Home > Consumer Reviews > Sennheiser PMX70 Sport Line Stereo Neckband Headphones

I have learned through numerous headphone purchases (mostly wasted) that buy headphones with your activity in mind. No headphone design is good for all body movement patterns, sound requirements, and weight profile. Sometimes you just have to but em and try em to see if they fit your activity listening requirements.

I bought these headphones for running. Just for running, not for exercise or more broadly sports. I use other headphones for those other categories. I already use the Nike HJ020 Flight Sport headphones for running. I use other styles for other types of activities. In general, the behind the neck in-ear design (Nike and Senn.) are a good choice for running since they stay secure while being lightweight and have a low profile. However, the design is not functional for lifting weights or seated listening. The neck band pushes against the bench/chair and comes out while hurting your ears. Also, I do not find the design comfortable on my ears for general listening. I much prefer using the various Sony earbud styles for general listening.

The Sennheiser PMX70 is very similar in design to the Nike headphones. Here are the differences:

- the cord comes out the neckband on the Nike and the left front side on the Senn. Coming out the neck is less intrusive to your face but puts a little weight on the neckband. Nike +

- the neckband comes over the ears for the Senn. and straight to the neck for the Nike. For the Senn., the earband puts pressure on the outside of the ear unless you push it behing the ear. Either way, it a little snug on the ear. Nike +

- The Senn. are a little heavier then the Nike. Nike +

- The Senn. behind the ear design and stiffer neckband make the headphone a more secure albeit snug fit. Senn. +

- The Senn. is more stylish but a more visible profile (depends on what you want others to see)

- The Senn. sound is superior, but not detectable during running. Senn+

For me, I am sticking with my Nike headphones for running. I am always on the lookout for new, better headphones. For running, The Sennheiser PMX70 is new but not better.

After someone stole my Bang & Olufsen A8s, I read many reviews, and bought these PMX70s. They sound surprisingly good, are trivial to put on, and stay securely in place. In-ear models sound better, but one doesn't want all the other bodily noises that are audible when exersizing with in-ear phones.

The single cord is an advantage, and they're ideal for running, good for biking. My daughter likes them, too, no mean feat.

My only complaint: the pressure that keeps them secure also means wearing them for more than an hour becomes painful. So they don't really replace the A8s, and I'll also need to get a pair of the Sennheiser OMX70s for walking around. [Added a week later] A minor annoyance for biking, when traveling downhill fast, there is a lot of wind noise, perhaps due to the sticking-out design.

[3/2009 - the plastic outside the cable is finally starting to crack, at 3 yrs not so surprising, and they were left in the sun from time to time.]

[6/2009 - the cracked cable bothered me, so I bought another pair, which remain my high-school daughter's favorites.]

These headphones do what they set out to do, be a good sport headphone. You can't expect perfect sound from sport headphnes, that is not their primary objective. What these headphones do well is stay in your ears while being physically active. Their sound is nowhere near as complete or rich as Sony's phonotopia headphones, but unlike Sony's earbuds, they actually stay in your ears. This is achieved by way of a single cord to the left earphone instead of cords to each ear (which can get caught on just about anything), and a horizontal head piece.

The only fault I have found with these headphones is with the wrap-around type head piece. It is too big and not adjustable. I guess the manufacturer was trying to make a universal size, but it is big. I must angle the head-piece up towards the top of my head to make it fit well, which seems to work without degrading the sound too much.

The headphones work well with sunglasses and sound pretty good. But, do not expect the same quality of sound that good earbuds will give you. The earpieces on these headphones are not adjustable and therefore cannot be fit to your ears. But, as I said, this is not the reason you are buying sport headphones.

What these headphones were made to do (stay in your ears during physical activity), they do well. But don't expect perfect sound quality or complete blockage of ambient noise.

The Sennheiser PMX70 had excellent sound quality and volume compared with others I'd used recently. I had high hopes on first listen. However, these semi-in ear headphones were moderately uncomfortable after only about 20 minutes. I later took them on a 40 minute run. The design is such that in any position I adjusted them, the speakers tilted slightly upward in my ear. Once I started perspiring, my sweat poured right into the little speakers. I had to stop every few minutes to shake the collected sweat out of the earpieces. The right speaker was filled with sweat and non-functional pretty much the entire run. Who designed these? Consider these headphones only if you 1) never plan to exercise while using them and 2) will be keeping them on for 20 minutes or less.

I have gone through several other sports headphones (Philips / Nike being my previous favorite). These are now my favorite.

Pros:
1) These have the best sound for working out.
2) The bass response on these is very strong, even a bit boomey in the lower frequencies. If you like this then you will love these.
3) They stay in position perfectly in any upright sports activity (running, riding, walking, etc).
4) The cord seems to be quality material. We will see how long it lasts.

Cons:
1) Be sure you are comfortable with headphones which go behind the neck. If you are doing weights where you are lying on your back, they will get bumped out of your ears.
2) I don't use them for travel due to the bass response and them getting bumped when you lean back in a chair. The bass annoys me after a couple hours. That is when I break out my Sony in-the-ear headphones which have much more accurate sound reproduction without the boomeyness and neck loop.
3) This is the most I've paid for sports headphones.
4) Lime green may not be your color.