Sennheiser CX 300-II Precision

Sennheiser CX 300 II Precision Noise Isolating Ear-canal Phones

Anyone who has taken the time to search for Sennheiser on Ciao will be awash with reviews singing the praises of the German sound experts' products. Rightly so too!

After struggling for many years with 'sub-standard' ear buds, (namely, the white iPod standard headphones) I decided to make the leap and splash out a bit of cash on myself.

Being a creature of fickle nature, the first thing that grabbed my attention about the Sennheisers was the massive reduction in price on Amazon. I bought mine well over 12 months ago and paid £8.79 (a MASSIVE 78% off!), however the RRP is listed as £39.99. At the time of writing (27 Jan 11) Amazon are still selling these at a 78% reduction.

What are they?
Designed for use with personal mp3 players/iPods/iPhones these are compact, lightweight and designed to limit the interference of outside noise. These are not to be confused with noise cancelling headphones (which have a microphone on the outside and play the exact opposite of the outside sound into your ear). These use different size ear buds to create a snug fit in your ear, keeping the music in and the interference out. With your music between reasonable and LOUD, you can expect these to isolate the noise to a reasonable degree. The flip side of this is the removable ear buds have a tendency to be pulled off under pressure (think, pulled out of a pocket) This is thankfully rare and if you are able to find it simple to rectify!

Sound Quality
The prime motivation behind buying a set of ear-buds is sound quality. I am tempted to say for the money, you could not possibly find better. However as I cannot guarantee everyone will pay the same, I will offer a more impartial review:

These ear-buds are bass driven, which gives them a very rich and warm sound which is prevalent across the majority of genres.

Sennheiser highlight the fact that these are 'Optimised for MP3-iPod-iPhone-CD players and portable gaming systems' which roughly translates as: a lot of work has gone into removing the tinny rattle that we can associate with a lot of store-bought models. In my opinion they have done a fantastic job! Across a wide range of music the sound is near enough spot on. It is worthy to note that to get the best performance out of these it does take a bit of tinkering. Those of you with iPods/iTunes may be aware of the equaliser function, which allows you to alter the levels of bass and treble to suit a particular genre. Take the time and these ear-buds will really shine for you!

These headphones do handle music beautifully and will do your collection justice. Being a guitar player myself I do take great pleasure in the subtle intonations found in music, and the Sennheisers provide clear playback, creating a full and deep sound.

Durability
There have been a couple of reviews on here that have offered an opinion that will differ to mine, however I can only talk from my own experience.

I have not had any trouble whatsoever with the build quality of these. It seems that Sennheiser have taken the time to consider how these will be used. The plug (standard 3.5mm stereo plug) Is gold plated, offering a better connection, thus better sound quality. This leads to the cable via a 45 degree connection which appears to reinforced by a well designed rubber grommit, which is prevalent in a lot of models across the Sennheiser range ('If it ain't broke, don't fix it!)and, for me has prevented the usual fraying/exposed wires that pocket-borne mp3 players are prone to! My set has been across the world, and treated in a less than respectful way and still carry on performing as if they were brand new. I am VERY impressed to say the least!

So would I recommend these to you, the consumer?
I would quite happily recommend these to you, providing you get the for the right price. Sennheiser have come up trumps with a well designed, well made product which packs a powerful sound for a small space. There are better ear buds out there, but as with everything you expect to pay more for them.
A brilliant product sold at a fair RRP, but available for much cheaper? I will definitely be making a repeat purchase!