In-Ear Fidelity

Sennheiser Releases New Flagship IEM: IE900

Table of Contents

Introduction

More likely than not, you, the audiophile, would’ve heard of the great Sennheiser brand due to their reputation in the headphones game.

The venerable HD600, released in 1997 and based off the HD580 in 1993, later spun off to the HD650 in 2003 and then made cheaper in collaboration with Massdrop as the HD6XX in late 2018. The HD800, introduced in 2009 and then further refined into the HD800S in late 2015. The HD25, an industry staple in both the DJ and broadcasting world since 1988. And lets not forget the “concept headphone” models in the Orpheus, the HE-1, and various other “babies” in-between.

But it’s no secret that Sennheiser has had quite the rocky journey through the IEM world. The original IE8, the updated IE80, the flagship IE800, and subsequent updates IE80S and IE800S, all found lukewarm responses during their respective times but have long since lost their allure in today’s hypercompetitive market. And of course the Momentum In-Ear series, but your average IEMphile would more consider them as “consumer-fi” rather than one targeted towards the fastidious.

A little over 3 years since the release of the IE800S (which itself was a refresh of the original IE800 initially released in 2012), Sennheiser now updates their flagship spot with a fresh face: the IE900. This comes as Sennheisers newest push into the consumer-audiophile IEM market starting with the IE300, which was positioned as a more budget-ish offering. And so it only stands to reason that Sennheiser would subsequently target the opposite side of the market, diving back into the kilobuck price bracket.

But enough chit-chat, you’re all here to get that one question answered. How good is the IE900 actually?

Product page: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/ie-900

MSRP: $1,300

Driver configuration: single DD

This IE900 was kindly provided by Sennheiser.

Non-audio opinions

My unboxing posts are pretty much the only times I’ll ever talk about build quality, accessories and the like. I’m not really the person to ask about these things as I don’t really care about them that much.

Accessories

  • Canvas hard case
  • Tips
  • Cleaning tool

Cable: single-wire configuration. Rubbery feel, stiffer that I expected but also rather sturdy with a solid core.

Connection: a pseudo-recessed MMCX connection (recessed on the IEM side) identical to that of the IE300. Should be more durable than standard MMCX, but third-party MMCX are likely not going to be compatible.

Build: fairly decent full-metal build, no complaints.

Fit: negative profile. Good insertion depth, no complaints.

Isolation: average.

Initial impressions

  • A fairly big step up from the IE800/S. Less upper-mid congestion, better treble sparkle, slightly better resolution… but don’t expect a night-and-day difference in terms of technicalities.
  • Biggest strengths are in both ends of the spectrum; emphasised yet well-controlled bass, and excellent treble extension without sibilance. Timbre is also solid with no weird metallic resonances that plague some high-end DDs.
    • Honestly I’m extremely impressed with the IE900’s bass response. Probably some of the best I’ve heard presented by a single-DD.
  • Midrange tonality would potentially be the big dealbreaker. Not the worst I’ve heard and arguably the biggest improvement from the 800/S, but still lacking when comparing to other top-tier kilobucks and so knocking the competitiveness of the IE900 down a peg.
    • Has a bit of “muffle” going on in the vocals, and stuff like electric guitars lack proper bite. May be up your alley if you’re looking for that laidback signature, though the treble might turn you off in that case…
  • Overall the IE900 fills a niche as a decent high-end DD, but wouldn’t be a front-runner for the kilobuck space in my books.

Measurements

All data has been uploaded to the Graph Comparison Tool.

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9 thoughts on “Sennheiser Releases New Flagship IEM: IE900”

  1. That’s much better than I was expecting, the IE300 was pretty good as well so it seems like they are learning for their IEMs. I love their headphones so it’s nice to see an improvement for their IEMs.

    I would prefer a little less emphasis in the vocals rather than being too shouty but that’s just a matter of preference. Thanks for the impressions!

  2. Oh Sennheiser I know unboxing experience isn’t everything but at least make an attempt..

    1. The unboxing is good. No complaint. Everything is placed neatly

      I have a pretty complicated unboxing with the Sony IER Z1R, the package has drawers when it could have been simple like the IE900 package

  3. Seems like a “very good” earphones except in the part which is the most critical frequencies – 2-4 kHz where our ears are most sensitive…
    I had IE8 for a bit and it was a disaster sound wise. Better get AirPods Pro or Samsung Pro with ANC, etc… Better sound, no cables and on top of that much cheaper.

    Honestly I don’t understand how company with a lot of good products can also release crap like this or their Momentum TWS.

    1. The IE80S was a big disappointment for me. I bought them because I was very happy with the HD8 headphones, so I mistakenly assumed that IEMs would have similar qualities.

      The biggest problem was the muffled sound and the quality of the bass, which made the whole sound incredibly boring.

      For example the IKKO OH10 has a similar bass-heavy “V” sound, but in this case the sound is clear and it’s fun to listen to them.

      I also do not understand the vast difference in the quality of headphones and IEMs from this company.

  4. Crinacle what would you personally say is equal to the ie900 as you have stayed that have better tonality and technicalities in the kiloback sapce

  5. I think a better option is the Sony IER-Z1R – it matches the Sennheiser IE900 in tonality but with better technicalities and a better midrange

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