Customer Reviews

Sennheiser CX 400-B Lightweight In-Ear Stereo Headphone

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

This is a great set of earbuds. They sound terrific and have plenty of bass. I also ordered the V-Moda Bass Freqs because I like to "feel" the music in my head, but after listening to the CX400, I'm not sure how much more bass I really want. They really do have great bass. Keep in mind that you must use the silicon tip (3 sizes included) that makes a tight seal and is comfortable for you. For me, it was the medium ones.

The thing with this style of earbud is that unless you fit them securely into your ear canal, you wont hear ANY bass. But once you situate them correctly, the sound is very high quality. You can hear that really low tight bass that most earphones can't reproduce. The mids and high (voice and treble freq) are nice and clear and totally distortion free. Of course, for audiophiles the sound is less than accurate (thats why only 4.5 stars), but for most listeners the sound from these little $35 buds is superb!

Another thing to consider with this type of earbud is that you will hear pretty much all vibration against the cord. That's just an inherent feature of this type of plug. Rubbing of the cord against anything will cause a wind-like noise in your ear, however, I found that if you clip the wire to your shirt with a little slack it's minimal, and while your music is actually playing the sound is easily ignored in the background.

The only other thing I didnt care too much for was the cord length(s). Without the included extension the cord is about 1.5ft, which is only good for an armband or your shirt pocket. The extension adds 3ft, so the result is 4.5ft of cable dangling if you wear your player in your pocket. I had to coil up some of the wire into a small loop and placed a twisty-tie on it to keep in control. I can live with it since the quality makes up for it. The cord and connectors are as high quality as I've seen, although there doesn't seem to be much protection from yanking the cord from the connector that goes in the player.

The silicon tips are comfortable, although I don't wear them for prolonged periods. They seem like they will not come off the bud easily so you're less likely to lose them. They do a fairly good job of isolating, but they don't isolate completely unless your playing music at a reasonable level. I don't like being totally out of it in la-la-land so this was just right for me.

I know you can get the CX300 for about $5 cheaper, but the CX400 comes with a wind up gizmo (doesn't work well when extension cord is used) and a nice black leather pouch. While I cant confirm, I would bet the 400 is also slight superior to the 300 in sound quality. All in all, these are the best $35 you could likely spend on earbuds. Even at $50, these would be a good value, but the value would start to diminish if priced any higher. At this price point ($35), there's really no reason NOT to have a pair of these. For those looking for the cheapest option ($20 or so), spring a little more and get these or at least the CX300. Distortion free, well-balanced earbuds for this price is a rare find - THANK YOU AMAZON!

Just make sure you can live with the in-ear canal earphones, they're not for everyone.

UPDATE: I got my V-Moda Bass Freqs and have been using both for a few days now. Here is what I noticed. The V-Moda buds have more bass, a fairly distinguishable amount more bass. Quite impressive actually. I like the cord much better (no extension, just one length). The cord wrap gizmo is much better, but no pouch is included. That's about it. In terms of sound quality, the V-Moda buds just aren't as good. With my iPhone equalizer off, the V-Moda buds sound muffled - significantly lacking mids and highs. It's mostly just bass. The only equalizer setting that made them sound good was the Acoustic setting. The Senheisers are just so much more balanced. Sure, the bass sounds weaker when you compare them to the V-Moda buds, but thats because the V-Moda have so much. I like a lot of bass, but not ALL bass. The sound has to be well balanced to sound good. Stick with the Senheisers. much better sound and enough bass to keep you happy. I'm tempted to try the higher end V-Moda buds. They may have the balanced sound along with all that bass. For now, I still say these CX-400s are a steal at this price.

The sound quality of these headphones is phenomenal. Crystal clear, with a balance between the highs and lows, without neglecting the midrange (most speakers seem to do that). However, I'm a little frustrated with the ergonomics. You have to jam the earbud into your ear canal in order to get the full good sound. This makes it uncomfortable after awhile. They fall out of my ears when I'm exercising too. And finally, the cord is too short - it's not long enough to span my ear down to my pants pocket. The headphones come with an extender but it just adds a hassle and too much wire. I wish the main wire was just 6 inches longer.

about a year ago I bought a pair of bose in ear headphones, but recently they started to stop working, the wire was loose. This was devistating, I paid $99.99 for them, and at the time the sound quality was great, until I found these. The sound quality is sooo much better than bose, and the fit of these in the ear is better than bose, they do NOT fall out, the bass is deep, and all the sounds are clear and crisp. Unlike the bose, these block out alot of background noise, I would STRONGLY reccommend them to anyone who was thinking about buying the bose headphones. (don't pay more than $20 for them, that is the best price for them)

I purchased these earbuds to replace my Apple oness which were literally falling apart. I have been blown away by the performance with a few caveats.

- If they do not fit properly in your ears, then you cannot enjoy them they way they were intended.

- They block out most of the ambient noise which might be dangerous for commuters on bicycle or on foot in a busy city.

- The cord is just ridiculous. It is entirely too short and with the extension is entirely too long. I cannot for the life of me figure out who's idea that was.

- Every thing that comes in contact with the cord can be heard. When it rubs against your body- or for a big guy like me, my heavy footsteps-you can hear it in the headphones. I wouldn't recommend them for working out.

Pros:

The low end is amazing. If your music has bass, you will hear it. Even those subtle low notes you might have missed before will come alive.

The buds are pretty comfortable for me. I know this is subjective but I have left them in for long periods with no discomfort.

The sounds is great overall. They sound as good as my $150 Sony Studio Monitors I bought years ago

They come with a little carrying case and some item to wrap your cord around when they are not in use which is nice because I am always tangling my cords when I am not listening to music.

If you like great sound, don't necessarily need headphones for the gym or bike riding, like to hear the full compliment of notes in your music, don't want to spent an excess of money, and don't mind finagling with the cord a little to get the length right, then these will be a good purchase for you.

I recently purchased the CX 400 from Amazon for about $30. In brief, these headphones provide far superior sound versus the stock earbuds one receives with ipods or other mp3 players. To my ears, they sound as good or better than most headphones in the $70 - $100 range.

Pros:

1. Sound quality - exceptional clarity, good solid bass (not too much though) and well balanced tones. When I listen to music through my ipod, I can hear sounds that I didn't hear on my old ipod headphones or even through regular speakers. I tend to listen to a variety of music - but primarily rock and world music. If you're into hip-hop or other bass heavy music, these might not be for you.

2. Fit - for me they just fit well with the medium earplugs. Fit is critical to comfort and the sound quality one perceives. When they create a good seal, they feel light and they block out external noise and one can concentrate on the music being played. I wear them when running and working out in the gym and no issues with them slipping out of my ears. These come with 3 sizes of plugs to help people find the right fit.

3. Accessories - these come with a little pouch and winder. I like the pouch so that when I store the headphones with my ipod in the car, they don't get tangled with other items in the storage compartment.

Cons:

1. Cord Length - The standard cord length is really only useful for armbands. I'm 5' 10" and the cord will really only extend to the armband. When I add the connector, it becomes very long and you get excess cord if you want to keep your ipod in the pockets.

2. Straight Plug - I would have preferred if Sennheiser had provided an angle plug for the headphones (those where the wire comes out at a right angle from the plug). The iPod nano I use has the headphone connector on the bottom of the device, so the cord will come out of the connector and then make a 180 in order to go up the nano. This creates stress on the wire at the plug. To alleviate this, I wear my ipod upside down on my armband so there isn't as much stress on the wire at the plug connector.

I bought the Sennheiser CX400B about a month back. I chose this over the CX300 for two reasons. One, it has a symmetrical cable going to both ears. I have had earphones with an unsymmetrical cable before, and personally I don't find them comfortable. Two, the extension cord, without which the cable would not reach your Ipod if its in your pant pocket.

I had been using Apples earphones until about a month back. The audio quality of the CX400 is very crisp and accurate, far far better than the Apple earphones. I have tried my friend's Bose In-ear, and I must say, it is very overrated and overpriced.

The CX400 comes with three sizes of adapters, and you have to experiment with those to find the right fit for you. Once you have the correct size, they fit snugly, and isolate the external sounds.

One more advantage I found with using these earphones is that, I have to use my ipod at very low volumes which saves a lot of battery.

Overall, the CX400 is more than worth its price, and its a reasonable jump from the Apple earphones towards premium quality sound.

I bought CX300 earphone and am using it with no complaint. I bought CX400 one since I need to give CX300 to someone. It was just delivered today. Initially, I thought there's no big difference between CX300 and CX400 except additional accessories (1-meter extension and pouch, etc.), which I thought was just trivial and not important. But once I listened to the sound of CX400, I realized that the sound was much better than CX300 , which was a pleasant surprise for me. I am not an expert in sound or music at all. I cannot explain the difference with specific knowledge or jargons. But I just want to say that I who want to listen to good quality music with affordable budget could recognize the difference. I hope it can be a help to someone.

These are my new favorite headphones. The bass response is better than any pair I own. They fit comfortably in my ears, and do a good job isolating noise. They're a definite bargain at the current $30 price. Watch for ridiculously low prices on these headphones though. Especially over-seas sellers on a certain auction site. These are one of the most counterfeited headphones made. All in all, it would be hard to find better headphones in this price range. I have one slight complaint that I have with every pair I own that comes with an extension cable. The short cable is too short for any use other than an armband. If it was 6" longer, it would be perfect.

I am getting along in my age (60) and I wanted to share my experience. I bought these headphones by brand (on it's reputation). The sound quality is average to poor at low volume. I bought these headphones for long walks and it meets my needs, but I expected more from them. The cord is too short (like many have said) and the extension is bulky to carry. I don't recomend these headphones for someone who listens to soft music. Now loud, that's a different story. Across the board, at elavated levels, it produces great sound. I do not like loud music. I hope this helps you on making your decision.

I bought them at airport because I forgot my original iPhone headphones. What a difference - especialy inside the noisy airplane. I hear much more details (all high, mid and bass) on much lower volume level. I highly recommend them. They fit to the iPhone 3G without any additional connector reduction.