 Great Headphones but BEWARE OF FAKES |
| Review Date: August 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: A. Toivanen, Houston, TX |
These headphones are superb; however, BEWARE of all the fakes out there! There are tons and it is very difficult to tell the difference when looking at the physical package. I saw a couple of posts on here that complain about the loud thump when you hit the cord...if this happens, you have fakes. I bought a pair off of eBay (do not buy these off eBay, most if not all are fake) and had some other people that bought from the same seller contact me and inform me that they were fakes. Even worse, when confronted, the seller admitted they were counterfeit and was eventually caught and banned from eBay. With the fakes, every time I exercised and the cord would bump me it was extremely loud and after this happened a couple of times during my first use, I stopped using them while working out (still not knowing they were fakes at this point). When I discovered they were counterfeit, I contacted Sennheiser to find out if Amazon.com was an authorized seller (I was sure Amazon would only deal with legitimate products, but after getting burned on eBay I wanted to make sure I was getting was I was paying for). Here is the response I got from Sennheiser:
"Amazon.com is indeed a dealer...but do not purchase Sennheiser from their 3rd party marketplace unless from J&R or Tiger Direct as they are also authorized dealers."
I see Crutchfield will be selling 3rd party on Amazon and I also found them on the Sennheiser "locate a dealer" site. Tweeter is also a dealer.
Once I received the legitimate Sennheiser headphones from Amazon and I compared them to the fake copies I got off eBay, the differences were pretty evident. The carry pouch on the fakes is all the same color, but the S design has the same shape as that of the real pair's pouch. The carry pouch with the legitimate pair has a shiny and darker black "S" design than the rest of the pouch (the feel of the pouch is also softer). The length in total for both pairs is the same, but on the fakes, the volume control is slightly higher up on the cord as is the CX500 cord separator. One of the most notable differences is when you thump the cord with the phones in your ear...the fakes will produce a very loud thump (and any swift cord movement can be heard and will be very distracting with lots of movement like cardio exercising). On the real pair of headphones, I can hear the thump in total silence, but while listening to music and working out, it is barely audible if at all. Also, on the fakes, the volume control completely mutes the sound when turned down to minimum. On the real pair, when you slide the volume control to the minimum volume, the sound is still faintly audible. Finally, there is the sound quality. I never would have known had I not had a real pair to compare to, but the sound of the fakes does not even come close to the real pair. The sound on the fakes almost sounds muffled after listening to the real pair. The fakes also have a lot more bass to them. The sound of the real pair is clear, clean, crisp and beautiful. I can hear sounds in the music that I never realized were there before. The real pair tends to draw out so much of the music that it is amazing. I never would have known or realized the difference in the sound had I not gotten fed up knowing I had purchased counterfeit headphones and went out and bought a real pair (I got a majority of my money back on the counterfeit pair).
The best advice I can give is if the deal is too good to be true, it likely is. Check out the Sennheiser website and find a legitimate dealer to buy these headphones from if you truly want a good pair of quality headphones. They are worth every penny!
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These are AMAZING please read my review!
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| Review Date: September 20, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Pafundi, |
I can't remember the last product that I purchased in which I posted a review about. My Sennheiser CX500's were delivered a few days ago and I felt compelled to post this. If I can get just 1 person to give these a try, I'll be happy.
My first set of inner ear headphones were the Ultimate Ears super.fi 3's. I bought these back in January. Ultimately, I learned what I really wanted in an inner ear monitor and the failures of the UE's led me to purchase the Senn CX 500's.
Comfort: No comparison here, whatsoever. The UE's were big, clunky, and just never fit right regardless of the attachment I used. They lost their seal constantly even when just sitting on the subway (Inner Ear Monitors MUST keep it's seal or they sound worse than your Apple issued ear buds) The Senn's are SMALL, light weight and just stay in nice and snug regardless of what I'm doing. You forget you are even wearing them. They hold seal but in a much more comfortable way than the UEs. The UEs felt like they were violating my ear drum and it was painful some times! Seal is extremely important to me because I ride the NYC subway every day to work and it is the true test of noise canceling phones. Not sure there is a noisier ride anywhere else on the planet. You can hear your music at a low volume. AMAZING!
Sound: Of course, the most important thing when buying ear phones. Because the Senn's stay in the your ear with a nice comfortable seal, they sound AMAZING. Unbelievably crisp, clear, with the perfect balance between treble and bass. They sound extremely sharp. Remember, seal is the most important thing with IEMs are the seal and the Senn's achieve this with ease. My UEs, when sealed sounded real good but still not close to the Senn's. UE's site boasts you will be hearing your music for the first time! Sorry, I disagree. All I heard was more bass than usual. First song I listened to with my Senn's, I actually thought to myself, "Hey I never recognized that backup quitar riff." Hands down, these sound unbelievable!
Other Specs: The cord length is perfect. I'm a tall dude and when I use my iPod, it goes into my front pocket. The cord reaches without trouble and has the perfect amount of slack. You could easily throw your iPod into a backpack or purse without any pull on your ears. Again, unlike some phones when the cord seems to be 15 feet in length creating unnecessary slack, these don't. 4 feet is the sweet spot. Also, there is a volume slider right on the cord. So, when someone taps me on the shoulder to say something I don't have to pull my iPod from my pocket to pause the music. Just slide the volume down right on the cord and you're all set!
Value: I bought these from J&R Electronics off of Amazon for $59.99. My UE's cost me $79.99 from Amazon. Needless to say, the value of these phones are like paying $15 bucks for a steak only to receive the filet. You simply cannot beat that price for such high quality phones. You also get a real nice 2 year warranty on these.
Recommendation: If you haven't already caught my drift here, I cannot recommend these more highly. If all the above points I mentioned matter to you, these are a must buy. I am thrilled with these and I know you will be too. |
Highly Recommended
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| Review Date: May 10, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Kahn, |
I am a hack audiophile - but I'd say I have a decent ear. These headphones are amazing for the money. I know several people with the Shure SE110 (very similarly priced), and I've listened to them side by side for the last few days. The Sennheiser win out hands down - much more realistic sound stage, great sound reproduction given different sources (home system, iPod, Zune, etc.).
I also like that there are so many different sizing adapters included. Though I'd still rather sit on my couch and drink a beer while listening to my home system, this is the first earbud-style headphone that I have been able to get sufficiently comfortable and snug to use while running or working out. They included 6 different ear adapters - which made it easy to find the right ones that really block outside noise.
Highly recommended. |
CX 500
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| Review Date: July 24, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Mohammed K. Ahmed, baltimore, MD USA |
| I had upgraded to CX 500 after I lost my CX 300. Worth the upgrade. better and more comfortable ear grip. sound quality is awesome. Volume control feature is very helpful. 5 Star from me. |
Very Good Bargain
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| Review Date: December 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: A. Magnus, NY |
| These are very good headphones. That said, readers of headphone reviews should keep a couple of things in mind. First of all, preferences in headphones vary as much as preferences in loud speakers- "different strokes for different folks." Second, the fit of the phones in the ear makes a huge difference in the way they sound. Phones sound tinny and bass response drops off dramatically if phones fit poorly. Finally, the music player's EQ settings can significantly change the way any phones sound. I prefer high fidelity- I don't like headphones or speakers that unnaturally exaggerate sound. These phones, with neutral EQ settings, deliver a very accurate sound across the entire audio spectrum for a very good price. The bass response is impressive. If the recording has a strong bass, electric or acoustic, these phones will reproduce it. If there is no bass in the recording, you won't hear it in the phones. Reproduction of vocals and other mid-range audio is excellent. High end reproduction may be the weakest area of performance. By no means is it bad- cymbals are nicely defined for example. At times, though, the high end strikes me as a bit brittle. Still,over all, these phones reproduce music with accuracy, clarity and definition. They don't come with foam ear pieces but the selection of pieces that do come with the phones should provide all listeners with a secure, yet comfortable fit. With the right ear pieces, the phones do a pretty good job of canceling external noise. The cord [length is fine]has a built-in volume control which provides a quick and convenient mute. Overall, these phones make listening a pleasure- there is no fatigue from listening for extended periods of time; of all the earbud type phones I've used, these are clearly the best. It may be that some of the much more expensive phones on the market sound better. Given the quality of these phones, I wouldn't consider spending more to find out. |
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