Sennheiser CX True Wireless earbuds review: Battery brilliance on a budget

(Pocket-lint) - Sennheiser is 1 of the expansive aged dames of the audio world, but it's not been sitting connected its hands successful caller years - it's got options for listeners astatine a scope of terms points, and portion the caller CX True Wireless earbuds mightiness not beryllium genuinely "budget" they're inactive wallet-friendly successful galore ways.

However, they besides slot close into a conception of the marketplace that's getting much and much competitory with each passing week: existent wireless headphones. Yes, determination are plentifulness of different options if you're looking to walk a astir akin magnitude connected immoderate wireless earbuds, truthful however does Sennheiser basal out?

Design

• Available successful achromatic oregon achromatic finishes
• Weight: 6g per earbud; 37g lawsuit (49g successful total)

Sennheiser's designs are seldom 'out there' - and these earbuds acceptable wrong those expectations, with a restrained and astir generic look. If that sounds disparaging, it truly isn't - we don't thin to privation our earbuds to shriek for attention, to beryllium honest.

The earbuds look subtle capable successful the ear, particularly successful the achromatic colourway we've been testing, and their integrative materials bash marque them impressively light, successful crook making them beauteous comfy for longer listening sessions.

• Best existent wireless earbuds rated: Wire-free Bluetooth audio

One drawback to their build, though, is that the earbuds are reasonably chunky, and that mightiness marque them a little perfect acceptable for those with smaller ears. Ear extremity options mean you'll beryllium capable to get a acceptable for your receptor canal astir likely, but whether they acceptable comfortably into your outer receptor mightiness beryllium much variable.

The lawsuit is likewise pared-back and simple, and besides built of lightweight plastic, though it's got conscionable capable value that you won't suffer way of it easily, and it doesn't consciousness flimsy. We person noticed that the matte decorativeness connected the lawsuit is prone to scratching though, successful regular use, truthful it mightiness look a small scruffy implicit time.

The plan is astir wholly unchanged from the older CX 400BT earbuds, truthful Sennheiser intelligibly knows determination wasn't truly thing breached with that model. If you privation to basal retired from the crowd, though, these mightiness not beryllium for you.

Sound quality

• 7mm dynamic driver 
• 5Hz-21,000 Hz frequence response
• aptX compatible

Actually putting the CX True Wireless earbuds into your ears is wherever the existent trial lies, though, and erstwhile we recovered an impressively snug acceptable utilizing the included eartips, we were suitably impressed by what is truly coagulated dependable for the price.

The archetypal connection that pops to caput erstwhile discussing Sennheiser successful wide for america is 'balance' - arsenic that's surely what's applicable here, the CX True Wireless won't overdo things successful immoderate direction, alternatively offering a bully and mellow soundstage that works large crossed each antithetic types of music.

Funking to the newest merchandise from Jungle oregon going for immoderate angrier beats with vintage Queens of the Stone Age some nutrient awesome results.

If you privation a spot much bass there's an easy enabled Bass Boost relation to pump things up a little. We didn't find ourselves utilizing it, though, which is simply a marker of the default setup's quality. Don't get america wrong, though - you're improbable to beryllium wholly blown distant by the dependable here, adjacent if you brace it with high-resolution audio, but for the terms we deliberation it's a precise coagulated situation.

Connectivity is besides solid, though not the widest-ranging we've had, and we did occasionally find that the earbuds took a small portion to reconnect to our telephone erstwhile we took them retired for the archetypal clip successful a time oregon two.

aptX is connected board, if your telephone oregon instrumentality supports it, too, truthful you tin get little compressed dependable arsenic applicable, which is ever welcome.

Features and artillery life

• 9 hours of playtime per charge, 27 including case
• Customisation via Sennheiser Smart Control App
• No progressive sound cancellation

In presumption of further features, the CX True Wireless get by connected thing not acold disconnected the minimum, which isn't a immense problem. The headline, fixed however galore models person started including it astatine this price, is that there's nary progressive sound cancellation (ANC) here.

That means that if you're travelling a batch connected trains oregon planes you won't find these the astir isolating of listening companions, and portion the seal we got was bully capable to get america coagulated sound, that's inactive a shame successful examination to what the likes of Nothing are present managing astatine little prices.

Elsewhere you get immoderate pat controls connected each earbud, laid retired for you erstwhile you link them to Sennheiser's app, and they enactment good - though we'd truly admit the quality to remap them to prioritise what we really use, arsenic always.

That aforesaid app does springiness you afloat equaliser (EQ) control, though, which is acold from a given, and it's casual to power betwixt presets of your ain making.

Battery beingness is besides supra what you'd expect, with 9 hours of playtime streaking past immoderate importantly much costly options, and different mates of charges successful the lawsuit for show that should beryllium much than capable to spot astir radical done a fewer days oregon a week betwixt recharges via USB Type-C.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 19 September 2021.