Sennheiser CX-300-II - rubbish?

[admin_exported]

Hi

I recently bought some Sennheiser CX-300-II's for my ipod and they are literally the worst things I have ever heard, pretty much no bass whatsoever. My JVC mc,crappy £5 headphones have more bass than them. They got 5 stars, so do you think my pair could be faulty?

 

[bigboss]

Yes, they may be faulty, because mine has a superb bass & sounds great. Have you made sure that the connection was secure?

 

[mcjwalters]

I had the same problem until run in for about 20 hours and really pushed into my ear and playing around with ear buds then they really came alive and love them to death in the gym and on the train. I still have to really push into my ear hard to get to enjoy the sound they are capable of.
Did you also check they are not fake as many flood the market, some are cosmetically perfect.

 

[ESP2009]

There was a similar thread to this a couple of months ago posted by one of the more respected forum members. Initially, he was just as disappointed, but after the 'phones had been allowed a run-in period maybe in excess of 20hrs, he revised his opinion.

They may not be the mutts nuts, but at the price you will find it hard to beat them once they have loosened up. I have a pair and find the bass more than adequate.

Give them a chance (maybe plug 'em in and leave an album on repeat for a day) and then give them a try. We will be interested to hear what you think. Of course, yes, you may have a faulty or even bogus pair.

 

[lazar1980]

Or they could be fake, especially if you bought them on ebay.

Also try playing with ear-plugs and get correct one for you.

 

[sensei_russ]

I thought my CX-300-II's were great with my iphone until about two weeks ago. All of a sudden they just sound very woolly (after around a years use). I can only think it's because I've been using my Sennheiser HD25's a lot more at home lately and the CX's just pale in comparison. Either that or they've developed a fault.

Either way it seems to be time for an upgrade.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Willsor:I recently bought some Sennheiser CX-300-II's for my ipod and they are literally the worst things I have ever heard, pretty much no bass whatsoever. My JVC mc,rubbish £5 headphones have more bass than them. They got 5 stars, so do you think my pair could be faulty?

As mentioned, they may be fake. It's quite a common thing these days, and they're rife on the bay, and via third party sellers on sites like Play and Amazon. Reports are they sound bad, because they're bsacially a few quids worth amde to look like Sennheisers. I have CX300's and they sound great. You do need to push them in your ears so that the rubber plugs make a sort of seal, which helps block out external noises, and brings the bass to life. Careful not to push too much air in though, because you lose bass them - you have to push them in before you make the seal. If you make he seal then push them in, you need to move them to one side a little to allow air to escape. If that makes sense. I know what I'm talking about anyway

 

[Frank Harvey]

sensei_russ:I thought my CX-300-II's were great with my iphone until about two weeks ago. All of a sudden they just sound very woolly (after around a years use). I can only think it's because I've been using my Sennheiser HD25's a lot more at home lately and the CX's just pale in comparison. Either that or they've developed a fault.

We've seen many headphones come back to us with faults like "one side has gone quieter than the other", or "no sound from the left channel", only to find that one look at the earphones explains all - wax!! You can tell just by looking at them that very little sound is going to get through!

I'm not saying this is the case, but many people don't actually 'look' at the earphones and realise the problem, they just assume they're faulty.

 

[proffski]

My nephews had the same problem, they bought theirs on the internet because 'uncle' had some. When we compared the products the differences were obvious and yes they did sound rubbish! I understand that many Sennheiser products are being copied and sold as the real thing.

Already been mentioned here is that earwax makes a great attenuator!

 

[sensei_russ]

Good point David. It's surprising sometimes to see the build up of wax on the ear buds (even though I clean my ears -honest). There was a small amount of wax on them when I checked after reading your post. Having cleaned them though, the sound is still woolly... I bought them from Richer Sounds no chance of them being dodgy either.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Maybe you have fake ears?

Cheers.

Cofnchtr.

 

[sensei_russ]

That perhaps or more likely, defective ears. A scary prospect indeed...

 

[the record spot]

I bought a pair of these about three months back and popped them in. First impressions were awful. Thin, tinny, utterly bass-free. Came on here and a had a right moan, had a pop at the reviewer, had a pop at the mag, had a pop at the state of the nation...okay, maybe not the last one.

Anyway, let them run-in overnight, popped them back in and - ah! - all was well! You do need to have them sitting properly in-ear though as they can sound lightweight if not well positioned.

Actually, I say "all was well" and it is, but they are on the slightly brighter side of neutral, so if your source music is bright, they'll head towards accentuating this - sometimes things get a bit tizzy. Nice clean bass though, deeper than you might expect and a rock solid stereo image on them.

Well recommended, I'd give them a 9/10 and they only lose the 10 thanks to the slightly boisterous treble. For online prices under £20 though, they're a steal.

 

[Sizzers]

Rubbish? In my personal opinion, yes.

I've never really got on with in-ear phones, but following all the rave reviews I bought a pair last year (not online, £30 from HMV). No bass, no depth, no nothing. So I then spent around £8 on some JVC Gum things; they were "okay", but nothing special. Then bought some Sony on-ear for £9-99 (again from HMV). Superb!. Great bass, great detail. Treble can get a bit on the harsh side sometimes depending what you're listening to, but can certainly be lived with.They look stylish, fit perfectly, and a total baragain.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I never got on with normal in ear headphones (always used to use the ones with a headband - Sony MDRA40's) until I tried the CX300's. The main thing is that with these 'bud' style in ear phones, you need to make sure you creat an airtight fit in your ear - do this and you'll get plenty of bass!