Sennheiser Introduces IE 900 Flagship Earphones With Improved X3R Transducer

Technical innovation, meticulous attention to detail, and an uncompromising demand for perfection to deliver a listening experience without compromise. These are the premises for another ambitious product development from Sennheiser, the new IE 900 around-the-ear earphones. The high-end concept required designing a completely new 7mm driver, the X3R, to match the product’s flagship status.
 
Manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Germany (it's not clear if these designs - shared with the brand's professional in-ear monitors - will remain part of Sennheiser, or are part of its consumer division products, now sold to Sonova), every aspect of the new in-ear headphones has been engineered to work in harmony to achieve the desired acoustic tuning and to reduce resonances and masking effects. 

The new IE 900 boasts Sennheiser’s proprietary X3R transducer, a refined version of its 7mm Extra Wide Band driver featuring a unique triple-chamber absorber system, allowing for a wide frequency range with low distortion. A newly developed membrane foil provides a high degree of inner dampening, ensuring minimized natural resonances and distortion (THD: 0.05% at 94 dB, 1 kHz), with a frequency response of 5Hz – 48kHz. As Sennheiser describes this ensures “brilliant, natural high-end sound reproduction and reveals even the finest details in the music.”
  Sennheiser’s quest for delivering highest-fidelity sound begins with the housings of the IE 900’s earpieces. They are milled from a single block of aluminum to create the earphones' unique triple-chamber absorber (T3CA) system. Originally developed for the acclaimed IE 800, the IE 900 features the next generation of the patented absorber system, which uses three chambers and an acoustic vortex milled into the nozzle to counter the masking effect. This acoustic phenomenon arises as the human ear cannot perceive high frequency sounds at a low volume if louder sounds in a lower frequency range occur at the same time. By removing the energy from masking resonances, the absorber system prevents undesired peaks, making even the subtlest nuances of sound audible.

What refines the X3R technology is the three Helmholtz resonator chambers which are precision-drilled into the elegant aluminum chassis of the IE 900 and placed between the diaphragm and the nozzle. To further smoothen the treble, Sennheiser integrated an acoustic vortex. This is a complex shape that maximizes acoustic friction so that excessive energy is scattered. The effect is measurable and audible and serves to make the treble as smooth and pleasing as possible.

“The X3R system enables the listener to hear more details in their music which is what audiophile listening is all about. The three resonator chambers smoothen the frequency response at high frequencies in the area from 6 to 10 kilohertz, reducing the so-called masking effect. This means that you can better hear frequencies above 11 kilohertz – the details,” says acoustic engineer Andre Michaelis and continues, “The challenge here is to perfectly balance the three chambers to get the correct response. You need to tune chamber by chamber and then make sure they are perfectly balanced together to achieve the correct frequency response. This process requires advanced acoustic engineering,” Michaelis adds.
  “No detail is too small when you’re striving to set a new benchmark in portable audio fidelity. We designed every component of the IE 900 to work together to deliver extraordinary audio performance,” says Jermo Köhnke, Product Manager at Sennheiser. “Whether in long listening sessions at home or on the go, listeners will never have to compromise on their music experience.”

“Compared to traditional multi-driver concepts, single-driver technology promises greater fidelity for listeners,” Sennheiser states. Based on this philosophy, Sennheiser developed their 7mm TrueResponse transducer which can be found in various forms throughout Sennheiser’s professional and consumer-focused in-ear ranges. The new X3R transducer was engineered for tighter tolerances, coupled with the acoustic back volume in a fully automated transducer manufacturing facility in Germany, which Sennheiser claims results in the lowest unit-to-unit variations in miniature, dynamic drivers.

A specialist team in Wedemark, Germany also manufactures the IE 900 to the highest production standards. Its unique housings are precision milled from high-performance aluminum alloy to retain its pristine appearance for years to come. Precision cameras examine the transducer components closely during production, and completed transducers are tested before and after pairing. For optimal performance, the assembled left and right-side earphones are paired by hand to work together.
 
The company believes this new development and no-compromise approach, will appeal to “an audience of high-fidelity sound enthusiasts,” which will value the fact that the IE 900 “makes even the subtlest nuances of sound audible.” 

The new design also uses Fidelity Plus MMCX connectors, affording users the freedom to choose their preferred cable with the IE 900 - which is almost part of the requirements for this segment (and the fun). A deeper integration into the housing provides better stability for the gold-plated connector. The IE 900’s come with an unbalanced cable with a 3.5mm connector and balanced cables with 2.5mm and 4.4mm connectors. Tested and improved for robustness and longevity, the para-aramid-reinforced cables can withstand thousands of bending cycles. For a comfortable and secure fit, the IE 900 offers ergonomic features, including individually adjustable ear hooks as well as silicone and memory foam ear adaptors in three sizes.

The Sennheiser IE 900 will be available from June 2021 for $1,299.95 USD (MSRP).
www.sennheiser.com