Sennheiser HD 202 Dynamic Headphones
by Sennheiser
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Our Price: $39.95 Availability: Usually ships in 6-10 business days Buy Used: from $14.79 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser HD 202 Dynamic Headphones
Customer Review: So this is what the hype is about...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll start off by saying that I'm a big fan of the Koss KTXPro1 headphones, so much of what I write is in comparison.
My pair of headphones at home were recently broken and I went to buy another pair, and asked my kids if they needed headphones. My son wanted a pair like I had, so he was getting the Koss headphones, and my daughter wanted ear-enclosing headphones, so after a little Amazon searching and filtering, I came across the Sennheiser HD 202s. For about $6 more, not a big deal. I'd finally get to hear these famous Sennheisers!
I prefer the non-enclosed form factor of the KTXPro1, so I can hear what else is going on around me (phone ringing, doorbell, kids yelling, etc). I was going to try the Sennheiser PX 100s, but they're a little pricey in comparison. I was going to offer my daughter the Koss UR40s but they apparently let the sound out for the world to hear, which we didn't want, and the Koss Pro4AATs were too expensive. It seems that these 2 were the best choices from these companies for what we were looking for.
They arrived, and they were compared on an iPod classic. Who knew that there was so much sound hiding in that iPod?! We definitely addressed the weak link for personal music listening. I haven't tried those soft-foam inside-the-ear-canal earbuds yet, but they have a tough act to follow.
Both sets sounded great, but I have to give the Sennheisers the edge. There was a little more detail coming out of the music, but in my opinion gave up a little bit of bass. It would probably be very hard to tell without back-to-back comparisons. I think that the HD 202s gain a little more detail than they lose in bass compared to the KTXPro1s.
The HD 202s are _just_ big enough to tuck my ears inside without too much discomfort, and they fit over my glasses. I can see that comfort could be an issue for larger heads, but luckily not for me. The HD 202s have a thicker wire, so may be more durable. The KTXPro1s have an inline volume control, but in my case, I rarely if ever use it, since the audio source is generally close at hand.
Among the headphones I've tried and looked at, if I were to sit back, shut out he world, and hear what I wanted to hear, I'd go with the Sennheiser HD 202s. If I wanted to hear the best sound that I could get and still hear what's going on around me, I'm sticking with the Koss KTXPro1s and giving up a _very small_ bit of sound quality. If I want to get "high fidelity" headphones that will fit in my pocket, I have my eye on the Koss KSC75s, which look like they're clip-on KTXPro1s. I may one day try the Jbuds J2 or J3 earbuds to see if it's possible to get good sound out of such a small package.
I'm never going to spend a lot of money on headphones, but these are far beyond the earbuds or the like that come with an iPod, smartphone, MP3 player, etc. Not that they can't be good, but so far I haven't seen a pair that are really up to the task of being used primarily for music. For smartphone sets, which include a microphone, the Palm Treo/Pre headphones with chrome and magnets aren't too shabby! I'm going to try the JVC Gumy HA-F140 as cheap replacement headphones for trips where I don't mind them getting lost.
In summary, for less than $25, try one of these larger headsets if you haven't already. IMHO, it's a very big improvement.
Not to pick on Dr. Dre, but I can't imagine what the Beats high-definition headphones can offer at _10 times_ the price over these. I hope that I'm not blessed (or is it cursed?) with eardrums that can tell the difference. I can't afford it!
Customer Review: Nice complement to PX-100s but not a replacement (better than EH-150s)
Summary: 5 Stars
The PX-100s are ubiquitous travel partners, always ready to be accommodated by the most stuffed travel bag. But what about those times when I'm merely running across town for a quick set-up at the station? At that instant I experience slight resistance to using the PX-100s because of the extra time--despite my practicing--to extricate and especially to reinsert the folded phones in their tight and hard little travel case. It offers ideal protection but undeniably insulates the phones, at least to some degree, making them sufficiently inaccessible to pose a psychological barrier to their use if nothing else.
If you have junk drawers at and away from home, and are prone to grab stuff in a hurry for instant gratification, these are still your best bet. Also, their tighter seal makes them more practical for use with ultra-sensitive microphones, where feedback would spoil the day.
[After another week of using these, my impressions are a bit less "impressionistic." The Sennheiser HD-202's are superior to the Sennheiser EH-150's which, though more expensive, have an objectionably "punching" bass, so much so that I happily gave them to my son. The HD 202's strike me as being equal in build quality and comfort to the EH-150's and possessing plenty of bass but not so insistently intrusive as that of the HD-202's. Still, after wearing the PX-100s for long periods of time, there's no way I'd care to wear the HD-202's for that length of time. An hour at the outside (two hours, if necessary, for radio broadcasting, for which which, unfortunately, the open-air design of the PX-100's are unsuited).
As for the sound, I'm finding it necessary with the HD-202's to equalize my player, reducing the bass while bringing up both the mid-range and highs, to achieve the sound I've grown to love with the Sennheiser PX-100s (which have recently gone up in price to a degree that makes their chief competitor, the Koss Porta-Pro's, look especially attractive).
As far as headphones go (as opposed to in-canal earphones), I'm also a fan of the top Sony's (with the exception of the V700DJ phones, which remind me of the irritating qualities of the Sennheiser EH-150s). Whether I'm giving away my limitations as an audiophile or exposing the utter subjectivity of headphone preferences, the full-size headphones that I actually look forward to wearing are the Koss UR-40s (I'm on my 3rd pair). Unlike the Sennheiser HD202's they cover the entire ear and are slightly larger and looser. Yet they're lighter and more comfortable, and the sound is as good as it gets without need of equalization--simply outstanding "presence" in all of the frequencies which, above all, are practically perfectly balanced. The main problem with the Koss headphones: build quality. The sparing of cost can be seen in the short thin wire as well as the poorly attached web that sits on top of the user's head (except when it comes unglued). They're almost twice the cost of the HD-202s, and are at least 50% less durable, but the sound is so transparent and non-problematic, they'd get my vote in the flutter of a hummingbird's wing. As for the poor build quality, is it possible that Koss assumes their "lifetime guarantee" gives them a license to cut corners? Maybe all Koss owners should start sending their phones back to the company until they get the message.
Finally--no,I haven't tried the Grado 60s or 80s as yet. They're next on my list while I concentrate on regaining capital (which won't happen if I seal myself in a set of good phones all day.)
Customer Review: Works great with Ipod 5 Stars
OK had these headphones for a little over a week now...I bought these since I wanted to try out something that was going to last for more than 2 months...... Since I bought my 5th gen ipod nano last june, I've bought about 6 earphones.... None of them lasted for more than two months...... I tried alot of different brands but none lasted... SONY,APPLE,Skull candy... etc...
Pros:
They are light very lightweight.......
They look nice..!!
Produce very clean sound with good bass.... NOT great but very good... it does the job
They block out alot of the outside noise with nothing playing... With music on you can't hear anything..
CONS:
The ears get warm after a while of having them on.... Specially now in the summer.... :)
The cord is very very long... at times It can be cumbersome even with that clip that the cord wraps around....
THe belt clip thingie isn't that easy to slide on with one had.....I always have to use two hands to pry it open ...
THe clip that the cord wraps around is bigger and heavier than the ipod nano itself.... I've had the nano and clip on a table,..... when the clip slips off it takes the nano with it... :*( ......
With all that been sed......
I give them 4 out of 5 while using them outdoors with my Ipod Nano...... (LONG CORD ISSUES)
5 out of 5 while using them them at home on my PC...... since the cord and clip issues don't matter.....
....At first the headphone's volume seemed a little low while using them with my ipod nano.........
After looking online for a solution I found that the nano's default configuration isn't the loudest....
To get the highest volume out of the Ipod nano....... make sure your settings are as follows.......
On the ipod nano
Settings/Playback
Sound Check: off
Volume Limit: highest
While the Ipod nano is plugged into your computer go to itunes
Select all the songs on your IPOD's library and RIGHT CLICK...
Select GET INFO
Click on the OPTIONS TAB
At the very top of the ::::Options Tab:::: there is VOLUME ADJUSTMENT slider
MOVE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT .......to +100%......... it looks like this (-100% NONE +100%)
Then click Ok....
I took about 5 minutes to finish doing my 1500 song library.... so... it might take longer with larger libraries.....
You can really notice the difference from the default NONE position to that of the +100%.
I LOVE THE hate the clip
Customer Review: Hear Your Music The Way It Was Meant To Sound!
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I purchased these headphones, I read all the reviews on the Sennheiser HD 202 Headphones, and to tell you the truth, I was not impressed to buy them. While I am not a great fan of any in your ear music earphones (especially for use at home), I have to admit I was a UN-believer when it came to the claims made by Sennheiser about their Sennheiser HD 202 over the ear headphones, so I took a shot (especially because of the price) and ordered them.
I am happy to report that the Sennheiser HD 202 Headphones are Amazing!!! Great separation, Great center sweet spot, Amazingly Great Bass, and Great sound clarity. I tried them on my Ipod Nano first (not really expecting anything mind-blowing), and I have to say I was amazed. Let me tell you, my musical collection and tastes run all over the place, from Blues (Eric Clapton, B.B. King), Gospel (Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin), Jazz (Alex Bugnon, Dave Koz, Yusef Lateef), R&B (Al Green, Angie Stone, Anita Baker, Curtis Mayfield, Chante' Moore, Stevie Wonder, Temps etc.) All of my music was delivered to my ears flawlessly and with a clarity long forgotten by my use of earbuds. I have tried the Ipod earbuds of course (pitiful), and have tried several brands of earbuds, finally settling on a pair of JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds (pretty good). But I'm here to say that for at home use, I am loving everything I am hearing with these headphones.
For those of you that bought the Sennheiser HD 202 Headphones and were disappointed (not enough bass, poor separation, not enough mid-range or treble)try adjusting your I-Pod equalizer settings to solve the problems you're having. To increase the treble, and mid-range sounds I set Jazz music to the I-Pod Jazz equalizer setting, to increase the bass in R&B I use the R&B equalizer settings and so on. If you are not aware as how to do this, right click on a song in ITunes, click get info and click equalizer preset options to set any of your music to the way you want to hear it. You can do this from Classical music to Rap and I bet you will get a new sound for your ears! For those of you that have not tried this, give it a shot. It will improve the way your music sounds, and I'm noticing that the longer I use them (burn-in?), the better they sound.
Now I run my music (at home) through a Pioneer VSX-919AH-K 120 Watts A/V Receiver, and you don't even want to get me started on how good my music sounds when I plug in my Sennheiser HD 202's. I am going to up-grade to the Sennheiser HD-555 Audiophile Headphones as soon as my budget allows. I'm not even remotely associated with this company in any way, I'm a buyer just like you and I say give em a shot. I think you will be surprised.
Customer Review: Awesome for the Money
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been wanting a pair of noise canceling headphones for a while, but was worried about shelling out the kind of money some of them were asking for. But with a commute on the train almost everyday, I felt it would be a good Christmas purchase for myself. These headphones are worth every penny I spent on them.
I researched the more expensive brands and even the more expensive models from Sennheiser, but settled on these after reading several reviews. I am NOT a DJ, sound technician, or video producer, so I cannot speak to this products worth in those fields, but as a commuter these headphones are excellent for dulling ambient surrounding noise. I didn't want a product that would be completely noise blocking since I obviously want to be somewhat aware of what is going on around me, and these do exactly that. Though I can hear people chatting around me, it dulls it out enough that I can easily ignore it, and when music or audio is playing the surrounding noise become negligible. I am VERY pleased with the amount of noise cancellation from these headphones.
I read somewhere that someone was complaining about the cord length. The cord is in the vicinity of 10 feet long. I don't know if that's too short for some people, but for me it's WAY WAY more than enough.
As I mentioned before I'm no connoisseur of sound quality such as Bass or Treble, but I know that there really isn't a thumping bass that some stereos have. I don't listen to a whole lot of base heavy things anyway. And it's not enough for me to anywhere near unhappy with these headphones, but if you're looking for a deep and rich sound quality, these don't do any sort of magic in that avenue. However, I can speak for the fact that the quality of sound with these headphones FAR surpasses the same audio file played on my earbuds.
My only real complaint is that size of the ear cups. Maybe I have big ears or something, but my ears do get a little cramped with these. Once again not enough for me to be unhappy, but it would have been nice to get a bigger size ear cup. The cramping of my ears don't give me a headache or cause me major discomfort and I usually stop noticing it pretty quickly. But I do notice the difference once I take them off.
All in all I LOVE these headphones and couldn't be happier that I was able to find a product that fits all of my needs without having to spend double on it. I feel like these would be GREAT for casual users like myself, but if you think of yourself as any type of sound expert or are very particular about sound quality you might want to look at a review from someone more familiar with that than me.
Hope this helps!