Sennheiser CX 300 > Reviews (39)

The Manufacturer
Sennheiser is a company that has been specialising in the manufacture of headphones and microphones for over 50 years. They produce a large number of different models of headphone to suit various purposes from reasonably priced phones for portable players through to high-end models for hi-fi buffs and sound engineers.

Construction & Design
I have been using these in-ear headphones every day for almost a year now, plugged into my Archos XS202S MP3 player. This is my third pair of Sennheiser headphones (the others are full-size, audiophile quality phones that I use with my hi-fi and computer) so they are a manufacturer I know and trust to come up with a high quality product. Although they are very light, they are clearly well-made and durable, showing no signs of wear or deterioration after nearly a year of daily use. The "Y"-type cable has a longer lead to the right earpiece than the left, giving the option of running the right lead around the back of your neck, which some people say they find more comfortable and secure.

The headphones come in a choice of black or silver finish. The cable and the interchangeable earpieces are always black anyway and the black model has a silver band incorporated, so any difference is fairly slight. I gather white ones have also become available now.

In-Ear Headphones
As mentioned, these headphones are the "in-ear" type, also known as "ear canal" headphones. With this type of headphone the earpieces have to be pushed right into the ears, entering a few millimetres into the ear canal and forming a seal like earplugs. The advantages are threefold: the sealing effect blocks external noise and allows you undisturbed listening; the bass end of music is fuller and stronger and finally they tend to fit very snugly so they are less likely to fall out of your ears when you move. A bonus for people around you is that the sound does not leak out, so people beside you do not have to endure hearing a tinny, hissy version of your music.

However, there is a possible down side to this design. Firstly, some people find that pushing the earpieces right into their ears is intrusive and feels strange. Although I experienced this initially, I soon got used to the phones and it no longer bothered me. Secondly, if you are using them in the street you need to remember that you may not hear car horns and other traffic noise clearly, so you need to take extra care. Thirdly, I experienced a problem that may or may not be attributable to these headphones. A couple of months after I had started using them I began to suffer from compacted wax in my ears and had to get them syringed by my doctor. This may have been a complete coincidence but it is something I have never suffered from before and I can't help thinking that continually pushing something into my ears could be the cause of it.

Sound Quality
Once the equaliser on the Archos had been set to my liking (I found the default setting gave a slightly thin and bright sound) these make a great partner.

In their advertising, Sennheiser draw attention to the strong bass quality of these headphones and the bass is indeed full and tight, given their tiny size. The midrange and treble are sweet and the overall sound is clear and pleasing on the ears. I listen to a wide variety of music, including rock/indie, electronica, singer/songwriter and jazz and the Sennheisers cope with all of those just fine. I also use the MP3 player for language learning and the spoken word is crystal clear.

The huge improvement in sound quality over the standard phones supplied with the Archos easily justifies the price of these. I have tried them with other makes of MP3 player (and also a Palm PDA) and the same applies to those - using the supplied phones means you are just not getting the best out of your player.

Comfort
Initially I found pushing the things into my ears a little unsettling but that was no problem after the first few days. I also found at first that I was aware of the sound of my own breathing and the cable brushing against my clothes because of the in-ear design but that also ceased to be a problem after a week or so of use. On the plus side the phones are extremely light in weight and they come with three sets of earpieces in different sizes. This is a huge advantage as you are almost guaranteed to find that one set will be the perfect fit, i.e. they feel comfortable, they stop the intrusion from outside noises and they don't keep falling out of your ears.

Noise Cancelling
Pretty well all external noise is cancelled by these unless you are listening to very quiet music or spoken podcasts, when you will be able to hear some of the louder sounds around you. To achieve this, make sure you take the time to experiment with the different earpieces supplied. The idea is to get the right balance between being able to push them fully into your ears and also using a large enough size to provide a tight seal against your ear canal, which is what gives them their noise-cancelling quality. Some people apparently find that they need a different size in each ear, so that could be worth a try.

Price
I believe the full retail price is £39.99 but they can be found for less than half that price. That makes them an absolute bargain as their combination of high sound quality, comfort and freedom from extraneous noise makes them rival much more expensive models.