:22 AM Post #927 of 1,278
Due to budgetary constraints it looks as though I will be picking up a pair of the originals, but I’m not complaining when they are only AU$720! :D

Reading back over this thread it appears there are some who actually prefer the original?

I found with a bit of EQing using the awesome Onkyo HF Player for iOS that some tracks, such as Gai Barone’s rework of “Love Stimulation,” popped with a bit more energy.
 

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