MX70

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Sennheiser's new range of earbuds has, for the most part, been quite impressive. Unfortunately their new sports model, the MX70, leaves a little to be desired. Rather than just the traditional earbud design, they also have an over the ear clip which would appear to help keep it in place, but really just gets in the way. The quality of the sound is also a little lacking, meaning ultimately there are better portable headphone purchases to be found elsewhere.

Pros

  • Clips mean they are less likely to fall out

Cons

  • Sound lacking bass and impact, Design means they don't sit properly

Bottom Line

The MX70 headphones do not live up to the reputation created by Sennheiser's other earbud products. The clip on design means it is difficult to make the earbuds sit properly and their sound quality leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 59.95 (AUD)

The over-the-ear clips are the chief problem with this model. They are quite comfortable, flexing easily with the shape of your ears, but they just don't seem to lock the earbuds in place. This has a big impact on the sound quality, as the buds aren't correctly positioned. Sennheiser's other new earbuds with the stability wings, such as the MX55 and the MX90 VC have considerably better designs.

Even perfectly seated earbuds usually struggle to produce adequate bass, and when they're resting awkwardly in the outer part of the ear it just magnifies this issue. The MX70s really suffered in this department. The whole sound was quite bright, with tinny highs that dominated the music. Bass, while having decent extension, had almost no power and very little presence, which made our music sound quite flat.

There was quite good separation in the mid range, although the highs were a little harsh and there was some noticeable distortion in the upper mids at certain points. The soundstage was quite limited, but that is a general earbud issue and thus Sennheiser cannot really be blamed. The overall sound wasn't as satisfying as some of their other earbud offerings, and fell far short of their over-the-ear models.

We also had some issues with the design and aesthetic. The MX70 comes in a neon green colour scheme which looks a little bright for our liking. They are well constructed, with a strong, flexible, rubberised band and are reasonably comfortable by over the ear standards, but they suffer the aforementioned positioning problems which really have a big impact.

Sound leakage levels were about normal for a pair of earbuds, made slightly worse by the fact that a proper seal with the ear canal is not achieved, allowing more sound to escape.

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