Customer Reviews

Sennheiser PMX 100 Supra-Aural Mini-Neckband Stereo Headphone

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First off, these headphones sound just great. Plenty of bass, nice range, just leagues above the packaged ipod headphones...though, I know that's not saying much. I'm pretty sure these have the inner-workings of the Sennheiser PX 100's, so check out the plethora of reviews over there to get more opinions on the audio quality.

While the sound is wonderful, the comfort factor is another story. Do not, do not, do not buy these headphones if you plan to use them on a plane, in a car, on a bus or anywhere where you'd want to rest your head back against the seat...it won't work. The neckband of these phones sticks out about an inch and half, creating somthing of a halo about your neck. While I'm sure you could tweak and adjust to be able to rest your head back, it wouldn't be comfortable and work quickly get on your nerves.

On the other hand, if you plan to use this set while walking about campus or going for jog, like I do, then you'll be fine. Though, they do look slightly silly...or, maybe just different...when you're wearing them.

There are a bunch of reviews for this item on the Amazon.co.uk site, where they've been for sale for some time now.

Bottom line, if you want something more comfortable...sacrifice the sound quality (and save 20 bucks) and go for the PMX-60's. If you don't plan to try to relax with these on, you'll really enjoy the sound quality.

...One more thing, when they say "open-air" they really mean it. There isn't even a covering on the outside portion of the ear pieces, meaning the earpiece can almost be seen as two-sided, everyone around you will definitely hear what you're listening to if you're at a decent volume level.

...I ended up having to return these as I couldn't use them in an office or library...they leak too much sound. This really sucks, because they sound amazing...

I bought these in April after an extensive search for great sounding headphones. I used Sennheiser at my workplace, so I was eager to get these phones. The sound has been great, and they made my commute much nicer as l listened to my music on the bus. However, I noticed that the plastic coating the wire was no longer attached at the jack. I tried to remedy this with electric tape, and this worked fine... until today. When I pressed play on my ipod, I was devastated to only hear sound from the right phone.

I love the Sennheiser's sound quality, however, these are not the most durable headphones. I used them everyday and I am not sure what would cause the coating to detach from the jack. Needless to say, I am very disappointed.

These headphones sound pretty good, almost the same as PX100. Very good reproduction of Low frequencies. Highs, Mids are also pretty good.

What I didn't like about these is, the headband that goes around the back of your neck is too big and doesn't look very pretty (for my taste). Some one compared it to a halo, I agree, it's big and round. Aesthetical quality aside, these headphones press on ears much stronger than PX100. I could wear PX100 for hours, I had to take these PMX100 off after a few minutes. Also, with PX100 when you want to take them off you can just wear them around your neck as you walk around. When you take off PMX100 and put them around your neck, the head band is too small for that and they tightly surround your neck pushing against it in an uncomfortable way so you have to take them off completely. However, Style and Comfort can be subjective as I've seen others satisfied with their fit.

PMX100 also share the cord problem with PX100. If you look at a jack of any headphones you will see a small part with rubber rings that surrounds the cord. The function of that is, if you bend the cord you'll see that it doesn't bend at one specific place but rather bends smoothly, preventing too much bending in one single spot and making the cord last longer. This "technology" was invented ages ago, and isn't exclusive to headphones as you probably know. On PX100 and PMX100 that part around the jack is not flexible, missing one or two rings, so it bends sharply in one same spot. When I got my pair of PX100 I knew they wouldn't last long, as I like jogging and taking my music to the gym. They lasted about 4 months and then the cable broke right in that spot as expected.

In short, these headphones have all of the positive qualities of PX100's sound, but I find, add physical and aesthetic disadvantages. But now you have two styles for the same headphones, which I suppose is a good thing.

When comparing the sound to KSC35, I find the overall sound quality of PX/PMX100 significantly better.

Also check out PMX60. As I just got a pair, I can't really voice an opinion on them just yet, but I know I'm keeping them already. They fixed the cord problem on these by the way.

I bought these for my Zune after an exhaustive search for a good sounding, compact headphone for work and working out at the gym.

If you are like me and can't stand all the earbuds out there, then you need to find another solution. I tried the Premium Zune buds at 40 bucks, and the Bose Quiet comfort buds at 100 bucks, but they just gave me earaches and I was always fiddling with them to keep them in my ear canal tight.

I read countless reviews of this headphone and I can say this is the best sounding under $40 headphone out there that won't mess with your hair. (Yes, better than even the Bose earbuds!)
If you are only using the stock buds or phones with your mp3 player, be prepared to be blown away. Tight, full bass range with smooth airy highs and mellow mids. You don't have to crank them either, they sound rich even at lower volumes. But if you do crank them they don't distort at all. If you have ever tried the Bose Quiet comforts at the stores, these sound very similar but with an open air design!

The only negative is the comfort. The little rubbery clips that go behind your ears take some getting used to and can hurt after 30 minutes or so. I think I'll get used to it. I'd much rather deal with a little discomfort on the outer ear vs. jamming an earbud in my ear and getting a sore ear canal (which I had). That could lead to ear infections or other more serious ear problems.

Some other reviewers complained about the headband, but it sounds like they were not wearing these right. Once on your noggin, the band needs rotated up toward you skull in the back till it touches your head. This keeps everything nice and tight and also gives the earclips more space and flexibilty which equals greater comfort. I do not think the headband is too tight, it has the perfect amount of tension to keep these in place.

I might buy a pair of the PX 100's as well just for wearing around the house or lying in bed reading. The PX 100 is the same exact phone in an "over the head" design. At $40, I can afford to get both!

I usually don't review product, but I would like to share my thoughts regarding these headphones. I tried a lot of different headphones for running (I run almost every day outside for 3-6 miles on average) and my previous favorite headphone was the PMX-60. However, these headphones are putting the 60s to shame: excellent bass and incredible detailed dynamics. Comfortable enough for running. Highly recommended.

The PMX-100s sound just like the PX-100s. It's a proven, if not perfect formula, and superb for the price range. You get heapings of bass, maybe somewhat overpowering to some, though not obnoxious by any means. A smooth, warm midrange, voices sound relatively natural and don't suffer from the Bose "James Earl Jones" effect. Their biggest weakness, sound wise, is the high end; they aren't particularly detailed or clear.

The result is a sound that's easy to listen to and live with, the sound these put out isn't going to be hurting your ears after any duration of time, unlike many headphones in this price range.

I got these as running headphones: I previously used Koss KSC-75s, which sound almost as good (and cost less than half as much), but don't seem to be as comfortable; their clips caused excessive pressure on the tops of my ears after extended durations of listening, and, while Koss has a lifetime warranty, the ear clips had a tendency to fall out after a couple years drove me to look for something new.

These aren't perfect in the comfort department either: they sacrifice a bit of comfort for stability. I can't imagine they'd go flying off under any realistic circumstance outside of a tornado. The neckband is made of metal and plastic, and actually clamps with a moderate amount of force. The headphones will stay on in most circumstances without even sticking your ears through the clips. As opposed to most earclips I've used, which put more pressure at the top of the ear, these balance it out a bit more, though not perfectly. They tend to pinch forward, putting a bit more pressure at the front of the ears (and a little bit on top from the clips) - overall I'd call them a bit more comfortable than the KSC-75s, and they fit a bit better too. Something I would have liked to see is an adjustable band: these don't have one.

Overall, I'm happy with these headphones. They aren't perfect, but they sound a lot better than most similar models, are comfortable enough, and are good for running. I'd recommend you try on a pair if you have a large head due to the non adjustable band (the Koss Porta Pros or Sporta Pros might be better suited for you)

These aren't going to replace my HD600s at home, but they serve their purpose very well.

I purchased a pair of these to use at work, which mostly entails listening to conference call webcasts (in which case sound quality doesn't matter much to me) but also includes some time spent listening to music (obviously sound quality is more important in this case). I was surprised by the sound quality - they sound pretty damn good, admittedly I'm not much of an audiophile but I'm happy with the sound.

I went with this type of headphone because at work I don't want to block out ambient noise. However, contrary to what some other reviewers have said, I actually find that when listening to music at moderate volume there isn't very much noise leakage with these. In fact I asked a coworker to walk past my office to test if he could hear that I was listening to music, and he said no he couldn't hear it. Good enough for me.

I liked these headphones so much that I purchased a second pair to use at home. I currently use a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 bud/plug type earphones at home, which have excellent sound quality but sometimes hurt my ears and/or give me a headache after extended use, especially when listening at somewhat high volume, due to the sensation of having sound pumped directly into my brain. I didn't experience that problem w/ these Sennheiser's after extended use due to the external design. I'll still use my Ultimate Ears when I want noise cancelling qualities (like on an airplane), but for home use the Sennheiser's sound almost as good but don't cause the aforementioned discomfort after extended use. Also, sometimes it's good NOT to have the noise cancelling qualities when using at home (it's nice to hear the phone or doorbell).

One minor gripe - for some reason these headphones come with two plastic ear brackets (for lack of a better term) that pinched my ears and caused some discomfort. I simply cut these brackets off with a pair of scissors and that has made them much more comfortable. In my case, the headphones fit and stay on my head just fine without the ear brackets, the only need for them I can see is if you were running or something while wearing these and needed the extra support to keep them properly fitted.

Overall, I'd recommend these as a solid pair of low to moderately priced headphones that don't block out ambient noise.

I used to run in a gym at college and I had a pair of Sony MDR-G42LP Street Style Headphones that were absolutely perfect for the job until they started falling apart. Then I got some sennheiser ear muffs: Sennheiser HD-280 Professional Headphones. These I could not run with, but the sonys just could not compare to these badboys in terms of sound. The ear muffs are reserved for flights, roadtrips, and privacy as they did not leak any sound.

After a 10 month hiatus I began running again. I yearned for my sonys. I set out for a pair to complement my ipod. My dad has Amazon Prime so it was simple... well not really.

I looked at sennheiser and found the pmx 100s, 60s, and 70s which those reading probably already viewed. At this point it seems obvious right? The pmx 70s. They're one of sennheiser's sport models and I'm looking for something For Running. Well unfortunately the 70's lacked the amazon prime.

I almost still bought them, but I wasn't going to let the word sport determine my purchase. Plus I wasn't sure if I wanted the in-ear+behind-the-neck combo design pressing against my cartilage as reviewers warned. Onward. In my travels I came across brands like shure, etymonic, and ultimate ears. Their design provides excellent sound cancellation and there's plenty of people who are comfortable with it for running. I almost spent the $180 on the shure e4c-n. I didn't but probably will in the future. When I'm a zillionaire in hollywood.

Then when all hope of purchase was lost I remembered the good old sonys. the same pair was $13 with prime. After looking at the shure's and etymonics I decided to get these pmx 100s because they seemed worth the nicer sound I've experienced with the hd 280 pros and will likely be a bit more durable than the sonys as well.

So i think these are probably the nicest behind-the-neck headphones you can get for running. They aren't water resistant like the pmx 70s, but if you're a real sweater (not the garment) then wear a headband 80's style. And who needs music in the rain? Well you might but I don't. The bass of my elitist music is very audible as is the environment I'm running in. And my favorite thing about these phones is that they stay on for the sprint finish. I did consider the pmx 60s but they seemed to be less secure in such a situation. So if you want your phones to stay on while you're running from the police, and you want excellent sound quality these are it.

And if I havn't concluded this review enough I'd say shure, etymonics, or westone produce the best sound experience without leakage currently available, but won't stay on comfortably when your doing gymnastics like the pmx 100s will while also producing the best sound possible.

So there.

With behind the neck/head style headphones I think it's difficult to create a product that fits everyone exactly the same and exactly how they feel comfortable.

With seinheisers somewhat delicated design, they struck a balance between durability and flexibility. These headphones swivel on a ball bearing type of joint that allows the pads to assume different angles for the shapes of different heads, at the same time the band itself is pretty well reinforced with the metal ribbon that keeps the phones pressed to your ears (which goes a long way in transmitting the amazing bass of the speakers themselves)

Getting to the sound.. WOW. The sound is superb. I love it. It blows everything in its class away. These are probably, as purely a prediction, the best sounding behind the neck headphones out there.

The reason I can't give them 5 stars is due to two factors: the aformentioned questionable durability (on account of the delicate ball bearing style joint and overall fine mechanics of the headphone which limit it's use to outside of the gym imo and also demand a higher degree of care than say a pair of sony mdr-g42's)

But also, the fit is a little but low on the ear, (on me, might be perfect for you). In addition, it sometimes requires a pushed back or up as it's prone to slip too low on the lobe. This only happens once-in-a-while if you make any hard or sudden bumps. If you walk around or sit in a bumpy car with these on, that could be a nuisance, but if you're just sitting in a quiet place studying with them on, or at home reading a book with them on, there's hardly ever an issue of adjusting the fit.

That said, I recommend this most to someone who demands better sound quality out of their headphone for study/desk work/chill situations and must have the behind the neck fit to keep that hair style intact, but for the gym I recommend you keep a pair of something else, these badboys are a little bit high maintenance.

These headphones were my first foray into the world of Hi-Fi sound and I have never looked back. These babies blow the standard iPod headphones out of the water! They have great bass for their size and very natural sound.

The Cons:
*These are sports headphones. They start to hurt if you wear them for longer than a few hours. You also can't lay down/lean back with them on. If you want that, go for the PX-100s
*The insulation came off of the wire near the headphone jack. I have had them for a few months, but had hoped they would be more durable. If they break entirely, I will order another pair.