The Sennheiser PX-100 headphones are widely recognized as one of the best things ever to happen to low-end audio. But if you didn't like their over-the-head design—maybe because it messed up your hair, or it just didn't look hip enough—take heart: Sennheiser recently introduced the PMX-100 ($40 street), a street-style version of the PX-100. These light-weight supra-aural headphones have a band that goes behind your neck and are held in place by a combination of neckband tension and clips that go over the tops of your ears. Though the PMX-100 headphones sound every bit as good as the PX-100, the new design still might not satisfy the tragically hip, since the neckband is so rounded that it protrudes a bit oddly on most heads.

The cable that connects it to your MP3 player or other audio device comes out of the left earphone only. I like this design a lot, since it reduces tangle and catching. I passed these around the office, and they even fit a certain colleague of mine who has a difficult time finding street-style headphones that can accommodate his, uh, prodigious noggin. On him they looked normal, but on my own relatively narrow head the rounded neckband stuck out enough on the sides to look a bit like orthodontic headgear. The headphones are quite comfortable, even for long periods of time, though I did find them far more annoying than the PX-100 when I took them off my ears and left them around my neck. Unfortunately, the neckband doesn't fold at all, so they don't slip into a pocket nearly as easily as the PX-100.

I found the PMX-100 headphones to have identical audio characteristics with the PX-100, including nicely extended bass, crisp highs, and an overall balanced and natural sound. And portable devices can drive them very easily without you having to crank the volume way up, despite a relatively high impedance of 32 ohms. Just keep in mind that since these are open-back headphones, everyone around you can hear pretty much everything coming out of them, so if you're listening to those polkas on the subway, you may want to keep the volume down to avoid embarrassing yourself. And since they provide no noise blocking whatsoever, be careful about trying to turn up the volume to drown out noise—you may notice a ringing in your ears after prolonged listening at what seemed like normal levels on, say, a subway. That's just temporary hearing damage, but it can become permanent if you do it frequently.

For $40, the PMX-100 headphones provide very impressive sound quality, and the flat foam earpads are cheap and easy to replace. The design is definitely a matter of personal taste, though the single cable does offer a slight advantage and the around-the-back style will keep your coiffure free from headband dents. The PMX-100 would be even better if the neckband folded up, as the headband on the PX-100 does.