Sennheiser Adidas OMX 680i Sports Headset review

Listening to some pounding music while running is great to zone out, and just focus on the horizon ahead. Getting a proper headset for running has been hard, and when I saw the new Sennheiser Adidas OMX 680i in the Apple Store I had to try it out right away.

The OMX 680i go around the ears, and are made of an easy adjustable flexible plastic material. It is easy to bend it into a good loop to put around the ears. Sadly it doesn’t sit still comfortably when the pace picks up, and to me they became more distracting than any in-ear headset solution previously. There is a sweet spot where they sound really good with warm powerful bass. This sweet spot is impossible to find except by actually pushing on the earphones. The plastic isn’t flexible, and strong enough to stay in that position by themselves. Having the knowledge that you can have excellent sound if positioned perfectly, but not getting it is not fun at all.

It is actually hard to judge the sound of these headphones when I know what they are capable of, but still unable to provide in the normal situation. The sound without hitting the sweet spot is ok, but not better than the stock Apple earphones.

Noise isolation is quite good, but still lets you hear passing traffic and voices. Having too good noise isolation while running can be a hazard. The cord doesn’t transfer too much noise when rubbing against clothes.

Having a microphone on running headphones isn’t really necessary other than for changing tracks. The microphone for the OMX 680i is really good, and even though it is placed quite low it picks up my voice really well. Even during warm-up running it takes my voice, and not the thump of my feet. When running I can’t make calls, as I need my breath to move forward. A huge problem with the microphone is that it seems to be really sensitive to breaking down. My first unit gave up after two weeks of running. The headphones kept working, as did the microphone buttons for play/pause and volume. I answered calls, and heard the other person, but they couldn’t hear me. Voice command failed to work as well, and I realised that I had to replace the headphones. These are supposed to be rugged, and water resistant. Apparently that is not the case. I have seen customer reports claiming the same problem.

The only redeeming feature of these headphones is the fact that they look cool. The bright yellow cable and plastic details look great, fresh and modern.
The Sennheiser Adidas OMX 680i turned out to be a disappointment. The failing microphone, hard to find sweet spot for bass and earphones that need constant readjusting when running are all spoiling the experience. I hope to see an updated version of the microphone, as there is currently hard to find any headphones with microphone made for running.