Phiaton PS200

Design

The main thing others see when you’re wearing in-ear headphones are the backs of the ear buds. Which would you rather have, a fan blade or a somewhat plain set of headphones that have a splash of red? If it were up to our office to pass down an unbreakable mandate on this entirely subjective subject, we’d have to side with the splash of red. Just about everyone in the office agreed that the fan design looked a bit off. If it strikes a chord with you, however, remember this when you read our verdict.

There is the other end of design, however, which is how well-constructed the headphones are. In this regard, the CX 300-IIs

Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Frequency Response

The Sennheiser CX 300-IIs had a better frequency response overall. The curves of the two response graphs are very similar, but the CX 300-IIs managed to do a better job overall: they don’t stray as far outside the limits, emphasis doesn’t shift as starkly, and the two channels remain more consistently in sync.

Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Distortion

This is a pretty cut and dry case of ‘the Sennheiser CX 300-II headphones have less distortion than the Phiaton PS200s.’ This classic truism aside, the differences in distortion levels aren’t likely to bother the average listener.

Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Tracking

Both headphones have about the same level of above average tracking. The PS200s start heavy on the right and gradually stabilize, but there are a few bumps along the way which will be more noticeable shifts in volume distribution. The CX 300-IIs started out way off to the right but quickly correct themselves. This quick correction might mean a bass instrument playing across these frequencies will sound as though it wanders off to the right every once in a while.

Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Isolation

The PS200s actually do a slightly better job isolating sound, but not by a giant amount.

Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Comfort

The CX 300-IIs are definitely the more comfortable headphones to wear. They pop out much less and fit much better overall.

Wear
Phiaton PS200	Sennheiser CX 300-II

Verdict

In terms of audio quality, the CX 300-IIs are better than the PS200s. In terms of comfort, the CX 300-IIs are better than the PS200s. In terms of value, the CX 300-IIs are better than the PS200s. Those looking to hedge their bets are probably a lot better off picking up the CX 300-IIs.