Page 80 - Lighting & Sound America (December 2019) Magazine

TECHNICAL FOCUS: PRODUCT IN DEPTH

also manufactured in-ear monitor sys-
tems for the consumer market. The IE
series is the company’s first IEM
designed and built with the profession-
al market in mind.
As you can see, Sennheiser has
had a long and successful history in
developing and marketing drivers and
headphones.
The compact design fits unobtru-
sively in the ear. And the cable routing
method (patent application in
progress) does a great job of helping
to keep the IEMs in place and com-
fortable. A thin piece wire runs through
the cable routing system, helping to
guide the cable run over the ears—
and, once you determine the fit, it
helps to keep the cable in place.
Carton with hard-shell case accessory. IE 500 with foam and silicon ear adapters
and ¼" audio adapter. The earpiece enclosure—I’m not
sure what else you’d call it—is a
“clamshell” design, with both halves
its efforts on single dynamic driver cast industry took a liking to it. I fitted together. There is even a small
designs. Actually, the company started remember looking at album photogra- port on the outside of the earpiece.
manufacturing miniature magnetic phy back in the ‘70s and seeing them The packaging is a bit more
headphones in 1955, so it has had used in recording environments. I still upscale than that of the IE 40. The
plenty of time to develop its expertise. have my pair! I don’t have the first- Iatter has a foam insert and the sys-
In 1968, Sennheiser introduced the generation white plastic headband tem is fitted into appropriately shaped
first open headphone (the marketing with blue ear pads; mine are the black cutouts (for the earpieces, with chan-
materials coined the phrase “open headband with bright yellow earpads. nels for the cables). For the IE 500,
aire”), and that model, the HD 414, The HD 414 has been discontinued there is a black cardboard box (with a
remains the best-selling headphone of for a while now, but, of course, tone-on-tone Sennheiser logo) within
all time, with over 10,000,000 units Sennheiser continues to design and the branded IE 500 outer box. There is
sold. The HD 414 was originally build other models, although no “open also a foam insert, with cutouts, in the
designed and sold as a consumer aire” headphone variant is included in black box, but the IE 500 system also
product, but the professional broad- the current model lineup. Sennheiser includes a hard-shell carrying case.

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80 • December 2019 • Lighting& &Sound America