Dossier — Sennheiser CX 80U
The brochure speaks; the silicon answers. What follows is what each has said.
+ Vendor page › +Claims breakdown
| Claim | Bucket | Witnessed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-bit, 96 kHz digital audio playback | PCM | Alt 1, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 48 96Alt 2, Subslot 3 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 48 96 | ✓ Match |
Remarks
Sennheiser specs the CX 80U plainly — "24-bit, 96 kHz digital audio playback," a low-latency lossless path from source to ears. The descriptor agrees: a UAC1 device offering 24-bit PCM to 96 kHz, with a 16-bit alt beneath it. The headline claim is met.
One strangeness is worth the witnessing: the rate ladder omits 44.1 kHz entirely, offering only 48 and 96. Most recorded music — CD-rate and the bulk of lossless catalogs — arrives at 44.1, and a device that will not accept it leaves the host to resample every such track up to 48 before a sample ever reaches the earbuds. A clean 24/96 ceiling, missing the most common rung of all — so for 44.1 material, the lossless path the box promises runs through a resampler first.
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