REVIEW: Sennheiser CX 985 - Page 2

Thanls for this review. I am thinking of trying the CX985 for classical. I really like the CX300 for classical for the price, but it isnt the last word on detail or bass control. It would be good to think this might be the ultimate evolution thus far of the CX series and stays true to the particular sound signature of that range, but with more refinement as you go up the line.

Here are my thoughts on design/build. These came nicely packaged, accessories; all that jazz you read in the review.  The mostly metal construction is sturdy but the angled stem (metal strain relief) design creates (IMO) an unnecessary stress point.  In all my years of owning IEMs, I have stepped on mine more than once (stumbling around in my room).  Do the same at the wrong angle with the CX 985, and you're likely to break it.  

 

[To be fair, stepping on IEMs does not constitute "careful" IEM use, but I'm here to report from my personal end user perspective.]

 

Moving on, all the metal used on this IEM is good for aesthetics, but a little functionally misguided.  The housing is metal, the plug is metal (all okay at this point), but the aforementioned strain relief is also metal.  (Why?)  I'll just refer to it as the metal stem since I don't know what to call it.  Sure it has a great feel, but it creates unnecessary weight/drag in the wrong direction.  This drag doesn't actually pull the IEMs out out of your ears, the weight is too miniscule for that, but it constantly "coaxes" it in that direction, and given the slightest tug they do come out.  I would be willing to look this design choice over IF the IEM sat inside the cavum of the ear like the UM3X, RE262, or SM3 do.  These do not.  They sit in the ear solely based on the tension the tip creates against the ear's auditory canal, so subtleties like this have mattered.

 

Moving on to the sound, these are decently balanced with an adequate amount of detail retrieval, pretty smooth.  Some frequency anomalies were detected, at times the bass would be a bit too prominent, once in a while a little hot up top.  Over all not a bad listen, but nothing to get too excited over.  With respect to design & future IEMs, sometimes less is more and sometimes more is less.  Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to listen to these.

 

Kjk, yes I compared them to the UM3X as well as the B2 (DBA-02 clone) which I have owned for a long time (no longer do).  Also in house were a pair of Stax IEMs (SR-003 + 252S energizer).  My expectations are based on those, plus the sum of my experiences with all my phones, including the top full size phones.  

 

However, when listening to the CX 985, I mostly had the Brainwavz B2 in mind, which is the only sub-$200 IEM I hold in really high regard for how hard it punches despite it's weight class.  As others have noted, the B2 can sometimes be as much of a detail monster as say, a UERM is.  It might fall short in ambiance or spatial detail retrieval, but in straight extraction it comes close.  So with the B2 in mind, the RE-ZERO, which I also like, and the UM3X (don't let the price fool you, diminishing returns kicks in here for universal IEMs), I formed my opinion of the CX 985.

 

Mine were mostly ergonomic grievances with the CX 985, and to add to it, I did not find it an over-achiever sonically as I did the B2 for sub $200 or ZERO for sub $100.  That said, it's probably not an underachiever either in this price range.  I just don't have any experience with what's "par for the course" at this price range.

 

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Also, kudos to Sennheiser for letting us head-fi-ers listen to it and share our opinions.  I'm sure there are others out there that will enjoy this IEM.

 

Oh man, don't even get me started on that one.  

As a current CX980 owner, I'm rather interested in the CX985, wondering whether it's just a rehash or not, because it looks virtually the same on the outside. The CX985 plug looks cheaper than the CX980s... no photo of the plug in both positions?

Let me tell you why the CX980 didn't do so well. It's because Sennheiser crippled the thing with those diaphragm guards. Every lukewarm review out there listened to it like this; the diaphragm guards ended up muffling the midrange, making the CX980 sound like a bloated bassy mess. With the diaphragm guards off and the foam inserts in, the CX980 sounds wonderful; even better than the IE8. However, the other two tips (white and pink) end up being less usable because with there is a 4khz spike with those. There is no such spike with the foam inserts.

It's a shame this review didn't cover sound quality with the diaphragm guards off, because I'll bet anything that the CX985, like the CX980, sounds better without them.
Edited by colgatetotal - 12/12/12 at 10:27am

I had the CX870 and have the CX985. I agree that the CX985 is the second best behind the IE800 and better than the IE7 and IE8 etc. The guards seemingly were changed but the sound slightly as well if we are to believe what Senn says. Some of both I'd say. I am quite treble tolerant but think the 985 is a bit harsh without the new guards in and they don't layer out as well and are more 2-D with them out. So, to recap, old guards is the worst sound in the 985, then the sound with no guards, then the sound with the new guards is the best. The stock tips are not the best and probably should be changed. Nothing new with Senn on that front. The driver need a good amount of hours till the treble tames. 

Aren't the diaphragm guards just pieces of black foam? Unless the foam density was changed, I don't see how the ones on the CX985 could be any different than the ones on the CX980.

I took my white/pink tips out from the closet after a year of using the memory foam tips in order to re-evaluate them. Inserting the diaphragm guards still destroy the sound quality. The white/pink tips with the diaphragm guards off are also unlistenable; that 4khz treble spike is way too much. Memory foam + diaphragm guards off is still the way to go on the CX980, so hopefully you chime in on how good that combo is on the CX985.
Edited by colgatetotal - 12/16/12 at 11:23am

Yes they have changed. You can easily see through the new ones since they are less dense. I use nothing but Grado iGi black bi-flanges. All stock tips either give V-shape sound and more bass than I want. Foams may just cure treble spikes but I don't do foams of any kind anymore. Keeping my 985 tips including foams new for resale value and I have packaged and sold off any other foams I may have had including Hearos for making my own. I knew from the CX870 that the tips were no good out of the box. Senn competes against themselves so they hamper the CX980/985 so as to slot below more expensive models but easy to see what they are doing and try to fix it. A little too sealed up vs. other models adding thickness hurting precision, detail, and even balance.

very good review! super detailed

 

i wish i could have the chance to try these (even loan them)