[Ear Canal Headphones] Sennheiser CX300

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turboash78

turboash78

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Turboash
What it is: High-quality ear canal ear-buds: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500830
What it costs: $60 new online (Can.), around $100 @ electronics retailers
How long have you owned/used it: 3 months

Pros:
* Great bass response (when properly sealed in ear)
* Clear highs and nice mid-range
* Very efficient (loud even at low volumes = longer battery life for MP3 players)
* 'J' type cord (1 side longer than other, personal preference)
* Come in silver or black
* Supplied with 3 sizes of 'Ear Fit Rings' (to seal in different sized ears)
* Not noise canceling, but the seal effectively blocks outside noise
* Comfortable enough to wear for a good part of the day

Cons:
* Pricey
* Touching/bumping the cord transmits noise to the ear
* Too tight of a seal can cause temporary 'pop' in ear

Overall Rating: 8/10

Conclusion:
I listen to a lot of music at work (at a computer all day) and was tired of my crappy Sony ear buds (the ones they supply with every one of their portable products). Some research led me to these little beauties. At first I was disappointed at the high price, but a Canadian online retailer had them on sale and I picked them up for a good price (they are now selling for $100 on the same site).

The sound from these little guys is great! I usually listen to electronic music (mostly trance and drum 'n bass) and classic rock, and I can't believe the bass that they produce. The key to their bass response is that unlike regular ear buds, these can be inserted into the ear canal (like ear plugs) forming a seal. Supplied are 3 sizes of silicone caps which allow persons of different sizes to get the proper fit. This seal also effectively blocks outside noise, which I can vouch for (sometimes I'm surprised at the noise in the office when I take one of the buds out of my ear).

Overall, they are a great replacement for any ear bud, and are even better than the big Panasonic over-ear headphones which I use at home.
 
I can vouch for these too. I used to have a pair of Sony MDR-EX81's, but the cord connecting to one of the ears pretty much severed after 10 months or so, and their customer service department was no help.

After reading some reviews, I got a pair of these off of Amazon. They were only $40 when I got it, but the price seems to have gone up afterwards. Either way, these are much better than the Sonys in terms of both sound and build quality.

The headphones themselves are made of what looks like polished aluminum, and can stand A LOT of abuse. (Speaking from experience, since I've dropped them several times and they spend a lot of time jammed between my jeans pockets and my iPod.) The cord itself has separate lines and coatings for each ear, and each cord is as thick as the Sony's combined cord. Also, it feels pretty stiff and sturdy, and a lot less prone to breaking.

The sound quality is excellent. It has very punchy bass, and good range all around. They are also excellent to hook up to a bass thanks to it's strong bass output, although the low ends could be a bit tighter in my opinion. I wouldn't say these are high quality audiophile buds, but for average consumers and mild audiophiles, they are great.

Rating: 9/10
 
I too bought a set of these a while ago. Great replacement and improvement from my semi-broken Sony mdrex71sl
 
Thank you very much guys, I just bought myself a pair of these. An incredible improvement after using the crappy Sony MDR-EX71 for like 2 weeks before they stopped working. :grumpy:

I'm very happy with these and yes, the bass they produce has exceeded my expectations. :D
 
:odd: Pricy?! What are the ex71s then.. ? At least Sens and the CX300s arn't garbage like Sony and the ex71s! I can't stress how much I recommend these! Great stuff. I've had them for about 2 Mo.

9/10
 
Cheez, I've got 2 pairs of the Sony EX71s. I've had them for more than a year with no problems at all. I like the sound and I've had no issues with them whatsoever. I paid less than $50 retail for them and probably could have found them cheaper if I hadn't been lazy.
 
It really depends on how you use them. If anybody is gonna even bother with the 71's, i'd suggest getting the cheaper 51's.

These senns are so great, the next pair of headphones im planning to buy are the PX100's. Seems to have a very good rating on Headroom :)
 
Are these the same ones? £17 from Amazon. Seems a bit cheap considering the prices mentioned so far.
 
Yes. That's a very good price for them.
 
daan
Are these the same ones? £17 from Amazon. Seems a bit cheap considering the prices mentioned so far.
Click to expand...

My god, if that is them, I'll get a pair for that price.
 
It's interesting that a lot of you say they have excellent build quality. After 10 minutes of use out the box, the right headphone stopped working. It started again after that, but it's irrelevant seeing as they didn't fit me :p


Sting
My god, if that is them, I'll get a pair for that price.
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That's exactly what I did. Excellent price, excellent sound quality, they just didn't like my ear canals. So, as sad as I am to do it (they were sexy too), they're wrapped up and ready to be returned. :(

It's annoying, as they really were excellent when I held them in further with my fingers, but I couldn't walk around like that all day. (Plus they were beggining to hurt).

Go and buy them from Amazon. DON'T get any off ebay. There's a big chance that they'll be fake, and quite a few people won't let you return them. If they don't fit, just send it back and go an ordinary pair of Sennheisers (I'm going for the MX51s).
 
I have had mine for two years now. Sennheiser did not even have a Canadian retailer yet back then, and I had to order from the UK. That meant a price tag of some $150 CAD or so. But to this day, I feel every penny was worth it.

Pros:
- Superb sound quality for something this small
- Durable (I have accidentally dropped it too many times to count, and recall stepping on one of the bud before on some concrete stairs as I dropped it. But only a scratch resulted!)
- "J" shaped wire is perfect to keep wires from interfering with writing, etc.
- Right-angled plug definitely helps to keep the plug from sticking out of the iPod too much to be a nuisance in my pants (lol)

Cons:
- Wires tangle quite a bit and retain that tangle for a while after in pocket for some times (heat = temporarily shapes them)
- Rubber mouldings connecting "ear bud piece" to wire is starting to wear out and crack at the edges after 2 years of pocketing (can be remedied though)
- Price - BUT it's worth it I TELL YOU! :)
 
un_peacekeeper
Pros:
- Durable
Click to expand...

Speaking of durability, mine has been through the wash since the last time i posed in this thread. My mom washed my pair of jeans with these in the pocket :dunce: The most surprising part is...... i do not notice any difference in audio quality. :sly:
 
My mom washed my Senn CX300's and they acquired a tinny annoying sound with little bass.

Soaked in alcohol and let to dry for 3 weeks. Came back and they were better. More listening (As in, playing 3/4 volume for 4 days straight (not on my head :)))

These are leaps and bounds above the EX71's from Sony I had.
 
Has anyone used these on a plane?, considering the positive stuff said here and the reasonable price I might be interested if they do well on a plane (like blocking out noise). Otherwise I may have to go for noise canceling.


Also, will these by any chance improve the horrendous lack of bass on ipods (4G 20GB)?.


Robin
 
They aren't considered noise cancelling headphones but they are pretty close to it IMO. As for BASS this has TONS! If you want the most bass set it to Electronica and turn it up.

Either way, I don't think you'll regret them. :)
 
I'd be real careful about getting them off eBay, there are a lot of fakes and even then seems pretty hard to tell if it is a fake in some cases.
 
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