Sennheiser IE 200 Review - Budget Bliss

It's safe to say you can be an audiophile, whilst also on a budget. There are some cut corners in this piece of tech but for its price, it's a no brainer.

Even though wireless headphones are all the rage these days, you can't go wrong with an aux pair of buckets. Prefered by some for their sound reproduction and ease of use, and forgoing the pairing and charging shenanigans of our modern day tech.

Sennheiser, a German audio company, has been churning out winners for a long time. These earphones are no different.

Comfort

The 200 ie’s come with 3 pairs of both silicone and memory foam ear tips, coming in small, medium or large. The silicone tips sit tighter in the ear while the memory foam tips are more comfy, feeling softer and less abrasive. After using them for a few days while both exercising and sitting down they didn't fall out once. This is a win. Compared to a generic earbud brand they simply outperform in this area.

It also comes with the fan favourite earphone feature, the ear hook. Walking the dog with earbuds only to have them fall onto the concrete is a thing of the past.

Obviously, this earphone is corded, so you will have to take care when playing sports or working out.

Build Quality

The earphones come with a replaceable, grey braided cord with a 3.5mm jack. Being removable adds to the longevity of this tech.

Which it definitely might, as the cord is very thin and there have been multiple reports of people straight out breaking it. Sennheiser sells replacement cords or you can buy cheaper alternatives online.

It's also worth noting that the cord can get quite noisy when it rubs on clothing or you are moving around a lot. Another design flaw of making the cable thin.

It is nice that it comes with the choice of silicone or foam ear tips. The earphones come with a neat little faux leather pouch which is handy for storing them neatly into a bag or pocket.

Sound Profile

The earphones use 7mm drivers and have a frequency range of 6Hz to 20kHz with a 18ohm impedance. 18 ohms being pretty standard for a set of earphones which any device should be able to drive. They are able to get quite loud if you crank them right up.

The treble and mids sound crisp and clear with good separation, however bass is slightly lacking. I did find that using the memory foam ear tips instead of the silicone tips made the bass a bit heavier and balanced the high end.

Classical music is clean and balanced with these on. Vocals from modern hits shine through well. Even the bass in punk rock and even EDM is quite good considering their tiny drivers.

If you listen to music or play games which are heavy in the low end then maybe these aren't the best choice. If you really want low end, you should probably invest in a nice pair of over ear headphones anyway. Overall they are a fairly neutral set of earphones and for the price, I don't know if there's much better when it comes to sound quality.

Wrapping up

Sennheiser has managed to produce a high quality earphone with a fun sound profile at an exceptional price point. With some drawbacks like a thin, noisy cable and mediocre bass, this is as good as it gets for $240.