Customer Reviews

Sennheiser PX 100-II On Ear Miniheadphone (Black)

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Not sure why this product is listed under multiple names. Too bad since not all the reviews are together.

There is a lot of controversy over whether the new version (px100-II) or the old version (px100) of these phones sound better. I owned the old version for many years until they finally broke. I ordered the new pair to replace them. For me, there is no question the new version sound MUCH better than the old. They are more dynamic, detailed and have much better, more defined bass. Instrumental separation is vastly improved. Overall a very natural and balanced sound, but detailed and dynamic at the same time. In fact, I think they are quite an astonishing bargain at the price.

They make the old px100 sound too smoothed over and polite. The old phones also had a very natural sound, but they took the edge off everything. I think the controversy stems from the musical source people are listening too. The new headphones are more revealing and detailed than the old model. They make good recordings sound better, but they make it easier to hear the flaws of bad recordings and make them sound worse. Some people may finally be hearing the problems with downloaded (low bit rate) mp3's that were smoothed over by the old px100. Bad recordings and low bit rate mp3's might sound better smoothed over by the more recessed, laid back sound of the original phones. But listen to the new phones with a high quality recording on a CD (or a song ripped with a lossless format) and they are amazing for the price. Also, do not forget to break them in. Like many headphones and speakers, it takes 30 hours or so to break in the drivers which can be overly stiff when new.

Let me preface this review by stating that I am a huge Sennheiser fan and they are my favorite headphone manufacturer. That said, I am disappointed with these phones. I believe Sennheiser has managed to change nearly everything for the worse compared to the original PX100. Here's why--

--sonically, I find them worse compared to the original--they sound slow, congested and have an accentuated upper-bass. I found the original PX100 to be the most detailed and balanced portable headphones available. With the PX100-II the detail is still there, however, it's no longer as natural sounding or as exciting. The sound slow and have an overly thick texture. The tonal character is a little overly warm as well, no surprise given the boosted upper-bass.
--the single-sided cord is more of a weakness than a strength. Most other portable headphones have cables going to both earcups which makes the headphone cord lay in the middle of your torso and keeps the cord from brushing your arms and hands when walking/running. However, the single cord of the PX100-II orientates the cord overtly to the left. This can cause problems if you keep your MP3 player in your left pant's pocket (as I do). Unless I route the cord under my shirt/coat or use some kind of clip to keep it in the center of my body and find that it's continously getting in the way when I walk or run.
--the cord is overly textured causing it to stick to your skin. This can cause issues when you need to reach into your pocket for your MP3 player and the cord sticks to your fingers instead of allowing them to brush past.
--the PX100-II are over-built. Compared to the original the headband is thicker (both in width and depth). The points where the headband connects to the earpads has also been strengthened (and the headband now sides further away from the earpads on the right and left). Because of this beefing up the PX100-II is now, however slightly, more bulky and heavy than the orignal. And I can't help to ask; to what end? I've never heard of anyone who complained that the original (or other competing headphones, like the PortaPros) were overly weak and flimsy. Now, due to the thicker headband the phones are less comfortable to lay around your neck when not in use and are now even more uncomfortable to try and slip underneath a hat or a beanie. The original was robust enough. Now there is extra weight and size with no benefit.
--they didn't fix the serious flaw of the orignal PX100. Look at the reviews of the origina PX100. The one thing, I will repeat ONE THING, that people consistently complained about was the weak 1/8 jack used to plug the phones into the source. Over time stress caused the cord to seperate from the plug and sound to cut out in one or both channels. Senneheiser did nothing to correct this problem with the PX100-II. The plug is exactly the same and people are already starting to experience this problem with the PX100-II. Given that they went through the trouble of strengthening the headband (needlessly so) why was no attention paid here? That's either negligence or incompetence (sorry for the harsh words but come on...)

Really, there is nothing that I like about the PX100-II more or even as much as the original PX100. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the original PX100 was still available but it has been discontinued. I recommend thinking twice about purchasing these headphones and that's something I rarely say when it comes to Senneheiser.

For me, these headphones sound at least as good as the older model, and they look better. I don't know whether the thicker headband makes them more long lasting, but it contributes anyway to the improved appearance.

Some reviewers here say the older model sounds better. I think that just shows how individual our hearing is. I would not say those people are wrong.

I'd like to know why this listing does not specify the make and model. I puzzled over this listing a long while before buying. I'm now convinced the thing I got is a genuine Sennheiser PX100 II, but I was wasn't fully certain about that until the item arrived.

Regarding a certain strong competitor in this category: I don't know how good the Koss PortaPro sound, and I'll never find out because to me they look absurd. There you have one of my biases, how the headphones look.

In my opinion, the sound of these headphones, and of the older PX100 model, is astonishingly good considering their light weight and low cost. I heartily recommend them.

I had the Px 100s for about 5 years and loved them. I used them every day. The wire finally broke and when I went to replace them found they'd updated them to this PX 100II. I'm far from an audiophile, just a regular person who loves music. But I have to disagree with the person who said these were inferior to the PX100s. I find them the listening experience to be very similar. In fact, my husband still has his PX 100s and I listened to the same song with both and I'd be really hard pressed to tell the difference. I do like the one-sided cord. And they are much sturdier than my old model. It could be that I just need to break them in, but they seem heavier on my ears (I think the ear foam is more substantial) and more rigid. I'm not sure I like the feel as well as my old Sennheisers. It may just be a matter of getting used to them. They come with a nice sturdy carry bag. I think it's is an improvement over the hard plastic case of the old model. It was always a bit of a puzzle to get them in the hard case and half the time I didn't try. So all in all, I recommend the PX 100-IIs as fantastic earphones for the price.

These headphones are amazing for their price, I have owned the px100 and bought these as an upgrade, and I must say its the same great px100 sound but now with tighter and more extended bass, they are the best bang for your buck for a headphone under 100 bucks, I compared them to my daughters Koss Portapro (which are great) but the sound from these are truly superior. Sennheiser improved the headband and now just one cord to worry about instead of two. I also compared these to the Sennheiser HD238 and the sound from the px100ii puts you right on the stage, while the 238's were very veiled even when I took out the inner pads.
These cans are truly an introduction to audiophile quality sound, and may spark an interest in actually enjoying what your listening to. They are perfect for your IPOD or Mp3 player and if you've never heard music thru a quality set of cans then BUCKLE UP. These cans make you wanna just throw your skull candy garbage into the trash. JJG

I had to replace my old PX-100s after about a year when the cord separated at the point where it met the headphone jack and started shorting out. After using the new set for a few weeks, I have to say I'm mostly disappointed. The maker has kept the quality of the sound very good. Although these are "open air" (in contrast to the PX-200) and leak some sound, it shouldn't bother any one else unless you're in a very quiet place like a library AND you've really jacked up the volume. Some of the changes are good, like having the cord attach to the phones at one point rather than two. Otherwise, there are two main changes. First, for some mostly cosmetic changes, they've increased the price quite a bit. Second, they've done something to make the headphones much less comfortable if you wear them for an extended period of time. I don't know if it's the weight in general or a change in the padding, but you can wear these for about an hour before you'll want to pull them off. I never had any problem at all as far as comfort with the previous model.

Well, I am a Sennheiser fan for their usual great sound, but I find myself again disappointed in the durability of the PX-100 line.

I have had multiple sets of the original 100 and have used them exclusively for daily running. I usually run around an hour and this is the only time these particular phones are used. They are very comfortable, and the open-air design is perfect for running. Yet, every one of my 100s, including the new II version, have failed. Usually the cord seems to "break" internally and you will lose sound to one speaker. This new version, with it's apparently improved and thicker cord, still only lasted 3 months.

This is a real issue for Sennheiser and one they should try to address.

UPDATE 1/17/2011 :

Well, I bought another pair of these hoping the first was a fluke. I can't get over the great sound these little phones make. Guess what? Almost 3 months to the day after using these they also failed. I use a pair of Senneheiser HD 380 Pro cans for amateur studio work that I dearly love. I normally like Sennheiser but I won't buy anothe set of these PX 100s for running again.

I had originally owned the PX-100, and when those broke I chose to try the PX-200 II; I was quite disappointed with the relatively tame bass on those, so I sent the PX-200 II back and ordered PX-100 II. So far I am very impressed with the sound; the bass (to my ears) is comparable with the last PX-100 model, and the midrange and treble response have been improved, giving a sharper, tighter sound than the original PX-100 which, while impressive, tended to sound a bit too soft and warm at times.

The fit and finish has also been stepped up, resulting in a sturdier feel and slightly more 'expensive' look than the PX-100.

On the whole I would highly recommend the PX-100 II.

These headphones are comfortable and fold nicely. Too bad they completely died (no sound at all) within 5 months. Not worth the price.

I have the first generation PX100's and I decide to buy and try these. The new second gen PX100 are not nearly as good as the first gen! The highs and mids are recessed. These have more bass, but the bass is over bearing and not as tight as the first gen. PX100. I am really disappointed. I love my first gen. PX100's.