Sennheiser - Audiophile IE 600 Wired Passive Noise Cancelling In-Ear Earbuds - Gray

Have purchased this item 4 times. Every unit has developed a channel imbalance within 2-3 months. The IEM sounds amazing, but the QC issues make it an easy avoid.

I love Sennheiser over-ear headphones. I have used 5 different over-ear headphones and loved all of them. I've heard middling reviews for their earbuds, and I gotta say the trend continues. These are my first Sennheiser IEMs and, while I did like he way they sound, I can't say they are $700 worth. And that's coming from someone with the HD 800's. What solidified my decision to return these, is the ear tips. They are some of the worst eartips I have ever used, and I'm disappointed in Sennheiser for producing such shoddy feeling ear tips for something this expensive. Obviously your milage may vary, I have small ears. But their small tips don't give a proper seal for me, and the medium tips are too big and don't breath for me. Assuming you can get a fit to begin with. Because the silicone tips are so thin they collapse in my tiny ears. And personally, I'm not a fan of the foam tips. I tried them, but I can't use them. I saw that some people switched to different ear tips to get a better fit, and that can work for comfort. However, the problem is that the provided ear tips are integral to the sound of the IE 600's as they are designed in a specific way to help the earbuds. If you use different tips, the low end starts lacking even more, and the highs become way to sharp for my tolerance. And even if you can find the right eartip that doesn't mess with the sound too much while still providing a comfortable fit, it shouldn't require spending an additional $15-25 on comfortable ear tips.

First off, this is an investment. Its not a cheap purchase. It is middle tier in terms of audiophile pricing but put that aside. This is much better than say the HD660S from Senn and IMO better than the HD800S which costs more. Yes, 800s is open back and the soundstage king, but the IE900 is perfect for getting the closed back benefits but not the closed back sound. You get a great seal and isolation. These dont have active noise canceling (ANC), but they dont need it because their seal blocks out noise without the ANC pressure and cancelation waves some users can feel with ANC headphones. These do require a desktop DAC/AMP in my opinion. So budget that and maybe consider a Topping G5 for portability and something from Schiit for the desktop. So how does these sound, that is what matters most. They are exceptional. There is a great amount of bass and resolution. You will hear details in audio you didn’t know where there and cannot hear on other headphones. Placement and individual instrument details and separation are all there. I’m an audiophile that likes hard rock and these carry over all the audiphile goodness to those genres (metal, rock, indie, and hardrock). I enjoy slower stuff too. Some country, some acoustic, etc. These IEM’s can do it all and sound fatastic. I love there sound profile. I compared these side by side to the IE600. Wife and I both preferred the IE900. The 600 sounds good and has a similar level of detail. The 900 just has a better sound signature due to the added low end and still resolves vocas and instrument clarity. You dont lose that even with the added low end. I woud not call the IE600 bass muddy (it’s not) but side by side to the 900 and you can hear how much more power the 900 has while again keeping clarity…to us anyway. I’m personally not a fan of IEM’s for gaming. I will use the 660s or 800s for that. Music and minor movie/show watching, the IE900 delivers and has a sound that is hard to beat at literally any price mark. These give you the experience you’re after if you searching for “audiophile” headphones. No regrets buying these and I would strongly place them as my number 2, if not number 1, favorite headphone I own. Some online reviews warn of the connector and longevity of these. I don’t know yet…Sennheiser has a warranty and good service so I’m not worried, but I also treat them like the expensive piece of gear they are. I don’t rip them off my ears when removing, I’m not jerking the cable around, I place them gently down, I take time when wrapping the cable, etc. Basically take care of your investment and they will last. Do your part and then let Senn take care of any driver issues with the warranty, if ever needed. In short, they are totally worth the asking price and deliver in the experience of amazing audio and sound. Great, great headphones.

I'm going on my third pair waiting for delivery they sound great at first but after about a month or two of wearing them constantly my right earbud volume decreases dramatically and then eventually no sound at all I'm hoping this last pair last a little longer and going to give it one more chance as this price for these are way too high for them to fail this quickly

Have to be the best and worst earbuds/headphones I've had. I have used headphones all my life and hate that they mess up my hair. These were terrific at first, great audio, comfy, and out of the way. But soon I had an issue with fading audio in one bud, and then the other. This has been the problem for the last 2 pairs that I had. They have been replaced no charge, but that is 2 separate times I have gone weeks without good audio and had to use an old headset. Plus the charge to ship it and time spent emailing customer support (Support was very good). I do NOT recommend this version of the earbuds, the more expensive ones might not have problems. I wouldn't know.