Sennheiser IE7 review

Pros: Mids, Highs
Cons: Isolation, design, lows

Packaging & Accessories: 9/10 (If bought new)
Build Quality: 10/10
Design & Look: 7/10
Microphonics (higher ratings means lower cable noise): 10/10
Isolation: 7/10
Comfort: 8/10
Audio Quality: 7/10
Value: 5/10 (If bought new) & 9/10 (discounted)
My final Rating: 6/10

Purchase Date: October 2011
Purchase Price: £35

A disclaimer:
These were 100% real (check the pictures)

I bought these refurbished from play.com, but ended up regretting buying them, even for the cheap £35 price I had paid. These for me, were just like the IE8’s. Over-hyped and earphones that didn’t provide that level of quality that you would expect from £120 earphones.
Also, I have to note, I didn’t have any fit issues. Even though they could have done with some double or tri-flange tips, I didn’t really feel that it was the case of fit or isolation. These just didn’t mesh well with me, at all. Much preferred paying £35 or even 50 for the EX500’s.

This review was taken from my multi-IEM comparison.

Packaging, accessories, box content, overall first impressions (look wise)

As I bought these refurbished I can’t comment, compare these, just like the Monster turbines, that said, if I had bought them brand-new I would say that the accessories and box provided is very good – however I found that the carrying case was bulky, and not all together portable – this is in my opinion the worst carrying case that I have had, simply due to its size and build quality, which was below par.
The tips you would be provided with is great, as it allows you to see what is best

Build Quality

The build quality is what I have always found to be the best with sennheiser products. The cable was of great quality, and felt very nice in my hands. I really enjoyed the wire, no microphonics of any sorts, and very good quality wire. With that in mind, due to their almost transparent cabling, I wouldn’t be surprised that with time they might corrode, and show a sign of green colour inside.
With the subject of corroding, I have no idea in the life of me, why the hell sennheiser doesn’t gold plate their earphones, this always pisses me off – with the IE8’s I had problems with my phone, and now with the IE7’s, I could hear some distortions sometimes as I moved about, and the jack was being disrupted. Why the hell make expensive earphones and neglect almost the most important thing in the earphone’s design? Sennheiser, wake up.
Don’t get me wrong, gold doesn’t transfer quality better or anything like that, it’s that the nickel corrodes easily and isn’t a protected so to speak jack – meaning problems in the future, such as with the IE8’s and IE7’s I had occurred.

Now the overall look, comfort and isolation

The look of these, personally I hate – they try to speak to me a modern looking earphone, with the hint of a professional touch. But personally, I don’t find them attractive at all to wear or look at – their shape and form is all together quite disappointing
Their comfort goes two ways here, if you have ears that are very shallow, and then you won’t have a problem at all with these, as they sit on your ears, rather than properly go in. That said, if you’re like me and have, what I consider normal ears, or possibly deeper ears, they fit might be an issue.
You see, as they sit on your ears, to get any sort of bass (and I’m saying ANY bass) you will have to push them well into your ears, to the point that comfort becomes an issue. To solve this you have to stick some dual or triple flange tips in your ears. Those tips I can’t stand and literally feel like they are ripping my ears, so it’s really a matter of opinion here, I found them uncomfortable to get any SQ out of them and didn’t find them attractive to look at.
The isolation isn’t bad, but again due to their design, and bear in mind they have to worn over-ear too, the isolation isn’t great – yes if pushed right into your ear they isolate, but due to their open-esk design, isolation isn’t great, and external noise is heard.

Sound Quality

Lows: The lows, if pushed right into your ears are there, they are nice and extended, not what I would call punchy, but present. Enjoyable and not over powering, all together a nice experience, fit dependant.

Mids/highs: The mids and highs is what for me the Sennheiser IE7’s excels in. They produce a flat sounding, but very accurate sound, which to some ears is very nice. I enjoyed listening to them, although I felt EQ’ing them made them sound a little more alive, as to my ears they sounded almost dead, thus how I describe their flat EQ

Soundstage: Let’s not forget this one, the soundstage is sublime, I struggle to find earphones with as much soundstage as these, especially for dynamic drivers – absolutely amazing

Overall, I can’t really recommend these earphones, yes they have a great soundstage and possibly are quite nice for classical music, but if anything I would prefer the PFE 112’s over the IE7’s

Sound Quality Ratings
Low: 7.5/10
Mid: 7/10
High: 8/10
Sound stage: 10/10

I hope you enjoyed the review!
TotallydubbedHD

2 thoughts on “Sennheiser IE7 review

  1. senior pictures Dallas

    I rarely create comments, but I read a few of the comments here Sennheiser IE7
    review | Totally Dubbed. I do have a couple of questions for you if you do not
    mind. Is it just me or does it look like a few of these responses look as if they are written by
    brain dead individuals? 😛 And, if you are writing on other social sites, I’d like to keep up with anything fresh you have to
    post. Could you list of all of all your shared pages
    like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?

    Reply
    1. TotallydubbedHD Post author

      Hi there,

      Which responses are you talking about? There aren’t any on the IE7 lol.
      As for FB and twitter, indeed, just click on the huge facebook and twitter logo on my front page!

      Reply

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