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What Are They

The Sennheiser CX380 are in-ear workout headphones and are the best under $50.

Do I need an Amp?

Not Needed. A high sensitivity rating and a low 16 Ohm impedence make them very efficient. This is important to note as some in-ear designs do need an amp, and lets face it, even portable amps aren't practical for working out.

My Take: 8.5/10

I'd give them a 10/10 for durability, comfort and secure fit and a 7/10 for sound quality. However, if you are a bass head then you may rate its' sound quality higher yourself.

What do I think?

With Over 67% of user headphone ratings scoring the Sennheiser CX 380 positively (score of 4 or 5 based on a 5 point scale of 70 user headphone reviews) and not a single professional reviewer giving it less than a 7/10 (based on 3 reviews), you know these Sennheiser's are a safe bet.

The Sennheiser CX 380 Sport II offer...

- Durability...Sweat resistant,solid conections,replaceable tips and filters.

- Exceptional sound quality...for the price and class of headphone you can't get better,very punchy bass but still well-balanced overall

- Secure Fit...When inserted correctly and the right tips are used they won't budge

- The ability to lay down for benching and crunches without an annoying headband.

- Noise cancelling...a full in-ear design blocks out that annoying gym music and weights slamming on the floor


Main Use

OK, so the main use is obvious for this one, but because it isn't a behind the neck or over the head design you can use it as a workout headphone for both cardio AND weight lifting.

Alternate Use

The sound quality is exceptional and I would not hesitate to use it as an all purpose portable headphone too for even casual listening on your ipod/mp3 player. It will still be a significant improvement to your stock earbuds.

Not So Good For...

Long duration listening sessions. In-ears just aren't made for hours of listening pleasure.


SOUND QUALITY AND COMFORT

Overall, well-balanced sound wih an empahsis on the bass, which is good for the typical workout music generes.

Soundstage - its an in-ear design..so the soundstage is inherintley small, but none of the reviews noted soundstage complaints

Bass Response - well above average,punchy

All but the most bassy of bassheads will find the Sennheiser CX380 to be up to snuff.

Mid-Range Frequency - clear, and manage to not be overpowered by the punchy bass

Not sure how the Sennheiser CX 380 Sport II manage to do this but, the freq. response graph back this observation up. Frankly, I'm surprised many claim the bass to be punchy the way the graph below looks.


High-Range Frequency - No shrilling but...

As you would expect the highs are not very well extended. Unless you have a nice pair of full-size cans in the $150 and up range you probably have never heard a well extended high freq. response and therefore won't notice they aren't there.

A quick look at Headroom's Frequency Response Graph confirms much of what the headphone reviews have to say.

Comfort

Comfort discussed in reviews of the Sennheiser CX380 was for the most part all positive.

Tips - comfy and hold up well to sweat

The tips provided with the headphones accomodate just about everyones ear sizes and are made of sweat resistant material.

Secure Fit - With the right tips and inserted correctly...they don't budge

You have to compress the tips in your fingers,insert as far as you can, let them expand, and THEN twist until they are in fully. Don't just stick them in and twist. Granted, they aren't foam tips so they dont expand much, but they still have a "memory" and if you don't do the squeeze and expand part then they will always stay just a little to big and won't insert as deply as they should.

Cable - Coated with a think rubber and is sweat resistant

Not sure if its coated with something or is just thicker rubber, but no one is complaining of frayed wires or britle breaking of the coating. It's a "J" style cable design meaning the right side is longer than the left and is meant for the cable to go behind your head. It allows it to work well with both armband portable players and people who place there mp3 player on their hip. Some users report that it can stick to your body if you are sweating perfusley, but if you use the shirt clip it doesnt cause it to tug.

FEATURES

- 2 year Sennheiser warranty...a good warranty on workout headphones is essential

- Shirt clip...pretty much mandatory for active use and in-ear designs to keep feedback from ruining your listening expierence and to help avoid getting the cable caught on random objects in the gym.

- cable pouch...so you can keep it safe when tranporting it in your bag with your wet swim towel or sweaty clothes.


Avg. user headphone ratings for Sennheiser CX380: 7/10

What do the users say?

-no problem keeping them in while running, finally!

-rubber,not foam or plastic...smart

-cable can stick to your neck after laying down when sweaty

-angled connector...not ideal for newer ipod/iphone

-clip included keeps feedback to a minimum


Avg. professional headphone ratings for Sennheiser CX380: 7/10

What do the professionals say?

-high quality drivers that are very light

-good frequency response reproduction and range

-good volumes at low power consumption levels

-noise blocking is ample, but could be dangerous for running outside

-cable design supports both portable player armband users and hip users

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