Welcome to my review today on the Sennheiser OCX 686 Sport earphones. These are obviously designed for sport use and in that regard, they work really well.
That being said, this particular style may not be the perfect choice for everyone which I’ll talk more about as I get into the comfort and sound quality.
Accessories
Included with the headphones are an in-line mic, a 3-button remote audio cable, and a soft travel pouch.
You then have an adjustable plastic clip to keep your cable from flopping around while running or during other sport activities and you have a small cord shortener that slides up and down to help with cable management as well.
Next, you have a remote which features a mic on the back. The mic sounds good providing a natural sound that’s above average compared to other earphones w/ mics in this price range. The remote allows you to accept calls, advance tracks or adjust the volume. There are different models available depending on the phone you have which will make sure you can take advantage of as much functionality as possible.
There are a total of three different sizes of anti-microbial ear tips to choose from. And what’s great about these is you can rinse them off if they get too sweaty and once they dry they’re ready to go again.
Finally, you get a mesh carrying bag to store everything in as well.
Design, Features & Build Quality
Regarding the overall design, this particular model has plastic ear hooks which fit over the outside of your ears. They are flexible with a rubberized feel and have just a little bit of give to them as opposed to the feeling hard plastic against your ears.
From a durability standpoint, I found these can take a beating. They are sweat and water resistant so whether sweating profusely or tugging on the cable, these are built to last and I found they hold up great.
Comfort
When it comes to wearing earbuds, I’m not normally a fan. However, I found these to be light wearing and quite comfortable. The ear hook design gives a nice secure fit and no matter what type of activity I did, they never came loose from my ears.
Now these aren’t so comfortable that I forget I’m wearing them and personally I wouldn’t want to wear these all day long (though you certainly could if you wanted to). But for 30-90 minutes of use, I found these worked great.
Noise Isolation
These do a nice job of sealing off your ear canal which provides some excellent noise isolation. Although most noise is greatly reduced, you’ll still be able to hear sounds slightly muffled, whether at the gym or outside.
There is also some very slight wind noise while running with these, but it’s hardly noticeable.
But on the flip side, these really don’t leak sound, even with them turned up.
Sound Quality
Next, I’ll talk about the sound quality and these are actually quite good. When you’re searching for a good sport earphone, often too important qualities are the ability to get loud and product some thumping base. These provide a nice sound signature geared towards more modern and contemporary music.
With these, you’ll notice a pleasing sound overall which sounds particularly good with rock, electronic, and pop genres of music. Now there’s enough low end to satisfy most people, but if you do prefer hearing the bass emphasized a bit then these may leave you wanting more in that department.
Vocals have good definition and detail and have a natural sound quality to them.
The highs are slightly rolled off which is actually helpful if you’re wanting to listen to these at louder volumes as your won’t have to worry about hearing damage as much.
Stereo imaging on these is good as well, especially considering the price.
If you’re primarily using these for listening to rap or other bass heavy music, then you may find you want a bit more in the bass department.
Comparison to other headphones
Now compared to other sport earphones such as the Powerbeats, the Powerbeats does produce a little more bass, but the bass isn’t as crisp and clean sounding. Also, it’s keeping a secure fit is more difficult with the Powerbeats so you’re constantly having to readjust them. So overall the Sennheiser’s not only provide a better quality listening experience, but they do a much better job staying put in your ears.
Now compared to other headphones such as Sony’s MDRAS800, the Sony’s have a more natural and flat sound, but the bass comes across as tinny and weak compared to Sennheiser. If you’re primarily listening to more classical or jazz genres of music then this could work well. But otherwise, for more contemporary music you’d listen to during work workouts, the Sennheisers once again provide a more satisfying experience.
REASONS TO CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE
Now even though these are a solid choice among on-ear headphone, there are a few reasons you might want to go with something else.
If you prefer to have the bass emphasized a bit more, than you may not be happy with these.
From a comfort standpoint, If you don’t like the feeling of something wrapping around your ears then these may not be for you. If that you then you may want to check out the other models Sennheiser created as a sport earphone (which I’ll provide links to below).
Finally, If you want something wireless then a Bluetooth pair of sport earbuds would be a better choice.
BUT OTHERWISE
But otherwise, if you’re looking for a comfortable, water resistant, durable, easy to clean pair of sport earphones that sound great for the money and provide excellent noise isolation, then these would be an excellent choice.