Sennheiser PX 100 Collapsible Headphones

The PX100s were the second decent portable headphone I bought after the KSC75s, a silky-smooth contrast to the shiny, aggressive sound of the Koss clip-ons. This particular review was written when I was very new to the world of Head-Fi but in general I stand by it.



Build Quality: Designed to be portable, the PX100s fold beautifully into a tiny package and fit into the included plastic carrying case. Despite the multi-jointed folding mechanism, they feel rather solid and sturdy. The metal headband is both tough and flexible and there’s a feel of quality to the whole construction – every motion they make feels controlled one as the joints click smoothly into place. I expected them to be quite fragile at first, but there are no creaks or rattles after two years of use.

Comfort: The rotating earcups adjust perfectly to the shape of your head, preventing uneven pressure on your ears, which can be a problem with the other supraaural phones. The foam pads are a little thicker than the stock KSC75 pads and feel slightly smoother. The padding on the headband looks miniscule but gets the job done without making your head sweat. I’ve worn these for 6-8 hour stretches on several occasions with no adverse effects.

Isolation: The PX100s are open phones. They let outside noise in and leak sound out. Though not as drastically open as, for example, Grados, they are still pretty useless as far as isolation goes.

Sound: The PX100s are dark, warm, laid back, and very, very smooth. The vocals are nowhere near as forthcoming as the KSC75s and they are missing the treble sparkle. They do, however, have bass that is tighter and better controlled than both the KSC75s and PortaPro, causing them to sound more accurate on trance and techno tracks (though they are still quite bloated compared to higher-end portables). They don’t really work as well as I would like with my preferred genres, which are rock and metal, because of laid-back nature and dark tone but to be quite honest I still reach for these very often over the KSC75s though I prefer the Koss sound signature in general.

Value. (MSRP: $59.99, Street Price: $35) The PX100s are very good headphones. I would recommend them at the $35 price point any day. It is a matter of preference, however, whether these are better than KSC75 and PortaPros, On a very tight budget, I would go with the KSC75s. However, with price out of consideration, I would probably take these even over the PortaPros as relaxed all-rounders. It should be noted that fake PX100s have popped up on ebay on occasion, so I’d be wary of anything that doesn’t come in retail packaging and with the carrying case.

Manufacturer Specs:
Frequency Response:15-27,000 Hz
Impedance:32 Ω
Sensitivity:114 dB SPL/1mW
Cord:4.6ft (1.4m); Straight Plug
Space-Saving Mechanism:Flat-folding, collapsible

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To see how the PX100s compare to the other portables in my collection, see here.

I have long used these headphones before I really got into headfi and they have served me well. Unfortunately the cable became damaged after 3 years of extensive use and broke on me. The only thing I did not like is the lower frequencies sounded colored and I did not even notice this until I heard other headphones. But for a little more money you can get better IMO like the ATH-AD700. I did like that they came with a case for carrying them around and the fact that they are small and portable is a big plus if you plan on using them on the go.

I bought these because they were cheap. Yes, $60 is cheap in Korea for entry-level audiophile cans, due to horrendous import taxes. I chose the PX-100s after a good hour of A-B comparisons in-store with their rivals, principally models from Koss and Sony.

More than two years later, other headphones/IEMs have come and gone, but I've kept the PX-100s because they are just so damn handy, and they really do sound good for what they are. It's nice being able to fold them up into their small carry-case and toss them in a shoulder bag where they are so unobtrusive you can almost forget you're carrying them.

Their strengths lie in their light weight, class-leading portability and sound quality (for the price). Their negatives include the open-backed design, which lets in all sorts of horrible noises on public transport, and the fact that their lower-end warmth comes at the expense of higher-end sparkle. One "fix" for the lack of isolation would be to purchase the closed-back PX-200s. Unfortunately, their sound quality does not match the PX-100s (note that Sennheiser has recently introduced the PX-100 II and PX-200 II, which are slightly different beasts, and I have not heard those models).

More expensive Sennies such as my girlfriend's HD238s and my own HD25-1 IIs do have better clarity and are less coloured than the PX-100s. However, the PX-100s are better than a lot of IEMs that cost twice or three times as much. For example, in an A-B comparison with my $200 Future Sonics Atrios, the PX-100s have much smoother mids and flatter highs and offered a generally much more pleasant listening experience.

They're not the best cans in the world - you'll have to pay 10 times as much to get those - but for the price the PX-100s are definitely five-star winners.