Sennheiser PX 95 Versatile On-Ear Headphones

Hi, I'm new to this head-fi community and this would be my first headphone review here at head-fi. Other headphones I've owned and listened to so far are the Sennheiser hd239, px100, rha ma350, bose qc15, qc 35, mee audio m6 pro, soundmagic e10, mi in ear pro, Philips shp 9500, Audio Technica M40x and UE9000.

Now let's get to the px95 and my review after listening to it for a week now.

I got these for fairly lesser price than the mrp here in India for around 21usd. I don't argue these have an amazing sound quality competing other headphones that run for around for 100usd but these pack very good sonic performance for it's price range.

Build and Design:

Design is modern and I wouldn't say I love or hate anything from the looks of these headphones. The sleek metal band is really good for the adjustment and provides a comfortable fit on my head but when worn tight, the metal band comes in contact with the top of my head which I felt to be annoying quite a bit. The casing outside the drivers swivel for a better fit. The foam pads are also decent enough and I don't feel any irritation wearing it for longer periods. The cables connecting the headphones felt flimsy and these would be one major downside.

Sound:
I'm no pro here at headphone reviews but these are just my thoughts and opinions about the px95. With that said let me write on it's sound quality

Treble:
PX 95 has impressive highs. These are definitely warmer set of headphones and you can really tell the details from the sparkling treble it produces. Rha ma 350 iem had the same kind of treble but ma 350s had ear piercing treble which is really uncomfortable for many ears. PX 95 really extends as much as the ma350 but it cuts off well before it can get to uncomfortable levels.

Bass:
These are emphasized quiet a bit on the bass. I wish I had the px100 for an AB test. The bass is punchy but I wished it was more controlled and tight. This wasn't really a con for the price I paid for this pair. It has loads of sub bass but I wish it had better presentation around 80hz. The sub bass barely does seep into the other frequencies at higher volumes. At full volume the music feels cramped and rushed. It does lose some clarity at higher volumes.

Mids:
Yet being V shaped, the mids don't disappear with the px95. They are well present but not very true to life. I'd say mids are bit colored but in a good way from a casual listening perspective.

Obvious being an open backed pair, the px95 do not isolate at all and you will be aware of your ambiance.Pads on these are removable and the L shaped plug is really good on this one for the portability. Right out of the box I was happy with the bass performance and it's sound signature. The main reason for this purchase was to find a bassy yet clear sounding on ears for under 50usd and the px95 for bit over 20usd was a steal.

I highly recommend this hidden gem of a headphone. The highlights are:

-High quality sound. I would say the sound character is warm with deep, balanced bass and clear highs. mids and vocals are a bit recessed, but not bad at all. It reminds me of Koss PortaPro, only without the tiring boominess, and much better instrument separation and staging.

-Well designed. It looks pretty and is VERY VERY comfortable. This can't be stressed enough: this headphone is very light, and the grip is mild but stable. I can wear it for hours with minimal fatigue. The cable is also hard to tangle and does not conduct friction interference. All of these combined with the warm sound it produces make it really comfortable to listen to.
 
Possible downside:

-Poor sound isolation. People can hear what you're listening to and you can hear ambient noise. however this is not a problem if you're listening at home and can be an advantage if you use it for commuting when you still want to hear your surroundings. 

I'm an on-ear open junkie, so this high praise says a lot about the PX95.  A list of on-ear opens I have in various drawers:  AKG K403, PX100-ii, PortaPros, Jays V-Jays, SR-80 and some more that I can't remember right now.  My current favourite is the PX95.
 
Finally, an on-ear open that actually has decent bass extension without the PortaPro's boominess.  There's no Sennheiser "veil" or "mid-bass hump" here (wow!), so this is closer to the PortaPros than the PX100s.  Mids are decent - few on-ear opens screw those up, but what you trade in for your $40 is some detail in the very highs.  Soundstage is very good, which is normal for an on-ear open.
 
However, the biggest shock and delight from my PX95 ownership has been its ultra light weight.  I think these are the lightest on-ear open headphones I've ever used and it is so easy to just leave them on all day and night.  Will these replace my workhorse K403s at my 9+hr/day desk?  Quite possibly... but I'd be paranoid of having them stolen though.
 
vs. the PX100-ii... the PX100 comes with a carry case and folds really nicely for travel.  The PX95 can't travel.  PX100 may have a bit more detail in the highs.
vs. the PortaPro... PX95 is way more comfortable and easy to put on.  Headband does not try to pull my hair out and it isn't a pain to adjust.  As stated before, Porta's boominess gets annoying and extended wear creates some pressure points if not perfectly adjusted.
vs. the V-Jays... the V-Jays do sound better sometimes, but L and R are clearly marked on the PX95.. the VJays make it difficult to tell L and R.. and that annoys me.
vs. the K403... tough call, still evaluating this one.  The K403 is a bit lighter on bass while still having great extension while still having great highs, making it better for doing work.  The K403 folds flat for desk drawer storage...
vs. the SR-80.  I can't compare.  The SR-80 has better sound in almost all respects, but weighs a TON and the cable is far to large and heavy for portable use.
 
If you see the PX95 for less than $35 and you love on-ear open headphones.  Click buy, don't hesitate, just click buy!!!

I was really surprised with the nice little cans from Sennheiser I just bought. The fact is that I've been using for a long time a Shure SRH750DJ for which I have a deep love. I only had a small problem with it after a year because the cable that connects the left speaker to the right broke, I had to do a small chirurgical operation, and I fixed it.
 
There an't lots of tests going around the web for the PX95, so here's my little opinion about it, and a comparison with my primary headphone I've been using for two years. I an't  no expert, but hey, everything's got a start!
 
The price difference is around 40 bucks. The PX is around 60$ and the Shure can be found at 100$
 
Both looks neat. Like, really. Shure is a little disappointment though, because it uses quite a lot of gold-colored plastic when Sennheiser's plastic on the PX goes unnoticed. The PX by itself it much more unnoticeable than the mega huge Shure!  The PX's much smaller, and weights times lighter than Shure's huge cans, but both are really, really comfortable to wear for hours, maybe even days!
 
The sound difference is hard to explain briefly : while the PX and the Shure have both a good spatialization,  Shure leads because the PX-95 has slightly the 3-way soundstage problem (even though it is an open can). Shure has a pretty neat but cold bass and the PX-95 is warmer but doesn't go as deep, and can be a bit muddy. The main frequency difference is in the mid-high zone, where the PX emphases the waves and the Shure goes for a more V-ish shape. The Shure is MUCH, MUCH brighter, and cold, probably because of the frequency curve, so the vocals and things like cymbals sound awesome, but the guitar chords don't reach the warmness of the PX95, that masters the mid part. It seems to me that the PX95 is more of a Jazz and Classical music, and the Shure sends shivers during Techno/Trance music. Both headphones have a personality that goes along with their aimed music styles. Still, hearing things like Celtic, Progressive Jazz or Ska with both headphones is a great pleasure that I had for a few listening hours!
 
The Shure clearly won when I had a try in the street, cause the PX95's isolation is null. Shure's not 100% isolated either but it covers well the bass-mid section,  so between those two, I had to put two level louder my phone to hear something out of the PX.
 
So I think that the PX-95 can be interesting for you if you :
   1 - Hear music at home (open cans, here you are)
   2 - Want a warm and not tiring sound
   3 - Want headphones that'll last (they dealt with the bottom of my bag!)
   4 - Like the aesthetic of it (brilliant design I must say)
 
If not, maybe you should look around, maybe something will suit you better at the same range of price!
 
Oh, and about burning those things, I burned my Shure for thousands of hours as I was using it everyday for a few hours, and I've burnt the PX for more than 100 hours now.
 


               The PX95 by itself
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         Sennheiser's PX95 and Shure's SRH750DJ