Sennheiser CX 300 headphones (black)

Summary: I'm the most picky consumer I know. I don't buy anything without reasearching it first and doing a personal comparison side-by-side second. Rarely do I buy anything without ...

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Summary: I'm the most picky consumer I know. I don't buy anything without reasearching it first and doing a personal comparison side-by-side second. Rarely do I buy anything without doing my homework. I'm using the ARCHOS AV500 as my mp3 playback device. So, here we go...

1. SOUND- Advantage: Sennheiser. I gave the slight nod to the CX300 because it delivered a more prominent BASS than E2c. The E2c had a difficult time handling the lower end and I had to max out everything on my equalizer to be able to get some bass. On the CX300's however, the bass hit me right from the get-go. I had to literally turn down the bass to a more manageable level. Otherwise, it will be thumping in your head. The way I see it, too much bass is better than not enough at all. In all fairness though, the E2c's handled the high's better. It's clearer and more crisp. If you listen to ROCK, POP or ACOUSTICS, go with the E2c. For R&B, HIP-HOP and JAZZ, the CX300 is the way to go.

2. COMFORT- Advantage: Shure. The E2c's came with an array of tips including both rubber and foam. The CX300 came with only rubber but they are noticeably softer ones so it will contour to your ear's shape better than E2c rubbers. The most comfortable out of the two were E2c's foam tips though which CX300 doesn't provide. All tips came with SM, M, and L sizes.

3. FIT- Advantage: Shure. Given the right size tips you choose, the E2c's fit your ear perfectly. These things will not fall out. Believe me I tried jumping up and down and shaking my head vigorously. They're in there good. The CX300 doesn't have the around-the-ear design that give the E2c's such a good fit so adjustments need to be done from time to time. For working out, E2c's will do nicely.

4. CORDS- Advantage: Shure. The CX300 has irregular length being that the right side is longer than the left. This is so that you wrap the right earbud behind your neck and you have no choice but to put the mp3 player on your left side pocket. The E2c's not only have equal lengths (which I prefer) but have the luxury of durability with its thicker cords. It'll take significant abuse for these to be damaged. As far as length, both are generous. I stand at 5'10" and I can put my mp3 player in my pants pocket without the danger of the buds being pulled out during activity.

5. NOISE REDUCTION- Advantage: Equal. If you have a good seal around you ear canal, ambient sounds coming from the outside world are drastically reduced. I played loud music with my stereo system and stood next to the garage door while opening/closing it and I couldn't hear a thing. It will give you complete sound isolation (when the music is playing. Without music you will be able to hear your fingers snapping). Please note: Do NOT use these in places where you need to hear important noises. In other words, if you're using these at the airport and you miss the announcement about your flight boarding early, don't blame me. Or when you're driving in your car with these on (dumb) and you run smack into an ambulance with its sirens in full blast, you're going to find yourself riding in the back seat of police car instead. Don't blame me.

6. PRICE- Advantage: CX300. As of this writing (10/07/06), Amazon.com has the cheapest prices on the net. Shure E2c = $72+$5shipping. Sennheiser CX300 = $47+free shipping. Needless to say, you don't have to be a genius to figure this one out. Either that or go to your local retailer and pay MSRP. E2c's go for $99 and CX300's for $79.

So, pick your poison. Both have their positives and negatives and which one you pick depends on which are more important to have. To me, the BASS sound and price of the Sennheiser CX-300 made it a no-brainer for me. Good luck.

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Summary: I just got these yesterday, and I have to say the sound is absolutely terrific, not to mention the added benefit from the sound isolation! I can finally hear all ...

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Summary: I just got these yesterday, and I have to say the sound is absolutely terrific, not to mention the added benefit from the sound isolation! I can finally hear all those minute details. Seriously, you don't know what you're missing until you hear these puppies.

My only wishes were for a carry pouch (given the cost) and the cost itself. I would also mention that since these do such a good job of isolating outside sound, you *do* hear noise as the cable rubs against your clothing if you move around...

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Summary: I absolutely love these ear buds. They provide the sound that I used to get when I pressed my old ear buds deep into my ears to hear the nuances ...

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Summary: I absolutely love these ear buds. They provide the sound that I used to get when I pressed my old ear buds deep into my ears to hear the nuances of a particular song, but lost all richness when I removed the pressure of my fingers. I wanted the E4s, but didn?t have the $200 plus so these are great substitutes for the price.

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Summary: This is my first pair of ear canal 'phones, I changed from Sennheiser MX550s. The sound quality is incredible, the detail is much better. For work I use Beyer Dynamic ...

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Summary: This is my first pair of ear canal 'phones, I changed from Sennheiser MX550s. The sound quality is incredible, the detail is much better. For work I use Beyer Dynamic DT990s and the Sennheisers obviously aren't as good as these but nor are they as big & heavy. On the train & walking through central London to work there's a lot of background noise & it no longer gets in the way of the music although I'm still aware of it as I don't need to turn the volume anything like as high. My Creative Zen has a volume setting of 0-25, with the OED 'phones it was set at 20-22, the MX550s at 15-17, the CX300s it's down to 9 or 10. My hearing's safe & I get all the clarity (and a little more battery life)!

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Summary: After having little or no luck with other canal phones at the this end of the market (namely with those from Sony), I thought I was resigned to continue to ...

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Summary: After having little or no luck with other canal phones at the this end of the market (namely with those from Sony), I thought I was resigned to continue to use my Etymotic ER-4S set everywhere and anywhere, at least whenever I chose to go for the maximum isolation with my portable DAPs.

Don't get me wrong; I truly enjoy my ER-4s set. Their sonics are exceptional, and they're really comfortable to me once they're fitted properly. But I tend to be HARD on my portable music gear, particularly when it comes to cans. Some might not have a problem with the sort of harshness and abuse that I'd put them through; they'd just go out and buy a replacement set. I tend to be too cheap for that, however; I want the ER-4s to last a while, if at all possible.

The Senn CX300 makes that possible. This unit has a sound that, in my opinion, will match up favorably against any comparable design going in less than $125 street price range. They're affordable enough that if I break them I won't cry nearly as much, but the perform so well that most anything else in this range will at best finish runner-up. They're quite comfortable out of the box (probably should be no surprise considering how Sennheiser usually has a pattern of making very easy-to-wear designs to begin with), and while they like virtually all canals in this range have a habit of transmitting cable vibrations, it's not as irritating as it was with other brands that I tried in the past. Fatigue with use is less of a problem with these as well; in fact, I actually prefer the CX300 over my Etys from a comfort and extended-use standpoint.

The only real drawback is that Sennheiser didn't provide any sort of protective carrying case for when these canals are not in use. Surprising, but not the end of the world; considering how good these sound, it wouldn't be earth-shattering if one wanted to keep these on all the time, anyways.

The CX300 have been a very pleasant surprise. Highly recommended for those on a budget that want a high degree of noise isolation.

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