Just one step above the IE 6s in Sennheiser's in-ear collection, the IE 7s do indeed perform better.

What’s in the box?
There are no big surprise when you open the packaging, which contains more or less the same set of accessories: a set of ear adaptors (S/M/L), an aluminium protective case, a cleaning tool and a cable clip. On top of that, this pair comes with double-flanged, foam-covered tips, an addition which earns them an extra star.

The stylish case is still a problem though, as it takes too long to get the headphones out and even longer to put them away again, which soon becomes irritating.

Compared with the IE 6s, the IE 7s sport a more elegant design, with more curves and a discreet exterior which loses the shiny silver finish in favour of plain black.

Sound Quality
If you took the IE6s--just two stars for audio quality--and halved the size of the large hole they left between the bass and treble, then you'd end up with something like the IE 7s.  The V-shaped response curve is the same, but it stands out a lot less.

When you listen to them, it soon becomes clear tha the sound has a lot more body, despite a few troubling echoes at the low end of the mid-range.  This partial re-balancing is more than welcome as it glosses over the overall lack of definition in the sound produced by the IE 7s.  Although they're better in the mid-range than the IE 6s, these headphones still don't quite get it right.

And as for the hissing, plectrums and all the other irritations?  They're still very much on the agenda ...