At £250, the flagship IE 8 sound-isolating earphones from Sennheiser sit at the top of the price range even for high-end earphones, competing head-on with the Shure SE530s and Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10s.
With the potential to customise their sound in ways we've never seen before, we have to admit we were excited when these arrived. They're on sale now.
Design
Like many high-end earphones, these are to be worn with the cable going up over the top of the ears. It gives a more secure fit, but the 'phones can be comfortably worn in the more traditional way quite comfortably, should you really want to.
They're extremely well-built, with cabling that easily detaches from the earphone enclosures for easy upgrade or replacement in the future. We found them to be comfortable from the word go, and easily enjoyable for several hours on end, depending on which tips you use.
A range of such tips are provided in the box, from traditional silicone plugs, to double-flanged silicone, to stiff foam. As with many things in life, experimentation here is key. Take some time to find the right fit for your ears, and ensure a good seal in the ear canal as this is critical for bass conduction.
Features
One of the most interesting and unusual aspects of this earphone involves a small screw on each enclosure. Using the supplied screwdriver-cum-earwax remover (not a tool we get to write about often), you can turn the screw to increase or decrease bass intensity to your liking. We'll come to this again later.
Inside, and unlike the competing Shure SE530s and Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10s, the IE 8s use just a single dynamic speaker driver instead of the aforementioned models' use of three. Sennheiser believes such designs offer wider frequency response ranges, lower distortion at higher volume levels and a greater resistance to damage from knocks and bumps.
These drivers deliver a frequency response between 10Hz-20kHz, with a sensitivity of 125dB/mW and a low impedance of 16Ohms, making them suitable for all portable players. No extension cable or 6.3mm adaptor is included, which, considering the price and competition, is a bit poor (pun intended).
Performance
In our initial hands-on report for Crave, we mentioned how impressive these earphones were for dance music, thanks to their explosive, seismic bass performance. And our opinion hasn't changed. Not only does the driver respond to frequencies so low you can almost feel them instead of hear them, they're extraordinarily powerful to boot.
We've said this about Denon's fantastic AH-C751s -- another single driver earphone we've complimented the bass performance of -- but the IE 8s take this to a new level by offering a warmth to their sound that the Denons avoid. Combined with a rich, detailed mid-range, it makes vocals and most instruments sound wonderfully alive.
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Waqar Saeed 29 May 2011
Good: BASS BASS AND BASS YEAH LOTS AND LOTS OF IT.
Bad: Carry case is the bulkiest ever
Comment: One thing u should keep in mind in regards to these out of the box they will sound like a 50$ earphone but after a good burning u will be addicted to them. But its true that they take a lot of tome to really show their potencial. in short they are little subwoofers in your ear :-) love the detailed bass but that does not mean its not good at highs and mids. its well balanced overall with a killer bass on top of all that plus the widest sound stage ever out there. Built quality is amaizing and so durable. iv been using them for 2 years now and still going strong. love them :-) one of the best IEM out there...
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