Sennheiser CX 680i

Product Overview

The Sennheiser CX 680is are a set of portable in-ears with a remote and mic.

Speakers

The ear buds have a slightly atypical design, in that they have a little rubbery claw that sticks up vertically. This should rest neatly in your concha, fitting just under the crux of your helix. Sennheiser calls them EarFins, but that’s not very specific and sounds like more like a genetic defect than a headphone form factor. We’re therefore going to exercise our journalistic powers and dub them crux fins. We would’ve called them concha grips, but “concha” isn’t a very elegant-sounding word and the phrase wouldn’t have any assonance. Crux fins sounds like Ruxpin, which triggers a nostalgia response in 40% of our readers. These are things you have to consider when you’re a superstar headphone reviewer.

Cable

The remote & mic are located at the neck split, and are encapsulated in a bit of black plastic. The controls themselves are a yellow bone-shaped bit of rubber. The top node is volume up, the bottom is volume down, and the space between them controls playback (one click to pause/unpause, two to forward skip, and three to reverse skip). The control pendant doesn’t have particularly good cord guards, so this is a weak point in the cable.

Oh and also there’s a little clip there to shorten or lengthen the neck split. Without this clip, you wouldn’t be able to ensure the cable is synched just tightly enough to follow every contour of your chin and throat without causing discomfort. We know a lot of you really value this experience.

The headphones end in a standard 1/8-inch plug. It’s very skinny, which is great for connecting to a first-generation iPhone or a device with a recessed port.

In the Box

In the 680i’s box you’ll find the headphones themselves, a shirt clip, a cleaning tool, two extra sleeve sizes, two extra crux fin sizes, and one set of non-finned bits. There’s also a carrying case brought you to ADIDAS, manufacturer of fine headphone carrying apparel.

Durability (5.50)

Like most in-ears, the Sennheiser CX 680is aren’t long for this world. They’re mostly cable, and not particularly well-insulated cable at that. You’re also more likely to just ball up the cord and shove it into your pocket, which can cause a lot of internal wear and tear.

Aesthetics (6.00)

Yellow is the “It” color this season, and the CX 680is sport it with style. Their sleek appearance and porpoise-like dorsal fins are taking the fashion world by storm, but since dorsal fins are mainly intended to help marine life maintain their balance in rough seas, I don’t think anyone should be too worried about this storm.