Digital Trends

Sennheiser MX 90VC January 8th, 2007 | by Brandon King

Performance and Testing

On the sound quality side, we tested the MX 90VC with an Apple iPod, Creative Zen Nano, and a PC with a Creative X-Fi Elite sound card. We played a selection of classical, jazz, alternative, synthpop, and industrial music off of MP3s encoded at 320kbps, CDs, and DVD-Audios (when available). Overall, we are impressed with the sound quality, but we aren’t sure if the MX 90VC warranted tossing out your old, free ear buds.

The responsiveness of the MX 90VCs is good. There is no trouble keeping up with faster paced music, and we heard very little smearing of lingering notes. Like nearly all ear buds, the MX 90VCs are a little bright on the high-end, leading to some shrill, high-hat sounds. Lows are better than any packaged ear buds we have heard, but still only qualified as adequate compared to other headphone types. Mids are slightly recessed, leading to slightly washed-out vocals; this in particular is a problem, because it causes the listener to increase the volume to hear the lyrics, which boosts the ear-damaging high- and low-pitched sounds. While the problem isn’t too significant, it still warrants some attention.

The sound stage is normal for ear buds: split down the middle. There is very little feeling that sound is coming from directly in front of us; it was more like being situated halfway between the stage, which is nothing particularly new. Sounds engineered for atmosphere felt more like they were whispered from each side.

As mentioned above, high-energy music fares very well. Slower and more atmospheric music still sounds good, but the punchy response and odd ear bud styled sound stage made for a less enjoyable experience. Jazz, and especially classical music, are not in the forte of these cans. Alternative/rock fares well, as do acoustic and vocal performances. Overall, we would be happy to toss aside the old white ear buds for the MX 90VCs.

Conclusion

The Sennheiser MX 90VCs offer an improvement in sound quality over bundled ear buds. While the improvement in sound quality isn’t staggering, the convenience of the “Twist to Fit” design enables the wearer to use these ear buds in situations where the competition would be useless. If you’re looking to upgrade your ear buds, and you like the convenience of ear buds, the MX 90VC is a great overall option.

Pros:

• Improved fit over traditional ear buds
• Stylish design
• In-line volume control

Cons:

• Cords tangle easily
• Sound quality not inspiring