Sennheiser IE 200 Review: Catering To The Masses!

With the IE 300, IE 600 and IE 900, Sennheiser pretty much has something for almost everyone. So who are these new IEMs for?

We have the Sennheiser IE 200 with us today, and if you’re wondering about that question earlier, well, these are for people who want to try getting into wired IEMs, or for the younger audience who might want a step up in terms of audio quality without having to break the bank.

Design

So, let’s talk design first. These look very, very similar to the IE 300 in terms of the material used (which is plastic), but just in general, it has the same shell design as the IE family. Where it differs, though, is that while the IE 300 had this white speckled look on the shells, the IE 200 is completely matte black. And that’s awesome; it’s a nice, discreet look and it holds up well. Black never goes out of style, after all.

Additionally, Sennheiser has changed the cable that comes included to a braided one, which I absolutely love. While the standard para-aramid cable with the IE 300, 600 and 900 aren’t bad, I did find that the material was a bit sticky when rubbing against itself. I’ve had just a few occurrences of microphonics, although I know some people have had major issues with it. Anyway, no problem with microphonics here and that’s great.

In the box, you don’t get as many included accessories as the more expensive models, but you do get a pouch as well as silicon and foam ear tips in S, M and L sizes. Speaking of the ear tips, that’s where Sennheiser has done something interesting with these earphones. There are two ways to listen to the IE 200, and they’re to do with the placement of the ear tips, in a sense.

There are two ways to fit the ear tip onto the nozzle, one that’s the typical way, and another where the ear tip is placed halfway onto the nozzle. This half-placement results in lighter bass and a more open treble, which is certainly audible. But I have a problem with this system. Because I tend to really push the earphones into my ears to try and get an optimal seal, it results in the ear tips getting pushed fully onto the nozzle. It’s an unfortunate problem, so I guess the only way around it is to kind of wriggle the earphone gently in to try and get that good seal instead of just pushing it into your ear canal like you would normally.

On the faceplate, you get the air vent next to the Sennheiser logo as per normal, and there’s a red ring on the right earphone as a visual cue. The IE 200 is still using Sennheiser’s MMCX Fidelity+ connectors, which is a slightly more recessed version of the MMCX connectors. While I do agree with Sennheiser that it might improve durability, it makes it tough to find third-party cables that are compatible.

As for comfort, the earphones are compact as always, meaning there’s next to no wearing fatigue or discomfort. I do have to say though, I felt that the seal, and therefore passive noise isolation, wasn’t very good with these. External noise would leak in quite easily, although that’s remedied by using the foam tips. But of course, the sound does change when using foam tips versus silicon.

I did my testing split equally between the silicon and foam tips, although I did prefer the foam. And now we come to sound. I did do my own burn-in with these earphones, and this, of course, varies from person to person. I personally like to use my own playlists and music to do burn-in as opposed to white noise and the like, so yeah, to each his own here.

Sound Quality

I came into this with expectations that it would be quite similar to the IE 300, and yes, in some ways, but not quite at the same time. Overall, it retains that fun, dynamic signature, but the IE 200 does have less sub-bass than the IE 300. It still has a decent amount, but not as heavy as the IE 300. This does get slightly boosted by using the foam tips though, and I’d recommend switching over if you prefer a heavier bass.

On to the mids, I think the mids here are pretty decently done. Slight V-shape to the tuning, a little recessed but not too much. Vocals are natural and they do get a bit of a push to the forefront, which is nice, but you might notice instruments or male vocals are a tiny bit subdued.

The treble is relatively energetic, bit of air and sparkle here, no harshness or sibilance. Soundstage-wise, it’s okay. Wide enough, deep enough, nothing to really shout about here.

Price & Conclusion

But honestly, it performs as I would expect for something that costs S$219 or about US$150. It’s a pretty decent introduction to beginner audiophile wired earphones. I think my first ever proper pair of wired earphones was the Klipsch X5 or X10, and that was around the same price as these if memory serves me right. I would have loved to have started my audiophile journey with these. They sound great for the price and I think Sennheiser has done a great job.

But, here comes the but, the IE 200 are priced pretty close to the IE 300, right? Especially now when the IE 300 can be found on sale. Here in Singapore, the IE 300 is going at a discounted price of S$299 or around US$222. That’s S$80 more than the IE 200. And at that sort of price difference, I might actually just pony up and get the IE 300 instead, because that earphone does offer better clarity, better layering, better detail and better bass.

That’s not to detract from the pros of the IE 200 though, it’s still a good option for the price, and if it fits your budget, that’s great. But if your budget can stretch a little for the IE 300 on sale, that might be a better option worth considering.