Sennheiser - IE 200

decent sound, small, real bad microphonic cable, some people have an issue getting a proper seal with the stock tips overall, meh. I wouldn't really get them unless you are looking for something really small

You should definitely check out the Sennheiser IE line. From their cheapest IE200 , their midrange IE600 and to the most expansive IE900 they are all amazing iems, with incredibly small shells. Small enough to actually sleep with, as they do not stick outside of the ear.

Switched from them to Sennheiser IE200, very satisfied, they sound better than Aipods pro and cost even less. With them you will realize what a crap of a bud is the airpod

Sorry for your ears if you really tried them. But I have a suspicion you are just talking and never ever seen the package of IE200. The buds that are intended for casual listening, like AirPods, are just making a marmalade of all the instruments present in a track, blending them together and raising basses. You like this way of listening? Cool, but not say that the ie200 are not intended for listening music from a good source, because you are deeply badly informermed of just a troll. They are incredibly defined, you can easily focus on a single instrument and enjoy all the shades the track get from this medium. Basses are there, not invading the field nor left to be desired. Obviously it is not that way with every track. I enjoy listening to blues, rock and jazz a lot with these, while hip-hop/r n b and rap sometimes are not that “pushy” on the basses, but I believe this is cause we are used to those bad mediums that change the sound to be as the industry intended. Ultimately, the IE200 are a great iem and there are no ways on earth that shit like AirPods at 200€ are better than IE200 at 130€. Don’t fall for hype or fashion, why would you even buy something that after 1 year of use is clearly deteriorating and showing its bad obsolescence? I had 5 different models of AirPods across the years, WHAT A F WASTE OF MONEY. All of them end up not properly functioning after the 2 years limit, it was almost funny, they expire like milk 🤣 meanwhile my Momentum 2 bought in 2016 are still rock solid, sounding almost like the latest Sony anc earphone released last year (sound wise) and paying itself like every f technology device should do, working as intended by the manufacturer for at least 10 years.

I'll tell you what made me do the switch. I was listening to a lot of hip-hop artists lately when I decided to give my old walkman a try and bought the IE200 to try iem as main earbuds. Kendrick Lamar discography sound way better on IE200+Walkman A45 than it does on iPhone+Airpods Pro and this is a fact. You can stay here and make the thing about how many khz you want, but the richness I find in the first setup is of no match. They have significant differences imo. Also try to listen to (if you are into it) "Sum 2 Prove" by Lil Baby, on walkman+IE200 basses are going to make your eardrums explode if you are not careful. Of course there are examples where iPhone and Airpods perform better, like with many Francesco Guccini songs, where on Hi Res tracks the pitch of his voice is way higher than the rest of instruments, while on Apple Music they are leveled, but mushed all instruments together. I've also compared the IE200 with pure consumer headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum 2 and 4, still the IE200 sound way better than both of them.

Truthear Hexa: MMM... https://i.redd.it/pvyk10enj1ie1.gif DELICIOUS IE200!!

Sound doesn't get outdate or expires. Give it a try. They are damn good

I'm personally a fan of the senn IE 200. I got them a few weeks ago and they were one of those "oh wow, this is what I have been missing" kind of situations. I would say they are as good as my ATH-M50x, arguably better in some ways, which shocked me for IEMs.

As a few others have pointed out, Etymotics are extremely good for noise isolation and are super easy to drive directly off your phone. I couldn't wear them for a super long time (which isn't an issue on the commute, but is an issue for other parts of my life) so have switched to the Sennheiser IE200s: comfort level is off the charts for me but you do sacrifice some isolation.

I've had a few models cycle in the last 2 years, but my core 4 are still here 1. Focal Elex - previously I didn't love them but they or the pads have broken in and now they're my daily driver 2. DCA Aeon X Closed - depending on the day I prefer to the Elex, but I'm an open back guy at the end of the day 3. Sennheiser IE200 - just wore for 18 hours straight on a flight and I cannot dispute the comfort and sound isolation 4. Audio Technica ATH-AD700 - my first serious headphone and I still love the soundstage, but it really lacks bass

Very well put. I will be giving up my M4s for an entry IE200 and work my way up to the IE900 as I primarily use them for gaming and movies/PC sessions.

could you please recommend some aftermarket ear tips for bass? I'm thinking of giving up the mom4 for the ie200.

Sennheiser IE200 IEMs through a dac amp

a 20-50$ iem will sound much better than any non audio brand 10$ earphone and even rival 100-150$ wireless earbuds like a samsung or oneplus. an 200$ iem will sound better than an airpods, these are just logically normal things. when it comes to actually comparing against over ear headphones or speakers. under 100$ generally iems will be the best but there are some good like 70-80$ headphones that rival them. around 100-500 or even 1000$ you really cannot beat over ear headphones for sound quality, once you spend multiple thousand dollars then speakers rule. but these categories arent really comparable since they are used in different situations most of the times. people mostly use iems outside, headphones in front of a computer and speakers in the living room. I can say that on well mixed tracks you can definitely hear a difference, it does not make the song different or anything like that but you pick up on new details when comparing a 30$ iem to a 150$ one, but usually the more important one is the sound signature of it, some are very flat and neutral some are made for bass some are made to be the most clear and detailed some are focused on male or female vocals its all depending on your personal preference. personally when listening to just popular rock songs I do notice that 150$ ie200s have more detailed guitar sounds and more separated drums than 25$ 7hz zero's in terms of really high end iems, they arent really supposed to be competing with normal headphones or speakers but trying to get as close to them while still being portable and private so you can use them anywhere. at home I would not use my iems since I already have decent over ear headphones that are much more comfortable and are open back, but ofc I cant use them on the train so I use my iems. going into iems its probably a good idea to not spend a ton of money, 20-30$ options like 7hz zero2 or tangzu waner will sound much better than what you have in every way you can imagine for not much money, if you go up to like 80$ they will become more detailed and technically better but the general sound of the music wont change much. in the end they are just a piece of tech not anything elite or smart or whatever, like 1000$ iems and such are a niche and stuff most people wouldn't care about them, but more affordable ones are just objectively great value if you care about sound.