Sennheiser IE 300 Audiophile In-Ear Headphones - Noise Isolating with XWB Drivers for Balanced Sound, Detachable Cable with Flexible Earhooks, 2 Year Warranty (Black)

Product Information

Bonus bass and treble seems like a technique that would be enlisted by a lower-end pair than this. But hearing it transplanted onto the Sennheiser IE 300, plus their great 7mm dynamic driver, is a recipe for good times.

Play the vocal-led Cassandra Jenkins’ Michelangelo, and while the Sennheisers showboat with a bold soundfield filled with lush-sounding acoustic guitars and warm, solid vocals, the intricacies of Jenkins’ delivery and the fine instrumental textures are overlooked in comparison. Before we deep dive into what you can expect to hear, let’s briefly discuss how the IE 300 does what it does. For starters, the IE 300 uses a derivative of the eXtra Wide Band (XWB) 7mm dynamic driver designed by Sennheiser’s André Michaelis more than 16 years ago to achieve the optimal sound profile in IEM form. This is the same driver design used in previous flagship IEMs like the IE 800 and IE 800S, and similar to the one used in the IE 900 as well, with a coherency that’s rarely found in multi-driver IEMs at any price point, let alone this one. In today’s review we’ll be taking a closer look at the IE 300 IEM: Sennheiser’s newest single driver, closed earphones. Like with many of Sennheiser’s IEMs utilising the Helmholtz resonator technology that first popped up in the original IE800, the IE300 has a boosted treble response that is simultaneously sharp yet restrained enough not to fall into sibilance or harshness. Again, the IE300 has a treble that is decidedly north of neutral so those sensitive to higher frequencies should stay away regardless, but this has always been Sennheiser’s strong suit in the IEM game so it’s good to see that they’ve at least maintained it. My sound signature preference: My preference is to have a great soundstage where the bass is impactful and delivers a punch that I can “feel” but does not over power the rest of the frequencies allowing for me to hear everything. Separation is important as well. The better tuned/balanced sound, the better.This reviewer found that none of the included silicon tips provided an adequate seal, no matter what size configuration was used or how they were adjusted in the ear, but thankfully the memory foam options worked a charm. With in-ear headphones it’s entirely necessary to get a snug fit, or else you’ll lose your audio’s bass frequencies entirely, and the IE 300 are no exception.

However, that I’m talking about these earphones in such terms reveals that the Sennheiser IE 300 aren’t quite the “flat” or neutral pair many of those still buying high-quality wired headphones will want. Right now, as I type this, I’m listening to the IE 900 playing Brian Eno’s An Ending (Ascent) both because I have a mild flair for the dramatic and because it contextualises where this headphone sits in the wider scheme of things. This is among the last, if not the last domestic Sennheiser product we’ll see before the new ownership arrangement starts to make itself felt. On the one hand, there’s a degree of sadness to this because, not only is the IE 900 the best earphone Sennheiser has made, it might well be the single best thing of the company's I’ve ever tested (it’s a three way tie between this, the original IE800 and the PXC550). If this is an ending, it is truly going out on a high.Spec-wise, the IE 300 is fairly ambitious, quoting a frequency range of 6Hz to 20kHz, 16 Ω impedance, a sensitivity of 124 dB (1 kHz / 1 Vrms), and a THD of < 0,08 % (1 kHz, 94 dB SPL). These are very similar to the IE 900, although the IE 900 extends further with even less distortion. In practice, I find the IE 300 very easy to drive, although it enjoys as much power as you can give it and will respond to beefier amplification, even though it’s not strictly necessary.

Without having to concern itself with contemporary features, Sennheiser has been able to prioritise the fundamentals for the IE 300 – build and sound quality. It nails the former, and there’s plenty to like in the latter: they’re bolder and more authoritative-sounding than most, with majestic bass depth and wonderfully rich vocals among the highlights.As for the audio, all I am going to say is the bass, MY GOD, THE BASS! If you are a bass head and care about nothing but the bass, these are for you. I can finally “feel” the thump-thump of the slow dramatic heartbeat during the aforementioned intense action movie scenes. If you have ever been a fan of the opening sequences to Christopher Nolan films (The Dark Knight and Tenet specifically), you haven’t heard anything yet! Wow! Just wow! IMAX quality in your ears. The bass was crisp and impactful. The highs were kind of subdued and the mids were great. On the other end, the bass response would probably be the most polarising thing about the IE300. No sugarcoating: this is a lot of bass and to the point where it starts cloud the melodic frequencies a little. Female vocals are a little huskier than I’m used to, strings sections clearly favour cello and bass, and I’m left wanting a little more crunch and “bite” out of the electric guitars. Still, not the worst in terms of fudging up the natural timbre of instruments.

There is a lush and warmth in the mid region. Instruments like saxophones, violins and cellos sound very deep and lush and has a nice body to the notes. Each driver is placed in a relatively compact enclosure - its size being helped in no small part by the relative compact single driver. Despite being small, it contains a specially shaped chamber to manage the air behind the driver and better control the flow of air out to the listener. Sennheiser says that this, in combination with a decent seal in the ear canal gives the IE300 the ability to deliver an extremely flat and even frequency response. Design wise there to me are 3 highlights. First, the tiny Sennheiser logo on the outside/face plate. Second the slightly tilted nozzle, supplying a perfect fit, and lastly the grill design at the end of the nozzle which is repeated in n-both the provided silicone and foam tips. It’s all in the little details. When you have a passion for audio, detail matters: Created for audio enthusiasts, Sennheiser’s new IE 300 earphones have been crafted to deliver a high-fidelity listening experience anywhere you go.Next up was timbre and tonality with the previous Mussorgsky piece lending itself well to show off strings. How can this be? Put simply, listening to the IE 900 alongside the IE 800S, the shared design philosophy of a single, exactingly engineered driver covering the whole frequency response is what defines the performance of Sennheiser earphones more than anything else. Multi driver IEMs are often wonderful things, possessing a space and airiness that is frequently addictive. Listening to Making Water from the Martian score, compared to the Campfire Audio Andromeda, the IE 900 has to give a little ground in terms of the sheer soundstage on offer.