Sennheiser CX 980

Design

The CX 980s don’t have the sleek, clean look that the Apple headphones do, but they’re also not utterly ubiquitous like the Apple headphones. Further, although Apple has improved their design considerably, their headphones still aren’t the most durable. We think the CX 980s would last a bit longer.

Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Frequency Response

The two headphones have similar shapes to their curve. Both have a bit of a lull before 10kHz before picking up again, although the Apple In-ears seem to miss the 10kHz hot spot by a bit, boosting an adjacent frequency band. The Apple In-ears also don’t have a bump at 7kHz to give drums more punch. Both headphones took a dive just before the 10kHz spot, but the Apple In-ears didn’t even stay within the ballpark.

Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Distortion

The Apple In-ears had a tiny little plateau of distortion towards the high-mids, but it shouldn’t be anything you’d notice.

Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Tracking

Both headphones had very even tracking.

Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Isolation

The Apple In-ears actually isolated better than the CX 980s, if a bit less consistently.

Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Comfort

We thought both headphones suffered from the same problem: they don’t stick inside the ear as well as they should. The CX 980s come with more sleeve options, however, which means you’re more likely to find a good fit.

Wear
Sennheiser CX 980	Apple In-ear Headphones with Remote & Mic

Verdict

The Apple In-ears aren’t bad headphones, but they aren’t great. We didn’t like the fit nearly as much as the CX 980s: the ear buds would pop out if the cord was gently tugged. While the CX 980s have better audio quality, if you’re on a budget and don’t mind the fit, the Apple In-ears might be a better choice.