Wireless earbuds can go wrong in so many ways.

True wireless technology introduced a bunch of new complications — limited battery life, bluetooth pairing issues, and what happens if they fall out of your ears — issues which aren’t present with wired earphones.

But Sennheiser’s new CX 400BT True Wireless Earbuds (CX 400BT TW) helped me forget about all of that, for the last week or so.

I’d describe myself as a user who prioritises comfort and convenience, and who generally can’t distinguish between the sound of different pairs of similar-grade earphones, unless their quality is really dramatically different.

If you’re anything like me, you might find that the CX 400BT TW are super-comfortable, easy to set up, and sound great — and nothing less should be expected from the audio equipment maker with a whopping 75 years of experience.

Both left and right earbuds offer touch controls, which can be customised according to how you want to use them.

Comfortable fit

To begin with, the Sennheiser CX 400BT TW earbuds are super comfortable.

So comfortable in fact, that I happily wore them for a whole day.

When wireless earbuds are concerned, comfort cannot be understated, as a good fit prevents them from falling out, and helps to block out ambient noise.

Snugly-fitting

Wireless earbuds tend to be heavier than their wired counterparts (due to the batteries and other components). There’s also a real risk of wireless earbuds falling out, as they don’t have wires connected to them.

This means that they really need to sit snugly in your ears, which is why you’re going to want to try all the possible options for the different sizes of tips.

I ended up happiest with the standard-sized tips which were on the earbuds right out of the box (the second-largest), but there were three other options available.

With other pairs of earphones, I sometimes chose larger tips that would fit more tightly and tend to fall out less.

This made them rather uncomfortable, and prone to needing some tweaking or adjustment throughout the day, which ironically made them fall out more.

Smaller tips that fit my ears more readily, on the other hand, would also fall out more.

Finding that perfect fit, however, meant that I almost forgot I was wearing them when my playlist ended.

Noise isolation

The comfortable, snug fit of the CX 400BT TW earbuds doesn’t just keep them in place.

It also keeps other noises out, a function of in-ear earbuds called noise isolation.

I already have a bit of a bad reputation for being so focused on work or daydreaming in the office that people literally have to come over and wave their hands in front of my screen to get my attention, even when I’m not wearing earbuds.

This is one thing that the CX 400BT TW earbuds didn’t help me with, but it definitely did help me hear myself think instead of hearing my colleagues’ furious typing.

Touch control customisation

I hardly ever used the push-button controls on my previous earbuds, which were slightly stiff and put pressure on my ears when I did need to pause music, take calls, or skip/repeat songs.

Touch controls, however, meant that I was happily navigating through my playlist throughout the week.

The Sennheiser CX 400BT TW also allows you to customise the function of single, double, and triple-taps, as well as long-presses. Here’s how I set mine up:

I don’t use my phone’s voice assistant much, so I “demoted” it to the triple-tap, in case I ever need it, leaving the options I’d more likely need to use as the easier-to-access ones.

EQ

Along with customisation options for controls, Sennheiser’s Smart Control app also allows you to adjust the equaliser according to your preference.

Ease of use

Getting the earbuds in pairing mode is as simple as touching both earbuds for three seconds.

You simply connect your device to the right earbud, and it automatically takes care of the connection to the left earbud as well.

Switching between devices

The Sennheiser CX 400BT TW also allows you to use it with different devices easily.

You can switch between your paired devices seamlessly, toggling between them with one touch of the controls on the Smart Control app.

While this may seem like a small thing, it allowed me to go directly from listening to music on my phone on the way to work, to pairing the earbuds with my work laptop to watch videos all day get to work and be productive.

And when you’re done listening, the earbuds snap neatly into their magnetic charging case, which gives you approximately two charge cycles on top of the seven hours of battery life in the earbuds, making for a total of 20 hours’ listening time.

Still undecided about true wireless?

Wireless earbuds seem to have gone in the opposite direction from mass-market technologies like printers, which are somehow still notoriously problematic, clunky, despite being around for decades and going through generations of iterations.

They’re getting more and more common, as more and more devices phase out the once-ubiquitous 3.5mm earphone jacks.

And with that, they’re sounding better, fitting better, taking on more functions, and getting more affordable.

So if you haven’t already done so, now would be a great time to switch to true wireless, and the Sennheiser CX 400BT TW is a great place to start.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFys1N-g9Yr/

Available in both black and white, you can get a pair at S$299 from Sennheiser’s web store here, their brand stores at Marina Bay Sands and Marina Square or all Sennheiser’s authorised retailers.

Those making a purchase online can subscribe to their mailing list to get 10 per cent off their first order.

This sponsored article by Sennheiser made the writer surprisingly focused and productive — until he had to return the earbuds.

Top photo by Andrew Koay and via Sennheiser