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Geek Review: Sennheiser CX 7.00BT Bluetooth Earphones

At a time when companies are trying to come up with fancy, easy to remember product names for their hero products, there are still those that seem to think that a mixture of letters and numbers will do the trick. The CX 7.00BT is as awkward as they come in the tech space, and that’s only the start of several hiccups the pair of earphones come with. Sennheiser set out to make in-ear wireless headphones for the everyday listening, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s for the everyday enjoyment.

The modern mobile phone and main music playing device is likely to not have any audio jack anymore, so you’re more than likely to be on the hunt – if you haven’t already – for a lightweight wireless pair of headphones. It’s amazing how quickly times have changed considering the iPod experience was represented by colourful dancing vector shadows and white wires hanging off ears.

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Like its confusing high-tech name, the CX 7.00BT is powered by some high tech in the ways of the obvious Bluetooth 4.1, some Qualcomm apt-X goodness for high-fidelity sound and clarity without wires, and NFC one-touch pairing that makes connecting to your smart devices a piece of cake. Even better – this nifty device allows for simultaneous pairing with up to two devices if that’s up your alley.

Like most Bluetooth devices, pairing is relatively painless. A couple of seconds hold on the power button and you’re just a click or two away from registering this to your devices. As always Bluetooth range isn’t too great but you’re probably never too far away from your devices anyway.

Battery life is surprisingly good at a straight 5 hours on my personal tests before needing a speedy full charge at less than 1.5 hours.

The CX 7.00BT probably wasn’t built with aesthetics much in mind and the clean, utilitarian, almost chic look is great. Outside of the 4 power, volume, and call control buttons, this thing is clean in black with bits of blue for livery. Personally, I’d pick the reality where Sennheiser removed all traces of their logos and any shiny silver bits, or at least embossed them in black to further up the class factor. It’s the little ‘less-is-more’ things, you know?

Also, it’s really hard to call this a wireless pair of headphones when there are two wired headphones obviously tethered to a neck band, but we’ll let it slide since it’s just really comfortable to have on all day long. You just don’t even notice it since it’s almost weightless. The smooth plastic surface and the out-facing wires do not irritate in any way either.

Surprisingly, I was nowhere impressed by Sennheiser for the first time in a very long while. In fact, I was and am still crestfallen by the muddy audio coming through. It did not much justice to the 96 kHz / 24-bit AIFF and FLAC high-resolution versions of Utada Hikaru’s albums, and very simply turned the frequencies in this track to something you’d hear if you were in a club and someone who didn’t like you very much pushed marshmallows into your ears. To be fair, at least your ears are comfortable, exactly like how the CX 7.00BT in-ear headphones feel.

What the CX 7.00BT is great for is commuting and background music that isn’t intrusive. At S$239, I would hesitate recommending this to my friends unless audio quality is not your top concern when it comes to a pair of lightweight, discreet-looking headphones simply to accompany you all-day long through your commute, work or study.

The CX 7.00BT is an APAC-exclusive launch model and is available in Singapore on the Sennheiser Singapore Online Store, at the Sennheiser Brand Store, and all authorised Sennheiser retailers.

GEEK REVIEW SCORE

Summary

Sennheiser offers a stylish lightweight piece for the less discerning commuting folk. Simply falls short when it comes to audio quality.

Overall
7.4/10
7.4/10
  • Aesthetics - 7.5/10
    7.5/10
  • Build Quality - 7.5/10
    7.5/10
  • Performance - 7/10
    7/10
  • Value - 7.5/10
    7.5/10
  • Geek Satisfaction - 7.5/10
    7.5/10
User Review
0 (0 votes)