- VERDICT
The Sennheiser CX 400BT wireless earphones offer remarkable quality and tremendous value in one attractive package. They are a standout choice at this price.
Sennheiser has always been a brand known for exceptional audio quality. But now with the release of the CX 400BT the brand will be known for its value as well.
The new Sennheiser CX 400BT wirefree earphones offer superb audio quality but at a more affordable price – $299.95.
And at that price they are really punching above their weight not only for the quality you’ll hear but also for the design and ability to customise the touch controls and to tweak the sound to get closer to your taste as well.
On the design side, the Sennheiser CX 400BT are reasonably small, not the smallest we’ve seen – but by no means the largest. And they don’t protrude from your ears too far either.
They have a minimal look with a button size panel on each where the unmistakable Sennheiser logo is located.
Each of the buds are nicely angled to fit inside your ear after being twisted in place.
One thing that stood out right away for us was how comfortable they were. They were secure and light enough to forget we were even wearing them.
The Sennheiser CX 400BT don’t have active noise cancellation – if you want that you’ll need to go for the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 earphones which are $499.95.
But what the CX 400BT earphones offer is passive noise cancellation courtesy of the seal the silicone tips create in your ear that can block out some, not all, of the ambient sound.
To us this was good enough for us to still clearly hear our music and podcasts and audiobooks even in noisy environments like a gym, a shopping centre and beside a busy road when walking or running.
And we could still hear our surroundings pretty well so it was a nice balance.
Calls were also clear from both ends of the chat – we could be heard clearly and our caller was also loud and clear.
What helps here is the ambient noise reduction microphones that can pick up your voice and prioritise it ahead of other outside sounds.
This also comes into play when accessing your voice assistants through the earphone as well.
But this ambient mode can’t be utilised to hear your surroundings more clearly. That’s a feature of more expensive earphones.
You also have a strong connection to your smartphone with Bluetooth 5.1 for listening to music or making calls.
Under the hood is Sennheiser’s trademark quality that comes through courtesy of the 7mm dynamic drivers which are also used in the Momentum True Wireless 2 earphones.
What you get is a crisp and refined sound with a generous serving of bass that complements the high-fidelity stereo sound rather than overpowering it and changing its entire character.
We heard clear and natural mids and nuanced treble that was good enough to be able to hear every instrument and every line of vocals.
When listening to a jazz song like Spiral by The Crusaders you could easily count off the number of instruments you can hear.
But then when you turn around and play The Plan by Travis Scott from the Tenet soundtrack you still hear the solid bass where the song requires it rather than just upping the bass for the sake of it.
In other words the Sennheiser CX 400BT stay true to how the musician wants you to hear their music.
We can imagine some artists would be horrified with the over the top bass some earphones apply to their songs because they can. To them it would be like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa.
The Sennheiser Smart Control app allows you dive a little deeper to tune the sound with a dash more bass or a pinch more treble but you won’t hear too much deviation to the true character of the sound.
The Sennheiser CX 400BT also support a wide range of codecs including SBC, AAC and aptX to ensure quality whether you’re listening to an iPhone or Android device.
The outside of the earbuds are touch sensitive but not too sensitive that will pause your music at the softest touch.
You can easily navigate your tracks and make and receive calls by tapping the left or right buds.
But the companion app lets you take it further and gives users the ability to completely re-map these controls.
For example, if prefer two taps on the right earbud to turn the volume down instead of going to the next track you have that choice.
This is remarkably versatile for a pair of earphones that cost less than $300.
On the battery side, the Sennheiser CX 400BT have an impressive seven hours of playback time in your ears.
And then the case can take that playback time up to 20 hours.
The case itself is also impressively small and can easily fit in your pocket.
The Sennheiser CX 400BT will be available from mid-September and will be priced at $299.95.
VERDICT
The Sennheiser CX 400BT wireless earphones offer remarkable quality and tremendous value in one attractive package. They are a standout choice at this price.
