When comparing Sennheiser IE 800 vs Apple Airpods, the Slant community recommends Sennheiser IE 800 for most people. In the question“What are the best rugged and durable earbuds & IEMs that last?” Sennheiser IE 800 is ranked 6th while Apple Airpods is ranked 9th. The most important reason people chose Sennheiser IE 800 is:
The IE 800s allow some ambient sound to pass, but not enough to be bothersome.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Good noise isolation
The IE 800s allow some ambient sound to pass, but not enough to be bothersome.
Pro No bass distortion at any volume
Precisely engineered pressure vents behind a single dynamic driver leave no opportunity for distortion to occur.
Pro Ear tips provide a good seal
The ear tips are a step up from the common silicone ear tips on the market today. The part that comes into contact with your ear is made out of soft, flexible, high quality silicone. The inside canal of the ear tips however is made out of a firmer plastic material, with a metal mesh in the middle.
This combination allows the ear tips to create a very good seal when worn, reducing sound leakage/bleed while also ensuring optimal sound delivery.
Pro Fantastic listening experience
Sennheiser is known for audiophile gear, and these earphones qualify. Their frequency response, dynamic range, and clarity of definition do justice to their price tag.
Pro Good durability with scratch resistance
Instead of using metal or plastic in the construction of the earpieces, Sennheiser has used a special ceramic material on the IE 800 which is scratch resistant. This helps to keep the weight of the in-ears down, yet can still withstand use and abuse pretty well.
The cable on the other hand is very high quality and covered with Kevlar reinforcement for added durability.
Pro Oxygen-free, kevlar-reinforced copper cable
Wrapped and sealed in an oxygen-free environment, these cables are immune to corrosion so long as their tough kevlar shielding remains intact.
Pro Lightweight
These come in at only 4 grams per earpiece. The absence of a connecting cable further minimizes the weight.
Pro True wireless
There is no band or cable connecting the earpieces. You won't have to deal with the noise caused by a cable rubbing against your clothes or body.
Pro Bass-light sound signature with good clarity
These headphones do produce some low-end, but the bass does not come with a lot of power and oomph. The highs and mids are good though. They are not too forward and present a nice level of clarity. Most genres of music will sound good with these, though bass heavy tracks like dance, hip-hop, EDM and the like may sound lacking.
Pro Easy to connect with Apple devices
Thanks to the proprietary connectivity chip used, the Airpods sync to Apple devices without a hitch. This is a noticeable advantage over many third-party wireless headphones where you might need to go through a lot of steps just to get them synced properly.
Pro Signal stability and quality is great
The signal cuts-off only on very few occasions. Generally, you should have a stable wireless listening experience. Also, there is no noticeable lag between what is happening on screen and when you get to hear the sound from these headphones when watching videos.
Pro Microphone sound quality is good
Voices sound clear and full so conversations will not be an issue.
Cons
Con Cable noise
Touching the cable or rubbing it against clothing makes a rustling sound that transmits into the earpiece.
Con Y-split connection can pull down the earpieces
The detachable cable after the Y-Split cable adds a bit of weight to the earpieces. This can pull them down and cause them to dislodge at times.
Con Does not come with an in-line microphone/remote
While not really a CON, this omission can make or break your purchase decision for these headphones. Sennheiser offers an add-on cable which features the mic and remote, but is quite expensive.
Con Headphone cable is not completely removable
While the headphone cable can be attached/detached via a 2.5mm connection from the Y-split down, the cable cannot be removed from the earpieces themselves. This can make replacing the fixed cables very difficult and potentially expensive.
Con Limited controls
There are only two control gestures (double tap on either one of the two Airpods), which is enough for basic running (where you might only skip a song once in a while), but less than any other headphones with inline controls.
Con If you get sweaty ears, there is a good chance these will fall out
Con Bass may be too light
If you listen to a lot of bass heavy tracks or if you want all of your music to have great low-end punch then the bass reproduction may be too thin for you.
Con Hard to acquire
In most places of the world, you need to wait about 6 weeks to get your hands on these.