Sennheiser Adidas CX

Combining the sporting knowledge of Adidas with Sennheiser’s top of the line audio specialty, the Sennheiser CX 680 stereo earphones supply top quality sound, excellent wearing comfort, and resistance to external influences like water, sweat, and cold. Click here for a bigger image.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars , a good earphone for sweaty runners, June 13, 2010
By Alex Hills (Phoenix, AZ USA) See all my reviews This review is from: Sennheiser Adidas CX 680 Sports Earbuds with Volume Control and Earfin Holding System (Electronics) I have been on a quest for a new pair of earphones for weeks. I have spent many hours reading hundreds of reviews on different models. My major requirements (in order of importance) were: 1) do not fall out when doing tiring exercise like running, 2) will not cease functioning or experience a decrease in functionality caused by sweating (I sweat profusely when exercising, e.G., my clothes are usually drenched after an hour of cardio), 3) Comfort, 4) Price, 5) Sound quality, and 6) Appearance/Style.

Based on all that I read, I decided that the new Adidas branded Sports line from Sennheiser may be the best choice for me, so I splurged, got the CX680 at a big box store, and decided to test them since I knew I could return them for a full refund inside 30 days if not pleased. If I liked them I knew I could buy online for 25 30 less. Note that I favor the in ear design, but was considering the neckband design of the PMX680 as an alternate. But, I hoped to find one pair that I could use for cardio, weightlifting, leisure, and travel.

First, I’ll explain what comes in the package. You get:

(1) SYMMETRICAL earphones with a 30″ cord and a straight jack
(2) a 24″ extender with a volume control on one end and an “L” jack on the other
(3) a Velcro carrying pouch
(4) three sets (S,M,L) of earfins, one set of M covers w/o fins, and three sets (S,M,L) of earbud covers
(5) a clip
(6) a cleaning tool

My evaluation of each of these components:

(1) Short Cord: Used w/o the extender, the earphones are best worn using an armband (either arm is good caused by the symmetrical cord) with the cord clipped to the shirt on whatever side the armband is to decrease tension on the reverse side earbud. I ran for 1.5 hours last night with the cord clipped this way to the band of a T shirt. It stayed in place the complete time and was totally unobtrusive.

(2) Extender: The volume control is light and may be clipped to the band of your shorts w/o adding obvious weight. With my iPod Nano clipped to one side, the volume control on the other, and the cord under my shirt, there was many cord slack (I’m 5’8″), but the motion wasn’t extreme and not disruptive. The wheel of the volume control has a slight resistance to it so that you will not mistakenly blast out your eardrums while adjusting it.

(3) Pouch: The pouch is good quality and roomy enough to hold the earbuds and a small music player. But, the cords do tend to become entangled easily.

(4) Earbuds/Earfins: With many trial and error I was able to find the right mix of fin and earbud that fit comfortably and did not fall out with motion or sweat. I have had more difficulty finding the correct fit for my L ear, but throughout a 1.5 hour run I only had to change the bud once b/c the fin had moved (Note that the earbud itself was still firmly sealed).

(5) Clip: As mentioned above, the clip work great when attached to a band and most likely could also with a hem. I tried to use it in the center of my shirt and it simply fell off. There is a groove on the top that apparently is supposed to hold the wire but it does not; you just have to clip the wire with the clothing.

(6) I have still to use the cleaning tool.

Now on to how the CX680 ranks using my requirements.

(1) Fit & Staying Power, 5/5: These things stay put. I have had the stock earbuds which don’t fit my ears well, fall out with motion or sweat, and sound crappy. I could imagine that majority of people can find an earfin/earbud mix that fits them well. I like that this product is customizable rather than one size fits all.

(2) Sweat Resistance, 5/5: More than any other pair of earbuds I have owned, these seem to be unaffected by sweating. They don’t loosen when sweat is in the ears and their rubberized materials seem particularly sweat “proof”. I haven’t still tried to put them in water. I could hope that these don’t as easily succumb to the issues common with other earphones that seem less sturdy/durable. If they do fail at many point, at least with Sennheiser you have their two year warranty (another reason I chose these over something with only a 90 day warranty).

(3) Comfort, 5/5: I do not notice I have wearing them.

(4) Price, 3/5: These surely aren’t the cheapest earphones on the market, but they’re new and will probably come down in price. The cheapest I have found is $70 online with free shipping. I could greatly recommend purchasing them locally, seeing if they work for you, , then returning them and purchasing them for cheaper online. If you have got something that works for you now, I’d say wait for the price to drop on these. If money is no concern, just purchase them!

(5) Sound quality, 3/5: I am not an audiophile and I did not get these b/c I wanted the best sounding buds, and they are not. I listen entirely to electronic music and they are OK, but somewhat missing in bass. Not sure if “tinny” or “muddy” are the correct terms, but I have thought that my music sounded better with JBuds J2s (but they could fall out when I’d sweat and shorted out after a year), with Acoustibuds attached to stock earbuds (these sound great and really stay pretty well throughout motion and sweating but they are bulky, must be twisted into the ear canal, and it is challenging to find the sweet spot as far as the “best” position for maximum effect), or with over the head models (these offend my sense of fashion). The CX680s aren’t bad, just not the greatest sounding, but I am wanting to sacrifice on music quality to eliminate them moving around, falling out, or breaking b/c of sweat damage.

(6) look, 4/5: I do not know why Sennheiser thinks it needed to make their Sports lines in bright, obnoxious colors (neon green, orange, and now yellow), instead of more muted grays, blacks, or whites, but they are OK. I am not using them to win any fashion contests, and they are more appealing, IMO, than the neckband, over the ears, or over the head models.

In summary, I give the CX680s a 4/5: they are great for what they are meant (i.E., reduction of slippage caused by motion or sweat), but could sound better, be less costly, and decrease the flashy factor. I could have favored an asymmetrical cord design so that the earphones may be used w/o the clip when using an armband. Before my 30 day “trial” period is over, I’ll be returning these to Big Box Store and buying them online. Hopefully they’ll prove to be a good investment and a solution to the annoyance of finding the best earphones for sweaty cardio freaks like me.

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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of five stars Fixes one issue but causes another, March 9, 2010
By J. Radinsky See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Sennheiser Adidas CX 680 Sports Earbuds with Volume Control and Earfin Holding System (Electronics) I decided to upgrade to the CX680s after using a pair of CX380s for the last six months. The 380s were pretty good but did not generally stay in place throughout my workouts.

The good news with the CX680s is the ear fin technology works really well. They stay in place the whole time I am at the gym. The bad news is Adidas/Sennheiser should have given more thought to the cord length. The standard cord is too short unless you are using an armband for your music player. Then it is too long so you must wrap it around or have it move the whole time you are working out.

If you do not have an armband, then you must use the extender with the inline volume control. When you do this the cord is way too long and it and the volume control bounce all over the place. You may be able to use the included clip to keep one from moving but you can not stop both from moving. The moving is super diverting because you may be able to hear it through the headphones and you do not know what the cord is going to get snagged on.

Having said all this, I guess these could work for you if you are the right height (I’m 5’10”). Height is vital because the volume control also has a clip on it that you may use to keep it from flopping around. In my case, the clip did not reach my waist so I could not clip it so it just dangled.

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Nine of ten people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars workout headphones, March 20, 2010
By B. Casto (Ohio, USA) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Sennheiser Adidas CX 680 Sports Earbuds with Volume Control and Earfin Holding System (Electronics) PROS: moisture tolerant, excellent sound (after ‘treble reducer’ eq and removing earfins so they could fit properly in my ear), great stability.

CONS: uncomfortable cord lengths (comes with long ext. Cord, short main cord), uncomfortable earfins, initial sound quality presents with a bit much treble, info somewhat uneasy after a while in ear canals.

CONCLUSION: As workout headphones are worried, in comparison to the Bose In ear ‘phones, Apple In ears, my prev. Fav. Sony MDR EX85s, and other Sennheisers I have tried, these offer far superior sound and functionality inside the scope of exercise specific headphones. I workout many (sweating considerably when doing so) and favor clear bass; now that I figured out not to use the earfin feature or bass increase (iPhone 3GS, iTouch 2G: these sound really BAD with increase on, the sound is amplified terribly) I would not hesitate for a second to replace this pair with another of the same, were they to break.

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