Headphones reviews

I bought these earphones firstly for the clamshell case and secondly because of Sennheiser's good name. What a mistake that was.

Although I'm not qualified to judge the sound reproduction, the clamshell case was a massive disappointment. The idea behind clamshell cases is that the earbuds sit in the middle and the cable is wound around it. How did Sennheiser get that simple concept so wrong?

The whole bottom half of the case rotates, including the cable slot. Gripping the case naturally on its edges touches both halves, so it's practically impossible to rotate and hold the case. Furthermore the cable slot rotates with the bottom half, so the cord has to flick around. There's a finger-size indent on the bottom half, but it's shallow and essentially impossible to use for winding. When the product packaging said "Winding Mechanism" I was expecting something spring-loaded, not a nuisance.

In other clamshell cases I have used, the winding spool and mechanism rotate inside the case, so the whole case can be gripped while winding. I'm able to wind and unwind in about 2 seconds flat.

Also the Sennheisers use an awful felt around the earpiece. I have Denon earbuds and they have much nicer rubber.

I am a musician and have very discriminating ears (both aurally and ergonomically speaking), my overall quality rating for these earbuds is great.

House no misconceptions: these are cheap earbuds, and aren't going to give you the sort of surprising sound Sennheiser's PX-100 headphones do. They are, however, a good bit crisper than standard-issue iEarbuds, and don't smother the signal with bass.

The cord is a bit shorter than a standalone cord should be, and slightly too long for most plug-in remotes, but it's not a grave design flaw.

These are workhorse headphones, best for travel or gym-ish activities. Along those lines, you could do plenty worse for $15.

I've tried Sony earbuds that are exactly like these Sennheisers. The sound quality is pretty similar between the two, the only difference being the Sony tips are not circular: they are crafted to provide a tighter fit in your ear. That little bit actually makes quite a large difference, as the bass and treble in the Sonys sounded better than the Sennheisers, whereas the real difference was how much tighter the seal you could make with the Sonys. I'd have to say either way though, if you're just looking for something small to boot around, you're definently getting your money's worth. I needed something with a little more presence and a better sound stage, so I upgraded to the Etymotic ER6i Isolator in ear monitors.

This isn't to say Sennheiser doesn't make good headphones: I own a pair of EH150s, and they are really nice with amp.

Have purchased two sets of these over the past year. They are comfortable, have great sound (much better than default iPod earbuds), and a nice long cord. However, my first pair lost sound in one ear after a few months of use. I ordered a second pair hoping it was fluke because I like them so much, but as if on schedule, 3 months later the same exact problem occurred. I'm on to try a different brand now.