Sennheiser CX 680i Sports

The basics

Weighing in at just 14g these Sennheiser CX 680i Sports are lightweight and compact. The 1.2 metre cable is super thin but still manages to come with inline controls and microphone built-in, so it's perfect for use with your iPhone as well as your iPod. The 120dB sound pressure means their plenty of volume and there is even a frequency response of between 18 – 20,000Hz.

The good

The Sennheiser CX 680i Sports have been designed to help you get the best from your work out. Built with iPod and iPhone primarily in mind, you’ll find three different sizes of in-ear bud as well as a selection of ear fins and change of diaphragm.

You’ll find the two-part buds, consisting of an inner speaker cover and also ear fins, make sure these headphones stay in place. We hit the streets with them and found that even at the end of a run when our body was sweaty and tiring, these headphones were still in place.

The fins and buds are also water resistant, so you can use them in the rain or take them into the locker room and not worry about them on the walk home.

The bad

Designed for workouts and pounding music, we found them to be rather bass heavy. They have a nice tone but the mid-range tends to be swamped by the driving bottom-end.

The cable is thin and light but the overall build quality isn’t quite as sharp as we were hoping. The 3.5mm audio jack cover is a little thin and while there is protection it’s not the most robust we’ve seen. The inline controls are also a little on the thin and weedy side, so much so we tended to forget they were there.

The bottom line

Built for action and pounding street action at that, the Sennheiser CX 680i Sports deliver a big sound at volume that suits the gym or the long distance runner. However, the clincher has to be the earfins, which hold the headphones perfectly in place. So, the music only stops when you want it to stop and not at some inappropriate moment.