First Impressions: Sennheiser CX-300 IEMs

Hi all,

I have finally received my Sennheiser CX-300 black in-ear monitor headphones (these can be purchased for around $50US), and decided to share my first impressions with you.

So far I have been using two sets of headphones with my ipod:

1. stock apple headphones that look nice, provide the best sound I ever heard from bundled earbuds and stay in ears better than the mentioned bundled earbuds. However these still fell out of my ears very easily and didn't provide outside sound isolation or sound quality anywhere near my second set of headphones.

2. My second set of headphones is Sony MDR-V900 studio headphones. Purchased about 3-4 years ago for $210CDN. These headphones provide awesome sound insulation, high volume for portable devices and excellent sound (more than I would ask for anyway). The problem with these? They are over-the-ear headphones that are not nearly as convenient to carry around as the iPod earbuds. Also, I wouldn't want these to accidentally break when I carrying them...

So... I got a pair of sennheisers.... All 3 are pictured below (along with my iPod in a case).





So here are my first impressions after listening to some of the songs on my iPod using all three headphones :

Sound quality
The sound quality is much much better than iPod earbuds. Sound is more detailed. Bass is richer and stronger yet still detailed and not overwhelming. At first I was expecting more bass in songs, but then after comparing them to my slightly bass heavy Sonys I came to the conclusion that bass is actually rather accurate. At times highs were hurting my ears a bit, but that happens with very few songs so I think I can assume that it's the song and not headphones. Overall I'm still very surprised with sound quality, because CX-300s sound rather close to my Sony's (that have much higher MSRP).

Noise Isolation
I was amazed at how much noise they do remove - they are like a set of earplugs! While travelling in the bus (7 feet from the engine wall) and listening to music on ipod with volume set to 50-60%, the regular engine noise blends into the background and can be easily ignored. When the engine revvs it is clearly audible, but not anywhere near as overwhelming as when you have no headphones or are using ipod earbuds. Compared to my Sonys, CX-300s have less insulation, however, somehow it seems more appropriate for such portable applications! This set lets you comfortably listen to music wherever you are without missing things that might be important for your well-being. When wearing my Sonys on the other hand, someone might be standing next to you yelling and you might not even know it.

One other thing is that in iPod earbuds I often found that iPod volume set at 100% was not enough for me where 65% volume is more than adequate when listening to music in CX-300s. That actually is quite important (both for your ears and for iPod battery life).

Fit and Comfort
There are 3 different types of earpieces included in the headphone package. I managed to get a tight fit with the Large set. With these headphones it's very important to get a tight fit. Otherwise these headphones will not work for you! Once I got a tight fit, I could shake my head around as much as I wanted to - these would not come out of my ears. That's a first for me! CX-300s are also very comfortable. You'd forget that they are in your ears if it wasn't for the muffled outside noises that you hear from time to time.


Design
Design is probably the only department where I found CX-300s a little lacking. While I can get used to the J-type cord (where the cord for the right earphone is much longer than for the left, so you can put it around your neck or whatever). I cannot really accept a plain-looking L-shaped headphone plug with cheap-looking two-lead thin black cord. All that stuff screams 90s/cheap headphones to me. Also, absent from CX-300s pallete is a design that would work with iPods. Black headphones probably won't fit even black iPod that nicely.... Anyway, I'm done with my rant. Maybe I'm asking for too much... Asking for perfection.

Additional comments
- There is some cord noise that you hear(for example when it shuffles around on your clothing), but that noise is quite bearable.
- There is no carrying pouch that comes with these headphones, which is quite disappointing in my mind.
- The cord seems rather thin. Not sure if that will be a problem or if the cord is strong enough to handle some abuse.
- The cord could be longer. It's almost too short (ie juuust long enough) for me to put my iPod on my belt (on the carabiner clip) and still have full range of motion for my head (no headphone pulling). I'm a tall guy though - almost 6'5".

I think that's about it...

The bottom line: Awesome headphones. While packaging and design could be slightly improved, these are definitely worth their money. CX-300s produce sound that will give a lot of other more expensive headphones a run for their money.

Pros (if you get proper fit)
Comfort
Noise isolation
Excellent Sound
Price (when compared to other IEMs)

Cons
Design
Price (when compared to earbuds)
May be difficult to get proper fit
Audible cord noise

 

You live in Canada? If so Can I ask where you bought those. I only found ressellers in the US chargin 20 or more for shipping ....

Otto.

 

i still dont get why ppl say the stock apple earbuds are even remotely close to decent. hell any 99 cent pair of earbuds is of the same quality.

 

I think the price isn't half bad for the sound quality you get out of them. But then I'm comparing that price to the earbuds that cost anywhere from $100-300

 

2 OttoRitter: off eBay, but if you buy them off eBay - watch out - there are a lot of 'replicas'. You can also get them at www.tigerdirect.ca. "The Source" (old Radioshack here in Ontario) - www.thesourcecc.com also carries them.

2 ProfessorChaos: I'm not going to agree with you. Apple earbuds are way better (at least in my opinion) than "any 99 cent pair of earbuds". They are pretty good for what they are (cheap bundled headphones). But yeah, it is an insult to "real" headphones to compare them to apple earbuds.

2 Aryding: that's why price is both in pros and in cons

 

Well wehn I asked 3 different source store they all told em they couldn't have it... The online store is selling em for 100$ which is twice as much as the price I can get them anywhere else online, go figure = P. Gonna check tigerdirect!

Thanks!

Otto.

 

yeah... RadioShack/TheSource are always expensive.

 

Thanks for posting your thoughts/impressions/review of the CX300's.

I'm sure a lot of users here are considering them and I'm sure this will be helpful to them.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Sennheiser CX300s, I've been considering a pair of these to complement my PX200s for a while now... OK, I'm a Sennheiser fanboi, what of it?

I'll admit I'm not a big fan of the "neck chain" cord style either, but I can certainly live with it at this price. As for your concerns regarding durability, I wouldn't worry about it too much, in my experience Sennheisers are virtually bulletproof. I can guarantee they'll be more durable than the other budget IEM option, the Sony EX series... I don't know anyone who's EXs have survived for more than about 6 months.

I'm sure, given enough time, that Sennheiser will release a set of white, mugger friendly CX300s. They did with the PX200 series phones.

Oh Otto, if you're having trouble locating the Senn CX300s in Canada try looking around for the Creative EP-630 instead. They're almost identical to the Senns and are actually a little cheaper.

 

Yeah I certainly hope that CX300s will last me for a while considering how much they cost

 

Added another point to my first post: The cord could be longer. It's almost too short (ie juuust long enough) for me to put the iPod on my belt (on the carabiner clip) and still have full range of motion for my head (no headphone pulling). I'm a tall guy though - almost 6'5"

 

agreed (the rubber melts, individual buds stop working), but the pair bundled with my sony ericsson w810i have lasted ages apart from the fact that one is louder than the other.

They must bundle better apple ear buds in canada! i have owned multiple pairs when purchasing ipods and have always tried to use them, (they do look good) and they have always broken within the first fortnight (including one bud falling apart inside my ear!) - as well as being poor sound quality.

 

So you'd say these would be good for airplane use?

 

mmm... they do block out quite a bit of noise. They'll definitely be better than the headphones they give out on airplanes. Will they be better than a pair of noise cancellation headphones? That I can't tell...

I'd expect airplane noise to be clearly audible but at very moderate levels.

 

would u compare these to Shure's e4c's?

 

I haven't used e4c's, so I can't really compare the two. However some of the reviews I've read say that these two are in the same ballpark despite a big price difference.