Earphones Archives - Exhibit Tech

Sennheiser CX Plus TWS Earbuds – What I Love and What I Don’t

Sennheiser is a brand that has a lot of reliability and sells big time as far as headphone space is concerned. The new Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless is a reasonably priced device that is supposed to be an upgraded variant of the Sennheiser CX model that was released last year.

What does one really look for when buying wireless earbuds? Good connectivity, light and not too heavy, high music and voice quality, and most importantly should fit very well in your ears. I have tried the AirPods and Galaxy buds, but I figured that while I like those TWS buds for their superior music and voice quality, they make me feel a little insecure for running and workout purposes.

Sennheiser CX Plus Design

Let’s talk about the design first. The box is not too big but is wide enough. This makes it difficult and uncomfortable to carry it around in our pockets with that uncomfortable bulge. The case looks clean and premium, with the Sennheiser logo at the top, the front charging indicator, and the backside port.

Sennheiser CX Plus is visually identical to the previous CX model and comes with many similarities, which is not a bad thing. They are lightweight and come with four different-sized ear tips. However, the only negative point here is that they are very bulky.

Sennheiser CX Plus Features

Sennheiser has included Active Noise Cancellation in this one which is a serious upgrade from their previous model. ANC in this one is pretty good, and it manages to curb the outside noise. I usually travel by local trains and often get stuck in traffic jams. Answering calls with regular earphones in these situations is a big task. Sennheiser CX Plus did a great job here by providing clear voice quality and easy delivery of my voice to the receiver.

The CX Plus has a capacitive touch panel that controls calling and playback with single, double and triple taps. Here is what controls what-

One Tap on the right side – play/pause
One Tap on the left side – Transparency mode
Two Taps – Next or previous song
Three Taps – ANC
Hold – Volume up/down

The Sennheiser Smart Control App is an easy and well-laid-out app that easily connects to your earbuds once they are paired with your mobile device. Through this app, you can adjust your earbud’s EQ, where you can raise or lower your frequency line. You can also set different presets for later purposes.

The Sennheiser CX Plus connects with your phone using the Bluetooth 5.2 firmware, which is a lower latency codec. The earbuds claim to last up to 8 hours with a single charge, and our testing reveals that it runs a little short of that but not too much. The CX Plus holds a charging capacity of 16 hours but lacks fast charging.

Sennheiser CX Plus Voice Quality

These earbuds are amazing for music. The sound quality is as good as you’d expect out of Sennheiser. In fast-paced pop songs, you could hear all the instruments and the separation is crisp and rich, and full, with a nice, warm, and capable bass that does not sound very overpowering. For most of the genres, the sound is very well balanced and with EQ, it delivers exactly what you want. I am a really big fan of classical music and there is this song called ‘Dastaan by Tajdar Junaid’, and the sound of the instruments felt heavenly to my ears with Sennheiser CX Plus.

With ANC, you feel like you have left the world backstage. After a long day at work, when I am sitting in an auto-rickshaw towards my home, Active Noise Cancellation plays its part in helping me relax to the tunes of Jazz while the honks and the chaos just slips back into void.

Conclusion

Honestly, Sennheiser CX Plus is a good buy for a price tag of Rs 14,990, mainly if you like listening to music. Also, one thing that holds me back is its disability to pair fast, which is a turn-off. Overall, I would rate it 3.5 out of 5.

Devialet Gemini – Flipping Luxury

One thing is for sure – these Active Noise Canceling true wireless earbuds aren’t going to attract a lot of ears due to their price range but are surely going to charm their way to luxury.

The Devialet case manages to draw your attention from the very start with its ‘flip and open’ architecture. The signature design looks reasonably distinct and premium.

Devialet Gemini Fitting

The earbuds offer a large oval shape which I guess is to maintain a strong noise-isolating presence. The outer part has a distinctive metal alloy sheen to it with the touch control imprinted on the Devialet logo. The Gemini wireless earbuds reflect the Ear Active Matching which adapts the sound to your ears and tell you if you have the right silicone plugs on.

Overall, it was a snuggly fit for me, but to some, it can be a bit loose and it’s understandable considering the shape of the earbuds. Although you get four different sizes, from XS to L, you might find one that fits just right on you.

Devialet Gemini Features

Gemini’s ANC is just at par. It is based on the company’s proprietary Pressure Balanced Architecture (PBA), which also integrates Devialet’s Internal Delay Compensation (IDC) tech. To explain it simply, the PBA technology uses vents that allow air within the ear canal to flow outwards while also stopping external noise from penetrating through, optimizing low-end frequencies.

Honestly, when you put these earbuds on, the world takes a backseat. Vehicles glide past, commutes are quieter, voices are rendered more intelligible.

The Transparency Mode with its high and low options gives you a sense of what’s around you. Music still sounds nice, loud, and clear.

Devialet Gemini Sound Quality

When it comes to sound, Devialet never fails to impress. The sound in Gemini is lifelike and extremely detailed. You can hear the vibrations and instruments playing in the background quite clearly. The notes do not diffuse into each other and manage to sync well. The amplifier is a bit weak but the bass! the bass steals away the thunder.

Mobile calls through Gemini work pretty much fine. There are many other earbuds with a louder sound, but what bugs me is that they have higher distortion, sharper midrange, and a more closed treble than Gemini.

Devialet Gemini App

The Devialet Gemini app is purely magic! You can easily choose between different presets of sound or make your own using a six-band graphic equalizer. Through the app, you can also decide whether you want the double-tap to activate the voice assistant or start the previous or next track.

You can also select up to three degrees of noise reduction(low, mid, and high) and two degrees of sound penetration(low and high), or you can select neutral to deactivate it all.

Conclusion

Devialet’s wireless earbuds are good ones but not enough for the price that it has to offer. Gemini costs around 32,000 which are considered high considering the features that we get here. Other brands such as Bose and Sony set a different bar altogether that Devialet fails to reach.

Overall, I would definitely recommend buying these if you are up for luxury tech.

Sennheiser IE 300 – The BASSY Buds

To start with, I do not particularly like the hardened cable that stays in one place, but I was pretty surprised by how well Sennheiser 300 sits on my ears. After trying these earphones on, I would not like to change a thing about them, except a few, which we will talk about shortly.

IE 300 has a decent treble response if we talk about the sound signature, but the bass response on these is pretty sick! Infact, bass response is the standout feature of this device and has a very strange texture. You usually get to hear two types of bass responses in headphones. One is similar to the natural bass sound, like an ample drum space being hot by a large stick, and the other is an electronic one, which is artificial but more powerful. IE 300 has a more natural texture to it but is supremely strong. I recommend buying it if you have an ear for the particular tuning.

Remember that these earphones cost around Rs 30,000 and is not for a regular headphone user. The device is specially designed for audiophiles who give music their all. Inside the box, you get different sets of earphone tips – silicon, foam and E types; and a soft case for keeping your earphones safe. These earphones are much more expensive than the entry-level ones but promise an experience that capitalises on the benefits of high-resolution audio streaming.

The body is completely made up of plastic, with each earpiece weighing around 4gms. The included hard cable is detachable, uses a standard MMCX connector, and has a 3.5 mm plug for the incoming audio signal.

I like these earphones because they give gentle, cheerful beats, and the vocals and instruments all sound distinct and full-bodied. I could listen to all the elements in track as it was meant to be heard.

However, the downer for IE 300 is that it lacks the microphone feature. If you receive a call when your earphones are plugged in, you’ll probably have to plug it out.