Customer Reviews

Sennheiser MX 680 Sports Earbud Headphone with Volume control & Earfin Clips

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I train for two full marathons per year, and I sweated my way through two sets of ear buds in less than a year, so I was looking for replacements that were specifically designed for the rigors of serious running. I quickly found the Sennheiser/Addidas branded models online. I chose the MX680 "ear fin" models, as I did not want a behind-the-neck band flopping around while I run, and I did not want the isolation of a traditional sealed ear canal ear bud, since I prefer to hear cars before I am under them.

The MX680 is very close to perfect for this combination of criteria. The ear fins feel strange at first, mostly because it feels like they cannot possibly stay in place, but they do, and they are comfortable. They're so light I can hardly feel that they're there, and I can hear ambient noise, so the overall design works as advertised. And there are plenty of sizes of fins and ear cushions included to fit every size and shape. The MX680 does not produce the thunderous bass of expensive, tightly sealed ear buds, but overall sound quality is very good, including decent bass (much better, for example, than the tinny sound that results when sealed ear buds slip loose in the ear). And the open air sound is great for running outdoors.

I purchased the iPhone compatible MX680i, hoping that at least the mic would work for phone calls with my Motorola Droid. It doesn't. The remote partially works with the Droid, allowing me to pause or advance tracks, but volume and mic do not work. I knew I was taking a risk that this would turn out to be the case, but for others trying to choose between the MX680 and the MX680i, don't spend the extra money if you are not going to use it with an iPhone. The MX680i **will** work as ordinary headphones on any 1/8" stereo jack, though. In addition to dozens of miles of all weather outdoor running so far in the three weeks I have had these, I have also been happy using these on hotel treadmills and on my notebook computer when I did not want the isolation of my more expensive ear buds.

I've owned my pair for more than 3 months now and have been extremely satisfied with them.

Sweat-proofing: This was the major selling point for me as I have gone through half a dozen other Apple-chip-enabled earphones that I have sweated to death. After 3 months I feel like this pair will go the distance. The rubber controls and microphone (all in the same unit) appear to be well protected and robust. Don't take these for a swim, but feel free to wear them in a sweat box or during a particularly hot and passionate night.

Sound Quality: This attribute is not a high priority for me, but they sound good. Certainly acceptable for my gym-centered purposes.

Sound Isolation: These earphones are designed to leak outside sound in so that you can remain aware while running or cycling in them. Do not make the mistake of thinking they would be good to wear on an airplane or in your office. Your neighbor will hear what you're listening to pretty easily. If you're looking to keep your self help audiobook collection a secret, then look elsewhere.

Microphone: Audio from the microphone is great. I've used it a few times during conference calls for work and they produce as clear audio as my Scosche earbuds of much higher cost. Using these you can feel confident that you're calls to those 900 number businesses won't be wasted (or will be, if that's what you're in to).

Fit and Finish: The earphones come with many rubberized parts of various sizes so you'll be able to squeeze these things into your elfish or octogenarian ears. The arching rubber seen in the product picture above the earbud itself is made of a very soft/pliable material (there are 3 sizes of this and it is optional if you don't like it). The arch is meant to fit into the upper crevices of your ear to help retain the earbud in your ear hole. Mission accomplished through an rough trail running or aggressive actions between the sheets.

The remote itself: I'd take away half a star here if I could. The buttons are squishy and don't have a solid click or feedback to reinforce that it has been pushed. Additionally, the 3 buttons are molded into a single rubberized set of buttons, meaning there is no *physical* separation of the buttons. The combination of these two things (one-button-to-rule-them-all and no feedback) means that using the buttons while wearing gloves in the cold weather is a guessing game. This issue is not a problem when your hands are unprotected.

Plug: It looks like it could take more abuse than a pro in the Amsterdam red light district. Don't fear sticking it in and out of your iPhone/iPod.

I have to admit that I was dubious of these when I first saw them. Ear fins do not seem like they would be comfortable, and I could see how it would be a problem. At first it was a little strange, but after using them for a while I do not even notice the fins anymore. The sound is good for ear buds that are only used to work out, and I actually use them just walking around. The bright yellow is a little intense for my tastes, but nobody really seems to notice unless I point it out. These work great for what they were intended for. The extension cable does not degrade the sound enough to matter at all, I actually did not notice any degradation, and since I do not own a iPod Shuffle, some of the reported problems with that system (which seem like a design flaw that that product more that this one) do not exist for me. Very happy with this purchase overall. It should be noted that those who are worried about different size ears should be able to find something close to their size in the pile of extras that come with this ear bud set.

The downside would be that they are not as high performing as some of the other Sennheiser audio listening devices. This is not all that surprising considering they are not designed for in depth listening but being active, and in that they excel. Even jumping around for four hours strait and slinging heavy boxes around does not move these out of place.


Bottom line: Highly recommend for working out, but if you want to sit and listen to music I would suggest a different model.

Pro: Flashy/sporty design. Lifetime warranty. Sweaty resistant.

Cons: Earfin is a bad take on Sennheiser's original "Twist-to-fit" system. Soundquality is quite terrible.

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First of, these headphones look GOOD. The bright yellow and black color scheme is sexy. The build quality is quite good. Very nice attention to little details like the logo of "Sennheiser" on one side of the cable splitter and "Adiddas" on the other.

The MX 680 come with many accessories, different sizes of the earfins and the rubber around the earbuds. Foam socks. And the thick and rugged carrying case.

I own the MX75 (1st generation of Senn's sport line). I liked the original "twist to fit" system much better, because instead of a sharp "fin", they used round little wheels that roll much nicer against your ears and does not poke.

The earfins is very soft and at times does not offer enough stiffness to keep the buds in my ears. When they do, they hurt my ears after just a few minutes (and is distracting)

The cable system is quite bad. You may ditch the volume control and just connect to an armband. The problem is, the cable is not long enough when I move my arms running. But if I use the extender with volume control, it is very heavy and adds unwelcome tension to my ears.

Sennheiser does give you a clip that you can attach to the cable to keep it from dangling around. THat is totally useless to me because I work out in t-shirts (and I don't know anyone who does not) , there is absolutely no place for it to clip on.

SOUNDQUALITY - Okay, these headphones sound TINY and THIN. If you pushed them a bit into your ears they sound fantastic, but that is not feasible while lifting weights, on a bike, or running. So, if you leave them on like normal, they sound no better than stock earbuds that you get from buying any mp3 player.

There is literally no base thump. You can hear the beat, but there is no impact. One way to look at this is that music sounds extremely light, and will not become too involving or distracting from your workout. But without any low and mid-low end to balance out the frequencies, the highs just are shrieky. It will sound like your brain is being scraped.

Other companies offer headphones at much better values both above and below the price for the MX680, with better comfort and better soundquality. There is no reason to pay so much money for these to replace your stock buds. Except maybe for the looks, but then you should look to other products of the sports range.

The MX680s sound OK, but the volume control is a real deal killer. The clip on the volume control is worthless so the volume control ends up swinging around and eventually pulls the ear buds out of your ear. You can unplug the volume control, but that leaves you with a cord that is too short if you are wearing your player on your waist or in a pocket. So the headphones would be great without the volume control, but that option is not available. I'm looking for a new replacement now.

Sennheiser sent me these as a warranty replacement for my MX75s. I loved the MX75s, but they eventually corroded to the point where one ear bud wasn't working.

Comparing these to MX75 from Sennheiser which I liked except for asymmetric cord which also has tendency to tangle. My MX75's are having sound problems in 1 of the buds so decided to try the CX680's which are NOT the ones listed here (MX680) but everything except the earbuds is the same and, for some reason, Amazon is not showing the CX680 listed anymore so thought I'd chime in about what I thought of this earbud system.

First and foremost, the little "fins" that hold the bud in your ear are not comfortable for me. There is a very small surface area (compared to the MX75 and MX85 predecessors) that makes contact with your skin so all the pressure of the fin is in a small area. Because of this, I needed to upsize the fin in order to make it have any decent holding power in my ear while running. The next size down was essentially useless for holding the bud in my ear and flopped out repeatedly. So, if it's large enough to actually hold in place, it pressed inside my ear something fierce. I could barely wait to get these off after 5 minutes despite finding my MX75's comfortable for 90+ minute workouts which include 20-30 minutes of running and then strength training. I was disappointed in the comfort and, for that reason alone, will be returning them.

The cord does NOT tangle like my MX75 and is symmetric, both of which suit my personal preference in a headphone. The buds of the CX680 did a great job sealing my ear canal (can't comment on the MX680 but assume they will not seal quite as well, just given the design). They seem to be very well made. One note of caution is that the earphone setup is basically 2 wires: 1) the earbuds with a 3.5mm jack (0.5m) and the extension wire (0.6m) that the earbuds can optionally plug into which starts with the remote (which has a built in clip) and ends with another 3.5mm jack. The problem is that the earbud and initial wire of only 0.5m in length is not long enough to go from my ears to my iPod Nano attached to my waist band :-O Mind you, I'm 6'4" but with long legs. If you are tall or have a long torso, you might be stuck plugging in the remote and extra wire. The down sides are that each connector is likely to degrade sound to some degree and you now have a whole new segment of wire to manage around your waist area where your iPod is attached. If you use an arm attachment or just clip an iPod shuffle to your sleeve or neck of your shirt, this should not be an issue.

I remain confused as to why Sennheiser insists on manufacturing sport headphones in bright, near neon, colors and would prefer a simple black or dark grey setup. Perhaps there is a reflective property to these, although that is not advertised that I'm aware and, theoretically, not much of the headphones will be exposed when you are active outdoors.

The built-in volume control is a nice option if you want to use it but I have not tested it. Overall, seems well made though I have not put the sweat-resistant claims to the test. To be clear, I am giving these only 2 stars for the painful fit which prevents me from actually being able to use them.

Finally after spending hundreds of dollars on a headset for running. Here is the skinny on this great product. This may not be for you if you are just a weekend warrior.

As a retire Marine that always thought the Pepsi generation Marine was soft running listening to music while running the PFT... found myself running a lot solo as I moved up the ranks.

Yes, I have tried them all, Bluetooth, over the ear, in the ear and others.

Yes, I wondered what the hell ...with the funny single wing tip. The wing tips keep the ear piece from falling out while running....IT REALLY WORKS! After completing the research on the product, I ordered it looking for the ultimate headset for running.

Got the product and test drove it on the first day with an short three mile run. Awesome headgear! Bluetooth was great but the battery always ran out on long distance run...never had a charge meter to see if it was fully charge for short runs. The ear piece that went into the ear, would always sweat off during the run and I would be struggling with it to adjust. Plus, I could hear my heart pumping as I did my leap-frog speed training.

The added volume control on this product is a great PLUS.

I tend to sweat a lot while jogging my previous experience with earbud were they would not feel good after an hour or two of running (I had to stop running dry my ear and the buds before I could go back running) and of course they would all go bad eventually. I have been using this for the last six months and its sweat protection is excellent, the best I ever had.

The sound might not be crisp quality but still good enough, and you need to adjust the ear pieces correctly before running (make sure you try out all the pieces they provide to adjust to your fitting). The volume controller could have been better designed/placed, you really need to adjust to a setting you are comfortable with before you start off running.

Overall from my prospective its an excellent product so far, those defects are of less importance to me.

I have gone through 2 pairs of Sennheiser's in ear ear buds, the orange twist-in, and have loved them. When I saw these, I thought they were the newest and best design and decided to try them out. These are no match for the old version. Sennheiser, scrap these, go back to the twist in design, and give me my money back!

The earbuds never feel like they're really in and I'm constantly readjusting while jogging. The volume adjustment doesn't clip to my clothing effectively and ends up just bouncing around, getting in the way, and pulling the earbuds out even faster.

Avoid this product!

the ear fins are a great idea. about the sound quality: i never could go wrong with a sennheiser. however, i did not find this product ideal for working out at the gym. the problem lies with the cord. the part that connects to the volume controls come off easily when i work out. when i take off the part of the cord with the volume controls and just connect it directly to my ipod, the darn thing becomes too short. unless your music player is in an arm band (and i never use one because it gets in the way of arm training) theres just no way i can recommend this product for gym use.