Just got my Sennheiser CX300's...mixed impressions

[scouzer]

I'll start with my #1 impression, for better or worse.

STATIC HISS.

Always.

No music on, or music on, a very noticeable hiss. I have tested it on my laptop and my buddy's Ipod. Definite noticeable hiss. I don't know if this should be expected. The Ipod definitely powers the headphones better than my laptop, as the bass was VERY GOOD.

Sound quality - Good. Seems to struggle with music during intensive bits where there is a ton of guitar, bass, drum work happening simaltaneously. Like its overwhelmed. All in all, only marginally ahead of my HD570's.
Cord - I like the J. I put it behind my head. I don't even know if that's how its supposed to go, but its comfortable. Downside being the cord is EXTREMELY short (about 3 feet) and easily tangled. Doesn't seem particularily rugged either.
Isolation - Very good. I forget I'm in a loud dorm with these on.
Comfort - Very good. I have worn them about 4 hours straight with hardly a thought of them being in my ears. They will also be superb for travelling (one of the main reasons of my purchase) due to tiny size and good isolation. They are also easy to put on (less than 10 seconds) and I got a perfect seal with the medium size pre fitted.

My conclusion: I would be satisfied, except for this hissing. I don't know if its faulty, or if the laptop and Ipods emit a constant hiss and IEM's tend to show it more due to low volumes being right in your ears.

 

[devilsadvocate]

That's odd. I don't notice a hiss on mine, and I wonder if you have a bad set. The only "hiss" I notice is due to strong stethescope effect when the cord rubs just about anything.

 

[Peyotero]

They hiss becouse of their low impedence i belive (16 ohm). It should be expected from almost all IEMs.
And yes you should put the cord around your head, so that the longer one will got to your right ear.

 

[Vul Kuolun]

Hiss is never a problem of passive elements like Headphones or speakers. It´s always the Amp or the source.
If there is impedance mismatching, hissing can be pronounced, but the reason is upstream.

 

[_LN_]

Get an inline volume control, like the Koss VC/20. Not only is it a short extension cord, but when turend down a bit it will also take care of the hiss. You'll just have to turn the laptop's or Ipod's volume a bit up, then.

Ellen

 

[needmoretoys]

It must be the sources. With my iAudio X5L or Zen Nano, I get no hiss with either my CX300 or EP630. With my old RCA Lyra, I got hiss with any earbuds. I had to turn the volume up to max and use an inline volume control to get rid of the hiss.

 

[scouzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by _LN_ Get an inline volume control, like the Koss VC/20. Not only is it a short extension cord, but when turend down a bit it will also take care of the hiss. You'll just have to turn the laptop's or Ipod's volume a bit up, then. Ellen

Interesting idea. Would this effect sound quality? I know with my old speakers, if I hooked up to the headphone jack on one of them, sound quality would be substantially lower than if I hooked up directly to the sound card.

I wouldn't want to have no hissing with bad SQ!

 

[nabwong]

That's very strange. I get no hiss with my 5g ipod.

 

[_LN_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scouzer Interesting idea. Would this effect sound quality? I know with my old speakers, if I hooked up to the headphone jack on one of them, sound quality would be substantially lower than if I hooked up directly to the sound card. I wouldn't want to have no hissing with bad SQ!

No, when you use the headphone jack on those speakers, you're using their built-in amplifier instead of the one on the soundcard. The inline volume control, on the other hand, is passive, and shouldn't really affect sound quality. You could probably achieve the same effect by using a 75 Ohm or so impedance adapter. AFAIK, the hiss is caused by the source "seeing" a too low impedance. And because of the quality of the phones and proximity to your eardrums, it's more apparent than with cheap low-impedance headphones.
I've had this same problem with various sources, like my antique PJB100, or a portable CD player, and the CX300. Those same sources exhibited no hiss when using PortaPros, which are 60 Ohm. Using the inline volume control took care of the hiss, without noticably affecting SQ.

Ellen

 

[scouzer]

Very good. Thank you for the replies.

Now my question is: Should I just spring for the PA2V2? I can't seem to find a decent inline headphone device in Canada (Canadian retailers have awful selection) so it would end up costing around $30 for me to buy that $8 inline...

Or around $70 for a PA2V2! I'm not sure if these little guys need amping though.

 

[_LN_]

If you have some basic soldering skills, you could make an impedance adapter yourself, using a male and a female 3.5mm / 1/8" plug, some wire, and two 75 Ohm or so resistors. Just include the resistors in the left and right signal paths, like at either plug. Or get a friend to make the adapter for you. Shouldn't cost you more than a few $$.

[edit] There are several VC/20s up on eBay at the moment. At least one of the sellers ships to Canada, for about as much as the volume control itself costs.

[edit2] One of the sellers charges $92 to ship the VC/20 to Europe, by UPS!

Ellen

 

[audiodude]

I bought the Sennheiser cx 300, too, and I got a strong hiss on my iPod nano and other devices as well. Therefore, quiet music is not very enyojable with these headphones. Additionally, the highs are too harsh. Sometimes they are a pain in the ear and I get headache. They force me to use equalizer settings which is a thing I don't like on portable devices for it consumes much battery power. Also, the cx 300 lack of bass unless you turn up the volume to unsafe levels and get a ringing in your ears the next day. They pale in comparison with the (old) Sennheiser PX 100, which is only half the price. I won't recommend the cx 300 to anyone, at least not for its pricing of 69 EUR here in germany.

 

[_LN_]

The hiss isn't the fault of the CX300, or the source, for that matter, but of improper impedance matching between the source or amp and the phones.
As for the lack of bass, that's also caused by the improperly matched impedance (which could be fixed with an impedance adapter or inline volume control), or by improper fit in the ear canal. In that case, try a different size "plug".
But you're right, the price in Germany is ridiculously high! They're "only" 45 Euro here, including shipping...

Ellen

 

[scouzer]

Those VC20's aren't too bad.

I was just trying to convince myself to get an amplifier, if I would see benefit anyway.