Portable Audio: Theres a new king of sub £50 earphones, and it is....

Discussion in 'Hi-Fi and General Audio' started by PBirkett, Mar 5, 2006.

  1. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    The new Sennheiser CX300 ear buds are Sennheisers answer to a market that has long been dominated by the likes of Sony's MDR-EX71 and various rivals, like the JVC HA-FX55.

    To me, a lot of these earbuds offered reasonable if not particularly great sound quality, often suffering from a recessed midrange and mainly being good if you use older ipods with their well known bass deficiency problems.

    There are also the more upmarket phones, like the Shure E2C and Etymotic ER6i etc... and then you can get even higher end ones, however, that would be missing the point...

    Previously to this, I have used Shure E2C, JVC HA-FX55 and Sony MDR-EX71.

    The CX300 cost me £32 from discount discs, so that puts them just £2 above the EX71.

    Trust me when I say, these are worth it. In fact, they absolutely destroy the Sony's, and JVC's. Compared to the Senn's, the Sony and JVC have undefined bass, and no midrange to speak of, and harsh treble, and generally sound unrefined.

    Compared to the Shure, well I think these beat the Shure's as well, it makes those sound a bit muffled and midrange recessed as well. The only area the Shure's beat them to my ears is isolation, where because of their design, the Shures attenuate a bit better than the Sennheisers.

    From what I have heard of these, you may well have to spend £100 just to match the overall sound quality of these when it comes to earbuds.

    In fact, it comes fairly usefully close to my full sized Beyerdynamic DT531 headphones: OK, so they arent as good as those, but the Beyers are full size - so they should be better. The Beyers are more comfortable, and are better in every sonic area, but not MASSIVELY, just noticably. You would never pick the Sennheisers over the Beyers, but you would NEVER wear the Beyers in public, unless you didnt care about looking like a total prat, and didnt mind carrying a pocket amplifier to go with your ipod!

    In short, if you are looking for a reasonable pair of portable headphones, you should put these at the top of your list, and frankly, not even bother with any alternative that may cost much less than £100, IMHO :)
     
    PBirkett, Mar 5, 2006
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  2. PBirkett

    jtc

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    I recently sold my HD600/Cardas headphones, and am looking for a new pair of headphones which will work both with iPod and at home with my headphone stage. Also, I want to use the headphones to double up as in-ear monitors for recording and session work (where isolation is important).

    So, these Senns of which you speak, can you quantify the degree to which their isolation trails the E2Cs? The shortlist for me at the moment is E2Cs (pro: cheap, isolation; minus: probably not as good as the HD600s) and the Etymotic ER4Ps (pro: terrific isolation & sound quality; minus: price)

    John
     
    jtc, Mar 6, 2006
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  3. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    The CX300 attenuates enough so that you can hear people speaking when they are in but not playing but you have to listen hard to hear them.

    The E2C attenuates enough so that you can barely hear speech at all when not playing.
     
    PBirkett, Mar 6, 2006
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  4. PBirkett

    rockhopper

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    Slightly off-topic, but I have Shure E2Cs, and while the sound quality is great, I find them a tad uncomfortable after about 20-30mins. Are there any similar phones which are more comfortable? Maybe these Senn's?

    I use them for running mainly, so they need to be secure.

    Thanks
     
    rockhopper, Mar 6, 2006
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  5. PBirkett

    Anex Thermionic

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    I've got some of those Sony's, your definately right the bass sucks. I had to stop using them in the end, I was getting trapped pressure in one ear, really painful and took me ages to figure out it was the 'phones. Shame as they're the only in ear headphones that have ever fitted me properly due to my freakishly shaped ears.
     
    Anex, Mar 6, 2006
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  6. PBirkett

    Dynamic Turtle The Bydo Destroyer

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    Well, you are an owl, after all......

    :D
     
    Dynamic Turtle, Mar 6, 2006
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  7. PBirkett

    Anex Thermionic

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    I was saving that joke :)
     
    Anex, Mar 6, 2006
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  8. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    The Senns are definitely more comfy, but i dont know if they will stay in that well if you are running TBH... and anyway I was always under the impression canal phones werent a good idea when exercising...
     
    PBirkett, Mar 7, 2006
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  9. PBirkett

    rockhopper

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    Because of their 'behind ear' design they seem to be fine when using the right sized ear buds.

    However, for comfort, I wonder a standard headphone like the PX100 would be better for exercise?
     
    rockhopper, Mar 7, 2006
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  10. PBirkett

    joel Shaman of Signals

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    I really like my E4s. Not quite the price bracket, I know, but very comfortable and nearly as good as my Beyers...
     
    joel, Mar 7, 2006
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  11. PBirkett

    cookiemonster

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    Another vote for the CX300's. They are superb for the cash. Quite remarkable really. Very comfortable, sufficient isolation, and terrific sound - the bass is stonking. I now almost look forward to the walk to work in the morning.
     
    cookiemonster, Apr 25, 2006
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  12. PBirkett

    doctorjuggles

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    If you already have the E2Cs, you might want to check out the soft flex sleeves that you can buy separately for them (they come in small, medium and large sizes.)

    http://www.shuredistribution.co.uk/products_shure/product-Shr-472-56-389.htm

    Looking at the Shure site, they've apparently now got the tri-flange sleeve available for the E2c now as well. If they'd have them a few months back, I'd probably have kept my E2c, as tri-flanges are the only sleeves that really work with my ears. It's another option, althogh I can't actually see the E2c tri flange on their site, it just says it's available on this page. http://www.shuredistribution.co.uk/products_shure/e_series_earphones.htm#121
     
    doctorjuggles, Apr 25, 2006
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