Sennheiser IE 200 Review

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Design, Build Quality, Cable

The Sennheiser IE 200 has a simple but lovely design, and it shares its form factor with its higher end siblings. This time round Sennheiser chose a more minimalist build, probably also to keep the selling price as low as possible. Like the IE 300, the IE 200 comes in a type of plastic and not aluminium.

The IE 200, as you can see in the pictures, is small in size just like the IE 300 but it does look unique. They probably are the least impressive looking IEMs of Sennheiser’s IE-line-up, but you can clearly see they have their own style.

The air vent (again) is nicely placed under the Sennheiser logo and doesn’t disturb the looks. The left earpiece has the IE 200 lettering on the inside of the monitor, and it has a black ring where the MMCX connecter is located. The right earpiece has a red ring and no markings. The IEM housing consists of 2 larger pieces and that clearly shows when looking at the inside of the monitor.

The build quality and finish of my set of IE 200 is perfect, there’s really nothing bad I can say about it. Important to see and note is that the IE 200 has a rib/ridge on the canal so the tip can be held in place. The nozzle is also sealed with a plastic mesh so that dirt and wax can’t easily enter the IEMs. In fact, that mesh logo can be found in the foam tips as well, they share the same design. Sennheiser/Deutsche Gründlichkeit.

For ultimate sound quality and dependability, nothing beats a cable

The IE 200 comes with only one single ended cable, and it is different compared to the one that comes with the other IE-series IEMS.

A revised, braided cable reduces handling noise, and terminates to widely a 3.5mm stereo plug and MMCX connectors for connection to countless audiophile devices.

If you have any of the other Sennheiser IEMs, you can use that fancier (and balanced) cable with the IE 200. The MMCX-connectors allow you to use your favorite aftermarket cables, though make sure the connectors are Sennheiser compliant before ordering one. I personally haven’t done that as the stock Sennheiser cable works fine for me (in all ways).

The IE 200 cable is simple, but it works well and without any friction noise. I also haven’t experienced it picking up any radio interference.

Fit, Comfort and Isolation

The IE 200 earpieces are very small, and they perfectly fit my ears. The canal is short and small in diameter, so it will fit all shapes of ears and stay perfectly in place. Of course, tip selection here is critical – as it is for the sound -, but more on that later. The small units disappear in your ears and that’s something I like a lot. They’re even small enough to sleep with and wearing them for hours is comfy and painless.

One earpiece only weighs about 4 grams, so they’re not heavy in any way. They don’t want to fall out of your ears all the time, though the tip selection helps with that. The cable is very light as well, so it won’t be pulling down on the earpieces either. And with the individually adjustable ear hooks, you can set the monitors just how you want, so they won’t bother you in any way.

Isolation-wise these are closed monitors and they have a good attenuation level. That means they isolate well, and they block out as good as all outside noise (Silicone lets more sound in). A high level of isolation is great for the sound quality and the musical experience but do pay attention when using this IEM outside in traffic, where cars and things can hit you.

I have not noticed any driver flex or pressure build-up with the IE 200 so far and they sit nicely fit in my ears during long listening sessions. Nothing negative to report here.

Tip Tuning

With the IE 200 Sennheiser is featuring their dual-tuneable ear tips. Basically, this means that you can tune the bass presentation depending on how you place the tip on the nozzle. When you place the tip more to the front, the bass presentation is lighter as you can see in the image below.

Sennheiser states that “the IE 200 can appeal to a variety of listening preferences thanks to its unique dual-tuning feature – from deep and emotional bass response to texture-rich treble presence”.

While it’s very easy to hear the difference in tuning (lighter bass presence, giving the treble presence more audibility), I don’t find the system easy to use. When you set the tip to the furthest position on the nozzle, it easily gets pushed back to the normal position when inserting the IEMs in your ear. This is especially the case with the foam tips, but it happens to the silicone tips as well.

Does the dual tuning work? Yes. Is it easy to use in reality? Not in my case, but maybe your ears are different.

Sound – Sennheiser

Let’s first see what Sennheiser has to say about the tuning of their latest universal IEM.

The newest member of the IE family shares considerable DNA with its renowned siblings but seeks to bring pure listening pleasure to a broader audience. With exceptional detail, clarity, and impact, users can now expect quality and features that are usually reserved for top-of-the-line devices.

“The Sennheiser IE 200 represents an open invitation for everyone to enjoy high-end sound,” says Jermo Koehnke, Sennheiser Audiophile Product Manager. “With balanced, true-to-life audio reproduction, users will be able to hear the details that they’ve been missing in ordinary headphones.” I understand that “ordinary” here stands for non-audiophile (level) consumer IEMs and headphones, as the IE 200 is aimed at the whole market.

“With the IE 200, nothing stands between the user and discovering new sonic landscapes. Harmonic distortion is almost non-existent, with a natural frequency response curve typically found in earphones costing significantly more. The IE 200 delivers superbly balanced and realistic audio”

Let’s find out if we agree with these statements.

The part on sound continues on page 3. Use the jumps below or simply click here.

Page 1: Sennheiser, IE 200, Specifications, Box & Accessories

Page 2: Design, Build Quality, Cable, Fit, Comfort, Isolation, Tips, Sound Pt. 1

Page 3: Sound Pt. 2

Page 4: Sound Pt. 3, Comparison, Conclusion