Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: A longer-lasting AirPods alternative

Our Verdict

With not bad sound and upgraded battery life, the Sennheiser CX True Wireless goes high on quality and low on price.

For

Bass-rich sound
Affordable
Long battery life

Against

No ANC
Ho-hum aesthetic

Tom's Guide Verdict

With great audio and upgraded battery life, the Sennheiser CX True Wireless goes high on quality and low on price.

Pros

+
Bass-rich audio
+
Affordable
+
Long bombardment life

Cons

-
No ANC
-
Dull aesthetic

The Sennheiser CX True Wireless has come out of nowhere to become one of the all-time wireless earbuds on the marketplace. It essentially replaces the Sennheiser CX 400BT, which was already ane of the best in its grade, and adds a host of upgrades while simultaneously lowering the toll.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless specs

Price: $129

Colors: Black, white

Battery life (rated): 9 hours, 27 hours (with charging example)

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2

Processor: Non stated

Size: 0.eight x 0.viii 10 1 inches (per bud); 2.5 ten 1.9 x 1 inches (charging case)

Weight: 0.two ounces (per bud); 1.3 ounces (charging instance)

From added water resistance to a beefier sound and much longer bombardment life, the CX True Wireless surpasses its Sennheiser predecessor. And other wireless earbuds in this price range should worry, besides: the Beats Studio Buds can't match the comfortable withal secure fit, while the Apple AirPods is browbeaten on battery life by nearly iv hours. Go on reading our Sennheiser CX True Wireless review to observe out what else it offers.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: Price and availability

$129 MSRP
Releases on July 8 2021

The CX True Wireless has a release date of July eight, and it costs $129. To the dollar, that's also what Sennheiser is currently charging for the CX 400BT, just technically its list price is $199.

Both black and white versions of the CX True Wireless will proceed sale. Like the balance of Sennheiser'due south headphone family, information technology should be bachelor at a range of retailers and not just from Sennheiser straight.

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Sennheiser CX Truthful Wireless review: Design and comfort

Looks banal, but comfortable
Very secure fit
Added h2o resistance

The CX True Wireless mainly takes its design from the CX 400BT, which in turn was based on the flagship Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless ii.

There are some visual downgrades: Where the CX 400BT had silver-tinted Sennheiser logos on both the touch sensors and on meridian of the charging example, the CX Truthful Wireless is plain black throughout. The earbuds' plastic casing doesn't feel whatsoever lower-grade, but in that location is a clearer lack of visual particular.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review — (Image credit: Future)

Happily, one thing that hasn't changed is the fit. But like its predecessor, the CX True Wireless practically clings to the within of your ears, and doesn't work loose when walking or exercising. Despite this, the buds are pretty comfortable: I wouldn't mind taking them out every couple of hours, simply they don't apply any undue force per unit area. You become four sets of silicone ear tips in the box, and swapping them in and out is piece of cake.

What's more, Sennheiser has actually improved on the CX 400BT design by making the CX Truthful Wireless h2o-resistant to the IPX4 standard. In fixing this previously-disappointing omission, the CX True Wireless becomes much more viable as a pair of workout earbuds. Especially compared to the standard AirPods model, which doesn't have IP-rated protection either.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: Controls and digital assistant

Customizable and reliable bear upon controls
Digital assistant works well

Sennheiser has equipped the CX Truthful Wireless with a fairly standard prepare of touch controls. You can tap one time or twice on either earbud to play, break or skip tracks, as well as respond or decline calls. Pressing and property will raise or lower the volume, depending on which bud you lot apply — personally, I notice this more intuitive than tapping repeatedly to adapt book.

A triple tap tin can too summon your phone'southward digital assistant, be it Google Banana on Android or Siri on iOS. As with the residuum of the touch on controls, I had no issues with responsiveness, and the CX True Wireless' microphones ably picked up my vocalization commands.

After updating the Sennheiser Smart Connect app, it's as well possible to fully customize the impact inputs or turn them off entirely. Customization is another useful touch on, peculiarly if you want faster access to your digital assistant. Only remap 1 of the buds' single-tap commands to accept it summon the assistant, instead of playing and pausing.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: Sound quality

Bassy just still well-balanced
Not the widest soundstage, but still good

The biggest reason to buy the CX 400BT has always been its sound quality: by using the same driver blueprint as the Momentum True Wireless 2, each bud was capable of delivering sumptuously detail-rich music with a neutral, yet customizable sound profile.

The CX True Wireless still uses in-house Sennheiser transducers, merely has a more powerful low-end punch. This delivers more of a satisfying chunkiness to stomping rock songs, like Purple Blood'south "Boilermaker" and Muse's "Time is Running Out". Big pop choruses also get a heave, as Charli XCX's "Smash Clap" and The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" demonstrated.

Fortunately, the bass isn't outright overpowering. You still go all the texture of classic jazz recordings, and college frequencies get room to breathe. Meiko'south breathy vocals on "Exit the Lights On" comes through with a lovely clarity, while the acoustic guitar rails lets the CX True Wireless testify off its attention to detail with clearly audible fretting and fingerpicking noises.

If there'due south a tradeoff, I didn't find the CX Truthful Wireless' soundstage quite every bit wide as that of the CX 400BT. Audiophiles might also prefer the more than neutral sound of Sennheiser's older earbuds. But on the whole, the CX True Wireless's sonic capabilities are seriously impressive, challenging those of more expensive earbuds similar the AirPods Pro or even the Principal & Dynamic MW08.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: App and features

Full EQ customization
No ANC but various utilities

There's no agile dissonance cancellation hither, which puts the CX True Wireless at a disadvantage considering the Studio Buds and Anker Soundcore Liberty Air two Pro back up ANC for similar money.

Still, the Smart Connect adds a few actress tricks. Likewise the aforementioned command customization, the app offers full EQ control, not to mention a handful of sound presets. The Podcast preset, for instance, emphasises voices, while the Movie preset beefs up video soundtracks. In that location'southward also a Bass Boost preset, though admittedly I couldn't tell much of a deviation between this and the default Neutral profile.

A more than esoteric characteristic is Sidetone, which is basically a mic monitoring way for phone calls. Turn Sidetone on — y'all can set it to fifty% or 100% force — and yous'll be able to hear your own voice equally you speak, so you lot can tell whether you're coming through conspicuously enough.

The CX True Wireless earbuds don't have IR sensors, so there's no ear detection that would automatically pause music when you remove one. But you can connect and use only a single earbud, should you lot want to keep i ear out for conversations or PA announcements.

Sennheiser CX True Wireless review: Battery life

Very good — nearly 9 hours
Large improvement on previous Sennheiser buds

Another of the CX True Wireless's improvements to the CX 400BT is endurance. I but got a little over v hours of continuous playback on the latter, merely the CX Truthful Wireless managed 8 hours and 53 minutes.

That's remarkably close to Sennheiser's official figure, 9 hours, with up to 27 hours from repeated employ of the charging example. Aye, the lack of ANC makes things easier, but yous're withal getting hours more than uptime than the CX 400BT, AirPods and Studio Buds. The only downside is that the case doesn't support wireless charging, though this isn't still a common feature in the sub-$150 market.

Sennheiser CX Truthful Wireless review: Call quality and connectivity

Viable for calls, even with groundwork noise
Stiff Bluetooth 5.2 connexion

While nothing special, the CX True Wireless makes an acceptable calling headset. I could hear my chat partner loud and clear, and I reportedly came through intelligibly equally well.

I asked one friend to specifically compare how I sounded when using the CX True Wireless immediately after speaking to him using the CX 400BT, and the departure was patently negligible. Some distant, outdoor background noises — like traffic — were very slightly quieter on the CX Truthful Wireless, merely otherwise they're equally capable on calls.

In that location's no doubting the integrity of the Bluetooth 5.2 connexion either. I could keep listening with my phone several rooms (and walls) away, and if in that location was any quality deposition, I couldn't perceive it.

Sennheiser CX Truthful Wireless review: Verdict

The Sennheiser CX True Wireless is one of the all-time wireless earbuds for the money, thanks to its newfound water resistance and hugely improved battery life.

The CX beats the entry-level AirPods, and the secure fit could potentially make it 1 of the best sports headphones too. If the lack of ANC is a deal-breaker, the Beats Studio Buds is a worthy alternative, but everyone else has a bargain on their hands. A pleasant surprise indeed.

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James joined Tom'southward Guide in 2020, bringing years of experience in consumer tech and product testing. Every bit Audio Editor, James covers headphones, speakers, soundbars and anything else that intentionally makes racket. A PC enthusiast, he also covers the occasional spot of calculating and gaming news, ordinarily relating to how hard information technology is to observe graphics card stock.