AIMING FOR THE SUMMIT

SENNHEISER IE 900

- Kenny Yeo

AT A GLANCE

DRIVERS 7mm single dynamic, X3R technology

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 5Hz - 48KHz

CONNECTOR MMCX

WEIGHT 4g

PRICE $ 1,999

Unlike phones, flagship IEMs don’t come around often. Sennheiser’s last flagship-class IEM, the IE 800 S, was released in 2017. So you can imagine the excitement the new IE 900 caused when it was announced earlier this year in May. The move is a concerted effort by Sennheiser to refresh its IEM lineup which started in January this year with the IE 300.

The IE 900 and IE 300 share the same design which is no bad thing. The IE 300 was supremely comfortable to wear and the IE 900 is no different. It fits snugly in my ears. And because it’s so small and light – a mere 4g – you’ll barely notice it.

While the IE 300 is made in China, the IE 900 is made in Germany. It’s an important point of distinction because only Sennheiser’s most important and premium products are made in their German factories.

On the materials side of things, while the IE 300 makes do with a hard plastic shell, the IE 900 features a milled aluminium housing. Each IE 900 shell starts off as a block of aluminium which is then precision-milled to create its unique shape. This step is particularly crucial because within the aluminium shells are three Helmholtz resonator chambers that were designed to minimise unwanted frequency peaks.