Sennheiser MX 880 High-Performance Sound Earbuds with Integrated Rotary Volume Control

 (15 customer reviews)

Some months ago while rummaging through my basement, I found a pair of earbuds in a plastic bag that came with the laptop I purchased over 2 years. Knowing the bad rap earbud-styled 'phones get in the audiophile community, I figured they would be all about sound and little about music. Well, I decided to see how they would sound on my laptop and headphone amp. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised by its bombastic sound but, depending on the material, they were almost musical in a lot of ways. That got me thinking: Is there such a thing as audiophile-grade earbuds? Well, in a word, yes.

After some research, I found that Sennheiser (among a few other companies) makes earbuds that are worthy of an audiophile's attention and I purchased their MX-660 in December 2009 which were top-o'-the-line at the time. I did a review on them here stating how wonderful they sounded but I didn't expect Sennheiser to up the ante with the MX-880. Are these better than the MX-660? Yes, in a...Read more

I've purchased dozens of of phones as gifts and for myself the past ten years. These cans have cost
between 40 and 200 dollars. These MX 880's are the best so far. Great ear well fit-very low distortion, wide range sound-high sensitivity. They're impedance matched well with the 6 devices I
used them with. I'm no engineer, but have been an audiophile since the late 60's. I'd say most people would enjoy them as much as I do. Transducers are subjective but I think these are exceptional. Very
good bass by the way.

I ordered these after my Shure E2C earphones' cable cracked and shorted out. The Shure seal nearly ALL sound out, so I could not hear my wife calling or my baby crying if I use them in both ears. This is great for the listening experience - not so great when you listen to them at home and need to be aware if there is a problem. Also, after 3 1/2 years, the cable which wraps around behind the ear on the Shure cracked and eventually quit working. I like the over the ear design because it's stable (no way they'll fall out), but I'm now hesitant to replace with the same type.

So, I looked for high quality, semi-open buds, which is what the Sennheiser MX880s are. These type of phones sit at the opening of the ear canal, not plugged into it like the Shure. Sennheiser also makes earphones which wrap around behind the ear, but they were out of my price range. They also make earphones which plug into the ear canal, but do not wrap around behind the ear. But for practical use, I...Read more