DIY Earbuds: iPhone Headset + Sennheiser CX300
I just finished tinkering — as I watched this video on engagdet earlier today yesterday, I realized that I really miss the sound of my Sennheiser CX300 in-ear headphones. Compared to the iPhone earbuds they’re far superior.
So one hour ago I started taking apart both sets of headphones — while Apple’s just pop open with some pressure, Sennheiser’s pair wrecked my fingernails 
I’m happy with the result so far — great sound on the one hand and a pretty good mic as well as a remote control for the iPod iPhone. I just upgraded my headset to another level
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Hi!
Just read this! Lovin your work! I wanted to do this as well but cant seem to get my cx 300′s apart?! I got the silver ring off but now cant see how to get the earphone apart, please help!
Regards
Chris
Hi Chris,
right under the silver ring there’s a tiny channel in the black plastic. You need a sharp knife to crack the earbud and to part the front piece from the back.
But be careful with it! I nearly destroyed the casing of one of my buds, thanks to super glue it’s intact again
Hope that helps!
Julian
Hallo Markus,
das nächste Mal bitte beim entsprechenden Beitrag kommentieren.
Die unterschiedliche Farbgebung hat mich beim Basteln auch irritiert, doch im Endeffekt hat man bei der Polung glücklicherweise eine 50/50 Chance wichtig — ich habe die Kabelenden dann einfach angelötet, ich glaube ich habe das rotgrüne Kabel wie das Orange am anderen Ohrstöpsel verwendet.
Funktioniert perfekt, habe keine Phasenverschiebung. Im Notfall muss man hier auf einer Seite (li/re) eben nochmal die Polung ändern.
Viel Erfolg!
Julian
Hallo Julian,
danke fürs update. Ich denke es ist alles ok so wie ichs gemacht habe, habe es getestet aber wie soll mans genau wissen? Tatsächlich habe ich gestern die Polung dann nochmal getauscht, denke es hört sich so am besten an. Wenn ich Zeit habe, werde ich nachher nochmal die Ringe abziehen und zwei Bilder machen.
Viele Grüße: Markus
Although it doesn’t give you the button or microphone, Sennheiser actually have a new version of these out which work perfectly with the iPhone, though they don’t appear to have told anyone.
@Markus: Freut mich, dass es geklappt hat!
@Julian: Thanks for your comment. Actually, I didn’t do this only to make my Sennheiser CX300s work with iPhone — I also wanted to have the mic and button. For me it worked out great, I think it’s a very nice combination. But I’m sure there are other similar solutions available for purchase right now.
Hey Julian,
am asking you for help coz I’m experiencing some trouble with my iPhone headset. I modded from normal to CX300 buds but the problem I have existed before: the microphone button on the headset doesnt seem to work anymore.Normally you can pause the music with it or jump to the next title by doubleclicking, this however is sometimes not possible: if it does not work, only rebooting the phone helped, also terminating the ipod-process didnt work (by pressing home button > 6sec). After restarting the phone, functionality of the microphone button worked-until now: today, not even this will help, the button wont do anything when pressed.
A second problem is, that sometimes when I make calls using the headset, the real microphone at the lower end of the phone, will also be “on”, making awful noised when you wear the phone in your pocket. Only restarting the phone will help here.
Now I’m wondering if anyone apart from me has those same problems?
Best wishes from Hamburg, Germany
Hi Markus,
I’m sorry, I didn’t experience anything like that before.
But from what you describe, I think the problem is your phone, not the headset (restarting etc.) — maybe you could try using the headset of a friend’s iPhone for a while? This could confirm my suspicion.
Julian
Hi!
How do you get the silverring off?
Just pull it or twist it?
I’ve tried the best my fingernails could but just a tiny crack between the black casing and the silver ring…
/ete
Hi ette,
I managed to get them off using my fingernails and a sharp knife, but it’s pretty difficult — they’re obviously using good glue here.
Be careful though — you don’t want to destroy the plastic stuff hidden behind the silver rings.
Good luck,
Julian
Hey thanks for the idea. I just did mine, and they work great! I already had a pair of sennheisers, and an old iphone headset, but I really wanted the sennheisers with a mic and button. Now I’ve got both!
As for taking it apart, the ring is a pain, but make sure you’re not pulilng off the actual bud off with it. Once the ring is off, I used a knife to cut the glue to get the front part of the earbud off and separate it from the back.
Mine’s a little loose now, but I think it’ll hold.. If not, I’ll just have to grab some superglue.
Thanks again!
Joel
you star!!! i was going to attempt this 2moro and reading this has convinced me it can be done! wicked mate!