SennheiserCX 300 II Precision Noise Isolating Ear-canal Phones, Black

first a bit of background: i do sound enjineering, i work on a sound desk alot. and sound quality really really matters to me. obviouly i use expensive studio grade cans when working on the sound desk. i brought these as a mobile pair of earphones to listen to general music. and these querky little buds have stepped up to the plate with all the £70 earphones out there! ...i absolutly love this product. i have this thing for sennheiser products because they give you GREAT sound, great looks, outstanding comfort at a resonable price. the levels are good although it can sound abit "tinny" if you have the fitting wrong so just wiggle it abit to get a snug fit. it is really comfortable to wear and i fiddled about with the sizes of earbuds and found the meduim perfect for my ears. Obviously this might not apply to other people.the strength of the product is amazing it has been crushed in my bag so many times and it hasent been damaged at all. it is very solidly built and i dont see it breaking anytime soon. i have had these for about 2 months now and they are still just as good as they where out of the box.Cons: if it is a cold day, the earpeices may fall out quite abit due to it not being able to get a grip in your ear, this is a stupid thing to say in a reveiw as they cant do anything about it, but it's just a warning to others.the postage was good and arrived in really good time. WELLDONE sennheiser and i'll be looking forward to buying more of your products.

Sennheiser is a top manufacturer, and these are amongst their best products. I've used assorted Sennheiser and AKG headsets/phones/buds professionally and privately since the early 1970s, and the sound with these tiny buds is as good as the best. The bass is purer and smoother than many hi-fi loudspeakers. The top is sweet and clear, often a problem with older ears, but nothing is woolly with these buds. They are also very efficient, so need a lower volume setting, and the batteries on my ear-player last significantly longer than with its original earphones.I listen to a wide range of material from jazz to pop to choral to orchestral to speech. It all sounds very natural, and I have applied almost no equalisation in the player, nor any SRS, nor any Extra Bass. With these, the original sound sounds best, stays in your ears and does not disturb even your closest neighbours on the tube.BUT, there is a definite trick to making sure the sound is good. The seal to ones ear must be air-tight, otherwise bass is lost and extraneous noise leaks in. How then? Lubricate them! Moisten the ear canal, and also the soft rubber adapter, to allow it to slide in easily and find the best fit. Also, don't push it in too far as this might bottom the adapter on the curve of the ear canal and block the sound outlet. As Ronnie Barker might have said, you may need to jer-jer-jer-jiggle it a bit. Most ears do not have a circular canal, more often it is almost triangular, so it is a miracle these buds fit so well in so many different ears. Try each of the three different sizes for the best moist fit!I don't go jogging with them, but I do walk a lot, as well as use public transport every day, and the movement rubbing on the leads could be a problem. But by stowing the long lead around the back of the neck and using an inner pocket for the ear-player and any surplus lead, the unwanted noises are reduced to an acceptable minimum. And of course when sitting still there is no problem at all.I was wondering how durable they might be when I bought my first set of the original CX300 ear buds seven years ago, and I have been careful to avoid knots with stowing the lead when not in use; one pocket is dedicated to the ear-player and buds. The cords are reasonably tangle resistant, but a determined vandal could wreck them quite quickly. For all that time in daily use over maybe seventy thousand miles my old set continued to sound as good as new, with no signs of deterioration in the rubbers or the leads, so when eventually the left bud went open circuit at the join to the voice coil it owed me nothing. I was very happy to buy this new set as a replacement, and it has proved to be every bit as good, still with the clean full range sound.These CX300-II deserve the highest recommendation.

I bought these to replace the earphones originally supplied with my iPod. After 4 years almost daily use the original iPod earphones had gone intermittent.These Sennheiser ear-phones are very good, but I do have some caveats and reservations.Firstly it is essential to wear them as far into the ear-canal as reasonably possible. If not the bass will appear weak. To aid this Sennheiser supply three sizes of covers.Secondly with using them properly, I think some may find the bass is somewhat excessive. I got a reasonable compromise my adjusting the setting on my IPod Classic to reduce the bass. This gives a reasonable level of bass without it being too excessive. With time however I have changed my view and feel that the bass is actually very good and extended (you really can hear bass organ notes).The treble is very good - I'm hearing tape hiss from old analogue recordings that I haven't heard for years.The stereo sound stage is good, provided the earpieces are worn as intended.Sound isolation I find to be far superior to the original Apple earphones supplier with my IPod. I would hazard a guess that the isolation has been improved by at least 10dB. Listening on a bus or train or plane is certainly much more pleasurable and they certainly enable you to concentrate on the music and not the noises around. From a safety point of view, I think the level of isolation is such that it would not be safe to use these when cycling or anywhere where you need to hear traffic or similar.The original Sennheiser packaging is difficult to open - like breaking into fort knox! I used a very sharp kitchen knife - but be careful you don't cut yourself in doing so. The little wallet for storage is hidden out of sight behind the packaging.To sum up then. Recommended provided you wear the ear pieces as intended, and perhaps reduce the bass. I am certainly very pleased with mine - vast improvement over those supplied with the IPod originally.