Replacing the Sennheiser PX-100

Purchase Advice
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I found another seller, this time $80 including shipping, and they are sending 3 sets of phones. The MM 450-X, the MM 550-X and an orange and white pair that I’m sure I can palm off on a grand-niece. The MMs originally sold for $349-$399, although some sites list the 550 even higher.

Had some communications with the seller prior. I like the idea of the MMs because they do work well with my iPhone, and I will be able to use them either wired or wireless. Apparently noise cancelling only works wireless, as do the phone connections. I did test that on the pair that arrived with the broken noise cancelling, and people on the other end of the call reported that the mike was nice and clear.

I wasn’t looking for the 550s, but I will be able to compare over and on the ear models. I certainly don’t mind them being thrown in. I figure that if they are in good condition, even if I buy replacement earpads (I do clean them carefully) or a replacement battery, I’ve done good for $80.

The 450-X is difficult to find - it’s still on the Sennheiser site, but several sources say it has been discontinued. I don’t see the MM 550-X on their site, but it is similar to the PXC 550.

The Urbanites do look very nice. Would you say that the bass is simply low and extended, or is it boosted relative to the rest of the spectrum?

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I don’t really understand that question, can you elaborate? I’m not up on all the terminology.

It’s not overpowering in anyway, don’t really get any rumble from it.

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It comes from reading on the Sennheiser site. Several times in the Urbanite description it talks about lots of bass. I don’t know if it’s trying to compete against Beats, or if it is simply a nice solid bass range, not emphasized.

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Ahh, I haven’t heard any Beats. If you’ve listened to an ath-m50x before, I found that to have a lot more bass than the Urbanite.

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Last night, I tried to shake down the Sennheiser MM-450X as a candidate for a PX-100 replacement. It isn’t. I played mostly Apple Music downloaded material from my iPhone, through the Dragonfly Black with Jitterbug, using a wired connection to the iPhone so I could listen to the Sennheiser directly, not using wireless.

I’ve decided that there will be a place for the Sennheisers, as wireless / travel / use for conference calling noise reduction with the iPhone, but they were slightly disappointing as far as overall quality.

They seem more than a bit present, and although bass is there, it’s not punchy. Listened to a variety of acoustic and electric Clapton, a bit of Parliament, some Blondie, and the most recent (and excellent) Stanley Turrentine collection. Through all, just a bit harsh. I would not hesitate to use these phones as they were designed, to reduce travel noise and maybe at conventions. But they make my ears tired.

At first, I swapped out my Cheapie Sony Noise Reducing Phones. Those were worse all over. Then I tried my 45 year old Audio Technicas, which do not make my ears tired, but which just sound more muffled and muted. I had to compare them to my Grado AR60e’s and the Grados sounded better in every way. Clearer cymbals, better bass extension, smoother midrange, not gritty.

The thing is, the music. That’s the whole point. About a half hour after listening to the Sennheiser MM-450 sound on Turrentine’s mostly acoustic small groupings, I ran for the Hifiman SE560s. Even with the puny Dragonfly Black DAC, it was like diving into a pool of fresh clear water. Instantly I could hear the music as Turrentine played it. Glorious reed tones, and accurate coronet, piano that sounded like piano, and perfect cymbals. I don’t expect reference quality in a replacement for the PX-100s, but I need something that will pay homage to the music. I had to listen an extra hour to the late Mr. Turrentine on the beautifully recorded album “We Speak” (Angel House Records). - even good on Apple Music

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To Continue — The MM450-X is definitely NOT the replacement I want. I think that the actual speaker is smaller than the PX-100s. Certainly it has less bass extension than my cheap Grados. Perhaps the over the ear MM 550-X would have been better, but for the first time in 8 years I left negative eBay feedback for the person who sold a “lot of 3 Sennheiser headphones” all working and tested. 2 worked. And the “MM 550-X” turned out to be a broken 2nd 450X. So I won’t know.

The 450X is not bad. I bought a new battery and some new earpads for it. It works well enough with my iPhone, the NR is OK but not spectacular, and it sounds decent when wired. Apparently my old iPhone 6 does not support some wi-fi protocol that is supposed to give greater fidelity.

I did spend some hours listening to the MM 450-X while traveling this weekend. They are adequate, in just the sort of way that I would not have in my mis-spent youth wanted to have been rated merely “adequate” by a girlfriend.

So, I’m still looking for a happy upscale but under $350 portable solution to replace those nice PX-100s.

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No love for the HD25?

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Honestly, I have not listened to the HD25. I know they have a good reputation, and even some ‘designer’ models. I don’t know what a DJ wants in a headphone. Maybe I should check out the local Guitar Center, as most appear to stock them.

What are your thoughts about the HD25? I’m pretty agnostic on closed vs open back, either can make good sound.

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Mine are new so I’m still learning them. They have a warm sound signature similar to the PX 100s and 200s but more analytical I think, at least in my limited experience. They are very lightweight but well built. They don’t fold small but they should be easy to carry in a bag.

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I flew into St. Louis today for some company training. First time I took the Sennheiser MM-450x with me on a plane. They do cut down on the noise, but someone needs to really work at an aggressive active noise reduction system. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, and I liked the wireless connection to my phone on the flight. But they lack bass punch in a noisy environment and active noise reduction only goes so far.

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HI, it’s almost 2021 >.> My PX 100-II just broke. I have bought many PXs and if my memory serves me well I think the PX 200 something that had the permanent leathery doughnut shaped pad instead of the replaceable foam ones, to me they seemed to hurt my ears. at least that’s what I vaguely remember. I am weary of the over the ear headphones because I don’t want them to have paper cup over the ear effect where one would brush over the casing or the cable and it would travel inside the cup. Also I think they would get to hot for me. Also don’t want wireless because I don’t want to be in a position where I want to use them and the batteries are dead. Price point is hard to say, because if its something hardwired like the px100 where all the failures happened in the wires, it would be very sad to have something expensive break like that. It looks like most likely I’ll be going for Koss PortaPro (maybe KTC)
I would like to scream for a few minutes and then ask (while still screaming inside my head) Is there a way to get some kind of petition going to try and have Sennheiser rerelease the PX100. Its not like they lasted forever. They would still have repeat business because of the not so perfect wiring. It seems like I bought a set every two years or so, same with their earbuds.
Thanks for “listening” and suggestions.

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Koss Porta Pro probably ticks all of the boxes for you. Drop has them for $38 right now here : Massdrop x Koss Porta Pro X Headphones | Open-Back Audiophile | Drop

If price isn’t too much of an issue have you tried OPEN over the ear headphones. They sound great and do not have that paper cup effect due to them being open. The only downside is that others can hear your music as well but I guess they could with on ear ones as well, just not as “open”. If you were willing to go that route the Senn HD-6XX from Drop is a great buy at $220 and many folks including myself love these cans. I suggest those since you like the Sennheiser brand enough to buy the PX100 more than once. I do not always endorse Drop.com and I am not affiliated with them but the two headphones I mention above they have great prices on and are very popular from their site.

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I feel for you, loved my PX-100s. Koss with YAXI pads is not a bad substitute, but you might find that the feel cheap compared to the Sennheiser. I like entry-level Grados, especially if you get the L-Pads (they come with the S Pad, which is flat, the L-pads are more of a cup shape and larger). You can modify the sound by taping around the L-Pad perimeter, which reduces the slightly hot treble Grado profile, and improves bass. I don’t get much microphony effect from the Grado cables. I have the SR-60e which is fine, but if you can go a few bucks higher, many people say that the 125 and 225 give great performance for the price.

The SR-60e’s made me smile, and I ended up using them much less after I picked up a used pair of RS1e from @MCM here. Entirely different class of headphone. Note that people either love or hate Grados, but I sure liked them. Not quite as portable as the PX-100s.

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Hi! I use Sennheiser HD 650 and it’s really good.Good for neutral listening. They’re decently comfortable and have a decently well-balanced sound quality with an open-sounding soundstage. Unfortunately, they lack a bit of bass compared to closed-back neutral listening headphones and also tend to be a bit forward with instruments and vocals but overall they have a good sound quality that’s suitable for casual and neutral listening.

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