I needed some noise-isolating headphones, so I went down to Yodobashi and picked up a pair of Sennheiser CX400s. When I got them home I was faced with a daunting task: opening one of these horrid glued together plastic clamshell packages with nothing but my fingers and some nail-clippers. Any company who still uses packaging like this must hate itself. Why? Because every customer who is forced to struggle opening one of these things forms a negative opinion towards your product before even having a chance to try it.

Packaging is important, even though it’s something you only deal with once. Or, maybe it’s important because you only deal with it once. Apple figured this out. Opening an iPod or a Mac is a joy, and something you remember for a long time. I will remember the Sennheiser experience as well, mostly because of my sore fingers and a smallish cut.

And how are the headphones? A little bit muddy and bass-heavy compared to my Grados, but of course there isn’t really anything under $100 to compare with a nice set of Grados.

Update Dec. 5, 2008: These headphones are pretty terrible. It really hit home listening to Black Sabbath: Paranoid. It’s like I’m listening to my neighbours’ music through the wall. Boomy, indistinct, and altogether unpleasant.