After many years, Sennheiser finally released its new flagship in-ear headphones—IE900, a pair of headphones that I have been waiting for for a long time.
As someone who has changed from an "omnivore who prefers classical music" to an "omnivore who prefers classical music", IE900 is currently the best choice for listening to classical music in in-ear headphones. First, especially the large-scale symphony, it brings the portable device to the dimension of the large-scale symphony and raises it to a new level. This is a state that other in-ear headphones have never reached before.
The anti-collision patch "looks like a ridge from the side and a peak from the side, with different heights from near and far"
About the price
The price of IE900 finally exceeded 10,000 yuan , don’t be surprised, a pair of headphones sells for tens of thousands, which is not uncommon in the Hi-Fi circle, but Sennheiser is ten years late. This is not a lack of technical confidence, but is caused by the impetuous atmosphere of "discussing sound based on price" in the domestic Hi-Fi circle. Many high-priced headphones are just "the emperor's new clothes" and are used for self-interest.
But for Sennheiser, the IE900 is a top-notch Hi-Fi headset that is expensive but relatively reasonable.
Why are Hi-Fi headphones so expensive? I usually explain it this way, you can think of headphones as a "musical instrument" that can simulate many kinds of musical instruments, and it can emit multiple musical instrument sounds at the same time, and can also restore the sound of the time. space and priority relationship, so for such a carefully crafted “instrument”, what’s not worth it if it’s a little more expensive? After all, not all pianos are called Steinways, and not all supercars are called Ferraris.
About "Self-pace"
Sennheiser itself is the brand that least cares about marketing in the Hi-Fi circle, or it is the most "self-pace" brand. It is currently the only A brand that insists on a single moving coil unit does not have multi-unit moving irons, nor does it have a brand of coil-iron hybrid unit headphones.
The reason is also very simple. "Less is more". What can be done with a single moving coil unit, why bother to use multiple units and the "frequency division" of the multi-unit itself? The shortcomings of "connection" have not been solved at the technical level. Although the frequency division sound generation of multiple units can improve the resolution, the frequency band connection is not smooth, and superimposed sound generation is still a problem. Moreover, the too fast transient of the moving iron unit will make the low-frequency sound appear "dry", and the mixing of the moving coil and the moving iron unit will be difficult. There will be problems with transient inconsistency, and there will be a "fragmentation" in certain genres. Therefore, single dynamic earphones are just like the charm of large-displacement self-priming high-speed engines. Turbocharging, supercharging, hybrid, and electric are all products of compromise.
Speaking of which, I personally feel that the chaos of the moving iron earphones is a bit like the new domestic car-making forces, because the core moving iron units include suppliers such as Lou's and Shengyang. Therefore, the speed of new products is astonishing, and "permutations and combinations" are constantly being used to create "hot models". However, there are actually only a few headphone manufacturers that can fully manufacture high-end dynamic units.
About appearance and acoustic design
To be fair, the appearance of IE900 is on the low side among Sennheiser’s flagship headphones, not as good as the previous generation IE800, let alone the ones produced by BMW. Designed by MX980. However, this "rough" appearance design does not make people feel ugly, but more like a deliberate "post-modern" design. In fact, the appearance of IE900 is what I often call an "acoustic first" design. Its internal structure and appearance are all for acoustics, rather than giving priority to "appearance".
For example, the three-cavity sound absorber (T3CA) system used in the internal cavity is through a uniquely designed acoustic chamber (Helmholtz vibration chamber | Helmholtz resonator) to reduce the "shadowing effect" and prevent high-frequency sounds with small energy from being masked by low frequencies, thereby ensuring that the final output sound maintains high resolution. The angle and size of the small cavity in the rear cavity are carefully adjusted to make the overall sound transparent and the low frequency sufficient. These seemingly simple designs can actually be realized through continuous complex verification to achieve the ultimate goal.
The CNC aluminum alloy cavity used in IE900 is relatively light. With the 7mm micro-moving coil unit, the weight per side without wire is only 4 grams, and it is used with ear-wrapped wires. Design, wearing comfort, stability and sealing are all significantly better than IE800.
The IE900 also uses an ordinary MMCX plug, which facilitates users to replace (fiddle with) wires, and also extends the product life (reminiscences from the explosive MX980). It comes with the original factory The three cables are 3.5mm single-ended, and 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced plugs. However, I personally feel that there is no need to rush to change cables for IE900. At present, the sound of IE900 under the original cable is balanced and perfect. On the contrary, the line will affect the overall balance.
About the micro-moving coil unit and sound
Even if the IE900 is not turned on, compared with the IE800, there is a significant improvement in resolution, sound field restoration and extremely low frequency restoration. , this is mainly due to Sennheiser's new X3R micro-moving coil unit, which has raised the level of single moving coil units to a new height.
In fact, I personally criticize the miniaturization of moving coil units. Although small-sized units will be better to wear, they will also sacrifice the low-frequency dive and power feeling. And large dynamic restoration capabilities. Even with IE800, the restoration performance of the low-frequency part is still a bit unsatisfactory.
However, this time the new X3R micro-moving coil unit made me understand Sennheiser's design idea, which is to strengthen the dynamic unit diaphragm response speed deviation. Slow shortcomings improve transient performance and allow higher resolution. Because the small-sized diaphragm made of special materials has better rigidity, the internal energy attenuates faster. And this time, low frequency and high dynamic performance are not sacrificed. It can be said that this X3R micro-dynamic unit is currently the best dynamic unit in in-ear headphones, bar none.
The sound performance of IE900 is balanced, atmospheric, delicate, elegant, transparent, moist and precise. These words that can be used on top Hi-Fi equipment can be directly applied , but everyone who knows headphones knows that these words are difficult to have both for in-ear headphones, especially in terms of sound field restoration of large-scale symphonies. There is no physical distance, and it is necessary to restore the sense of positioning and structure of the large space. , how difficult it is.
In the second movement of Karajan’s 1963 Bei 9 (Scherzo | Scherzo), after the lightning-fast unison, different instrumental groups began to play in rapid succession, and the IE900 was calm It perfectly restored the sense of space at the scene. The spatial positioning of different musical groups was accurate, the distance was abundant, the layers were obvious, and the phase was very clear. There was no problem of overlapping and crowding of the sounds of different instrumental groups, which is difficult to do with in-ear headphones. This is also one of the ultimate goals pursued by Hi-Fi.
In fact, there is another difficulty, that is, when the bass part starts to play hard, because the sense of volume increases, many headphones will have the problem of phase shift, usually The sound of drums becomes closer, and the sounds of mid- and high-frequency instruments such as violins become distant. This is basically a common problem of most in-ear headphones, but the IE900 does not have this problem, and the layers of the low-frequency music group can still be kept clear.
In addition, even in a symphony, the timbres of so many instruments are restored very accurately. The cello is calm and full, the violin is light and sweet, the flute is clear and melodious, the timpani is The sound is deep and powerful, the tone is full and full of charm, and they do not interfere with each other. Coupled with the clear structure and spatial positioning, the sense of presence is obvious. This is why I say that IE900 will restore the dimension of large-scale repertoire and elevate it to a new level. levels and new realms.
As an aside, the on-site restoration capability of large-scale symphonies such as IE900 is exactly what Apple’s latest “spatial audio” technology wants to achieve, but it is a pity that this kind of digitalization The "stereo" restoration of the algorithm can currently only be achieved with Apple's AirPods Pro and AirPods Max headphones, and the sound restoration ability of AirPods Pro is really not on the table. The low frequency is loose, the ultra-low frequency dive is not enough, and the layers are blurred. The most important thing is There is no dynamics at all, which means it can simulate and restore the position but cannot restore the sound quality and timbre.
For self-made or instrumental music lovers, IE900 is also an excellent choice. As mentioned earlier, in large arrangements, the reproduction of different instrumental music is accurate and full. In our system, it will be even more brilliant. Take Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto as an example. The piano sound is loud and not stiff. The contrast between weak and strong sounds is very big, whether it is a brisk rhythm or a melodious line. There are wonderful "performances" on every board.
There are two other points worth noting. Most multi-unit moving iron headphones not only have uneven connection problems when playing piano concertos, but also have the piano tone itself being "thin". , the problem of insufficient fullness in the bass part. Similarly, there will be the same problem of insufficient fullness in cello repertoire. This is mainly because the transient state of the moving iron unit is too fast, the energy decays too fast, and the overtones are insufficient. This is why I That’s why I’m not too keen on the multi-unit moving iron architecture.
Instrumental music and vocal music themselves are not so distinct, and the same goes for equipment. The so-called topic in the circle of whether it is suitable for classical or popular is to some extent just a discussion of fit and freshness. . IE900 has no problem listening to pop music or even ACG. After all, the high fidelity of Hi-Fi sound is the "truth" for all types of music. In fact, there is no problem.
However, the biggest problem with popular music and most ACG tracks is that the production and recording are not careful enough. When arranging and recording, there is often a problem of excessive low-frequency volume that overwhelms the human voice. This is inherently a recording flaw, so currently some This is the purpose of players and earplugs beginning to emphasize mid-frequency, to correct errors caused by the track itself. From this point of view, "perfect fit is indeed not as attractive as shock to a certain extent." Sugar water is indeed addictive, so IE900 is indeed It doesn’t have an advantage, but you can find some players with thicker mid-range frequencies to match it, which can also supplement the “sugar content”, such as N8 and NRIC, or choose some albums or Tiandiscs that are good at singing and well-made. It's better to come and listen.
Finally, let’s talk about the tuning style. Whether it is a low-end product line or a monitoring product line, or a product like TWS, Sennheiser’s headphone style can be said to be What is unique is the control of balance and overall view. There are many headphones with balanced sound, and there are many manufacturers, but in terms of control of the overall view, there is no one that is more rigorous and balanced than Sennheiser. However, this kind of tuning also has disadvantages. It requires users to have certain musical literacy before they can like it, and they need to wait for the user's listening concept to change. For example, when they are young, they prefer to drink "sugar water" such as Coke. After reaching a certain age, they will become more interested in it. Love tea and coffee.
As an aside, my favorite classical music actually comes from ACG. When I hear "Aria on the G String", the image that comes to mind is always "EVA Old Music". In the movie "Theatrical Version", the scene of Asuka driving the No. 2 machine VS the nine mass-produced machines is a strong contrast between the tragic and bloody music and the soothing music. Therefore, there is no need to be surprised when you sometimes resonate with a piece of classical music whose name you don't know. It may be "engraved" in your memory while you are ignorant.
About matching
IE900 is a flagship Hi-Fi headset that is not difficult to recommend or match. It is easy to drive and can be paired with a mobile phone. It has a very good effect. I tried using the extremely advanced 3.5mm headphone jack of the 6th generation iPod touch (I can’t find the original iPhone adapter cable). The sound field and positioning can be restored obviously, but the dynamics and low-frequency momentum will be lost. Not even close.
If you have further requirements, you can consider small tails such as Lebi W2 and Xian Sheng Blue Dragonfly. The resolution and dynamics are greatly improved, and the musicality is also improved. It is very complete, and the above-mentioned brick players have no problems. If you have a flagship player, congratulations, you will directly have a set of top-notch equipment for listening to large-scale classical music on the go.
Summary
At the end, change the anti-bump patch: "There are a thousand Hamlets in the hearts of a thousand readers." If you, like me, like classical music and have an inexplicable obsession with single moving coil units, then Sennheiser IE900 is a pair of headphones you absolutely cannot miss. If you are an audiophile who pursues sound quality and want a truly flagship Hi-Fi headset, then IE900 is also one of the best choices.