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Sennheiser IE8 In-Ear Headphones Review

Author	Edward Chester
Published	15th Jan 2009
Manufacturer	Sennheiser
Price	£156.51 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£179.99 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price

Design & Features
Sound Quality
Value
Overall

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In-ear headphones can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but the basic technology behind them can be broken down into two groups; those that use moving-coil (dynamic) drivers and those that use balanced armatures. Now, I won't go into the intricacies of what the differences between the two types are, for that you can pop along to wikipedia, which has a good explanation.

In summary, though, balanced armature drivers are easy to make small without losing accuracy/quality but they naturally have a narrower frequency response and require a better seal to deliver their full potential. This is why the best headphones use dual and triple driver configurations and also why these often have to be inserted unnervingly far into the ear-canal to get the best from them.

Dynamic drivers, on the other hand, can cope much better with the full frequency range and require less of a seal to get the best from them but they're also inherently larger. There are also tonal differences but I'll come to those later. For now, let's get to the guts of this review.

The Sennheiser IE8 earphones, then, use a single moving-coil driver in each earpiece. Sennheiser claims this one driver is enough to compete with the best dual and triple balanced armature driver headphones made by the likes of Ultimate Ears and Shure. Considering both the Shure SE530s (E500 as was) and Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 Pros cost only marginally more but have proved themselves to be truly outstanding earphones, the IE8s certainly have a lot to live up to.

Upon arrival the IE8s make a good impression with a rather stylish case opening to reveal the earphones all neatly laid out along with plenty of accessories. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes apparent the packaging and accessories resemble a case of style over substance.

The carry case is a peculiar two piece affair with a slide out insert that the earphones wrap around and an outer protective sleeve. Now, it isn't inherently difficult to nestle the drivers in their foam homes and wrap the excess cable but it is most definitely pointless, as are the holders for spare tips. This is supposed to be the place you store your earphones for use everyday, so why on earth would you constantly want four spare tips with you?

Then there's the fact the case leaves no room to store miscellaneous accessories like an airline adapter or 3.5mm to 6mm jack adapter (not that you get any of these in the box). As I've said before, a simple zip up case with an internal pocket for whatever accessories you want is all that's needed.

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acgs1 said on 27th March 2009

Is the problem of size vs quality mentioned in dynamic drivers still a problem in larger over-ear headphones?

acgs1 said on 6th June 2009

What point in Shure's range shows a similar level of detail?

tmternes said on 25th September 2009

What is it with all the rave reviews of the Shure products? Especially the SE530's? Am I completely missing something or does this company give all reviewers free headphones? Being in the AV industry, we have just started carrying the SE530's. I have had a chance to do some serious listening. WTF? Where is the Bass? Yes, Bass! A little would be nice. There is NONE! And you want to talk about high's. Oh, don't worry, there is PLENTY of this to go around. The sound is so sharp and crisp, I feel like I could cut diamonds!!! Ear fatigue in 10 minutes. Oh yeah, considering these are absent of bass, go and play a rock recording that lacks deep bass and this will amplify the excessive highs to where I simply cannot listen to the song. Ed made a good comment about volume levels. Anything over 2 would probably blow out your ear drum do to the excessive highs.

It is so funny that Ed could not fully recommend the IE 8's, but with all the flaws of the SE530's, they still get a phenomenal review. Interesting?

1. If the IE 8's get a knock for too much bass, why do the SE530's not get a knock for NO bass?
2. If the IE 8's get a knock for lack of detail, why do the SE530's not get a knock for Highs that are clearly too bright and cause ear fatigue in a matter of minutes?
3. I am completely baffled as to the amount of positive reviews that the SE530's get. Isn't the BEST product supposed to do everything great? How can anybody say that the 530's do bass well.

I now have a theory about self proclaimed audiophiles. #1 - They are going DEAF and they need this over abundance of highs to balance out their problem. #2 - They are scared of Bass. Yes, scared. Good god people, have any of you guys ever went to night clubs on a Friday night? You know what gets the club rockin? Bass.

Can somebody PLEASE explain to me why ALL audiophiles hate bass? Please, somebody!!!

Oh yeah, ever wonder why they call Pop Music Pop? POPULAR people! On average, more people will take a liking to a POP song over the rest of the genres. How can this be a bad thing? God forbid you might listen to a song that makes your body want to move for fear of having the "Audiophiles (LOL)" frown upon you. Give me a break!

Now I realize that a self proclaimed "Audiophile" (man this title cracks me up) may rather spend a Friday night sitting back, wearing his red velvet jacket (Hugh Hefner style), with his favorite glass of wine, puffing on a pipe wondering why he is so lonely.

Summary:

Your review is flawed because you are basing your results on your personal likes and not taking into account the different types of people that will be looking for a headphone based on THEIR music taste. How could anybody say that the SE530's sound better when listening to genres such as POP, DANCE, or RAP?

Simply put, the SE530's should get the nod for people who are looking for the last infinite piece of detail. This they do, and that is about it. The sound is not full & is overly bright.

The IE 8's plain and simply kick the crap out of the SE530's, and spit them out for people that crave deep bottom end in their music.

So, if you are into POPULAR music, you know, the kind on the radio, the kind that the majority of people in this world listen to, then the winner, hands down are the IE 8's.

However, if you are more into the articulation of music, and your taste in music would be considered not in the mainstream, then I would agree that the SE530's may be your better bet.

Is this fair?

What is it with all the rave reviews of the Shure products? Especially the SE530's? Am I completely missing something or does this company give all reviewers free headphones? Be... more

Ed said on 25th September 2009

Hi tmternes, I do agree with your points to a certain degree, these really do excel at pop music. However, we don't really see your general pop music loving public spending £... more

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