After my shift yesterday, I met up with a guy who was selling these Sennheiser CX300-B canalphones. It was a weird feeling, I had never spent over P1,000 for earphones before. But taking into account that I had already spent P14,000 for my MP3 player and P2,500 for a leather pouch, it would just be plain stupid to not go the extra mile for an item that will let me fully enjoy the device.

So he handed me the earphones still in its packaging and urged me to try them on. He suggested I try the small size silicon rubber eartips first. It was a very uncomfortable feeling having a foreign object stuck into your ear canal. It didn’t feel right at all. I pressed play on my player and I got this horrible tinny sound, there was no bass at all. Utterly disappointed, I paid him P2,300 anyway and took them home to give it another shot. I wasn’t keen on looking like an idiot in public.

At home, I pulled out the small size eartips and attached the medium ones. I read somewhere that people, usually westerners, have a comfortable fit with the mediums. Maybe I have large ear canals, I thought.

I gently pushed them into my ears. It felt like there was a vacuum inside, after all there are rubber sleeves stuck in my ear blocking out the rest of the world. Must be what a butt plug feels like. I could barely hear the vehicles right outside the window, that’s probably a good thing. Probably. I mean, that’s the point right? I adjusted it some more and once I had a good seal, I picked a random song and played it.

Oh wow.

The tinny sound was gone, the bass was strong, everything was clear and it sounded like the band was playing from inside my head. It was earsex, I swear. Once you get past the discomfort of having rubber sleeves plugging up your ear, it’s all sonic paradise. Mind you I’m no audiophile, but this is the first time I’ve heard music sounding this clear and this good.

I shuffled around through other songs, through different genres, and each song I played sounded entirely new simply because I’ve never heard them like this before. Even the testicle-shriveling power metal wails are divine with this thing. I popped in a 24 DVD, looked for an action scene and enjoyed all the rumbling explosions and gunfire. I could’ve sworn my head was vibrating.

I’m 95% satisfied. The other 5% went to the weirdness of being able to hear my own footsteps, breathing, and talking via low inner ear vibrations while I have them on. Overall though, these canalphones are worth every peso I paid. Besides, it will take only like a day and a half to earn it all back, so it’s all good. If I ever lose these or if they ever break, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay another 2k to replace them.

I’m not even going to proofread this post, I wanna get back to using them.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Even my sister and her boyfriend, both iPod Video users, are impressed. They will readily admit that the Zen is the better device. Why? Because I was watching DivX episodes of Lost and 24 I copied directly off my machine. They have to convert theirs first. Plus, the screen is superb; the colors are better, the screen is brighter and the themes are a lot less antiquated than the tired, old iPod version of Aqua. Aside from a few useful extra features that the iPod doesn’t have, I can transfer files to it using Windows Media Player 10 or Windows Explorer. Another thing, though I haven’t tried it yet, is that it’s supposed to work under Linux. Later, I will try transferring media using Banshee under GNOME to see if it’s true. MTP is sweet.

There are some drawbacks though. The package I bought doesn’t come with a power adapter, it’s a separate purchase. Also, the A/V out cables are proprietary and I need to buy them if I ever want to play my videos on a TV. The accessories are less widespread than the iPod’s so I have to go to particular shops that sell Zen-specific accessories. Another tiny detail, the first unit I got broke within 12 hours and I had to run back to the shop the next day to get a replacement unit. I guess it’s a good thing that Zens tend to break while still under warranty.

My next purchase will be a non-white set of headphones or earphones. I’m personally blaming the iPod for making people wearing white earphones such a juicy target for muggers and thieves.

I started my new job last Monday. It’s a night shift job but the pay is generous. I’m not working for peanuts anymore. So far, the workload’s pretty light and the client didn’t specify a deadline so it’s all smooth sailing for now. I get to take it easy, which is all good since I still work 2 shifts (I spend about 4 hours or so at my old office while waiting out the 30 days on my contract).

Earlier today while I was over at my former job, I overheard that a few more people are rumored to have resigned/will resign. I’m glad I’m only expected to stay there for a few more weeks. Morale over there seems to be dropping and the folks in my department have realized that they better start looking for greener pastures. I even tried to get at least one officemate to apply here out of pity. I’m lucky to have quickly found another ship to jump onto before the other one sinks.

The people here are great, at least the ones in my group. I’m still experiencing a bit of culture shock. I’ve gotten used to the bullpen setup as opposed to seemingly endless rows of identical cubicles. It’s not so bad, but I prefer the former. I guess you can blame Dilbert and Office Space for the bad rep.

My shift’s just about over, now I can drop the hardworking rookie act and go home. I have a few seasons of Lost, Family Guy and The Office waiting at home.