Customer Reviews

Sennheiser CX 300S Bass-Driven Lightweight In-Ear Headphone

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought the CX 300S earbuds to use with my portable MP3 player while walking/jogging. The rubberized cord tends to stick/cling to your clothing which results in the buds getting yanked out of your ears as your clothing moves around (not to mention the fact that the cord is a little too short.) The buds must be fully inserted into your ear canal in order to hear the full fidelity of the music. With the buds fully inserted, most of the outside sounds are silenced... but this has the effect of amplifying inside (in-body) sounds such as breathing, teeth chattering, swallowing, etc... as well as the sound that the cord makes as it rubs around. Also, as the air moves past your head (while walking) you'll notice very pronounced wind noise! I also noticed that once you get the buds properly fitted, then you smile at someone, the buds tend to pop out! No more smiling!

Now, let me say that if I'm sitting at my desk with the buds properly fitted, the sound is amazing. Very good fidelity with bright highs and nice bass. But, to fully enjoy your music, you'll need to sit perfectly still and breathe gently (and don't touch the cord!)

If you're skeptical about the amplified internal body sounds, try this experiment: take your index fingers and gently press them into your ear canals... not all the way in as to fully plug your ears, but gently about 2/3's of the way in. This is about where the buds will sit when inserted. Now, gently tap your teeth, or take a deep breath. Take your thumbs and rub your index fingers... you get the idea.

I know that this is not a defect with the Sennheisers... this is an inherit problem with anything that you'd stick into your ear canal. And I've now learned that I absolutely hate in-canal phones... very, uncomfortable and inconvenient (and I've recently learned that in-ear phones can cause hearing loss.)

I am switching back to my Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones which sound amazing. And they're so comfortable that you might forget that you're wearing them.

Bottom line: If you're a fan of in-ear buds, then I recommend the CX 300S's... they do sound very good when properly worn. Since most of my gripes are with in-ear buds in general, I cannot fault Sennheiser nor the CS 300S's. I rate them only 4 stars because the rubberized cord is annoying and it's a bit too short.

I love the Super.fi 5 Pro. I've owned two pairs in the last few months, returned one because of irritation with UE. When I saw the new Senns were available I decided to A/B the two.

Well, for $150 less these guys are amazing! I have to push the volume up just a bit, but the tips are are comfy, the earpiece itself is discreet and easily maneuvered, and the sound is excellent - not too bassy like the cheap Sony IEMs. There's a soundstage! These are worth at least twice the price. My Super.fi's are going back to Headroom.

Test tracks:

1. "Naked Mole Rap" by Ron Stoppable and Rufus
2. "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria
3. "Sentimentale" by Claude Bolling.

All three genres were marvelous. I can feel the piano keys tinkling. Buy these.

I have had plenty of experience with the Etymotics and Shure's. The Ety's are fine, well-matched to the iPod; the Shure's are, I'm sad to say, god-awful and shrill, regardless of fit - like viewing fine art under fluorescent light.

The Sennheisers sound pleasantly like the larger headphones in the line - muscular, full, strong but realistic bass, good presence and drive, clean frequency response and lots of musical detail. And, at this price, they are untouchable. I prefer them marginally to my Etymotics, which cost substantially more, and of which I'm still very fond.

My only caveat is that these come with asymmetrical cords and no clasp, which takes more fiddling-around and makes them a bit more awkward to use when in motion. Not convenient for use while exercising, though not impossible. I've gotten used it, and the musical pleasure more than compensates. Mine also did not come with any sort of cleaning kit or specs - cheaply packaged. The point is to take them out of the package, and what good is documentation for something like this anyway? No big deal. The Etymotics, for a bit more money, have comparably musical sound and are more adaptible for use while exercising, performing or otherwise moving around.

Unless you're dedicated to megabuck fitted studio monitors, stop here, buy these and spend the rest of your money on music, a charitable donation and something nice for a loved one.

I bought these for the gym, and for that purpose they provide good enough sound, since there is a fair amount of background noise anyways. Of course, they are vastly superior to the crappy Ipod earbuds... In my opinion, these are not audiophile headphones - good but not great. I would recommend these with reservations: I notice a fair amount of noise whenever I move around and the wires bump into my body, or themselves (even brushing against the wire ends up like a scraping sound when it's magnified by the earbud). My main warning is the noise I get from any breeze. Walking at even a moderate pace, I hear a fairly loud "wind noise" from the wires that is magnified into the earbuds. So here is my dilemma - these phones only sound good when you are not moving, but if you are sitting still for serious listening they just don't sparkle. Bottom line: I'll stick with these for now, but I wouldn't buy these again.

I've been researching headphones for a few months before I actually purchased this item back in September, because I didn't know too much about headphones. After having these headphones for a few months, I have purchased some upper end Sennheisers to compliment these, but those have a open sound that may be distracting to others. I am a college student who uses these when I am in the library or if I want to listen to things with slightly more bass, while I use my other high end headphones in my room. I use these when I lift (not great for running because, if you try putting your index fingers in your ears, then rub the back of your fingers with your middle fingers, you can see what I mean.)

The asymmetrical cord to many, seems dumb and useless. But what those people don't know is that the longer part of the cord is meant to go behind your head, around your neck, so that if you would take off the headphones, they won't fall off. I actually didn't know this until I saw a reader review on cnet. I actually prefer this style cord over the normal, after I figured out it's purpose.

On to sound quality, these are very nice sounding headphones that sound even better after break in. The cushions are ESSENTIAL to actually getting the right amount of bass. I personally use the smallest cups, because my canals are a bit small. The highest notes may seem a little distant at times, but you don't notice it unless you really think about it. The bass truly is amazing, and has more of a thud than a boom. So if you like rap, you probably would prefer other bass heavy headphones. The mids are very clear, and I never really hear any harsh notes except at unhealthy volumes.

I use a 5th generation Ipod video 30gb, and I usually have my volume right around half, and I don't use an EQ. I have a logitech 5.1 surround sound system, which I have my Ipod hooked up too, and I usually have the volume over 3/4 full, but only if I want more bass.

Overall, these are great headphones for under $[...], and are highly recommended at any highly reputable headphone site around the internet, like [...]. The sound is equivalent to the Shure e2c's, but doesn't need to be shoved far into your ear. And remember that the cord is purposely made at different lengths to be worn differently, and is a very useful design.

I read many of the other reviews on these headphones and decided to give them a try. I have a pair of Sennheiser MX500's that I've used for months now, and was never really happy with their bass or full sound (lack of). These CX300's blow them away by far.

Overall, the sound quality is excellent in my opinion. The bass response is really good, and they really block out the outside noise, making them an excellent choice to wear on airplanes. My MX500s never would work on planes unless I held my hands over them to block out the outside noise.

I do wish the cords were a little heavier like the Shure E2C, and I'd like to have an inline volume like my MX500s. These thin wires get tangled really easy. On the other hand, I really like the material on the inserts. Its really soft, and after a while, I forget they are in my ears. The size of the ear pieces are much smaller than the Shure E2C, etc, and are barely noticable when they are in your ear.

These things keep selling out on Amazon, which is a testament to just how good these headsets are. Don't waste $60 at J&R -- wait until they get back in stock for $39.99.

I have been using both the Sony Fontopia 51s and 71s for a few years now. After recieving one set of these, and comparing the Senns to the Sonys, I immediately ordered 2 more sets. Incredible sound. And the price of $40 is 50% cheaper than the retail price, and $70 is the common selling price. I doubt they'll last at this price. $70 is a fair price for the sound quality. $40 makes this a steal.

I have been comparing the offerings of both Etymotic and Shures, and the constant complaint in a variety of reviews has been a lack of bass response. I considered this unacceptable and stuck with my Sonys. Prior to this I looked at the Shure e2c, e3c, Etymotic 6i. Each had some major deficiencies that made me avoid a purchase (constant comfort complaints for the e2cs, and lack of bass for the e3cs and the 6is). Each of these also cost significantly more than the Senns.

Enter the Sennheisers. Bass response is just as good as the Sony earphones, but clarity is vastly improved, and the mids and highs are incomparable. Music sounds spectacular. Are the most expensive headphones probably better? Maybe, but a) they will certainly be many times more expensive and b) they may lack the bass response desired.

Finally, while I can't speak as to durability, the 2 year warranty is fantastic.

In short: I highly recommend these.

These are, without a doubt, the cleanest and purest ear canal headphones I've ever heard. The bass response, especially with the largest of the ear fit rings, is perfectly balanced. The mids and the highs seperate perfectly. I've been using Sony MDR-EX51LP and these blow them away. They're small, comfortable and stay seated in your ears even during times of heavy vibration (like riding the NYC subway). Their noise cancelling ability is also excellent. When used with the custom EQ setting on my Dell Jukebox, I can EQ these to sound as good as my Bose speakers at home.

After my Etymotic E3i's died on me in less than a year, with a spotty connection in one earpiece, and then the other, resulting eventually in NO sound, I did a significant amount of research and settled on these. I had no desire to pay over $100 again, for earphones that wouldn't even be covered by a manufacturer's warranty (note the 2 year warranty on these Sennheisers... very important), and the Shure's are way too expensive for the sound quality (in my opinion, equal to Etymotics - you are really just paying for the additional warranty that Shure comes with). For less than half the price of the Shure E3cs you get a better warranty, increased in-ear comfort, and almost equitable sound quality out of these Sennheisers. At first I was dubious - the eartips don't appear to be fully sealing as the foam or flanged tips the Shures and Etymotics equip with; but in fact these do a very good job of fitting in your ears without the enormous production it is to mold the others' earpieces deep into the ear canal. This is critical in an office environment where you may have to constantly be removing and replacing your earphones due to interruptions. There is enough noise-canceling to completely eliminate the droning voice of the adjacent cubicle-habitant (and other ambient noises) but still lets critical noise through (i.e., announced bus stops, flight information,etc.). Bass, treble, mid-range details all are crystal clear. Complete noise-canceling is not achieved, true, but there are more instances than not when complete noise-canceling is not desired.

The Good
- Comfortable, lightweight earbuds
- Decent sound quality for the price, much better than Apples stock earbuds, but still a bit tinny sounding and lacking bass for true audiophiles

The Bad
- Asymetrical cord design doesn't work for me AT ALL.

I ran the cord around the back of my neck as others indicated. I "guess" I can see what the engineers were getting at with this "ergonomic" design, but it doesn't work for me. While I'm jogging, the much shorter left cord tends to snag on the back of my neck, especially as I perspire; when I turn my head, the left earpiece tugs out of my left ear canal- very annoying. I've tried jogging with the cord in front, but the much longer right sided cord flops all over the place and the left ear bud ends up tugging uncomfortably on my ear. I suppose if you don't jog or workout with these headphones then you'll be alright.