Sennheiser CX 300B In-ear Monitor Black

 Excellent ear buds for the money !!!!
After trying several ear buds out and I have finially found a winner that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I have tried Etomic and Shure that cost $180 and yes they sounded great, but they cost a lot!!! Plus I always found something about them I didn't like. For that kind of money you better love them.

The Sennheiser CX 300 are very similar to the Sony MDR-EX51. They have the same type of fit and come with 3 sizes of ear buds. They produce very good bass with nice highs also. The sound with the volume level all the way up with an ipod is clear. Also very loud!!! Comfort is good. They are very simple to put in. They block out a lot of external noise, but not completely like the Shure do. Personally I like this better. I can pause the music and still talk to someone without removing them.

The only thing I don't like is the asymmetrical cable. I see no purpose in having one cable longer than the other. The cable going to the right bud is very long and hangs down. I tied the excess to the main cable to keep it from flopping around. Just personal preference I guess!

I would recommend these if you are looking for an affordable upgrade without breaking the bank. I'm not going to say they are as good as Shure e3c's (which I tried) but for the savings they are!!! They also have a 2 year warrenty.

I would buy them very soon if you want them. The manufacture was listing them for $50 when I first saw them. Now they are at $80 msrp. I bought them at J&R on a pre buy for $35. They have already raised there price to $50 plus shipping. Amazon still says $40 shipped free. This won't last long!

Good luck and enjoy, I am!!!
Tim

 Fantastic IEMs, ESPECIALLY for the price
I've tried pretty much all of the budget IEMs, and one more high-end set. These include the JVC black in-ears, the Sony 51s, the Panasonic HJEP50s, and the Shure e2c. Unfortunately, there are problems with all of them. For instance, the Sonys are the worst of the bunch, with nothing but colored and overpowering bass and a lack of highs and clarity, the Panasonics starve for more bass, and the e2c are highly uncomfortable. The JVC's almost get it, but they lose a bit of clarity as well. Think of them as a slightly better Sony pair. Now, onto these fantastic Senns. I was a little nervous because I've never spent more than $25 on earphones before, but I saw these at J&R and I couldn't resist plucking down the $50. Honestly, I can say that I'd pluck down twice as much for phones this good. The bass is outstanding without being overpowering, and the amount of clarity and detail that you start to pick up is very, very refreshing. It's a whole new experience with these phones, and I'm very glad I picked them up. Do yourself a favor and do the same!

 How Sennheiser make Etymotic and Shure become shiver !
Sennheiser CX 300 series was formerly launch into the professional musician market as Sennheiser IE4 In-Ear Monitor.

Sennheiser IE4 sold at ~150 US Dollar (Suggested Retail Price). As a competitor of Etymotic Er6 and Shure E3c.

Following the product's success in the professional market now it is time to harvest from the vast consumer market.

So the marketing description of this product now change from "the high accuracy reproducing of the sound" into the new hype "the bass driven sound".
Very common marketing trick. :-)

Sennheiser IE4 was a rebranding of the highly acclaim "Sharp MD33".
Sharp MD33 is one of the most succesfull IEM in the world.
It also described as a "giant killer".

After it got wide reputation around the world Sharp MD 33 was rebranded into Creative ep630 (which can be found in Asia) and Sennheiser IE4 (which goes directly to the most demanding professional musicians market.

Sound of this Sennheiser/ Sharp/ Creative IEM is solid and very clear.
Bass is decent, mid and high are details.

It need less maintenance comparing with Etymotic or Shure since it cleverly use metal grills instead of direct filter.
Once a month scrap your earwax out of the metal grill is enough to keep this decent IEM working for years.

Silicone ear tips are interchangeable with Sony's ex series ear tips.
If you want to do some experiment you can try Shure's ear tip on them.
Even somebody have suggested Shure's Ultra Soft Flex Sleeve (PA749M) on this IEM but I would like to suggest Shure's PA757M Flex Sleeves instead. (Please change the size according to your ear size)

With Shure PA757M Flex Sleeve this Sharp/ Creative/ Sennheiser IEM sounds as if the sound stage become expanded without deterioration in sound quality.

If you live in US this Sennheiser IEM is worth your money. And sound quality is much better than many expensive IEM.

 Simply Outstanding!!
I bought it for $40 from Amazon.
I've using Sony ex-71 for quite a while with my Ipod 5G and Senn beats that in all aspects.
I wud rather give numbers:
Bass: Sony-7, Senn- 8.5
Mids: Sony-7.5, Senn- 9.0
Highs:Sony-7, Senn- 9.0
and far far better than the original Ipod Buds, fits snugly in ears, have a good J fit, which actually helps a lot when you are running. Just great sound: Highly recommended.

 Why is the right ear cable so long?
The previous reviewer's only complaint with these IEMs was that the cable for the right ear is longer than the left, leading him to tie it off as a means of shortening it.

What some people don't realize is that the cable on these headphones is not meant to dangle under the chin. Instead, the cable for the right earbud is meant to go behind your head and rest on your neck. This gets the cables out of your way, and it's a much more comfortable design than the traditional "Y-style" cable.

As for quality, these sound great. I could debate whether they are better than offerings from other brands, but nobody else offers anything close to this quality at this price. So if you're on a budget, your search may just begin and end here.

What more can I say? Great sound, amazing value...jump on this!