Sennheiser CX250: Brief Impressions - Page 2

I have a pair of cx150 received as a christmas gift and now this thread came to my mind. I'm pretty sure there is no difference in drivers/sound between CX150/CX200/CX250, technical specs are exactly the same, differences are indeed in some of the details: CX150 are plain simple with a chrome type plug, CX200 have a gold plated plug and that little cable holder, while CX250 are equipped with a volume control and a carrying pouch.

The most important thing that make me think they should sound the same is that your description of the 250 sound perfectly applies to what I hear from my 150. At first they sounded a bit harsh and tiny, but when I got used to the sound and find the right way to fit them, I started to really appreciate the separation and the treble extension. The bass, that at first was boomy and distant, now is very heavy and deep, but the good thing is that it remains in some measure separated from the rest of the frequencies.

In a side by side comparision with my CX400, 150s are less congested and more airy, even if the mids and vocals are still a bit recessed, somewhat again just a tad harsh and sibilant but with a touch of transparency.

What I really like of these tiny canalphones is the treble speed, I'm having a lot of fun listening to Megadeth's guitar solos on "Killing Is My Business..." (try with Mechanix and These Boots If you like old good bay area thrash metal). BTW, fitting is the key IMHO: after some trying, i've found that putting them in as they are made for is the best way (keeping the contoured part between index and thumb and point straight to the ear canal). A strange thing is that even if they don't look so, they are slightly bigger than old CX series (at least they are if compared side by side to my CX400) and they go a bit deeper in the ear when inserted.

As they are only 12,90 here in a local store, I think they are an absolute steal and I think I'll buy a spare one in the next days...

Many thanks for your review and updates
Cheers
K.

I would be interested in the FXC50/M9/CX250 comparison. A tip for the M9, they work best with less isolating tips. The instinct is the opposite but a tighter seal or foams make them too thick and hurt detail retrieval and clarity. Try the the stock bi-flange not quite as deeply inserted.

I've had the fxc50 for a while and could not have a stable fit with them: I've tried every possibile way of putting them in, they keeped loosing the seal and fall off. From what I remember, they had a bass that was too boomy for me and the highs was a bit on the harsh side, less clean than what I hear from cx150. But, due to the fitting problems and not so much use of the fxc50, my memory can be wrong...

Cheers
K.

Ok finally got these today.

First off, I am absolutely sure that they are a Sennheiser product seeing as how I almost lost a finger trying to open the packaging and ended up having to resort to a box cutter anyway. Noone can design packaging that's harder to get into than Sennheiser. And then there's the fact that the cabling was coiled using a whole 4 twist-ties. Is that really necessary?

The housings are quite tiny and actually a bit hard to grip, but they fit great either cord-up or cord-down, unlike my current $20 faves, the Meelec M9s.

Anyway, sticking them in my ears with zero burn-in and after spending all day listening to the much more expensive and rather good Senn PX200-II they lack clarity and sound a bit congested. This should clear up over time. The sound is warm and bass seems to be deep but with softened impact. I wouldn't call it tight but it's pretty enjoyable. Hoping for some positive changes over time but from memory these definitely aren't as bad as the CX300.

Going to give them 100 hours of burn-in now.

I got a loaner pair of CX250 today. My impressions...

Well built but I would still prefer no VC. Might need longer tips or larger(need to go up one size) since they have a short soundtube and are more shallow fitting earphones. I would still like a cord slider. No issues, more preference. The whole cable set-up is the exact same as on the MX65-II I had.

I went to medium Shure Clear flex sleeves after a quick listen. My impressions are with those tips, FWIW. Soundstage is a bit narrow as mentioned. Due to treble roll-off? Shure tips fixed that nicely. Having had the older CX95 model, I would say these are about as good as those even though a lower model.

They seem to have the traits of the PX200-II, a house sound or approach appears evidence in the newer models. Good soundstage with better depth than previously. Good clarity and separation. Nice delicacy. The CX95 had a certain amount of bass presence at all times whilst the PX-200II and the CX250 hold true to the recordings better and will vary the amount. Again, more depth and 3-D quality to the image. The CX can't run with the PX but it tries to do the same things. Speed and pacing is improved. Quicker and doesn't smear. The CX95 might have had tighter bass but can't cope with the complex stuff as well.

At whatever price you can get them, $20 or up to $30 the CX250 are worth it. As with many earphones they can benefit from better tips.

I said it before, quite excited for Senn's newer stuff based on the more recent offerings. the Senn veil is gone even from the lowest models. I think the next IE's will really be killers!

Good thing about Senn unlike Westone, Grado and some others is that the price usually drops quick. The $90 list PX200-II is under $60 already. The Expression line is interesting from the point of how good will the top (CX980) be.

My loaner pair of CX250 is Joker's pair and still need burn-in. They do seem to share an approach but the basic signature is a bit different. The PX has less bass and some more treble. Just so you know the PX won't hit near as hard as the CX will. And the CX gives only a smaller taste of the quality of bass. Other things like layering, and positioning/imaging, tone/timbre, clarity, the speed/decay are quite similar.

Ok pretty sure they're done burning in. Absolutely no change between yesterday and today. Been listening to them a bit and wow - these are some great little IEMs. I don't think they're as detailed as the M9 and the soundstage is certainly narrower (positioning seems better though), but the low end is more controlled, the overall sound is smoother, and the fun factor is off the charts. Not much bass bloat, either (unlike the CX300). Easily up there overall with the better $20-25 IEMs (M9, PL21, PL30, Beta Brainwavz).