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.
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.
