Sennheiser CX300-S

We knew you couldn’t keep a company like Sennheiser out of the in-ear headphone sweepstakes forever and the German headphone giant finally makes their long-awaited grand entrance into the ear-canal headphone (ECH) category with the CX-300 model. This unit could almost be considered a hybrid fit design somewhere between a shallow-fit earbud and the deeper insertion of a true ear canal earphone. The CX-300 sound quality is certainly WAY better than barely tolerable earbuds but probably not quite up to par with entry-level ear-canal headphones like the Shure SE210, Jays D-Jays, or Etymotic ER-6i; However, for the budget-concious listener, the CX300 do manage to sound quite close to those in-ear 'phones at a friendlier price. The isolation factor certainly won't match that of a true ECH either, but the CX300 still provides decent external noise attenuation at least as good as most "passive" sealed-back [closed] headphones. The CX-300's mids & highs are clear-sounding, but not particularly well-detailed in the uppermost highs which sound slightly rolled-off to our ears. The bass response seems to be very much affected by the user's choice of eartip and, of course, the overall tightness of the earpiece fit inside the ear; with the right tip/ fit, expect a punchy, full-sounding bottom end. The CX-300 occupies a unique niche between earbud & ear-canal headphones and is a nice initial step by Sennheiser into an intensely competitive earphone marketplace.

The CX-300 comes with three black silicon-rubber eartip sleeves that are sized in small, medium and large. The CX300-S model is outfitted with a slick chrome/silver earpiece for a tight road-warrior look... Nice! Highly-efficient operation and a very low 16-ohm impedance rating ensures plenty of output from any portable audio source like Mp3 / DVD players, laptops and portable gamers. The asymmetrical "J" cable style minimizes cord slack on the move when hooked up to a portable player on your belt. The 40" cable is terminated to a mini-plug 1/8" termination. A two-year product warranty remains standard on all Sennheiser products.

Take advantage of Sennheiser’s limited time promotion: Send your old headphones to Sennheiser and receive credit toward your new Senn’s!

Sennheiser is offering a summer rebate promotion, click here to print a copy.