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 $14.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser HD 202 Dynamic Headphones
Customer Review: Sennheisers for $20? You've got to be kidding!
Summary: 5 Stars
That's exactly what I though when I first saw these cans on Amazon. How can the makers of $500+ headphones (HD650) sell headphones for $20? At first I thought it was a marketing tactic to penetrate the low end market with sub-standard headphones.
I was wrong!
These headphones are just what you would expect from Sennheiser! Crisp clear sound, full-bodied bass, razor sharp trebles, and mellow mid-ranges. From a style point of view, they are sexy. In fact, I think they make you look more sophisticated than the $500 HD650 that makes you look a little like Princess Leia. Bold matte black finish with leather-like (for this price you didn't expect REAL leather did you?) ear pads. The brand "SENNHEISER" proudly shows on the outside of the head-band. I could wear these in a public setting and I bet NOBODY would guess they're $20 headphones!
Some quirks I noticed:
the ear pads are designed a little smaller than normal and they DO press against the ears. I have small ears and they still press against them. But they don't feel uncomfortable, so I'm not taking any points off my review for this. However, extended use may cause some discomfort (I'm guessing here, since I never listen to music over an hour).
The cord is also a little too long for me (3 meters). Granted, these are designed for DJ use and if you intend to use them far away from your audio equipment, this may be a positive feature. But for everyday iPod listening, be extra careful you don't trip over the cord, because they are so long, they bunch up on the ground. Sennheiser included a nice cord wrap thingy where you can wrap the cord but I chose not to use them since the "cord catch" is rather sharp and when I first tried it, it slightly damaged the cord lining. Its also too big and bulky for my taste, but they do provide a belt clip with this cord wrap, so it may be perfect for DJs, who walk around and may need to constantly adjust the cord length.
But overall, the quirks I mentioned are nothing compared to the overall value of this item. Hey, for $20, you can get a couple Sennhesiers for each member of your family, so nobody will borrow yours!
Bravo Sennheiser and Bravo Amazon for giving us such a superior value!
Customer Review: Great sound & great isolation for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I now own two pairs of HD 202s, having used one pair for about a year now at school and recently purchased a second pair for home. I use them primarily with my iPods (first- and fourth-generation).
These headphones provide excellent sound, especially for the price. They have a strong though not overbearing bass response (by comparison, a pair of HD 457s gave the bass too much weight for my taste - most music felt unbalanced). With the iPod, I find that the 202s sound best with one of the equalizer settings that doesn't pump up the bass too much. I listen to a wide variety of music, including opera, bluegrass, classical, rock, lo-fi, and find that the headphones handle all of them well.
A strong point, for me, is these headphones' abilitiy to isolate me from ambient noise. In the small classroom where I work, five other students are often talking or using relatively noisy hand tools; I find that the 202s do an excellent job attenuating the noise and let me focus on the work in front of me. While they don't have active noise cancelling, I find that they even work fairly well on Boston's notoriously old and noisy subways; with the 202s, I don't have to turn the volume up quite so loud to block out the noise of the train.
Some reviewers have commented on the fit of the headphones. I have not had any discomfort from either pair, even after several hours' use. These headphones do, however, grip the head somewhat tightly compared with other phones. I wear glasses with fairly flexible temple pieces and haven't had trouble with the phones pressing too much.* (They even, in a pinch, make decent ear warmers, fitting over my ears just about perfectly on chilly days.)
Overall, the sound that comes from these headphones is crisp and powerful, even from an iPod, and at around $20, they're quite a bargain.
* Update, 2008: After getting new glasses with stiffer temple pieces, I did find that these headphones became a bit uncomfortable after a while. If you don't wear glasses, I think these are still a great deal. If you do wear glasses, I recommend Shure E2c in-ear headphones, which also deliver excellent sound isolation (though they are a bit more expensive than these Sennheisers).
Customer Review: These are what people have said they are
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not really what you'd call an 'audiophile'. I like to listen to music, as I imagine the majority of humans do, but I don't get nearly as deep into these things as a person can go. The most I do is sometimes rip my CDs in FLAC, when space permits, and read headphone reviews when it's time to get new headphones--as I did this time.
I read up on a few headsets, and people seemed to like a few Sennheiser models particularly. This one came up, and it seemed like it'd be a fit for me--and the price was good--so I bought it. And I must say, it's really about what people said it was. In particular, I'd heard that it was good for mobile devices (for reasons I'm not entirely clear on; something about ~30 ohms nominal impedance being better than ~60 in this case); that it sounds good, with a slightly 'artificial', 'bassy' sound as opposed to a 'natural' one; that it (more about Sennheiser headphones in general, if I recall correctly, take a bit of time to 'wear in' and sound their best; and various reports of varying degrees about tightness on the head and smallness on the ears, with various levels of discomfort claimed.
First, I found that it was indeed with pretty small ear cups and it IS tight. After a while, they can become uncomfortable. I find it livable, though, and my ears and head are somewhere between 'large' and 'HUGE', so it'll fit you, the reader, whomever you may be, mostly likely. It even gets a bit more comfortable over time. Also: possibly related, but it seems (at least to me) to bleed very little sound.
It sounds good, and I don't really know what, exactly, the reviewers meant by natural, but bass does sound very good. Also, it has 'worn in' a bit to sound better over time (it actually didn't sound that special when it was first out of the box).
I don't know about mobile devices in general, but I was stunned when I first tried it on my G1 a week ago. It sounded fantastic--better, even, than it had on my computer. Whatever the reason, it really says good things about the headphones.
I'd also like to add that they seem fairly solidly built.
All told, I'm quite happy I got them.
Customer Review: To my Above-Average-Sized-Head Bretheren: Do not buy these headphones!
Summary: 1 Stars
The Pain of Ownership:
I am so disappointed with these headphones because I bought them after reading the ridiculously positive reviews here on Amazon.
They're like a medieval torture device on my head they hurt so bad. I'm not a big guy (5'8"/150lbs) and I don't have a freakishly large head.
I keep bending the headphones outward to the point of almost breaking them in the hopes of loosening the grip of this headphone vice, but it only works for a few seconds. I found that cupping my earlobe inside the headphone helps me wear them for an extra minute before my ears get sore and my head aches.
Photos Show Inconsistencies in Manufacturing:
I've used other cheap headphones with no problems; I think it's the thick hard plastic they used in the head band that prevents it from easily bending to the shape of a person's head. Unlike the stock photo in this Amazon post, when my headphones are lying on the table, without someone's head being crushed between them, they lay there at rest with the ear pieces touching each other - there is no space between them like in the photo. I uploaded a picture of my headphones (you must click on "See all Customer Images" below the photo). Mine was taken on the granite counter top and you will notice these headphones were manufactured differently from the other photos. Guess it's a crap-shoot as to which version you will get (the regular-man-size or 5-year-old-girl size).
The Sound:
As for P. Allen comparing them to expensive headphones, I think it's fair. Everyone here is posting how incredibly awesome the sound is, and I too think they're just happy to have bass blasting in their ears even when most music wasn't meant to sound this way. The sound is better than average in this price range but the pain is too much for me to bear.
Reason for 1-Star:
I give this product 1-star because Sennheiser did not list a minimum head-size requirement and their manufacturing process is not consistent! :(
If you have a big brain like I do, definitely skip this product or be prepared to return it if you get the circle-shaped one like I did.
Customer Review: Perfect headphones
Summary: 5 Stars
These headphones are by far the best headphones i have ever had.
I bought these for bus rides to school and these are great. They can easily hold up to be noise canceling in loud environments. You dont need to blast your ears with music to be able to hear these even in a plane or with, otherwise, loud ambience noise. Although you can most certainly blast them and not be worried about noise leak. As on a bus i could have my mp3 player turned up to near, if not, max and people around me, even someone sitting next to me, would not be able to understand what im listening to, they might hear some noise, but not understandable. They fit almost perfectly to my head, they are very light but still have a little weight to them so they will not just fall off. The ear cushioning are perfect. They will get pretty hot in the summer and sometimes annoying, but bearable. I live in NY so of course it gets cold and snows alot in the winter and the ear pieces are so warm you could just fall asleep. Sound quality is the best i have ever heard, even from $300 Bose, to these, the HD 202's are much better. Very nice bass, so much that you can feel it, but not to the point of being distorded even a tiny bit. The treble on these is a little too high, but with the bass the way it is, it definitely balances out. I notice a couple mids were flat, but i only noticed it with bands like Cannibal Corpse and Behemoth. Anything like acoustic or classical is so clear that you could imagine being there live but even better quality!
One minor thing was that they lasted about 7 months until it seemed like, out of nowheres the right cord pulled right out of the headphone. I did use them more than a regular person would use headphones for so maybe that was why. No matter what other people say, these headphones are by far the best of Sennheiser's HD 2XX series, and better than some top of the brand headphones.
Overall= 9.5/10
Just need a TINY bit of balancing on mids for more bassy music(Rap, Metal). Bass outweighs the mids a little bit. But i say it all depends on your EQ on your MP3 player and what your listenening too. Every band has their own sound.