Great design makes the Sennheiser MX-90-VC Style Stereo Earphones a real inspiration. The innovative holding systems not only look extremely elegant, they’re comfortable to wear, too. High-quality materials and the specially tuned damping system with its detailed sound reproduction complete the picture. Ear adapter set and rubber buds for individually matching different ears 1.2m symmetrical connecting cable Audio connector - 3.5 mm right-angled stereo mini-jack plug in gold Dynamic Transducer Frequency response - 18-22,000 Hz 64-Ohms Impedance Less than 0.1% THD 117 dB SPL (1 kHz, 1 Vrms) Weight - 12 grams

The MX90 VC is another of Sennheiser’s new pairs of earbuds. Sporting their innovative winged design, they hold firmly in your ears and provide audio that is well above the quality of a typical earbud. While we still recommend over the ear models for true high quality listening, the MX90 won’t disappoint the average listener.

As with the MX55 which we looked at recently, the MX90s are designed with a special wing that extends from the tip of the earbud. This wing is covered with a rubber seal, and slips comfortably into one of the top grooves of your ear. Sennheiser’s intent here was to lock the earbuds in place, as a typical earbud design doesn’t sit firmly in your ear. The end result is a pair of headphones that are great for fast paced activities like jogging or cycling.

The design is reasonably comfortable, although it takes a little getting used to. After an hour we barely noticed the wings were there. The buds themselves are comfortable as well, with interchangeable pads of different sizes and textures, allowing you to achieve the best fit for you. As usual, Sennheiser do not disappoint with regards to sound quality either. While we still feel an over the ear model like the Koss or Sennheiser’s own is a better choice if the quality of the audio is your top priority, the size, convenience and price of earbuds often make them an attractive option.
Technical Details

• Includes earphones, volume control, and carrying case
• Convenient accessories such as volume controls and stylish carrying cases
• Specially tuned damping system ensures detailed sound reproduction
• High-quality materials accentuate the unique design
• Innovative holding design (Twist-to-fit system) ensures best possible fit

Weighing in at a hefty US$30, these are by far the cheapest active noise cancelling phones on the market, with or without a pedigree. They are of the canalphone types first popularized by the Sony MDR-EX70s and EX71s. Philips ups this by adding in an active noise cancelling circuitry unit. As you can see in the picture above, the microphones are on the side port of the drivers. The small breakout box does the NC magic and pipes the sound back to the drivers. The drivers use the “universal” gaskets used by Sony, Panasonic, Ultimate Ears, etc. Generally, the better gaskets from Ultimate Ears served me well with the Sony phones (EX90s), though with this particular set, they were more of a hinderance. The standard medium works well enough.

Ergonomics is rather interesting. It is of the Y-cord variety, though a rather new take on it: The breakout has single cord for the 3.5mm plug and single cord for each of the drivers. You can do cord management with a slider type thingy on the driver side of things. However, the cord to the 3.5mm jack is a bit short, and the cords to the driver too long. Other than that, the ergonomics on this is no better or no worse than other NC type buds. Thanks to the sliding mechanism (which is a piece of rubber, more or less), you can minimize microphonics a bit.

Now for the nitty gritty, the sound quality. You can do a lot worse for $30, and they include the venerable EX71s. The overall sound is balanced, though the NC adds background white noise, which is par for the course. The treble is a bit out of control (brighter than average, and very unrefined), while the bass is nice and tight, given the right seal. The vocals/mids don’t get too lost here, just being congenial with the bass and the trebles. Soundstaging could be much better. It’s too 2D-ish and is a bit claustrophobic at times, a little too intimate at others. It is still heaps better than the EX90s EX71s (Someone please slap me when I say something this stupid), probably slighlty worse than the Panasonic HJE50s, which are about the same price as these.

The SHN2500 advertises “70% less external noise.”  However, during the little amount of time I could bear to wear them, they didn’t reduce external noise at all.  The noise-canceling unit just smoked out room noise with a combination of its own white noise and a low hum in the range of 123 Hz.  Consequently, all your favorite albums now sound fuzzy.  There’s nothing like listening to Abbey Road with some nice white noise to fill in those awful gaps.

The other thing the noise replacement feature does is raise the volume.  Make sure you have your device’s volume set down low before engaging the noise replacement.

If nothing else about the SHN2500 had turned me off, it feels as though someone just punched me in the ears.  To be fair, I’m often told I have oddly-shaped ear canals, and in-ears never really rest comfortably in them.  However, I don’t recall throbbing pain after using other in-ears.  I’d like to think I’m old enough to follow directions, so I have no explanation other than poor design for these painful things.

Tightness is not a problem with these phones because of the vinyl-wrapped metal headband. This is great because it’s impossible to overextend them–you just bend them back into shape with no trouble.  The Sheckler Signature model of these phones is the least expensive by at least 20 dollars when I bought it (maybe his sponsorship contract ended?). The red color had gotten lots of compliments and the skater’s signature isn’t out of place at all.

New from Panasonic Japan comes the retro style RP-HTX7 with leather style headbands and high quality piano painted large, closed headphones. Not to be confused with conventional looking headphones, these are stylish lookers. Large aperture 40mm drive unit for clear sound reproduction and powerful bass. Cord length of 1.2 meters suitable for remote and non-remote portable players. Unlike the basic American version, the Japanese RP-HTX7 also comes in original Japanese color combinations (ie. light blue, beige headband) with a 2 meter extension cordng and additional accessories.

Specifications

• Type: Encapsulated, Dynamic
• Driver Unit: 40mm
• Magnet: Neodymium
• Impedance: 40 ohms
• Sensitivity: 99 dB/mW
• Power Handling Capacity: 1000mW
• Frequency Response: 7 - 22,000Hz
• 1.2m cord with gold-plated stereo straight mini-plug

Accessories
2 meter Extension Cord, Stereo Standard Plug, Carrying Pouch

A great idea or just another pointless use of wireless technology? I’ve spent a few months using the Sony DR-BT30Q stereo Bluetooth headphones, and thought it might be useful for some people for me to post my thoughts on this desirable gadget and my views on the technology behind it.

A2DP, more commonly known as Bluetooth stereo, still has a way to go before it’s considered mass market. Will it ever get there? I don’t know. What with Apple refusing to allow it’s Bluetooth 2.0 equipped iPhone or Bluetooth disabled iPod Touch to make use of the technology, and mobile phone manufacturers not making a big deal of it in their specifications it could remain a niche market for a while to come.

The best feature of Sony’s DR-BT30Q is that it cleans up its own mess. Push a button, and the cord connecting the two earpieces automatically winds up, the remainder being very compact. In general though, how does this Bluetooth headset perform?

As Bluetooth headsets go, the DR-BT30Q is pretty versatile. Designed for avid phone users, the headset allows users full control over music playback, and has a button on the right earpiece for answering calls. There are also two buttons to set volume, which are positioned for easy use along with the rest of the headset’s controls. Audio quality is decent, typical of Bluetooth headsets. Listening to music through wired earphones or headsets is still a better experience.
Product Features

It’s hardly surprising considering that, while the budget end of the headphone market is swamped with companies, Sennheiser’s main competitors in the high-end space number only three or four. And most of these are hardly household names – AKG, Grado and Stax are the main ones that come to mind, certainly for on- or over-the-ear headphones.

This is where the firm’s latest product unashamedly sits – firmly at the high end of the market – and with a price to match. Its PXC 450 noise-cancelling cans will set you back anything between £180 and £300.

They’ve certainly got a quality feel to them. As soon as you open up the box with its posh, magnetised flap, you know that you’ve purchased some serious gear. The headband and circumaural earcups (the kind that sit over and around your ears) are wrapped in luxurious soft leather and are beautifully softly padded. The chunky hinges and headband, underneath their luxurious cladding, are constructed of hard-wearing steel and aluminium. The cable feels thick and hard-wearing and can even be replaced should you ever trap it in a closing car door. The whole set has a pleasing, industrial feel to it, like a pair of luxury, high-tech ear defenders.

The PXC 450 is a large headphone set, but it folds up into a fairly compact shape for travel, and it comes in a slim, easy-to-pack black zipper case a bit larger than the Bose carrying case. It also looks similar to the QuietComforts—silver plastics and a heavily cushioned black headband and earpieces. Volume, Power, and “Talk Through” controls rest on the right earpiece. Although it’s great to have these options, you can’t see the buttons when you’re wearing the headphones, and most of them (except Talk Through) feel the same—which makes it hard to know what you’re pressing even if you memorize the layout. I think most folks are likely to keep the volume setting on the headphones constant and adjust levels on their sound source instead. The right earcup also holds the single AAA battery used to power the unit, just like the QuietComfort 2 (the QuietComfort 3 has a more convenient rechargeable battery). The left earcup houses the detachable audio cable connection and the normal/bypass switch (more on that later). The cable itself is 55.1 inches long and of a substantial thickness more like Grado’s cabling than Bose’s. There is a double-mono airplane adapter included, as well.