Sennheiser CX300-B In-Ear Stereo Headphone Review. For the money, this earphone is the best way to upgrade the sound from your iPod or MP3 player. The earphones that came with your player may not be up to what you expect. All users of MP3 players and iPods, get ready to upgrade your sound and style with the Sennheiser CX300 earphones. Upgrading earphones is the best way to customize the sound to what you want to hear. The Sennheiser CX300 provides accurate tones for tunes throughout the dynamic frequency range. With a 112dB Sound Pressure Level, you can lock out background noise and revel in the pleasure of listening to your music. And Sennheiser has been and is on the forefront of delivering great sound from audio systems great and small. Elevate your listening to transcendental pleasure with the Sennheiser CX300 earphones. Sennheiser is the acknowledged world leader in headphone-transducer technology. These CX 300 headphones are Sennheiser's leading introduction to in-ear-canal earphones. The CX 300 model is ideal for use with portab...
"Impressive sound" 2006-05-30
By J. Sayer (NC, USA)
I bought these when the left earbud on my Sony MDR-EX51LP's stopped working. I was initially upset because I (thought I) liked the Sony's and planned on just getting another pair of them. However, I saw a favorable review of these in PC Magazine and decided to give them a try. I'm really glad I did! The sound is much richer and the bass is much deeper than with the Sony's and it is giving me a better appreciation of the music. Now, I don't miss an opportunity to pull out my ipod to fill the time. These also seem to be louder which allows me to listen to the ipod on a lower volume and get a little extra battery life out of it. On the plane, they also do a better job of supressing the sound of the engines. All around, I'm very pleased. They cost twice as much as my old Sony's, but in my opinion they are well worth it.
"Audio Engineering Excellence" 2007-02-20
By Scrutinizing Consumer (Los Angeles, CA)
I recently listened to music with these for 5 hours straight and got to know them well. These babies are awesome. The highs are bright, the mid-range is excellent and the low-end/bass is very good. I'm amazed they can produce sound of this quality in such a small device. Bose and Klipsch have nothing on these things. And it bares repeating, the bass is VERY GOOD - almost THX quality. Taking further into account the price of these things and we're talking BEST BUY.
"Excellent ear buds for the money !!!!" 2006-02-08
By Tim (CT)
After trying several ear buds out and I have finially found a winner that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I have tried Etomic and Shure that cost $180 and yes they sounded great, but they cost a lot!!! Plus I always found something about them I didn't like. For that kind of money you better love them.
The Sennheiser CX 300 are very similar to the Sony MDR-EX51. They have the same type of fit and come with 3 sizes of ear buds. They produce very good bass with nice highs also. The sound with the volume level all the way up with an ipod is clear. Also very loud!!! Comfort is good. They are very simple to put in. They block out a lot of external noise, but not completely like the Shure do. Personally I like this better. I can pause the music and still talk to someone without removing them.
The only thing I don't like is the asymmetrical cable. I see no purpose in having one cable longer than the other. The cable going to the right bud is very long and hangs down. I tied the excess to the main cable to keep it from flopping around. Just personal preference I guess!
I would recommend these if you are looking for an affordable upgrade without breaking the bank. I'm not going to say they are as good as Shure e3c's (which I tried) but for the savings they are!!! They also have a 2 year warrenty.
I would buy them very soon if you want them. The manufacture was listing them for $50 when I first saw them. Now they are at $80 msrp. I bought them at J&R on a pre buy for $35. They have already raised there price to $50 plus shipping. Amazon still says $40 shipped free. This won't last long!
Good luck and enjoy, I am!!!
Tim
"A high quality alternative to Sony" 2006-06-22
By Kevin Conville (Simi Valley, CA United States)
I ordered these CX300s after my second pair of Sonys died. I loved the fit of the EX51 and EX71 Sonys and put up with their adequate sound for the isolation and comfort they offer. What I couldn't put up with any more is their fragility. I received maybe 1 year's service out of 2 pair of Sony phones and I refused to give them any more of my money.
When I saw these Sennheisers with a similar design as the Sonys I was excited as I have two other sets of Sennheiser (over the ear) phones which are excellent. Well, I'm not disapointed. These are more accurate and articulate than the Sonys and have much better bass without getting muddy. They fit as well as the Sonys and have a symmetrical cord*, which I prefer and believe will improve their durability as compared to the Sonys which always fail on the left (short cord) side.
I can't speak to the durability of these phones as I've had them only a few days but they COULD NOT be worse than Sonys that are certain to fail quickly.
I've seen a few posts that criticize these phones for their poor bass response. I suspect these people have not tried fitting the different rubber gaskets to attain a proper fit. I did this and the sound quality difference is amazing.
These phones also seem more efficient than the Sonys as they are louder at a lower setting. My point of reference here has (obviously) been the Sony EX51s and EX71s as they are of similar (in ear) design that I find very welcome when out on the street for their abilty to isolate one from ambient noise. These are not IMO, replacements for a good set of over the ear phones when in a quiet environment. That's not a knock on these specific phones as I don't believe any "in ear" design can compare with good over the ear phones.
Highly recommended!
Update: subsequent to my writing this I've come to learn that I purchased (through an Amazon associate vendor) the generic version of these earphones. They have the same drivers and gaskets, but a different cord* and no Sennheiser logo. After this was thoroughly explained to me, I'm fine with it as this version of "Sennheiser CX300Bs" have a Y cord and not the asymmetrical cord which so many of us have come to dislike.
"Great headphones with some tweaking" 2006-10-22
By Brett Wheat-simms
The two minor problems with these inner-ear monitors is the noise of the cord and the shape of the cord. Each issue is easily fixed:
1. The simplest way to fix the cord noise is to put a cheap cord clip (like from a cell phone headset) on the cord and attach it to the left shoulder. This seems to ground the cord and reduces noise to a minimum even when running.
2. The shape of the cord is not so strange when used correctly. Just by chance I put in the left plug and wrapped the right around the back of my neck and put the right plug in my ear from behind. Not only did this reduce noise from the cord swaying, it also made it very convenient when you take the plugs out when you need to hear outside noise. The phones, the left hanging on your left shoulder and the right hanging around the back of the neck and down the right shoulder, rest comfortably and make it convenient to grab and replace in the ear.
Honestly, I believe these are the best iem for the money. I have tried the shure e3c, e2, sony 51, 71, koss buds, apple in-ear and standard, and several others. As for fit, ease of placement, listening longevity, sound, and price, these are the best for me.
I am thoroughly impressed and the Senn cx300's are my new EDC phones.
By J. Sayer (NC, USA)
I bought these when the left earbud on my Sony MDR-EX51LP's stopped working. I was initially upset because I (thought I) liked the Sony's and planned on just getting another pair of them. However, I saw a favorable review of these in PC Magazine and decided to give them a try. I'm really glad I did! The sound is much richer and the bass is much deeper than with the Sony's and it is giving me a better appreciation of the music. Now, I don't miss an opportunity to pull out my ipod to fill the time. These also seem to be louder which allows me to listen to the ipod on a lower volume and get a little extra battery life out of it. On the plane, they also do a better job of supressing the sound of the engines. All around, I'm very pleased. They cost twice as much as my old Sony's, but in my opinion they are well worth it.
By Scrutinizing Consumer (Los Angeles, CA)
I recently listened to music with these for 5 hours straight and got to know them well. These babies are awesome. The highs are bright, the mid-range is excellent and the low-end/bass is very good. I'm amazed they can produce sound of this quality in such a small device. Bose and Klipsch have nothing on these things. And it bares repeating, the bass is VERY GOOD - almost THX quality. Taking further into account the price of these things and we're talking BEST BUY.
By Tim (CT)
After trying several ear buds out and I have finially found a winner that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I have tried Etomic and Shure that cost $180 and yes they sounded great, but they cost a lot!!! Plus I always found something about them I didn't like. For that kind of money you better love them.
The Sennheiser CX 300 are very similar to the Sony MDR-EX51. They have the same type of fit and come with 3 sizes of ear buds. They produce very good bass with nice highs also. The sound with the volume level all the way up with an ipod is clear. Also very loud!!! Comfort is good. They are very simple to put in. They block out a lot of external noise, but not completely like the Shure do. Personally I like this better. I can pause the music and still talk to someone without removing them.
The only thing I don't like is the asymmetrical cable. I see no purpose in having one cable longer than the other. The cable going to the right bud is very long and hangs down. I tied the excess to the main cable to keep it from flopping around. Just personal preference I guess!
I would recommend these if you are looking for an affordable upgrade without breaking the bank. I'm not going to say they are as good as Shure e3c's (which I tried) but for the savings they are!!! They also have a 2 year warrenty.
I would buy them very soon if you want them. The manufacture was listing them for $50 when I first saw them. Now they are at $80 msrp. I bought them at J&R on a pre buy for $35. They have already raised there price to $50 plus shipping. Amazon still says $40 shipped free. This won't last long!
Good luck and enjoy, I am!!!
Tim
By Kevin Conville (Simi Valley, CA United States)
I ordered these CX300s after my second pair of Sonys died. I loved the fit of the EX51 and EX71 Sonys and put up with their adequate sound for the isolation and comfort they offer. What I couldn't put up with any more is their fragility. I received maybe 1 year's service out of 2 pair of Sony phones and I refused to give them any more of my money.
When I saw these Sennheisers with a similar design as the Sonys I was excited as I have two other sets of Sennheiser (over the ear) phones which are excellent. Well, I'm not disapointed. These are more accurate and articulate than the Sonys and have much better bass without getting muddy. They fit as well as the Sonys and have a symmetrical cord*, which I prefer and believe will improve their durability as compared to the Sonys which always fail on the left (short cord) side.
I can't speak to the durability of these phones as I've had them only a few days but they COULD NOT be worse than Sonys that are certain to fail quickly.
I've seen a few posts that criticize these phones for their poor bass response. I suspect these people have not tried fitting the different rubber gaskets to attain a proper fit. I did this and the sound quality difference is amazing.
These phones also seem more efficient than the Sonys as they are louder at a lower setting. My point of reference here has (obviously) been the Sony EX51s and EX71s as they are of similar (in ear) design that I find very welcome when out on the street for their abilty to isolate one from ambient noise. These are not IMO, replacements for a good set of over the ear phones when in a quiet environment. That's not a knock on these specific phones as I don't believe any "in ear" design can compare with good over the ear phones.
Highly recommended!
Update: subsequent to my writing this I've come to learn that I purchased (through an Amazon associate vendor) the generic version of these earphones. They have the same drivers and gaskets, but a different cord* and no Sennheiser logo. After this was thoroughly explained to me, I'm fine with it as this version of "Sennheiser CX300Bs" have a Y cord and not the asymmetrical cord which so many of us have come to dislike.
By Brett Wheat-simms
The two minor problems with these inner-ear monitors is the noise of the cord and the shape of the cord. Each issue is easily fixed:
1. The simplest way to fix the cord noise is to put a cheap cord clip (like from a cell phone headset) on the cord and attach it to the left shoulder. This seems to ground the cord and reduces noise to a minimum even when running.
2. The shape of the cord is not so strange when used correctly. Just by chance I put in the left plug and wrapped the right around the back of my neck and put the right plug in my ear from behind. Not only did this reduce noise from the cord swaying, it also made it very convenient when you take the plugs out when you need to hear outside noise. The phones, the left hanging on your left shoulder and the right hanging around the back of the neck and down the right shoulder, rest comfortably and make it convenient to grab and replace in the ear.
Honestly, I believe these are the best iem for the money. I have tried the shure e3c, e2, sony 51, 71, koss buds, apple in-ear and standard, and several others. As for fit, ease of placement, listening longevity, sound, and price, these are the best for me.
I am thoroughly impressed and the Senn cx300's are my new EDC phones.
