Sennheiser PX 100 Lightweight Collapsible Headphones
by Sennheiser
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser PX 100 Lightweight Collapsible Headphones
Customer Review: Buying a new laptop/iPod/MP3 player? Invest in a pair of PX 100's!
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked up a pair of PX 100's for a backpacking trip to Scotland last year. I had originally planned on using a pair of earbuds but found early on that I couldn't stand having the things in my ears at all. Plus the sound quality on the few pairs I tried out left much to be desired.
After much deliberation I went ahead and sank $50.00 into these headphones. Surely they would at least last me through the trip and, if they were lost or stolen or met an unfortunate end somewhere on the journey, I could live without them. Once the headphones arrived, I immediately set to learning the folding and cord wrapping sequence till I could get them put away in under 30 seconds. The diagram sticker on the bottom of the durable case set me in the right direction, but I found that once you get the folding down pat you can toss the sticker.
I really didn't use the PX 100's until we were on the plane to London, but I was immediately impressed by their clarity and range. The trebles were crisp and clear and the bass was solid and not distorted in the least. I really couldn't make out much in the midranges with the drone in the background but I was definitely intrigued.
Needless to say, I took extra care not to lose the headphones and, over the course of our trip, I found that this little pair was as good as if not better than the old-school Koss pair that my husband used at home. They made my little Shuffle sound like I had plugged them into a full home stereo setup. Plus, since my iBook has terrible sound quality using the built in speakers, I found that they were a wonderful compliment to my laptop bag and continue to primarily use them in this regard.
All in all, I would definitely recommend the PX 100's to anyone looking for a lightweight, portable replacement to bulky closed cup models. One note though, the PX 100 does sacrifice some midrange clarity for the sake of the open cell foam cups that allow such clear bass response. If you are a classical, vocal or operatic fan, consider picking up the closed cup model, the PX 200. Either way, you get great quality in a durable, portable package.
Customer Review: Best portable phones I know of
Summary: 5 Stars
We own three sets of PX-100 (2 black and 1 white). Believe me, there is an audible difference between the black and white models. Maybe the white is different plastic, with a different resonance character. This is just professional conjecture. All I know is something must account for the difference, because I'm sure the drivers are the same.
Anyhow, the black ones definitely sound MUCH better than the white ones. I don't know if that has anything to do with the difference in price, but if you don't just HAVE to have white (for fashion sake or whatever), and if sound is the primary consideration, please do yourself a favor and get the black ones.
I have Sennheiser HD-600's in my studio, and of course they sound better (several hundred dollars does make a difference), but the black PX-100 has about 75-80% of the sound quality of the 600's! They are just a little "warm" in character, but for portable players that can be good thing. In fact, I rip my library to high bitrate .wma rather than mp3 (the mp3 codec tends to be warm itself), and the sonic character of the Zen player with these phones is amazing! But they sound great with portable CD players and laptops too.
I'm buying another black one since my oldest one (which I use every day) developed a short, and one channel doesn't play - but that's due to extremely heavy use over several years!
There's no accounting for taste, I suppose, and some people have some strange ideas of what sounds good. As an audio engineer, I prefer sonic neutrality. To my ears, when the black PX-100 is used with a typical portable audio device (in the typical playback environment), the combination is practically perfect. Considering the price, the light weight and the folding design (which I have no trouble getting right), these are primo phones.
They do let in outside noise and they are audible to others in your space, so if you need noise suppression or quiet phones, go with a sealed or in-ear type. If you just want something easy to use and great-sounding, and don't care about those things, these would be the way to go.
Customer Review: Great sound, comfortable & convenient--But beware of two design flaws.
Summary: 4 Stars
First, the good. They sound great, as Sennheiser cans do. But, I bet the reason you are considering purchasing these are for their collapsible feature and portability. They are indeed portable--easily slipping into a pocket when on the move. In summary they have the convenience of ear buds, but with the comfort and sound of high-end head phones. Unfortunately, a rather silly design flaw would kill my pair of PX100s.
One design flaw was discovered after only the first few days of use when one the foam ear pads had come loose in my pocket and one was lost. This was more of an inconvenience then a disaster as I was able to replace the missing pad with one from a cheap set of head phones and secure them both with a tensioned black rubber band. Problem solved, but I expect better durability from a higher end set of headphones, especially a set intended for portability. I suppose I should use the case, but packaging these headphones in it completely discounts their portability.
The disaster happened when the wire got pinched and severed in one of the two collapsible joints at the top of the head-band. I struggled for several hours to repair the broken connection but the repaired connection was much too delicate and far too weak to last more then a couple of days. So now I'm down a set of $50 head phones and a chunk of my Saturday (time spent repairing).
These types of quirky design oversights appear to be common to Sennheiser gear. I've had a pair of HD590s for nearly ten years. The micro-plug jack on the HD590 broke in less then a month. Luckily I had better luck repairing these because that would have cost me $200. Even their pro-audio gear has issues. When I was an undergraduate I worked part time as a video engineer. I had to repair one of our high-end Sennheiser condenser shotgun microphones that had a loose XLR connector caused by a packaging design flaw.
Note to Sennheiser engineers: Test your products more thoroughly before you go to production to shake out these silly design flaws that spoil an otherwise exceptional product.
Customer Review: Here's where the Thump Thump went.
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever since taking the plunge and purchasing a iPod Photo I have listened to more music in the past month than I had in the last year. Still I kept wondering where the "Thump Thump" went. The ear buds provided with the ipod are dreadful. They hurt when you wear them for any length of time and the sound they produce is very tinny. Shame on Apple to pack these things with a $400 player. I have experimented with ear buds and portable headphones that cost between $5 and $25 and almost anything is better then the provided iPod ear buds, but still no "Thump Thump".
Today I picked up a pair of PX100's and now I know where the "Thump Thump" went. I had no idea how poor the bass response was on these other headphones until I slipped on the PX100's. Music with a good bass guitar or with a hard back beat will send shivers down your spine. Very well balanced treble and midrange response as well. They are well worth $50 to unlock the potential of your iPod and I don't think my ears would be able to tell the difference even if I spend hundreds of dollars more.
I wanted something portable enough for walking and also something I could fit in my Brief case for business travel. They are probably portable and sturdy enough to be used by a runner, and they say the foam pads are replaceable. If your worried about getting your Stennheisers sweaty, I would recommend Sony MDR A35G's for strenuous exercise. They don't sound quite as good as the PX100's, but there cheap, very rugged and pleasant to wear and listen too for a short period.
The included carrying case that comes with the PX100's was a big plus to me. It protects the headphones very well and keeps the cord from getting tangled. It could have been designed a little smaller and maybe in a way that would have been easier to use. My only other minor gripe is that the headphones seem just a tad too quite on certain tracks. Probably better for my ears anyway and on most tracks they are capable of playing louder then I can comfortably listen too.
Customer Review: Most Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have bought at least 5 pairs of these headphones and everytime a friend, relative,etc visits they take it away since they just fall in love with them! I am listening to them and they are so good that made me write a review. its hard to like a product so much almost 2 years after buying it!
Actual review:
I am an audio person, very picky with proper levels of bass and treble.
I also mix music and fuse different levels of music.
These headphones have the perfect balance of Bass and treble. Treble is basically high frequency and having too high treble can damage the ears. Having high bass performance can be expensive since it needs special conducting material,etc. Tweeters which provide high treble actually are cheaper. Thats the difference in the $20 headphones and the $100 ones.
I have tried some other $100 headphones and you won't believe.. these headphones actually beat them. The only reason probably these are not as perfect for some people is due to these being a little open and does not provide complete noise cancellation.
But i would say, put these headphones on, crank up the volume and your ears wont hurt , though maybe someone really close to you might hear you entire song :D
Sennheiser HD280 is probably slightly better than these, but too bulky and ear starts hurting after some time of listening. With these, you can go on for hours...
I can't stop talking about these headphones, can i ? hehe
The best part is these are CHEAP for their performance! $ 36 is nothing for this pair.
Con : the wire is a little crackable..but i am a rough user and havent broken the cable yet... I wont recommend using the case it comes with.
Go for this pair without thinking!! (Dont expect these to be better than the Bose QuietComfort which are worth 299$ or shure e5 or so)
Hope this review helps...
It gets a 5 star from me.