CX300 vs CX400 vs CX500? Or something else?

[meurglys0]

Thanks to a link provided by a head-fi in a thread, I found this cheap site.

Headphones & Earphones - Net-Headset Store

Now, I don't like the bass too strong, but how can we determine what degree of it is "too strong"? It's a very individual matter I believe. But it's certain that when I'm listening to my music I hate it when the bass gets distorted and I have to lower the volume to avoid the "unclear" sound it creates; I had always thought it was a shortcoming of the crappy phones I've been using that couldn't deliver what's on the cd perfectly, and that a better pair of phones would solve it. I experience problems mostly with the remasters of certain albums made after 2000. So I figured these albums are loaded with better (natural expectations with a remaster) sound but my phones are incapable to deliver it perfectly. If you're familiar with these albums, you'll know what I mean:

All of the new remasters of Van Der Graaf Generator albums...
Premiata Forneira Marconi's "Per Un Amico"
Gentle Giant's "Three Friends"

These are a few examples.

Now, are my inferences correct, or naive? Is it the headphones that can't deliver the bass perfectly, or is it due to the phones being "too bassy" as you say in this forum?

I like the music to sound exactly like it is on the cd, and not given special boost neither at bass nor treble; I like a balanced sound, neither bassy, nor bass-less. And I certainly like detail.

Now many people complain about the Sennheiser CX series "bloated" bass, while many others regard them to be great phones. With the given descriptions of my taste, do you think purchasing one of the Sennheisers above would be a wrong move? Which one should I get; CX300, CX400 or CX500?

And another important issue is... Do you think I can rely on this site and expect a genuine Sennheiser, and not a fake?

CX300 is 30 $ at amazon.com, so that's another option... And I could get Sennheiser MX560 at a local store for 30 $ also...

Please, I need your kind help.

Thanks in advance.

Regards to all.

 

[SactoMan101]

I'm using the CX500 myself and really like these headphones.

There's a good reason for this: it's one of the few IEM's that really has a truly tight seal around my ear, which improves the noise isolation and frequency response tremendously.

 

[meurglys0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SactoMan101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm using the CX500 myself and really like these headphones. There's a good reason for this: it's one of the few IEM's that really has a truly tight seal around my ear, which improves the noise isolation and frequency response tremendously.

How about the bass? Is it distorted and unclear?

With my recent phones, this distortion didn't always happen by the way, it appeared on albums withs higher bass levels I guess...

 

[chinesekiwi]

I'd get the Denon c551's myself as it produces far better more accurate bass.
Better than the MX500.

 

[lewislink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meurglys0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks to a link provided by a head-fi in a thread, I found this cheap site. Headphones & Earphones - Net-Headset Store Now, I don't like the bass too strong, but how can we determine what degree of it is "too strong"? It's a very individual matter I believe. But it's certain that when I'm listening to my music I hate it when the bass gets distorted and I have to lower the volume to avoid the "unclear" sound it creates; I had always thought it was a shortcoming of the crappy phones I've been using that couldn't deliver what's on the cd perfectly, and that a better pair of phones would solve it. I experience problems mostly with the remasters of certain albums made after 2000. So I figured these albums are loaded with better (natural expectations with a remaster) sound but my phones are incapable to deliver it perfectly. If you're familiar with these albums, you'll know what I mean: All of the new remasters of Van Der Graaf Generator albums... Premiata Forneira Marconi's "Per Un Amico" Gentle Giant's "Three Friends" These are a few examples. Now, are my inferences correct, or naive? Is it the headphones that can't deliver the bass perfectly, or is it due to the phones being "too bassy" as you say in this forum? I like the music to sound exactly like it is on the cd, and not given special boost neither at bass nor treble; I like a balanced sound, neither bassy, nor bass-less. And I certainly like detail. Now many people complain about the Sennheiser CX series "bloated" bass, while many others regard them to be great phones. With the given descriptions of my taste, do you think purchasing one of the Sennheisers above would be a wrong move? Which one should I get; CX300, CX400 or CX500? And another important issue is... Do you think I can rely on this site and expect a genuine Sennheiser, and not a fake? CX300 is 30 $ at amazon.com, so that's another option... And I could get Sennheiser MX560 at a local store for 30 $ also... Please, I need your kind help. Thanks in advance. Regards to all.

I went with the JBL Reference 220 and have been very impressed. Here's what I have to say and how to get the good sound from them:

 

[Tone Def]

The CX300's are nice and warm but the bass is all over the place. How much are you willing to spend?

 

[meurglys0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tone Def /img/forum/go_quote.gif The CX300's are nice and warm but the bass is all over the place. How much are you willing to spend?

And the same thing true for CX400 and CX500? How about MX560 and CX 55?

In fact I'm looking for other reliable online stores offering phones at low prices too...

My budget is about 30-40 dollars. 50 dollars at the most, including the shipping.

 

[Tone Def]

Sorry mate, can't help you there since I've never tried anything higher up their line.

 

[lewislink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meurglys0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks to a link provided by a head-fi in a thread, I found this cheap site. Headphones & Earphones - Net-Headset Store Now, I don't like the bass too strong, but how can we determine what degree of it is "too strong"? It's a very individual matter I believe. But it's certain that when I'm listening to my music I hate it when the bass gets distorted and I have to lower the volume to avoid the "unclear" sound it creates; I had always thought it was a shortcoming of the crappy phones I've been using that couldn't deliver what's on the cd perfectly, and that a better pair of phones would solve it. I experience problems mostly with the remasters of certain albums made after 2000. So I figured these albums are loaded with better (natural expectations with a remaster) sound but my phones are incapable to deliver it perfectly. If you're familiar with these albums, you'll know what I mean: All of the new remasters of Van Der Graaf Generator albums... Premiata Forneira Marconi's "Per Un Amico" Gentle Giant's "Three Friends" These are a few examples. Now, are my inferences correct, or naive? Is it the headphones that can't deliver the bass perfectly, or is it due to the phones being "too bassy" as you say in this forum? I like the music to sound exactly like it is on the cd, and not given special boost neither at bass nor treble; I like a balanced sound, neither bassy, nor bass-less. And I certainly like detail. Now many people complain about the Sennheiser CX series "bloated" bass, while many others regard them to be great phones. With the given descriptions of my taste, do you think purchasing one of the Sennheisers above would be a wrong move? Which one should I get; CX300, CX400 or CX500? And another important issue is... Do you think I can rely on this site and expect a genuine Sennheiser, and not a fake? CX300 is 30 $ at amazon.com, so that's another option... And I could get Sennheiser MX560 at a local store for 30 $ also... Please, I need your kind help. Thanks in advance. Regards to all.

Good grief! I received my CX500s the other day and have just now put them in and am listening to them. Sweet hosanna! These things produce the bass! They aren't yet broke-in but I hope the bass control will get tighter as they do break-in.

 

[DARKHAVEN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meurglys0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And the same thing true for CX400 and CX500? How about MX560 and CX 55? In fact I'm looking for other reliable online stores offering phones at low prices too... My budget is about 30-40 dollars. 50 dollars at the most, including the shipping.

You are in a hard spot, because you don't have much money to spend. The CX300 is not a good sounding IEM to my ears, the bass is unacceptably uncontrolled, bloated and inaccurate. If you don't like "too much" bass, the CX300s are DEFINATELY not for you. The CX500s aren't much better in the bass department quantity, but the quality is ratcheted up a bit. I would recommend the CX500s to you, but they are out of your price range. The MX560s are not as good as the CX series at all, but they do have less bass, so maybe they are an option. The CX55 is a pretty decent budget IEM option, for sure. Do you have to have an IEM, because for the money, you could check out Sennheiser PX100s, those are very well regarded here for bang-for-the-buck. Also, if you can stretch $60 and once again, accept a full-size version, there is simply nothing better than the Grado SR60, nothing even comes close.

 

[kalibahlu]

I have CX500 and MX500, and I think they both sound great, but I think a lot depends on your player. I have a COWON D2 and it has an Equalizer and Bass adjustments, and supports lossless audio formats. If it's between the CX300 and CX500, I would recommend CX500 because it has a broader range plus a volume control on the cable for not much more money. You can download specs on the sennheiser website, in the user manuals section.

 

[pseudohippy]

If you want the CX300 without as much bass you can get the same housing with less bass in the Creative Ep-630/640. I got rid of the Cx300 and now my toss around IEMs are the Creatives. I liked them better but there not all that different really.

 

[jonathanjong]

One more plug for Denon AH-C551. Cheap on Amazon at the moment. Ditto on the CX300s being muddy. The CX400s aren't much better, and I've not tried the CX500s. For the price, I'd say go for the 551s though.

 

[kjk1281]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meurglys0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And the same thing true for CX400 and CX500? How about MX560 and CX 55? In fact I'm looking for other reliable online stores offering phones at low prices too... My budget is about 30-40 dollars. 50 dollars at the most, including the shipping.

I own the MX460 and MX660 (which use the same drivers as the MX560), and compared to my CX300, both earbuds produce much tighter bass, more accurate sounding mids and treble, and more believable soundstage. It's a pretty good earbud in my opinion, but they sound much better with the foams on. When "naked," the buds sound somewhat dry and thin, but nicely detailed.

 

[DARKHAVEN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjk1281 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I own the MX460 and MX660 (which use the same drivers as the MX560), and compared to my CX300, both earbuds produce much tighter bass, more accurate sounding mids and treble, and more believable soundstage. It's a pretty good earbud in my opinion, but they sound much better with the foams on. When "naked," the buds sound somewhat dry and thin, but nicely detailed.

For me, the Sennheiser CX series were some of the biggest dissapointments of any phones I've ever encountered. Don't get me wrong, I love Sennheiser for the most part, but these are so incredibly underperforming and overpriced that they left a really bad taste in my mouth. I would take an MX series earbud anyday before I spent 2-3x more for the CX series. This is coming from an MX500 and CX500 owner. Go with the Denons, they are much better for the price. If you can swing it and don't mind earbuds, I would recommend the Yuin OK3s. They are a bit higher than you wanted to pay, but I thought I'd just through it out there. I can't think of a single time I actually stuck to a budget when it came to audio. Trust me, it just keeps building. Example: It's gotten to the point where my interconnects are now twice as expensive as my current DAC... Time to upgrade again, thanks Head-fi...