Sennheiser CX 300-II

Great sound but be careful ! I had a pair (a 100% original pair) which inexplicably broke within 3 months, probably dody wiring. I would could choose the RHA 350 which are also a bit cheaper and have a Y cable which is defiantely better than the annoyoing asymmetrical CX-300 cable.

I got Sennheiser CX300-II as a replacement for Skull Candy Titaniums which where on the top ten headphone list: http://www.headphone.com/selection-guide/10-best-headphones.php

The CX300's are so much better, I got my kids a set each.

On her first listen, my daughter said "I'm sorry dad, but these sound better than your big speakers"(which are $4500 Proac's!)

Anyone who doesn't like them has probably been ripped off with fakes - which are common.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardmayston/4250570816/in/set-7205759413...

These are a bit over-rated IMHO.  They do deliver a powerful bassline that's agile enough not to swamp the overall sound and this is very good, but the middle is completely ordinary and without any real definition or texture.  The top end is also weak. 

I like my music bassy so content enough; if you prefer a lighter, fuller sound however there may be better options in this price-range.

I got a pair of these from play.com for £8.79 inc postage and they are excellent!  I have a pair of Sennheiser HD580 which cost over £100 and the CX300-ii give them a very close run. Anyone who says they're no good has been unlucky enough to have bought fakes. These little buds are truly outstanding for the money.

Take a look at all our headphone Best Buys for some alternative suggestions:

http://www.whathifi.com/BestBuys/Headphones-BestBuys/Headphones/

James123 - are you sure you had a bona-fide pair of Sennheisers (there are, sadly, a lot of fakes around)? I can't think of any reason - bar a faulty or fake pair - the Apple buds would sound better.

james123 - in which case, they're not fake, but faulty!

Got some for 19quid off Amazon Marketplace....

Plugged them in and .... very nasty sound. Brittle, bright, no bass. Terrible. Tried different positioning and ear buds. No difference.

Left them to burn in for 9 hours with Chemical Brothers...

Tried again. Brittle, bright, no bass. Terrible.

Another 9 hours with Chemical Brothers...

Listened again. Still no good. Must be fake or faulty. Was going to return them.

Then I had a really good go at stuffing them in at different angles... then.... ahhhhh. All of a sudden the sound snapped into focus. Ummm, these are really quite good. Happy camper.

Detail is very good for the money. Good clarity. Nice balanced sound. Still not up to my (80 quid) Grado SR60's in terms of realism but for 20quid they are very, very, good.

In summary - how you position these headphones in your ears is CRITICAL.

Bought a pair of these but not quite convinced by the mag's "Nothing of note" in the "Against" section.  

These phones have a decent midrange, an okay bass, but a far too enthusiastic treble - to the point it's "tizzy" and way too splashy with some recordings.  

I'm using a 3rd generation iPod nano but was disappointed on the back of this review that such poorly balanced 'phones could come away with glowing reviews like this.  Really not convinced; they are decent, but not a patch on the Samsung in-ear headphones I'd borrowed from my wife's mobile - sadly too short in the cable length to be of practical use, but which caned these in outright performance.  

For £15, yep, fine, I wouldn't expect more, but this review was given on the higher price and they're never a 5-star product; not by a long way.  The excessive treble renders them unbalanced sonically, and I have to question what on earth the reviewer was using as source hardware and the music file thereon for the purposes of the test?

As said, I used my iPod nano, and a variety of music, both well recorded and of lesser quality.  One of the few products I've bought that made a pig's ear from a silk purse.

As for the guy above who found them "woolly"....would you care to swap?!

hey there, well... having looked over the specs for these

'improvement over their predecessors, these are a no-brainer'  in-ear phones ...

the only difference I can read is a gain of one decibal ...   plz correct me if I'm wrong as I am on the lookout for a new set.

              thx, Alan.

They're goos as long as you can find a genuine pair. Good luck with that!

Overated. I'm constantly amazed at the glowing reviews what hi fi gives products only to read real punter reviews who arent satisfied,these are just another example of the emporers new clothes. I vought these for about a tenner but they werent as good as my sony regular in ear headphones. They're too fiddly to get the right position in your ear otherwise bass is non existent. The mid range is nice but treble to harsh.My sony's give just as good if not better overall sound.

At less than £20 from Amazon these new versions are a bargain! There is certainly an improvement in the sound over that of their predecessors - I'm well pleased with mine...and I liked the originals.

I was using my ipod classic with the bundled set of earphones from apple. Was quite happy until I bought these. It is definitely a great upgrade for the money. I am actually hearing sounds that weren't there when using the apple ones.

I can't really compare them with more expensive sets but comparing them against the apple ones it rocks

I bought a pair when I lost the foam cover from my Sennheiser PX100s. It took a while to get used to the "in ear" feel but once I did I was pleased with the results.

My one gripe is that their position in your ears effects the sound, it can be quite tricky finding the sweet spot, and even when you do they have a tendency to shift about a bit meaning I need to adjust their position regularly.

Not as easy to use (or as sweet sounding) as the PX100s but much more practical for public use.

these are absolutely fantastic .. i tried the Bose .. which were a total disaster compared to the CX 300 II .. as rightly said …" i am hearing sounds, i did not hear with the bundled iPod headphones … "

I listen to my ipod classic using Shure 420se headphones and recently tried my son's cx300ii phones. Having paid about £30 they are ok, but the bass is just so overblown. They are fiddly to fit and suffer from impact noise coming in through the wires. If you can buy them for sub £20 then they are fine and a big improvement on ipod phones (why folks keep using them is beyond me) but 5* at £50, absolutely not.

Got an iPod Nano for Christmas, and although I was quite impressed with sound quality through my amp and speakers, and found it acceptable through my car stereo, the Apple 'phones gave truly horrible quality. A pair of these Sennheisers soon put that right. For such cheap 'phones, the quality is amazing; there's a clarity, precision and depth I wouldn't expect at the price, and remarkable bass, too. For me, the fit is simple and perfect straight out of the box. Only issue is the sometimes excessive pickup from the cable - otherwise, near perfect, and possibly the best �15 I've ever spent.

bought these when they first came out for around £30 easily one ofe the best manufactures of earphones at a reasonable price. great warranty on them too! im on my 3rd pair over about a 18 months but i just get them swapped for free

Bought these hoping for sound isolation whilst at least equaling the sound quality of the basic ipod shuffle earphones. Unfortunately to my ears there is major loss of detail in the treble, the midrange is recessed and the bass overblown. Just a warning if you value speed and detail - you will lose it with these. The apple freebies, while far from perfect, are much more musical.

Clare - my phones are genuine no question. I simply find these Senns too woolly and slow for my taste and am a bit surprised you rate them so highly even at the price. Also there is annoying pickup from any slight movement of the cables.

Hi there. Thinking of upgrading my ear-phones. I'd my eye on a pair of these for a while (CX-300-II). My current buds are a 15year old Sony MDR E848. I paid about £20 for them at the time, so given that the 300IIs are currently only £15 I am concerned that the 300s might not be any improvment (given that adjusting for inflation I'd probably have to spend £50 to get the equivalent model of Sony today).

Earphones will be used for jogging with iPod and listening to PC at work. Both sources seem to be void of bass. Any thoughts/recommendations appreciated. My budget is £40 and I would hope to get a deal on a pair.

Just got these for $70. I can't believe these are so cheap in the UK. Comparing with my old Panasonic in-ear earphones (RP-HJE300), which I got for $20, I noticed the sound was louder and more full-bodied. At the same volume, the CX-300 II's played louder than my Panasonic earphones. However, voices seem recessed and the bass is boomy compared to my Panasonic earphones, which sounded more rounded and natural. Occasionally, high frequencies sounded harsh. I kind've like the Panasonic sound better. Also, the Panasonic looks way cooler and doesn't have an asymmetric chord. Can't really justify the $50 premium over my Panasonic earphones in terms of sound quality or build quality.        

firstly, I have to say that there are many fakes going round I bought a pair from Play.com and listened to them I knew straight away they wer fake, the balance wasnt right when listening to them, the plastic on the 3.5mm jack had bits of glue on it, just be warned packaging is excellent on the fake ones almost look orignal! so i returned them!!

secondly, make sure u buy them from a sennhieser retailer, I bought mines directly from an Amazon dealer (NOT quite happy with these earphones when u first hear them they sound very harsh at first but need some burning in time and they sound more 'well balanced' and detailed.  And can tell straight away they are not fake!

Also, I have to say that What HiFi are right in saying 'running in' these headphones brings out the bass and calms the trebles. Leave them on high volume for 10 hours ish.

Over-rated.

The OEM HPM-77's that came with my SE W995 blow these into the weeds.

I got my Sennheiser's on ebay for a tenner, and I'm reluctant to believe it's worth counterfeiting the 'phones plus (annoying) packaging for that sort of margin.

HAAAAAAAARSH treble.  And I'm not prepared to wait 10 hours for them to start working properly.

Sort it out.

There would appear to be plenty of fakes about - either Google 'fake Sennheiser CX-300 II' or take a look at - http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8392

i am waiting on a pair from Play.com so hope they are genuine. Can an online retailer legally be selling fake brands?