Sennheiser PMX70 sport headphones review

Listening to music whilst working out has always been a popular option, if not the most practical

25 May 2006 9:53 GMT / By Chris Hall

Listening to music whilst working out has always been a popular option, if not the most practical. At Pocket-lint we’ve been through numerous styles – in ear, out of ear, hooked over ear, and nothing seems to do the job ... and nothing seems to last.

Sennheiser, have decided to have a crack at sorting this problem out once and for all, and it’s good to see that they are taking a serious pop at it, with seven different options for your sporty headphones. We got our hands on several versions and here we attack the treadmill with the PMX70 – the ones with the neckband.

Ok, let’s start at the beginning. In the box you get your neckband headphones and a clip. Might not sound a lot (compared to some of the other options) but this really is all you need.

The headphones have the neckband, that then loops over your ears, and then plug neatly into your ears. Coloured, as the rest of the range, in grey and green, there is also a reflective Sennheiser logo on the back, which looks pretty, but probably won’t stop someone driving into you if you happen to be running down the middle of the road in the dark. It might help the Police find your headphones, which is something I suppose.

Anyway, I digress. The cable is single sided, so comes out of one side of the unit, and is about a meter long (1.2m). The clip, of course, will attach to the cable and allow you to clip it out of the way to stop it swinging and bouncing – perfect if you have am arm-mounted MP3 player or similar.

The fit is the real deal-clincher here. The neckband makes them ultra supportive, so when out pounding the streets, your music stays secure. Because they are water resistant, you can wear them in wind, rain, or shine, and also wash the sweat off when you get home.

Sound wise, the headphones are powered by two powerful neodymium magnets for great sound reproduction, and as this comes from the Sennheiser fold, you know you are going to get good quality sound, and you do. The bass tones punch through really well, so much so, that on our test iPod nano, we could switch the Eq “Bass Booster” option off, and ramp the volume up!

Verdict

Finally a good solution for listening to music when you workout. But there is a slight problem. The neckband means you can’t move your head backwards without dislodging these headphones. This might not be too much of a problem, but it certainly means you can’t really use them on a road bike (on an indoor trainer for example), but would probably be ok on a sit-up-and-beg gym bike. The packaging advises you don’t use the headphones in situations such as traffic, so it’s probably not such a bad point.

All in all, great sound, well designed and they look funky – certainly one of our favourites from the sporty Sennheiser range.

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Sennheiser
Price as reviewed: £29.99
Latest price: Compare prices
The good: Solid bass tones, water-resistant, comfortable
The bad: Neckband can get in the way
Quick verdict: When running, these headphones are excellent; however, the neckband can get in the way in other sports
Score