[Woosh]

well im kind of on a short budget and im looking for a replacement for my stock apple earphones. i realised that these two are quite good for their price but i dontknow which to choose. if someone could give me a short review and opinion of the two it would be great thanx!!

 

[HiFiRE]

I'm a big fan of the px-100 (for a portable headphone). I tried the cx-300 and it didn't compare sound wise. The cx-300 blocks outside noise which might be a deal breaker for you.

 

[Cjattwood]

Both are very good, some points to consider about each:

PX100:
VERY Comfortable
Does not isolate much, or at all
Sound leakage is high, can get you into trouble if in a Library/Train etc
Great sound

CX100:
different sound, it's still a great sound but it's overall lacking compared to the PX100's IMO
Isolates prettys good
Does not leak much sound
Pretty damn comfortable

 

[brn80]

I've owned both of them in the past, but never had them on hand at the same time to directly compare.

If memory serves me right, the PX100 did have a better overall balance sound wise. But like the posters above said, it does not isolate well, it does leak a bit.

If you get a good seal with the CX300, it has way more bass than the PX100 though IMHO, especially if you listen to electronica/hip-hop. I was surprised at how much bass they put out for being such little buggers. (Mind you, I've never heard any other quality IEM's before, so that's probably why)

The CX300 used to be able to be found at around the $40 or so mark, which is a good deal. But they seem to be selling for around $70-$80 new, which at that price point, there's a bunch of other choices, like the iM716 which has garnered a few good reviews. There's always the FS forums of course.

 

[Cjattwood]

You could also go for the Creative EP-630's which are very similar to the CX100's, they are a lot cheaper with only slightly "worse" sound, I say "worse" as it's not really worse, just different.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cjattwood You could also go for the Creative EP-630's which are very similar to the CX100's, they are a lot cheaper with only slightly "worse" sound, I say "worse" as it's not really worse, just different.

Many people here, me included, would say that there is NO DIFFERENCE between an ep-630 and a cx300 besides the rebadging and different cable shape. (y versus j) Examples from different runs at the (same) factory might differ very slightly, but I've never heard proof even of that. It seems a pretty direct case of multiple companies selling the same product under different names.

I'll agree with the rest of the consensus here though that if you want isolation, go for the canalphones, but for sound quality the px100 are superior. Of course, for the cost of one pair of px100's, you could have both some OEM ep-630's off ebay and a pair of Koss KSC-75's from amazon, and have the best of both worlds.

 

[Gaffer74]

I have the PX100 and these are fantastic headphones:
excellent vfm, razor sharp transients/dynamics, deep "vibrating" bass (better than my previous sony mdr-ex71slw headphones), lovely treble.......

...but my sony's sounded really really bad, so I needed a replacement set of noise isolation (in-ear) canalphones and I ordered the CX300's.

They'll arrive next week so I'll do a direct comparison after this and post up

PS didn't try the creative ones as they recieved a fair few poor reviews over on amazon.co.uk, whereas all the senny reviews are positive....so I plumped for those

PPS the creative labs ones are completely different to the senny's (click the technical data tab). Check the specs out and you'll see. The CS ones are simply imitating the style of the senny's.

 

[Woosh]

ok thanx how would you rate the sound quality of both out of 10?

 

[Austin-Fi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woosh ok thanx how would you rate the sound quality of both out of 10?

It is really not wise to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 against each other since you would be comparing apples to oranges.

I own them both and the PX100, as mentioned previosly are more balanced across the sound spectrum (bass, mids, and highs). Although the bass does extend fairly low IMO it is not that powerful ... that is where the CX300's excel over the PX100. The highs are very similar IMO between the two. The PX100 have more clear midrange whereas the CX300 has "mildly muffled" midrange and could use a little boost with an equalizer. The PX100 sound more "airy" ... good for classical or folk/accoustical type music. The CX300 sound better with music that has more bass and/or drum action.

As mentioned before, PX100 is open style and allows noise in and leaks music out whereas CX300 is opposite. The PX100 fit over your ears and the CX300 fit in your ears. Both are good IMO but very different and how you intend to use them should guide you in your selection.

 

[incognitoedleon]

Microphonics is an issue with the CX300 to take into consideration. If you plan to work out or do anything active wearing them, then the PX100 would be the obvious choice.

 

[r500gt]

I currently own both Sennheiser CX 300 and PX 100, and while you’re asking for a comparison of their quality, I use them strictly base on application. I use the CX 300 while studying to improve isolation, and the PX 100 while running since I would like to hear my surroundings and avoid damaging the elements with sweat, which I could see happening to the CX 300.

 

[Jesse40902]

thanks

 

[Gaffer74]

These are FANTASTIC headphones.
The sound quality is superb, and they far outclass my other sony mdr-ex71slw 'phones. I have have the excellent Sennheiser PX100's which I'll try to compare to.

Sound:
Bass...excellent and deep. Unlike the Sony's however, they don't output overblown baggy bass, it is very tight and tuneful and FAST (Bass starts and stops on a dime with the CX300's). To give an example, various dance tracks that have complex bass-lines tended to come over as a slightly homogenous deep sound only on the Sony's, whereas here they are easily distinguishable from each other...all separated, present and correct.
The Sennheiser PX100's don't reach as deep, but they do tend to vibrate instead...thus giving the impression of deep deep bass (whereas with the CX300's, it's real !)

Midrange...lovely liquid midrange here. Stands out nice and clear, vocals sound like they're physically in your head. Unlike the Sony's, NOT drowned out amongst shrill treble and innaccurate bass.
The midrange is as clear and well proportioned as the PX100's.

Treble...Yes, OK, they do have slightly high treble on first listen, but you need to burn them in first (3 days continuous listening so far). I've also use a bit of cotton wool in the opening until then to tame the top end somewhat (works very well, and good temporary fix until burn in complete). Treble is nicely placed, giving the impression of a nice wide soundstage (to the extent that sounds appear to come from not only inside your head, but also around you sometimes).
The treble in the PX100's is also very clear, giving the impression of nice open soundstage (slightly more expansive too) but the Sony's, conversely, are terrible screechy rubbish.

Build Quality: Exemplary. Better than the PX100's (which are excellent anyway) my silver CX300's aren't simply covered in cheapo silver paint/plastic. It actually looks like metallic car paint with a few coats of piano gloss veneer over it (I was a bit worried that I hadn't opted for the "safe" black ones, but the silvers look great imho).
The material is also very solidly put together. In this respect, you get the impression manipulating them in your fingers of a classy piece of kit.
The Sony's, on the other hand, have appalling build quality using cheap nasty materials.

Comfort: Again top notch. So comfortable that you forget you're waring them. They're supplied with 3 sizes of rubber "canal-piece" so you have choice like the Sony's. For comfort I'd rate these as high as the Sony's and this also means very little sound leakage.
The PX100's, while good, aren't quite this good and you also get more sound leakage with them

Overall c.f. the PX100's the sound of the CX300's is very similar with only the soundstage being not as wide and open, but traded off for a much nicer fit with less sound leakage.
The Sony's come in a distinct 3rd in all departments apart from comfort.

PS I would also agree that I use the PX100's when I also need ambient sound intrusion (like on a bike), and the CX300's when I don't want to disturb others (on the train).