Sennheiser CX 300-II

Design

Honestly, the only time people notice your headphones is when they’re a bright color or if they’re white. In the latter case the observer probably wonders what kind of iPod you have. We think these two are about equal in terms of aesthetics. If you like or don’t mind Apple, you probably prefer the black-bordered option on the right. If you hate apple, you’ll probably default to the CX 300-IIs. It should be noted that the CX 300-IIs are more durable, regardless of your aesthetic inclinations.

Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Frequency Response

Welp. It looks like the CX 300-IIs have a better bass response than the Apple headphones. Note the plunge towards the high end on the Apples as well. Sudden sharp lines like that are bad news and can lead to unnatural-sounding playback.

Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Distortion

Again, this is a pretty clear victory for the CX 300-IIs. The bass distortion on the Apples is much higher than we typically see.

Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Tracking

This one might be a bit less obvious. The worst thing to see on these graphs is scribbles: sharp ups or downs. Even if the curve favors the left side by 20dB, as long as the curve is a gradual slope, it’ll be less jarring than a line zig-zagging between both channels with +/- 10dBit’s preferrable to one that zig-zags from 10dB heavier on the left to 10dB heavier on the right.

Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Isolation

There weren’t significant differences in isolation.

Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Comfort

The one comfort issue we ran into with the Apples was they kept falling out. This is annoying. Otherwise, both headphones were about as comfortable to wear.

Wear
Sennheiser CX 300-II	Apple iPod In-ear Headphones

Verdict

This is one of those instances where an additional investment is worth the price. For an extra $45 or so, the CX 300-IIs will stay in your ears and provide significantly better audio quality.