Sennheiser revamps CX 300-II earphones

One of the most popular pairs of earphones in the world is being discontinued in favour of a refined, more competent new version. Sennheiser's CX 300s are extremely popular upgrades for MP3 players due to their decent performance and low cost. And now they're getting go-faster stripes.

The CX 300-II earphones will be out in time for Christmas this year in a range of colours for £39, with a bump in performance to boot, making them even more advisable as first upgrades to the population's iPods.

If you're spending £150 on an MP3 player, you should consider at least £40 on a pair of decent earphones. The ones that come with today's players are typically abhorrent insults to music -- all the money you spend goes into the player, with a pittance diverted towards the cheap little buds that get shoved in the box.

Every single music player on the market -- including iPods -- only sound a fraction as good with the earphones that come with them, as they do with even a half-decent set of upgrades. You don't have to step up to Shure's £200 SE530s, Sennheiser's £250 IE 8s or Audio Technica's £250 CK10s, but a pair of £40 'phones should be an absolute must.

The CX 300-IIs go on sale this month, but don't miss our recent round-up of other great earphone upgrades for new MP3 players here.