Sennheiser has taken the wraps off its $130 CX True Wireless (CX TW), the company’s most affordably priced true wireless earbuds to date. The new earbuds come in white and black and will be available starting on July 8 at various retailers and Sennheiser.com.
Though they look similar to the more expensive CX 400BT and Momentum True Wireless 2 models, the new earbuds keep things simple. There’s no active noise cancellation (ANC) or wireless charging, but Sennheiser says the CX True Wireless get nine hours of battery life per charge and up to 27 hours of playing time when you include their charging case — considerably more juice than the CX 400BT’s seven-hour/20-hour capability.
While the CX 400BT and Momentum True Wireless use the same drivers, the CX True Wireless incorporate Sennheiser’s TrueResponse transducer, which the company says was developed for its premium earphones and delivers “deep basses, natural mids, and clear, detailed treble.”
It’s hard to say if the CX True Wireless will sound noticeably different from Sennheiser’s other models, but you’ll be able to tweak their EQ and — with a firmware update — the touch control settings using the free Sennheiser Smart Control app. You can use each earbud independently and the Smart Control app allows you to fine-tune the earbuds’ sidetone feature that lets you hear your own voice clearly while on a call. Strangely, Sennheiser has chosen not to equip the CX TW with a transparency mode, which is effectively the same thing as sidetone, but available at any time.
An IPX4 rating should mean that they can withstand lots of sweat and even the occasional splash of water, and Sennheiser includes four sizes of silicone eartips to help people get the best possible fit.
When we reviewed the Sennheiser CX 400BT in 2020, we noted that the company had achieved its $200 price at the expense of too many missing features. The new CX TW doesn’t do much to fix this, but at their much lower starting price of $130, they’re not dramatically outclassed by other products at this price.
If Sennheiser can deliver its legendary audio quality in the CX TW, they might just be the most affordable audiophile-grade earbuds you can buy.
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