Sennheiser CX6.00BT Review

Sennheiser is a German company that specializes in earphones. They have been in this game for a long time, so they know how to design a great audio product that does not break the bank. The two "blocks" on the cable of the wireless CX 6.00 BT earbuds are a great example of this great hardware design.

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Unboxed...

Opening up the pretty small box reveals the paperwork and the plastic carrying "case". This carrying case then contains the earphones themselves, the silicone tips in 4 different sizes (XS, S, M, L - more on those later) and a very short charging cable. 

I really can't say I like this "carrying case". It's big and bulky and cannot be held in a pocket (not even a large one) because of it's enormous size. I think Sennheiser could have done better in this department, like include a small leather pouch like they do with the lower-tier wired CX 3.00-II. That's what I would rather use to carry them around, anyway.

The sizing for the silicone tips is another oddball for me. All of them seem to be a little smaller than what I am used to seeing (even that what they used on their own product-lineup). I always knew the S-size was the best for me but on the CX 6.00BTs, they are too small for my ears, while the Ms are too big. I have to reposition them quite often because of this, which is rather annoying and unnecessary. Other than that, the tips are made from this grey, almost transparent material and they are soft and feel durable.

Tech Specs

These earbuds cost under about €75 (at the time of writing), but Sennheiser managed to pack everything one needs from a pair of Bluetooth earphones.

• Frequency Response Range: 17-21.000 Hz
• Sound Pressure Level: 112 Db
• Battery: Lithium-Ion, 6 hours of playtime are advertised
• Bluetooth Revision: 4.2
• Codecs: 
• Qualcomm aptX Low-Latency (LL) support (for Android devices)
• AAC (for iOS devices)
• Can be paired with 2 devices at the same time
• Weight: 14g

Overview

As I mentioned earlier, the designers at Sennheiser decided to build two blocks onto the wire, one of them containing the battery and the other one the media controls, microphone and the micro USB charging port. Both of them are just as large as single blocks on other earbuds, but what makes this approach better (at least in my opinion) is how the blocks balance them (both sides are about as heavy) meaning that they are more comfortable. You'd think that Sennheiser used the extra room to add a larger battery, but that doesn't seem to be the case, as the advertised 6 hours are about average. What made it into the product, however, is fast charging, a super-useful feature, especially for earphones. Plugging the headset for 10 minutes into a compatible power adapter should give you about 2 hours of playback time.

The media remote is great. The buttons are large enough to easily be found without looking - something rather difficult on other headphones' remotes. The remote has 3 buttons, volume up, down and pause. Long presses on the volume control skip tracks, while on the play/ pause button they control power and pairing mode. A triple press on this button will also summon the Google Assistant or Siri. 

The microphone is also great during voice calls, the other side can almost always hear my voice clearly, but there is no noise cancellation and I don't think that voice calls are as good in very loud environments. Another feature of these in-ears is the ability to connect to 2 devices simultaneously and to switch between something like a phone and a laptop automatically if you receive a call on your phone while listening to music on the laptop - a very useful feature not found on all headsets in this price range. Add to this the very light weight of the headset, and you won't have to take the CX off unless you feel uncomfortable with them.

Sound

If I could sum up this entire paragraph in one sentence, I would say that the sound of the Sennheiser CX 6.00 BT is impressive. Unlike many in-ears in this price category, the CX 6.00 BTs sound very good in every way: their sound is full and clear, barely distorted, albeit with an almost unnoticeable tendency to skew toward treble.
I tested the headphones with the "headphone benchmark song" (Hotel California by the Eagles) and these are my impressions. The stereo separation is wide, I was able to easily trace the sounds to either channel, the sound localization is also perfect with the deep, gruelling bass is the background leaving enough room for the chorus in the mid-frequency range, while the highs still remained crystal-clear. This is certainly a huge achievement for the small Sennheisers, many in-ears fail to deliver such outstanding performance.
As for other types of music... well: even older pop songs feel fresh and exciting and classical music doesn't sound like it's being transmitted to an old radio. Other rock/ hard rock songs don't sound harsh, they remain crisp and clear at all times making the Sennheiser CX 6.00BTs the perfect allrounder - I'd say they will please most people's musical taste and that is impressive.

P.S.: Oh, I almost forgot: For those who actually care, the CX 6.00BTs are compatible with Sennheisers CapTune app, which is like a dedicated equalizer and tuner gimmick that I didn't need.

Conclusion

At 80€ the Sennheiser CX 6.00BT wireless Bluetooth earphones come with everything you'd want from some earbuds. Sure, Sennheiser had to make some compromises (like the omission of noise cancelling or water/ sweat resistance for people who exercise with headphones) to keep the price down, but they nailed it where it matters most: the sound quality (the CX 6.00 don't care what you listen to - they will simply deliver the expected sound quality) and the comfort (albeit with some very odd-sized tips). On top of that comes the great build quality, average battery life with fast charging and a 2-year manufacturer warranty, earning the Sennheisers CX 6.00 BT my recommendation for those who are in the market for some good sounding, yet not extremely expensive in-ears.

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