I was browsing through a (bogus) fire sale at Dick Smith (Australian electronics retailer) today and spotted
Sennheiser MX365 ear buds (white) for AUD8.99. I bought these because I wanted ear buds, because they were inexpensive and because I trusted they were genuine Sennheiser (lots of fakes online).
Build quality is cheap but satisfactory. I like the right-angle headphone plug, it does not stick out. The foam covers are not durable (never are) and I threw them away.
I gave the Sennheiser MX365s a quick listen this evening to a variety of classical, pop and rock music and in comparison to
Superlux HD681 (full-sized, open),
Philips SHE3590 (IEM) and
Xiaomi Piston 3 (IEM for Android phones). These are all budget headphones and similarly priced. Unfortunately, I had no other ear buds for comparison.
The listening experience was pleasant but unexciting. Because the MX365 is an ear bud heaphone, it lacked the warmth and detail of the Philips SHE3590 IEMs. The Superlux HD681s had a much more exciting soundstage than the MX365.
I think the MX365 is a good value for an ear bud headphone. Sometimes I don't want the headphone to block out environmental sounds. I would buy these again. However, for listening enjoyment there are better budget headphones in the IEM and full-sized categories. Note that the
Head-Fi Headphone Buying Guide doesn't list any ear bud headphones!
