These earphones are well worth the price[INR 990 at the time of writing], no Phillip or Creative headset can match it currently, as quoted by others. Currently there is nothing near the 1K price range which I would recommend over the CX 180. These dynamic drivers aren’t the best around, but they are very good for the price.
I have used a lot of earphones in my lifetime( Creative, Sound Magic, JBL, Bose, Sony etc) , and these are the ones I use as standby. My primary IEM, is the Sennheiser IE80 which costs over 25k. You can’t compare it to the top tier. But the sound reproduction is very good even at high volume levels. This is not true for many other brands.
The dynamic drivers are very good, and they’re able to produce tight bass without sacrificing detail or clipping at higher volumes. Mids are not as good as I am used to, but its still perfectly acceptable. Treble is not irritating when you crank up the volume, and sibilance is kept under check. Overall, very good. You can get some decent isolation, just change the tips which are provided, and you will notice a lot of change.
But the sound reproduction is best with the default tips, thicker ones tend to attenuate the highs a bit. They’re also the most comfortable if you’re listening for extended periods of time. I guess talking about the sound stage and other technical stuff is pointless for low end IEMs like these, but they are comparable with certain popular IEM’s which cost about ~ 3-4k.
The build quality of this is decent. The headphone is very light and it can handle drops, bangs etc. The cables are made from soft compound rubber, which tend to get tangled a lot if you tend to put them in your jeans pocket a lot. They have these rubber hoses near the plastic housing of the headphone which reduces microphonics to some extent, but its not comparable to what over the ear IEMs can do. But its decent. You can use a headphone clip to help reduce microphonics further if you are running or working out. Since the CX180 is made from soft compound rubber, its also not recommended to leave it in the sun. Else the rubber can harden and eventually cracks will appear. Also, its not recommended that you use it with your phone in the jeans pocket. If your phone is a tight fit like mine, then you could break the L-shaped headphone plug after extended use. I broke mine and got mine replaced for this.
One of the main reasons I would recommend you this one over other brands is because of the brand itself. If you screw this up for any reason, then just take it to a Sennheiser Service center, and wallah, you’re given a new one. The warranty period is 2 years which is very long considering the cost which is lesser than 1K. This is very good because most earphones just screw up on you due to some reason if you use it regularly, say while cycling, or running, or while working out in the gym. Its great that they cover it with a replacement guarantee for 2 years.
As a whole I will totally recommend it to everyone. Worth the asking price.
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Sound Quality: 5/5
Build Quality: 4/5
Customer Support: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 5/5