Sennheiser IE 200 Review | Trusted Reviews

Verdict

The Sennheiser IE 200 are an entertaining pair of wired in-earphones that bridge an informal, mainstream sound with the next high quality efficiency. Comfy to put on, straightforward to drive when it comes to amplification, and with a pleasingly heat efficiency, the IE 200 in-ears are by no means lower than pleasurable to make use of.

Introduction

Wired headphones are apparently on the comeback path, and the Sennheiser IE 200 has arrived to offer you audio high quality par excellence.

Very like wi-fi headphones, low-cost wired headphones can nonetheless be crude when it comes to efficiency. Apple’s EarPods had been, and nonetheless are, fashionable; however their efficiency wasn’t as nice as their reputation indicated.

The purpose of the Sennheiser IE 200 is to offer “balanced, high-fidelity sound”. It’s not typically you again in opposition to Sennheiser with their pedigree, and certainly the IE 200 proves to be a really likeable pair of wired headphones.

Design

• Very comfy to put on
• Over-ear hook match
• No in-line distant

The design of the Sennheiser IE 200 is, at the very least to me, meant to not appeal to a lot consideration. Except for the branding and lettering you wouldn’t essentially have a look at these headphones and say ‘Sennheiser!’ There’s a really fuss-free, get on with enterprise theme with these in-ear screens.

They even lack the extra sparkly, dusty particle look of the IE 300 to assist them stand out from the norm and the one color they arrive in is black.

Sporting an ear-hook design, the fabric used is versatile so it may be moulded to the again of your ear for a safe match. Just like the IE 300 they characteristic an MMCX connector that enables the housing to be (simply) indifferent/hooked up to the cable, and you’ll twist the earphone to higher match into the ear throughout placement.

Apparently, there are two methods of positioning the IE 200’s ear-tips that result in totally different sound tuning. The usual method presents a smoother sound and one other place that improves bass and high-frequency tuning. Sennheiser doesn’t make it notably clear how to do that (this video helps). There’s a distinction in tone, although there are occasions the place I ponder whether pushing the earphones into the ear with power fully negates that tuning choice.

Noise isolation may be very efficient with a superb seal, blocking most sounds fairly simply and luxury is nice because of the light-weight design (4g). I’ve worn the IE 200 for hours and never felt even the slightest discomfort.

After all, there’s no ‘transparency’ mode, so if you wish to hear what’s round you, you’ll have to take them out. Three Silicone and reminiscence foam ear-tips (small, medium, and huge) are supplied in a pouch (with a magnetic seal) for carry that continues the IEM’s minimalist vibe.

The 1.2m cable is braided and isn’t averse to changing into twisted up, although I’ve not discovered it troublesome to ‘un-knot’ each time that’s occurred. There’s no in-line mic/distant, which primarily signifies that playback should be achieved on the supply gadget. For these used to the comfort of wi-fi, this will come throughout as inconvenient.

On the different finish is a 3.5mm jack for connecting to a supply gadget (say a conveyable music participant) and that’s just about that. A quite simple design, but it surely all comes collectively successfully.

Options

• 18-ohm impedance
• Huge frequency response
• Dynamic 7mm TrueResponse transducer

Based on Sennheiser, the IE 200 has a frequency response from 6Hz to twenty,000Hz, which suggests they will hit the higher restrict of human listening to and attain previous that when it comes to bass with the 6Hz determine.

Contemplating that human listening to (usually) solely falls to 20Hz, it’s unlikely you’ll be capable to hear frequencies at 6Hz, however these decrease frequencies could also be communicated by the IE 200 in a method you can really feel them.

Impedance is eighteen ohms, which may be very low and may make it a very simple job to ‘drive’ these headphones from a supply gadget, whether or not that be a smartphone, transportable music participant, or perhaps a laptop computer.

Except for that the driving force (or transducer as Sennheiser refers to it), is a dynamic 7mm extra-wideband True Response effort that on the very least is comparable, if not the identical, because the one utilized in Sennheiser’s Momentum 3 True Wi-fi and can be used within the IE 300, IE 600, and IE 900. The purpose of the True Response transducer is to breed sound because it’s meant to be heard.

Sound High quality

• Barely heat, wealthy presentation
• Could possibly be extra dynamic
• Huge, spacious soundstage

The earphones’ driver setup, supply gadget, and high quality of music you’re listening to all affect the eventual sound. What qualities does the Sennheiser IE 200 deliver to proceedings?

For one, they’re a really easy hear – regardless of the audiophile nature Sennheiser is claiming for the IE 200, I don’t sense they’re bringing an elevated degree of element to music. With Janelle Monae’s Can’t Reside with out You Love, they don’t strike me as probably the most revealing or exacting pair, however the sound they produce goes down simply.

They’re not overly wealthy, however strike a simple steadiness of being barely heat however balanced from the highs to the lows. Nothing stands out like a sore thumb throughout the frequency vary – it’s all knitted collectively nicely for a flowing hear.

The midrange has a pleasant heat to it, eschewing crispness and favouring smoothness in its description of Faye Webster’s voice in Generally and getting her melancholic tone proper, or Chris Cornell’s baritone vocal vary within the Form of Issues to Come.

There’s a strong degree of dynamism current in Homicide and The Orient Categorical from the Mission Unattainable: Lifeless Reckoning soundtrack, however whereas there’s power and stream to the observe I don’t actually hear it ‘soar’ as such and with fast, rhythmic tracks resembling this the earphones can lack a level of outright pleasure.

Including a DAC can assist increase this space. Utilizing the THX Onyx DAC related to an iPad Professional, and the Sennheiser retains the identical easy, barely wealthy presentation however with an additional ounce of assault, and a sharper sense of dynamism in transitioning between quiet and loud notes.

The highs are clear and there’s some brightness to treble, although they’re not sharply reproduced. Placing the in-ears of their ‘second’ place yields a crisper, extra detailed efficiency, although I most popular the load supplied with the unique place extra.

The bass is nicely managed, sounding balanced and with respectable depth that provides extension to the low finish, however I wouldn’t recommend you go anticipating an enormous and highly effective efficiency. As I discussed earlier than, regardless of the heat, these Sennheisers handle to supply a presentation that’s balanced.

Extra positives are that the soundstage is definitely coherent and described with width, extra so than the equally priced Letshuoer S12 Professional. There are good ranges of element and readability – if there may be any distortion, I haven’t heard any.

I wouldn’t describe these earphones as wholly audiophile or analytical in style, at the very least not with their customary tuning, as they appear to bridge a extra informal, mainstream strategy with a balanced sound. They’re by no means lower than entertaining, and if you happen to’re nonetheless into wired listening, the Sennheiser IE 200 is a contender underneath the £150 mark.

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