Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
We tried to make the ETHER CX a unique product, and there is a lot in that's new. For example, it uses the original ETHER C driver but with a new tuning system delivering a unique and smooth voicing with gently lifted bass, and a really smooth transition from bass to mids. The new hardware is also a bit lighter and with no moving, as per our AEON design, and it sports a new ear pad. I hope it's a lot of fun for those who opt in the drop.
If anyone has any questions for me, please chime in.
EDIT: To make the information easier for people to see, I'm copying two of my posts contrasting ETHER CX to ETHER C and to AEON Closed. The format of the two posts is a bit different in style as I was sort of answering two different questions, for the editorially minded. :-)
ETHER C The original ETHER C had a tip toward the higher frequencies and also had some pad bounce that made bass a little unpredictable. With ETHER CX we have a new pad that reduces pad bounce for smoother and more impactful bass. By bringing the highs better into balance the whole headphone has warmer tone, without lacking air or shimmer, and the bass really pops on good source material (listening to Robag Wruhme's Wolluwe track as I write this and a lot of toe tapping going on).
ÆON Tone: ETHER CX has a more neutral voicing with a bump to the bass, while AEON has a bit more of a V to the response and is less linear and smooth sounding. ETHER CX has a bit more heft at the lowest frequencies, it just feels like there's more power at the sub-bass even though they measure similarly. AEON Closed presents a bit more upper bass energy due to the V-shape to the response. ETHER CX has a smoother blend to the midrange which delivers better phase coherence, while AEON has a bit of a peak in the 5K region, something we worked to eliminate in the ETHER CX, and a brighter than neutral top. Dynamics are very similar. Soundstage they are close, ETHER CX seems a trifle larger. Efficiency: ETHER CX is 2-3dB more efficient. Comfort: The AEON is lighter and is a bit more comfortable for more extended listening. Isolation: ETHER CX offers several dB more isolation. The following chart is showing both headphones with no damping,orange is ECX and purple is AEON Closed, measured on a GRAS 45 CA with DF compensation. The main takeaway is the smoother response of the ETHER CX, with a less pronounced "V" to the response for better midrange-high coherence, yet with a fun bump to the bottom end. The smoother top end lets the mids and bass stand out nicely, too. I like to think of it as "audiophile fun" voicing.
We currently have Flow products on the market and we've removed Flow upgrades for this reason as most original ETHER owners who wanted to upgrade have done so in the last two years. The upgrade is quite complex and costly, so it wouldn't make sense for a CX.
Also, sonically I feel there's less benefit to adding Flow to the ETHER CX as the resolving power is bumped up with the new tuning and though it doesn't have Flow the CX falls between AEON C and C Flow in detail retrieval with great extension at the top and bottom.
But if they don't work for you, our angled pads work fine. and you'll get a little more energy from 5-6K range, with a little less output from 2-5-4K (this number is off the top of my head and I may revise it tomorrow), and arguably a tad more soundstage.
The Flat ETHER pads in leather have a different foam design and won't work as well on the CX as the stock pad.
Can you post a graph for the ether CX compared to ether C and ether C flow?
I would let to see the differences before I join the drop. Thanks Dan.
Is this a one-off or will it continue to be offered in the future after the initial drop?
Thanks.
Tone: ETHER CX has a more neutral voicing with a bump to the bass, while AEON has a bit more of a V to the response and is less linear and smooth sounding.
ETHER CX has a bit more heft at the lowest frequencies, it just feels like there's more power at the sub-bass even though they measure similarly. AEON Closed presents a bit more upper bass energy due to the V-shape to the response. ETHER CX has a smoother blend to the midrange which delivers better phase coherence, while AEON has a bit of a peak in the 5K region, something we worked to eliminate in the ETHER CX, and a brighter than neutral top.
Dynamics are very similar.
Soundstage they are close, ETHER CX seems a trifle larger.
Efficiency: ETHER CX is 2-3dB more efficient.
Comfort: The AEON is lighter and is a bit more comfortable for more extended listening.
Isolation: ETHER CX offers several dB more isolation.
The following chart is showing both headphones with no damping,orange is ECX and purple is AEON Closed, measured on a GRAS 45 CA with DF compensation. The main takeaway is the smoother response of the ETHER CX, with a less pronounced "V" to the response for better midrange-high coherence, yet with a fun bump to the bottom end. The smoother top end lets the mids and bass stand out nicely, too.
I like to think of it as "audiophile fun" voicing.
You had me at, "more heft at the lowest frequencies ." This variation sounds like it "fixes" the one sticking issue I had with the AEON Closed.
Time for an obligatory "take my money" meme:
Black is the original ETHER, and you can see that it is tonally brighter than the ETHER CX, or the AEON Closed for that matter.
ETHER CX is warm, smooth, dynamic and has extension at both ends of the spectrum so it's an easy and fun listen with pretty much anything from Tom Petty to Shpongle or Yo Yo Ma.
So, long answer to a short question is I really enjoy this with both vocal music and jazz, but also EDM and quality rock recordings. If the source material is heavily compressed I would suggest some damping pads to make it a bit less "in your face."
How about comparison to the original C and maybe also add C Flow? Thanks Dan!
Thanks a bunch for all the information. You mention Aeon flows have a slight upper hand in terms of comfort for long sessions. I'm an all-day (8 hours) listening use case and was wondering what your thoughts were which of the two, if comfort is the deciding factor, would you recommend (of note: I have a rather large noggin and ears).
Thanks for your answer. It helps.
Can you post some isolation curves? The 2 points given in the specs don't cover the always troublesome 200Hz ish range where isolation often fails in closed cans. If not, maybe just answer the question of whether I can expect it to be different than the legacy Ether closed. I know I can find isolation plots for that.
Thanks
For travelers IMHO noise blocking is more useful as it blocks announcements and crying babies, while ANC tends to eliminate rumble but not the stuff that actually disturbs me, like the babies.
Looks like I'll keep using IEMs for travel. I may need a set of these for the office at some point. I haven't gotten many complaints about my open back cans yet though so motivation is low.
Would be interesting to see what you could do with the MK3's.