Sennheiser CX400II quality issues

box · 19 Dec 2010 at 15:21

I've just bought myself a pair of these earphones, but am a little unsure about their general quality. Having moved from a standard set of iPod earphones, I was expecting a large increase in audio quality, although none was immediately apparent. Nevertheless, the noise-isolation does make them far superior when in a noisy environment. However, something I've noticed today is that on the in-line volume control, the volume slider is not actually bonded to the switch underneath it at all. If you flick it a few times, it falls off! While I'm hoping it won't come off under normal use, it isn't inconceivable, and I find myself temped to put a dab of glue on the slider stalk to make sure it doesn't. However, why am I doing this on a pair of earphones with an RRP of £60?!

Anyone else with a similar experience?

UPDATE: They were fakes. Update here.

Mr Krugga · 19 Dec 2010 at 16:34

Where did you get them from?

Psy-Blade · 19 Dec 2010 at 16:54

Mr Krugga said:
Where did you get them from?

^^

Marsman · 19 Dec 2010 at 17:46

Possibly fake.

Rroff · 19 Dec 2010 at 17:49

Massive chances of fakes with the Sennheiser CX line and personally I've never rated them that great, unfortunatly tho thats about the only line Sennheiser do of in ear headphones.

Auraomega · 19 Dec 2010 at 20:17

I've never been overly keen on the sound quality from the CX's, but I find the build quality pretty impressive for their price range (mine lasted a lot longer than other brands at same price). However like all good brand audio equipment/electronics there are plenty of fakes and I expect this is the issue.

box · 19 Dec 2010 at 23:05

Mr Krugga said:
Where did you get them from?

That online 'Rainforest' Store

Marsman said:
Possibly fake.

Well that was my first thought, but it all seemed very legit. There are no dodgy printed logos, and the packaging was fine, along with all accessories. I thought it might just be a bit of a design flaw. Could anyone who has a pair verify?

Marsman · 19 Dec 2010 at 23:23

I wonder if there is a site, where real are compared to fakes? I have some Sennheiser PX100's, there are plenty of PX100 fakes on the famous auction site etc. I found a site that showed comparison pics of both real and fake. Headphones will have more areas where fakes will stand out more, but earphones might be less obvious.

It could possibly be just a bad pair, or that the CX's aren't in general, that good. Sennheiser do make some lesser quality stuff, despite making some of the best headphones.

Auraomega · 20 Dec 2010 at 00:13

tim80bwi said:
That online 'Rainforest' Store

Did you buy from the market place sellers or direct from 'that store'? If the latter than they really shouldn't be fake. If the former then it's still a possibility.

skippy2421 · 20 Dec 2010 at 00:49

Rroff said:
Massive chances of fakes with the Sennheiser CX line and personally I've never rated them that great, unfortunatly tho thats about the only line Sennheiser do of in ear headphones.

Somebody didn't do their homework. ie6/7/8 not iems?

Auraomega said:
I've never been overly keen on the sound quality from the CX's, but I find the build quality pretty impressive for their price range (mine lasted a lot longer than other brands at same price). However like all good brand audio equipment/electronics there are plenty of fakes and I expect this is the issue.

The only experience i have of the cx range are the cx300II's
and found them to be extremely robust. A little lacking in the mids and treble but for their price not bad at all. In fact now i think about it my cx 300-II's have outlasted my klipsch image s4i's which are twice the price and have also outlasted my apple iem's too. In fact my ie6's are very well built too soo i find it peculiar your sennheisers are so bad. You may just have a duff pair, I'd suggest contacting them highlighting the quality issues and perhaps they may send you another pair.

Psy-Blade · 20 Dec 2010 at 10:46

skippy2421 said:
The only experience i have of the cx range are the cx300II's
and found them to be extremely robust. A little lacking in the mids and treble but for their price not bad at all.

Agree with that 100%. I recommend the cx300's to any non-serious music fan that's after a set of cheap headphones.

skippy2421 said:
You may just have a duff pair, I'd suggest contacting them highlighting the quality issues and perhaps they may send you another pair.

I've never had build quality issues with any Sennheisers, this would probably be a good idea.

iamtheoneneo · 20 Dec 2010 at 10:58

did you pay that much for them? if you did then you have been mega ripped off.
and yeh as above the 300's are much better and only £15.

and the ipod earphones are mega gash, anything and i mean anything is better then those.

box · 20 Dec 2010 at 23:04

iamtheoneneo said:
did you pay that much for them? if you did then you have been mega ripped off.
and yeh as above the 300's are much better and only £15.

and the ipod earphones are mega gash, anything and i mean anything is better then those.

No, only payed £20 or so for them. Aren't the 400s supposed to be better than the 300s?

Mr Krugga · 21 Dec 2010 at 01:19

tim80bwi said:
No, only payed £20 or so for them. Aren't the 400s supposed to be better than the 300s?

Enjoy your fakes.

skippy2421 · 21 Dec 2010 at 03:00

Mr Krugga said:
Enjoy your fakes.

ermmm plenty of reputable retailers selling them for £20 play being one of them. Of course there are some selling them for a lot more but welcome to the headphone market.

daz · 21 Dec 2010 at 09:46

The CX300/400/500 are decent headphones for the price. I find them a little "bloated" in their sound signature but overall they are fairly decent and a solid choice in their price range.

When you say you got them from the Rainforest store, did them come from Amazon or did it come from a seller that users Amazon?

Marsman · 21 Dec 2010 at 12:10

Post some close up pics if you can, that's if you have a camera that is, and not some low quality fuzzy phone camera. If you can't, has the leather case an embossed Sennheiser logo? There is talk that the fakes have an embossed logo on the case.

box · 21 Dec 2010 at 17:13

daz said:
The CX300/400/500 are decent headphones for the price. I find them a little "bloated" in their sound signature but overall they are fairly decent and a solid choice in their price range.

When you say you got them from the Rainforest store, did them come from Amazon or did it come from a seller that users Amazon?

They were from the marketplace, albeit from a seller with a very good feedback record. You do wonder though, how many of those who who've left positive feedback have unknowingly bought good fakes. I have to admit, I was unaware the market was so saturated with counterfeits before I bought these. It's so frustrating!

Marsman said:
Post some close up pics if you can, that's if you have a camera that is, and not some low quality fuzzy phone camera. If you can't, has the leather case an embossed Sennheiser logo? There is talk that the fakes have an embossed logo on the case.

I was up until 3am last night studying comparison websites. Some of the fakes are really just too good to distinguish from the real thing visually. All the logos etc on mine seem to be printed perfectly. The only defects I can find are that the 'Sennheiser' logo on the cable wrap thing is slightly off-centre, and the black-on-silver logo on the rear of the left ear-piece is not quite vertical.

I've contacted the seller and said I'm not satisfied with the overall product quality or indeed that they are even genuine and would like a refund. It seems the actual 'non-market' rainforest store is restocked with these though now. They're £36, but I think I'd be willing to pay that for the peace of mind. I'm guessing that if purchased from the store itself, they would more than likely be genuine?

daz · 21 Dec 2010 at 18:20

I think the Jersey based DVD store is worth checking as well.

Auraomega · 21 Dec 2010 at 18:49

tim80bwi said:
I'm guessing that if purchased from the store itself, they would more than likely be genuine?

Yep, plus you get the joy of knowing that said place have an absolute no quibbles return policy so if you still don't like the sound, build quality etc, you can return them with an almost guaranteed smooth process - tried and tested.