Sennheiser HD 215 Extreme DJ Sound Headphones

So, I had bought this after Christmas from a gift certificate I had received. I was longing to get these phones for myself and wanted to upgrade from a Sennheiser HD 202 (whose wire is already falling appart) and an ATH-RE70 from Audio Technica. These headphones would cost around 4000+ Philippine Pesos in my country. It comes with a coiled 3 meter cable that is threaded on one side for a 6.3mm plug and a nice leatherette pouch for storage.
 

SOUND:

 
When I tried the headphones for the first time while testing them out I noticed that the HD 215 IS NOT A BASS HEADPHONE. As instead, is somewhat neutral sounding, but with a bass booster from a device such as a Samsung Galaxy Tab with an external equalizer, you can easily make it a bass kind of headphone but not enough to drown out the sound quality. The highs are smooth, not too harsh though. While the mids section is clear, you can easily feel the warmth of instruments such as guitars, violins, etc.
 

UPDATE:

I have recently bought a FiiO E6. With the FiiO E6 using the 1st bass booster setting (the red LED) the headphones become boomier, but does become slighty muddy, but for me, I prefer to use this with some electronic genres such as drum & bass, dubstep,  Meanwhile with the 2nd EQ, the bass becomes punchier, this would help in genres like rock, RnB, metal and some new age.
 

COMFORT:
 

These headphones are some of the most comfortable phones I have tried so far. Unlike my Superlux HD 669, it is not hard on the ears, since the Superlux phones I had at one point had these cushions that are made of hard, leatherette material. These are ALSO made of SOFTER leatherette material filled with some sort of really soft foam. I wear eyeglasses but wearing these headphones for more than 5 hours doesn't seem to be a problem for me.
 
But also the padding on the head is soft, unlike the one from the HD 202 (which has a somewhat similar padding) these are thicker and softer, it should be able to accommodate people who are bald.
 
The earcups of these have a pivoting joint, this makes the seal of the headphone secure and at the same time it will help being comfortable.
 
But when wearing these with the right cup swiveled on my head, it is not comfortable. It would feel like it would fall off anytime soon, but it does not exactly do that (for now).
 

ISOLATION:

Going to places such as malls, these headphones do a good job isolating you from the noise. This also does good when there are people around you talking and you wouldn't want yourself to be disturbed while listening to your music.
 
 

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY:

The design of these headphones look black, matte coloured rims just like what my friend said "...They also look like rims of cars". But also, the design on the earcups there are these small triangular areas that were made from glossy plastic and the rest of the earcup is matte. The headband is made of the same material as well, and if you put the earcup down you'll see the extension is also made of matte plastic that is similar to the headband but does reflect light more than the headband itself. The only metal part in the exterior of these headphones is the hinge where the "S" logo of Sennheiser is.
 
Judging from the plastic they use, it seems sturdy. They're easy to bend but it does not feel as if it would fall apart if you did.
 
However if you wish to replace the cable, one will have to find a cable thin enough to fit the hole on the left earcup or modify the headphone to make the hole larger.
 

ACCESSORIES:

The headphones come with a nice leatherette bag that looks almost like leather from the outside with "Sennheiser" and its logo marked on the outside.
 
It comes with a 3 meter coiled wire, for portable purposes it can be problematic since even if the wire is compressed it is still long and will sag if you have an iPod in your pocket. The cable is threaded on one end to allow the 6.3mm adaptor to be screwed into the 3.5mm one, it's useful for those people who work in the DJ booth or want to plug these headphones into a home theater system.
 

CONCLUSION:

 
These headphones would do good if you are in a music studio or if you're in the DJ booth. Either works but there are better pairs for DJ use since these headphones lack the boomy bass for beat alignment. But it could also be good for people who would want to listen to music privately in a home theater setting or a music system.
 
 
 
TL;DR version:
 
Sound: neutral
Type of headphone: Circumaural, closed back.
Comfort: Very Good.
Design: Looks like rims on a car. Hinges are metal.
Accesories: A 3 meter coiled wire (threaded on end), 6.3mm jack (threaded), and a carrying pouch.
 
PS: The box is beautiful
 

HD 215 model was borrowed from Sennheiser and compared with Audio-Technica ATH-M50. Assumed price was about $80 which is not verified. Please see full review and comparison here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/627019/review-sennheiser-hd-215-vs-audio-technica-ath-m50
 
 
 
 

Full Review here:
http://www.pandatechreview.com/sennheiser-hd-215-review/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/621257/sennheiser-hd-215-review
 
Above "Star" ratings are relative to price.
 
Price paid is approx MSRP, this was lent sample

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Sound Quality
 
Introduction:
The big section you have all been waiting for! I am a very universal listener. Not exotic in artists but univeral in genres. I listen to the popular artists or songs of many genres. For example, Bach and Mozart, Linkin Park and Rise Against, Nickleback(say what you want), Owl City, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Nelly, LAdy Gaga, Disturbed, Nightwish, Slipknot, Dragonforce, Drowning pool, Adele, Girls Generation, AKB48, 2NE1, TM Revolution, FLOW, Skrillex, Pendulum, xKore, Deadmou5. Etc. 
 
 
Highs:
Good highs for a studio product. They are neither harsh or over apparent. They are "visible" to the listener, but sometimes it goes by unnoticed. The HD215's do give you the highs you need but they don't make them in your face or look here half the time. This is both favored and unfavored, depending from person to person. Some very high frequency parts of songs will just display the high frequency generally without getting harsh or "lost" and or have trouble keeping it without making your head hurt from the over apparency of the headphone trying to give them major attention. They aren't the cleanest highs I have heard though but at this price point I am not complaining. There is a barricade in the highs that although they are nice, they have an invisible plateau that to people with many headphones can tell is there. Some parts just go up and oh so barely get there. So close but there is a barrier for "super highs". The high frequency will sometimes jump in and out in terms of getting slighly louder and then slightly quieter which is another apparent sonic quality of this headphone. Although nothing that will stop a DJ or most studio agents at this range. They are nice and generally clear, clean and smooth enough to get the job done though. They may lack clarity or smoothness during some more demanding parts but hold their own extremely well at this price.
 
Mids:
Good all around for this product. The vocals however aren't as "personal" and distinguished or as life like as some of this price ranges cousins can get to. I pin it largely on the soundstage but I'll get to that later. The vocals in my opinion slightly flavor more intimate people. People with very pleasurable slower not as faced paced voices. The guitars and other various instruments at this price range also do well. However they are a bit "blunt" feeling at times where it doesn't necessarily "slice" through a section. The vocals however are forward but sometimes slightly overpowered on the sides by various guitars and bass and some of the percussion instruments that fall in this range. They are slightly behind various instruments which I think is pinned on the impressive soundstage for such a product. Think of this as S-Logic by Ultrasone except a bit closer to the person ..but at the same time with less intimate vocals despite being closer.  Lastly the low frequency ranges mid bass and most frequency, upper bass frequencies (which is a bit overpowerd and weird; more later)  get mixed into the vocals frequently on songs that have them which brings you to a slight mess when the low frequency ranges try to enter the mid range, guitars may become a very fuzzy mess and vocals become muddy and hidden even more when this happens. And so thus, while the vocals and mids are fined on slower or cleaner songs that dont have a lot going on or with a lot of instruments, they get into slight troubles with more complicated songs. A regular occourance at this price range for studio's however.
 
Lows:
I was expecting a bass head headphone when I first got work I was receiving them. The Citadel style with the DJ Studio sound advertising made me prepped for some nice bass. I was a bit disappointed in the bass but overall it performs admirably along with it's brothers although, at less the precision. I found weird bass on these to say it plainly. They basically had impact but the low frequency itself would fire off either too much uppper bass frequencies at places I have never heard upper bass quantity in and thus muddying up the vocals or it had too little mid bass and or no bass extension! I found that the upper low frequency ranges of these are overly pronounced and will with many songs fire off a bit too  much at times and thus muddy up the vocals and mids to varying degrees. The mid bass that is generally very used in rap songs for that oomph punch in the back is under emphasized. The bass on these is the least neutral or accurate of the entire frequency range on this headphone(mids, lows, highs) in my opinion. There isn't a "problem" with them in terms of being able to listen, but it is not accurate. The mid bass doesn't have not just the punch that is needed. Or the actual quantity to make it feel like it's going along with the song. This is something that one won't notice unless you have experience with other headphones so it may be missed by others but it is a problem. Finally we have the lower bass, that sub oomph. There is little in here as well, not a lot of quantity or even detection of a sub bass to be honest. What does this mean? IT means that a DJ or Studio user may add too much mid or sub bass and thus lead to an extremely muddy track when played on consumer systems that already overpower the bass. Mainstream rap and hip hop songs that had a tremendous amount of mid bass had me question the problem of the lack of punch. And please note that it isn't a quantity problem. There isn't much quantity of mid bass in the Q701's but the ratio of how it goes with the other frequencies matches well and you can tell that although it isn't quantified, that it has the fulfilling presence needed. With these, it feels like you just needed to add more mid or sub bass into your music when you were making it(as that's what theese headphones are targeted at, DJ's and Studio producers). So yeah, watch out. Although I am lenient on this. The Shure SRH440 and other "Studio" recommended headphones at this price also have weird or low bass quantities as well. I have read that one head fier with HD280 Pro's mixed too much bass into his song or production he was doing as he didn't "hear enough" which ultimately turned into a muddy bass-rific mess.
 
 
Separation:
At this price point, the separation is good. That's really all there is, as I noted before, with some bass moments, the low frequency can muddy up parts of the mid frequency range which do put a damper on being able to tell which instrument is doing what. But overall individual instrument separation at this price is decent. No complaints.
 
Soundstage:
As I mentioned, these have a nice and suprising soundstage for the price. I was suprised when I first heard them. There isn't much closed shell reverb that may happen due to trying to get a wide soundstage out of a closed headphone but that doesn't seem to be a big issue nor am I detecting much. These have the vocals pulled back, kinda like S-Logic, but instead of S-Logic where it's pulled back farther with more soundstage with the singer like he is in front of you. The soundstage effect you have on these have the vocals really just pulled to each side more. Along with much of the frequency range. As none of it sounds up close and personal as a true small soundstage closeed can will have. Those that like up front and forward may have some trouble with these due to that, and when you add in the problem of "contamination" of the mids by the lows, it becomes even less a favorite for treble heads. Keep in mind I am emphasising people that like that count of stuff. The vocals are still "up front" in the sense that they aren't hidden out back. Overal, a nice boost of soundstage for some of your gaming, or classical music, but don't expect super soundstage. Sennheiser did a good job of providing a soundstage without going too far and making it sound artificial. The pulled back frequencies do make it a bit "fake" to those that are used to closed or those of us with full or semi opens but it is not artificial if that is what you want to know. A good combination and ratio of soundstage at this ratio!
 
Sibilance:
There is a very slight bit on some songs more prone to the evil ssss's and it is still there on all your music if you listen to the s's but it is in no way in your face or even apparent to most if not at all if I didn't tell you about it. Very low sibilance but it is there. 
 
 
 
onclusion:
The Sennheiser HD 215 Extreme DJ Sound headphones made for DJ and Studio use are an excellent choice at the price range for those that need it. I would recommend rechecking the song that you are making if it is bass heavy to make sure you didn't over do it due to the bass lightness on these and if you happen to be a bass head. These are not bass head headphones. They come with a nice and very well made carrying baggy as seen in the video and is of very efficent design. Despite the bass problems in my opinion, these can still largely and enjoyably used by Studio and DJ users alike. The Swivel system works on the right cup and allows you to swivel so either ear is left open of your choosing which is a nice system and has decent comfort to go along with it.