[astroid]

Thought it needed created.

I rate the earphones i have heard as follows (includes current Average cost) :

1. Shure SE530 £200
2. Sennheiser IE8 £195
3. Sennheiser CX95 £55
4. Klipsch Custom 1 £60
5. Klipsch Custom 2 £80
6. Shure SE310 £110
7. Nuforce 7m £70

I have tried many more but these are my most recent.


As you can see i rate the CX95 very highly, there stongest point is they are very well balanced, after 30+ hrs the bass which is initially a little thick falls nicely into place, the mids are not too in your face (like the custom 1s!) and the treble is detailed and not sibilant.

Hifi news rated them very highly (85% sound quality) and trusted reviews named them the best in-ear under £100, i was sceptical when i read the hifi news review but they were bang on.

I am going to try to get a set of CX550s as they have a different enclosure (metal) and i think they may sound a little different.

So well done Sennheiser, after the rather poor CX300/400/500 they did get it right at the top of that range.

 

[walkingman]

Thread needs pictures:

Quote:

Originally Posted by astroid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am going to try to get a set of CX550s as they have a different enclosure (metal) and i think they may sound a little different.

I've always thought that my CX 95's body is metal. It does feel like it.

 

[mp3]

Can these be worn over the ear?

 

[walkingman]

Funny I do not think I've ever tried that until just now, but yes they can be worn over the ear.

 

[astroid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mp3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can these be worn over the ear?

Just tried it , yes quite comfy actually!

 

[mp3]

Thanks guys, that helped me make the decision, I will order a pair of 95's.

 

[astroid]

What are you using at the moment?

 

[mp3]

Shure se110 and an very old pair of cx300 and PortaPro. Looking to get a meatier sound than the 110's can deliver, and hopefully more detailed sound and better isolation than the cx300. An IEM version of the portapro would be ideal, really.

 

[astroid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mp3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Shure se110 and an very old pair of cx300 and PortaPro. Looking to get a meatier sound than the 110's can deliver, and hopefully more detailed sound and better isolation than the cx300. An IEM version of the portapro would be ideal, really.

You will love the CX95 in comparison to the SE110, they have a similar level of detail but are better balanced with deep tight bass.

I am not sure they isolate any better than cx300s though, i use mine on a noisy bus daily and they cut out 80% i would say.

 

[mp3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by astroid /img/forum/go_quote.gif You will love the CX95 in comparison to the SE110, they have a similar level of detail but are better balanced with deep tight bass. I am not sure they isolate any better than cx300s though, i use mine on a noisy bus daily and they cut out 80% i would say.

That sounds very good to me, and for the price they can be had, I couldn't really ask for anything more.

 

[kjk1281]

Thanks astroid for starting this thread! This is probably the first appreciation thread that I've posted in for a product I actually own!

Here's a quick and dirty snapshot of my new CX550 (probably should of waited till later in the day, but I'm not great with cameras anyway

):



As for the all-important sound, I've noticed that the bass, even after 10 or so hours, has become much tighter. At first I thought the CX550 sounded somewhat similar to the CX300, but now with some hours of burn-in, I can confidently say that these are just on a different level in terms of reproducing details and a relatively natural sound. The midrange in particular is just no comparison in my opinion. Needless to say, I'm really enjoying them!

 

[goody]

the sennheiser CX550 i predict will be a massive hit!! its that good.. have had a pair for about 2 weeks..love them maybe because the sound is balanced.

 

[Belabor]

I would really like to read a head-to-head review of these against the Nuforce NE7-M. I think it's very difficult to choose between these, mainly because there are (almost) no reviews on the CX550 on the net as of today.

MyMemory sells these for 54,99 pounds, so pricewise, these are in the same league.

 

[astroid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belabor /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would really like to read a head-to-head review of these against the Nuforce NE7-M. I think it's very difficult to choose between these, mainly because there are (almost) no reviews on the CX550 on the net as of today. MyMemory sells these for 54,99 pounds, so pricewise, these are in the same league.

had both, got the 7Ms from HiAudio (only place i could find at the time), i know they are super popular but the 7Ms left me cold, i found them average at everthing and sibilant to boot. To be fair i didnt have them long as i had to return them quickly to get a refund.

To these ears the CX95s had tighter bass, were less fatiguing and the fact that the mic broke on the 7m didnt fill me with confidence about build quality.

The only area the 7m equaled the CX95 was soundstage which was just as wide and maybe had a little more depth.

 

[tstarn06]

On your recommendation, and for a comparison to the lower-cost ADDIEMs ($35 vs. $59 on ebay), I purchased a pair of CX95s from ebay, arrived toady, and out of the box, they are extremely sibilant (using Zune80, no EQ) to the point of being unlistenable. When I did a quick A/B test with the ADDIEMs, the latter were like a tonic to my ears. I used stock medium single flange OEM tips with the CX95s (which appear to be the real deal, not a knockoff, based on packaging, etc.). The ADDIEMs have Comply P Series shorts on them, which are foamies.

To give the CX95s the benefit of the doubt, mainly because they are dynamics, I hooked them up to one of my PCs for 2 days of burn-in. I'll also try some other tips, but if they remain this harsh, then I'll just sell them very cheap on the FS Forum, since they do seem to have some fans. But as far as comparing them to the ADDIEM, not close right now.

Again, I don't believe they are phony, because they came in the intricate Sennheiser packaging, and compared to other photos of the real ones on HF, they are identical.

Quick update:
Couldn't resist, so immediately dumped the stock silicones and stuck on some Comply T400s, and immediate improvement, gone are the plasticky highs and mids, replaced with a much smoother sound. Changing tips does it again. I am still going to let them burn-in for 2 days or so, but much more hopeful they will not be in the For Sale forum soon.

And discovered another issue, they do not work with the Touch 2G, due to the plug, both on the CX95 and in the cable extender. I have an adapter, but it still kinda sucks. The plug won't go in all the way.