Sennheiser HD 202 Dynamic Headphones
by Sennheiser
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Our Price: $39.95 Availability: Usually ships in 6-10 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser HD 202 Dynamic Headphones
Customer Review: An Excellent Headphone Value For It's Price
Summary: 4 Stars
If you've read any of my other reviews on audio equipment you know that I'm a production sound mixer for the film and television production industries.
Our main headphones that we use to mix with are the Sony MDR7506 Studio Monitor Headphones Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone. These are high level headphones that cost around $100.00 per pair.
But we also use other headphones for other uses and the Sennheiser HD 202 are one of the most popular headsets that we use on sets. When shooting television series, commercials or movies, there are always many people who work in different capacities who need to listen to the dialog as we roll. Those people will have a small receiver on them that gets an audio signal from the sound department. I discovered the Sennheiser HD 202 Headphones about two years ago and tried them out in that use and found out very quickly that they are a real crowd pleaser.
Not only do they have a full frequency sound range, but they are very comfortable to wear over a day of shooting. Since the day I've added them to my package, I've had numerous questions as to what they are and where to get them.
Features and stats:
* Closed around the ear design
* High efficiency dynamic drivers
* 10 foot Y cable with belt clip
* Replaceable leatherette ear pads
* Jack plug: 3.5/6.3 mm stereo
* Nominal impedance: 32 Ohm
* Weight w/o cable: ca. 130 g
* Frequency response: 18-18000 Hz
* Sound pressure level (SPL): 115 dB
* Total harmonic distortion (THD): Less than 0.5 percent
These phones are popping up in all areas from mobile DJs to iPod listeners. If you are looking for something different than ear canal earphones, you may want to give the Sennheiser HD 202 Headphones a spin. You can hardly go wrong, especially for the price!
Customer Review: The TRUTH about these headphones
Summary: 4 Stars
I decided to buy these headphones despite some people's somewhat negative reviews that concerned me. Here's what most concerned me prior to buying:
--quality of the material: and though I only have had these for a short time, they look sturdy (more so than I expected) and I'm not concerned about them breaking (but I'll update if they do crack)
--fitting too tight on my head: and I've been wearing them over 4 hours at a time and they're fine. They're HEAD-phones, not earmuffs. They should fit snugly. The earcups have some flexibility/hinge to them and I think these fit fine. I have an average headsize (hat size 7.5") and I can't believe some people said these were too tight. The pressure of the fit is noticeable, but not bothersome at all.
--sound quality: I'm not blown away by the sound quality, but heck, these are under $25 and for that price and versus other headphones in this category, these are cream of the crop. I use the headphones on my work desktop and portable CD player. They work fine, although they're extremely loud (so I turn the volume down, duh!), but this makes some of the bass rumble in VERY rare situations. But the overall warmth and range is pretty damn good for the price.
--Length of the cord: I walk a lot with these as well as use them at my desk and living room, so cord length seemed to be a concern for me. Sure, the cord is SUPER long, but it's very easy to twist-tie the cord at the jack end and things work fine. The beltclip works okay, but it's a little bulky (3" long by 1.5" tall by 3/4" deep) for my taste (I just twist-tie the cord up that I don't need). SOME people may be bothered by the length of the cord, I thought I would be, but it's "workable." I don't think the length of cord should be a make-or-break case for these headphones.
In short, I got what I expected and more (a bargain, but higher than expected quality product). Nothing else is better, in my mind, until you get up to the $80-99 range.
Customer Review: Great value for price
Summary: 4 Stars
I rate this 4/5 stars overall because of the overall value of the headphones.
Overall sound quality is definitely not stellar, but I double dare ya to find anything less than $25 that sounds better. Bass response is decent, neither boomy nor ridiculously punchy, mids are solid, if not the cleanest in the world, and highs are acceptable.
Compared to higher end headphones, you will find the HD 202 lacks in clear definition of sound-stage and note attacks and has a bit of a "canned" sound that is very common in low- and mid- end closed headphones. By "canned" I mean a bit of unnaturally "sharp" or "forward" presence, due in large part to the backing on the drivers that characterizes closed headphones.
If you simply want something budget-friendly to give you reason to toss your default iBuds or whatever crappy headphones came with your music player, then look no further.
Sound isolation is excellent, making this a great companion in busy places, or quiet places where you do not wish to disturb anyone (if you happen to like your music loud). Note that you require real noise-canceling dealios to effectively listen to music on airplanes and other high-noise environments. The build of the headphones is very solid and these guys can take a hit, making them perfect workhorse headphones.
However, they aren't the most comfortable headphones in the world. This isn't a big deal unless you spend hours at a time listening, but due to the closed, fairly tight seal, these may irritate you after prolonged listening, especially if you wear glasses like me.
The cord is very, very long, but there is a fairly useful clip to keep it under control included. Also a welcome inclusion is a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter.
Highly recommended if you want noise-blocking (not canceling), general personal entertainment headphones, which have a solid, full-size build. They are good especially for movies and popular music.
Customer Review: Average to Good Performance Lasted 4 years
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought these headphones back in the spring of 2005 and have served me faithfully until the beginning of this year. The wires near the bottom of the actual speakers were not getting signal. I used these headphones at work for hours a day, 5 days a week. Head and shoulders above most ear buds I have used. High and mid range sounds came through well but I don't remember there being much in the way in bass. Probably average in the bass department.
The speakers start detaching from the main brace around 2008, after 3 years of steady use. I don't think I was unreasonably rough with my equipment for it to break in this way. The speakers can be easily reattached with some fiddling though. No biggie. The soft padding though comfortable does seem to feel a little oily after I was using them for some time. There were times I'd pick them up after a weekend of not using them and use them, and when I did use them it just felt a little nasty, only when I sat and thought about it though. Again a minor concern at best but just FYI. I would have tried to get warranty service but they broke 4 years after it's date of purchase. I believe the Sennheisers have a 2 yr warranty on these things, something worth considering when measuring these headphones against others.
I gave it 3 stars because it's good but it's not without low points. Good sound, though it feels dirty and will probably break after a few years of extensive use. People may think I'm expecting too much for head phones that cost 25 or so dollars, I don't think so because the Koss Porta Pro headphones sound great, are very comfortable and don't feel dirty and have a life time warranty, though I haven't tried to get warranty service. The porta pro do cost more so that should factor into your decision with those headphones should you venture to explore that option.
For the money I doubt you'll get anything better but I'm pretty happy with the Koss Porta Pro.
Customer Review: Not as great as I thought
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these headphones after reading all the positive (and negative) reviews for them. That was kind of a mistake. I currently have a pair of Dr. Dre iBeats (the little earbuds) but I wanted some big headphones because I don't really like the buds and I didn't want to spend too much money. I researched a bit and came across these puppies. Unfortunately, it was a bittersweet moment. First, the cable is WAY too long, about 3 meters, which to me is not a plus. The cord holder is also very big (bigger then it looks in the pictures) and takes up lots of space in my pocket (yes I know it's a belt clip but I didn't like it there either). When I first put on the phones, they were a bit uncomfortable. The reviews are right when they say that they hurt after a while. Now for the sound quality. The quality was good, but I had to raise the volume almost all the way before I could hear the music well. The only reason's I think this might be happening is that my iPod is really old (the first Video iPod, so about 5-6 years) yet all my other headphones play just fine. Another reason is that they just might be defective, but I find that unlikely as they were unopened and I know Sennheiser makes good products. Now then, when I raise the volume most of the way, I can hear background hissing, which is usually consistent with raising the volume of an audio device very high. The sound quality was quite good (apart from the hissing) as the base was decently deep and the highs were definitely there, but the overall richness wasn't what I expected. I couldn't really FEEL the music like I thought I could. The sound quality and richness of my little iBeats are far better (of course the iBeats cost over $100 and these headphones are under $30) I was sadly disappointed, as I was so excited to get them. I think I'm just going to save up and get a pair of the big Beats, or maybe a pair of Bose instead of settling for cheap sound quality and uncomfortable design.