Powerful sound in a lightweight package
Over the years, I feel that I’ve come to be quite the connoisseur of Bluetooth headphones. They along with Bluetooth speakers seem to be the product we review the most of. I tend to stay away from earbud style headphones simply because they don’t seem to fit my ear very well. And, the longer I wear them, the more uncomfortable they become. The one exception to this rule seems to be the Apple AirPods. While at CES this year I visited with Sennheiser and was invited to try out their new Bluetooth earphones, the CX 6.00BT. They are in-ear wireless headphones and they pack a mighty punch.
DETAILS & UNBOXING
Sennheiser prides themselves on being the company for all things audio. They strive to help you enjoy and create unsurpassed audio experiences that push the boundaries of what exists today and their mission is the future of audio. Sennheiser actually defines the earbud very well —
They are small enough to fit in just about any pocket. And they shorten the distance between you and the sound more than any other headphone design. In order to sound really great, however, they need to have a snug fit. Different sizes of ear adapters do the trick, just as well-designed hooks. High-quality in-ear headphones are the perfect choice for travelers or in the gym.
Sennheiser offers a wide range of in-ear models: From state-of-the-art audiophile ones to water resistant sports models. There are also Bluetooth® or wired headsets with integrated remote controls – an ideal choice when you want to sonically upgrade your smartphone.
The Sennheiser CX 6.00BT headphones were introduced at CES in January and they feature a feather-light design that is enjoyable for most people to wear comfortably for several hours at a time. The headphones are powered by Sennheiser’s high-quality proprietary speaker system and have Bluetooth 4.2 along with Qualcomm® apt-X™ for wireless connectivity.
“We have created the CX 6.00BT to deliver everything you need to enjoy excellent sound on the go,” said Nan Chen, Product Manager at Sennheiser. “Thanks to the latest wireless technologies you can enjoy this unspoiled audio experience with the flexibility of supremely compact, lightweight and comfortable Bluetooth headphones.”
Some of the more advanced features include:
- Pairing to two devices simultaneously
- An integrated microphone with cVc noise cancellation technology
- Inline three-button remote control for music and calls
- Voice prompts for battery/power status
- Around-the-neck cable design for balance and security
- Four different sizes of ear gels for the best possible fit
- Six-hour battery life
- Fast charging capabilities add two hours of battery life in ten minutes; fully charged in 1.5 hours
The headphones arrive in a Sennheiser branded box. It’s mostly black with some blue highlights on it. There is quite a bit of writing on it to identify the product within the package, but there are limited details. There is a large graphic on one side of the box that directs you to a mobile app for iOS or Android. This app is designed to help you interact with the earphones more directly. It includes an EQ and a way to save profile preferences, but if you are connected to two devices, you don’t have control to be able to disconnect from one in this app.
The box to describe the contents — the headphones, a USB charging cable, ear adapters, and a carrying case. In addition to those items, the headphones also come with some documentation including — a Quick Guide, Safety Guide (in two languages), and Compliance information.
When you pull everything out of the box, you will find that the storage case for the headphones is the largest part of the box. It’s a hard plastic case that looks great for display purposes but is a little impractical when it comes to use. What I mean by that is that you can’t simply wrap your headphones up and be on your way. There is a custom-molded top layer for the case where the headphones live and then below that are the ear tips and where you can store the Micro USB charging cable.
USER EXPERIENCE
My colleagues and I here at MacSources have started running our headphones through a fairly rigorous set of tests. They consist of standard use for comfort and how well they wear, music clarity and quality of sound, and finally, sound checks for frequency.
I have been using these compact earphones now for a few weeks. They wear quite well. With earbuds, it’s important to remember that fit is everything. If earbuds aren’t a snug fit, you are going to have a lot of ambient noise seep in and it will ruin your listening experience. For me, I was able to use the CX 6.00BT headphones with the preinstalled ear adapters. I’ve found that no two sets of earbuds fit exactly the same way. So, I’ve really had to move the earpieces around to find where the ‘sweet spot’ is in my ear to get the best sound.
Over time, the earpieces tend to work their way out of that spot and I have to readjust them. Now, I want to point out that the majority of my listening time was at my desk and not while I was active. Even though these aren’t ‘sports’ headphones, they are Bluetooth earphones and because of that, I would think a lot of people would use them while they are active. With that in mind, the earpieces might work their way out more often.
When it came to the sound checks, I had Robyn help out with those. I have some hearing loss and cannot hear most higher frequencies. Robyn, on the other hand, has a hearing range between 20Hz and 17kHz.
- Tone Generator: This is an app for iOS that will generate tone frequencies to both earphones at the same time. Robyn was able to hear up to 17kHz on the high end and down to 20Hz on the low end.
- Headphone Check: This app for iOS is basically intended to help you check the signal between your left and right audio channels. It has three different tones — 250Hz, 440Hz, and 1kHz. Robyn was able to hear them all equally and the signal switched between left and right channels without any issues.
As far as sound quality goes, I was very pleased (and so was Robyn) with the CX 6.00BT headphones and their ability to push out an even, dynamic range of sound. I listened to a wide variety of music and spoken word tracks (podcasts) and found that these headphones sounded just as good as many of my sets of over-the-ear headphones do. I’ve not actually had this good of an experience with earbuds before. The fit was just right for me so they almost had a noise canceling property to them. I did notice that unless the earpieces were sitting just right in my ears that the sound started getting tinny and didn’t sound quite as deep as it did when the headphones were placed correctly.
CONCLUSION
I believe the CX 6.00BT headphones to be the ‘best’ example of in-ear wireless earphones in the market. Sennheiser really did a great job with the design and because I was able to use these longer than most earbuds, I would rate these as a 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason the headphones did not get a full 5 stars is because of how the earpieces work themselves out of the ears and because of a little issue that Robyn and I had while we were testing these out. Since the headphones can be connected to two devices simultaneously, you do run the risk of two different people’s devices being connected at the same time. Robyn was in the middle of testing the frequency range of the headphones when the CX 6.00BT’s ended up playing music on my phone. It was a surprise, but I still see the value of having that feature included — for a single user. Despite the couple of issues I ended up having, I can still recommend these headphones for all types of users.
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