Sennheiser CX 300-II Precision Noise-Isolating Ear-Canal Phones - Black (Eco Packaging)

We should start with context. I am an everyman that listens to a lot of audio via MP3 players or phones or directly from my netbook. Mostly it is music, sometimes movies or TV shows and occasionally audio books/lectures. Mostly this is on the train. Being a conscientious sort I ordinarily use an over the ear DJ style headphone to reduce the ambient impact on my fellow passengers. I am by no means an audiophile though, I just know when something sounds exceptionally good and these are probably the best in-ear headphones I have ever used.

The noise isolating in the product title means the impact to those around you, even with the sound cranked up, is going to be minimal but they are still going to hear something. Just a lot less and then what they do hear sounds a lot more distant. These will not cancel noise you can hear around you either and do little to reduce it. If that is what you are specifically looking for you are looking at the wrong product.

Pros: Exceptionally clear audio across the full range of sounds using multiple types of media devices. A great quality to bass effects that was stunning in movies. They are very comfortable with a choice of three sizes for the in-ear plug and the provided pouch is designed well and helps minimise the tangled cable problem. You will never pull these from your bag and find they need charging and they take up very little bag space.

Cons: Despite the pouch any length of cable is still going to get tangled in no time at all. But it is a small price to pay.

Thoughts: Anyone that still has the headphones that came free with their audio device (particularly headphones with white cables) should immediately get a set of these, you will thank Sennheiser for the whole new audio experience and the people around you will be thankful for not having to share every note of your experience.

Very highly recommended.

Like many people, I've usually made to with cheaper sets of headphones for my iPod, never forking out more than a tenner for a pair. But giving this set a go has completely reformed my headphone habits - the difference in sound quality is amazing. I listen to a lot of different musical styles on my iPod, and in every case, the clarity across the whole range from low to high is fantastic. Bass lovers will be happy to hear that the low tones are booming, while classical fans will enjoy the perfect reproduction of tones across the whole range. The ear buds do a great job of noise isolation, cutting all but the loudest of outside noise.

You'd expect no less from Sennheiser, and the little extra cost is definitely justified by the improvement in your sound experience - I'm a total convert.

There are a few reasons why you might want noise-isolating earphones. The obvious is, of course, the "noise isolating" (although to be more accurate it should be noise-cancelling). Earphones like this sit in the ear canal and expand so that extraneous noise is blocked out (other types of noise-cancelling headphones use a microphone on the outside powered by batteries and, if you're interested in listening to music on the train or plane, that sort are a more expensive but much better alternative).

The other reason to use this type of earphone would be because they don't tend to fall out as much as traditional earbuds of the sort you get with an iPod. I for one can only use that sort of earphone with the small foam "sock" or something similar as I seem to have very strange ears! So if you find yourself constantly having to push earphones back in, or find the falling out while at the gym or on the bike, then this type might be worth looking at.

The Sennheiser's certainly block out noise from outside - so much so that I really wouldn't recommend using them on the bike, while driving or in any other situation where it's handy to hear what's going on around you. You'll miss it.
But they also block in noise from inside - by which I mean you can hear your every breath echoing through your skull. So if you have a cold, don't use these because every single sniff is amplified several times over.
And if you tend to sing along, you'll hate these as your deadened voice will completely cover the music.
Another side effect of the ear canal option is that any tapping of the lead between you and your player becomes a loud thump in your head, which I can imagine would be a problem if you're out walking for example.

These Sennheisers sell themselves on their bass response and they certainly do boost the bass. If you're the sort of person who listens to the sort of music where that's important then a) thank you for using earphones instead of making your next door listeners hear it too and b) you'll probably love these. If you're on the bus I suspect your fellow passengers will like them too as you'll probably turn the volume down (please) and there'll be less noise leaking out for them to hear.

But if you listen to anything else, I wouldn't recommend this model as the bass dominates. Classical, acoustic, spoken word, is all drowned in bass. I suspect it's not actually so much a bass boost as a treble reduction, but however it's achieved it's not a pleasant sound. Singers and speakers have an audible sibilant hiss which gets in the way, so if you listen to podcasts or the radio, or anything that your dad might have called "proper music" go for a model with a better balance.

The cable for these is coated in the new rubber that you may have noticed on more recent iPod earbuds - it seems to resist getting tangled which is great, and there's a carry case with one of the most lethal clip-shut actions I've ever come across.

The phones come with three ear attachments, small, medium and large. I was expecting to have to use the small ones as I did with the Apple in-ear buds from a few years back but the already-fitted medium ones seemed to work okay for me. Unlike the old Apple model, these (as with the new Apple ones) use an almost-sphere-like shape which expands to fit your ear canal rather than a conical shape you need to jam in till it fits!
Expect unpleasant squelching noises from time to time too. I think Boots sell something for that!

A quick word on the packaging - no plastic in sight. The phones come in an (overcomplicated) corrugated cardboard package with die-cut holes for everything to fit in to. Nice in theory and certainly to Sennheiser's credit, but a bit fiddly in practice. To of the spare buds rolled away while I was opening it, requiring a hunt under the sofa, and the cable got stuck in one of the holes. But all recyclable if not reusable (I challenge you to put it all back together again).

So lots to recommend these for, but lots to advise against. If you only listen to bass-driven music then great. If you cycle or have the sniffs, or if you listen to anything with some treble, look for a different model.