Sennheiser HD 201 Headphones

Introduction

The other headphones that I've used include the SHP9600, HD598 SE, and Urbanite XL. I listen to jazz, pop, and EDM primarily.

Build quality

Very similar to my HD598 SE which costs 5x as much. It's probably the best in it's price range.

Comfort

The ear pads and head band has a pretty nice texture. The head band is well padded but I wish the ear pads are not nearly as plushly padded but it's still okay. Overall, decently comfortable.

Passive noise cancellation

I could not hear much of the sound when I was at a busy junction and a very noisy restaurant blasting radio through the speakers. I'd say say that these headphones are okay for outside use. In quieter outside environments, I could still hear a sizable portion of the sound.

Sound

Bass

It can feel bloated or well controlled and lacking or deep depending on the song.

Mids

Instruments are airy and has a nice tonality. Vocals are clearly artificial but they're rendered fairly decently.

Treble

Pretty fatiguing. However, it's fairly detailed.

Soundstage and imaging

Pretty good considering the price range. It's so good, that my open back SHP 9600 doesn't feel that much better in this
regard.

Overall

This headphone has some pretty remarkable audio qualities from an audiophile standpoint but it's price point is kinda showing because when all the features of its sound quality is taken together, its sound can feel pretty awkward. Overall, a decent budget headphone but I'd prefer paying more. A headphone like the Momentum would deliver the same level of clarity while giving it a good bass boost, a much more dyanmic(less awkward) sound, and with significantly better build quality and comfort to boot.

I should probabally preface this review by stating that I am by no means an audiophile, however I appreciate good, accurate sound replication. I had only had experience with low end Samsung, LG and sony iem earbuds before purchasing these but I was eager to improve my music listening experience with a good pair of over or on ear headphones. After considering such models as the sony zx310, philips shl3000 and others by TDK, panasonic and a range of other reputed manufacturers i decided on the sennheiser hd201s.

I appreciate strong mids and highs, and am not a fan of powerful, muddy bass. My preferred styles of music are Soft rock, Symphonic rock, synthpop, new wave, traditional pop (sinatra/ four seasons), rock and roll and romantic classical music. I found these quite ideal for the aforementioned styles of music although the soundstage felt a little narrow. Overall replication is good, with clear vocals and instruments not drowning out each other or sounding muddied by booming bass. However, even someone who is not a fan of hip hop or anything like that (such as myself) may find themselves wishing for a more powerful low end.

The build quality of these headphones is generally good, with pivoting joints at the top of the earpieces being the weakest-feeling part of the unit. They are extremely comfortable, although some with larger ears may find the oval-shaped earcups problematic. They covered my small ears without any problem, and I was able to listen to the whole of Time by ELO without ever wanting to take the 201s off, although that may have been caused equally by the quality of the songs! One thing, however, that some may find frustrating is the loose fit which causes in part the relatively poor isolation and high noise leakage by the standards of an over ear model.

The 201s came in a basic package which only included the headphones themselves along with a quarter inch adapter for older and professional equipment (this model is designed for indoor use, so it makes sense to include this just as the 3 metre cable makes sense). I found this particularly helpful as it allowed me to start listening to my old records immediately! The adapter is gold plated, and probably only worth a few pounds or dollars online, but it was helpful to find this included.

In summary, anyone on a budget looking for a good set of studio monitors to use at home would be well served by these as long as they are not a fan of boomy bass or powerful treble.

I bought these as a cheap spare during repairs of my regular cans, didn't expect much but have had some good experiences with Sennheiser.
I was very positively surprised at first use. These actually sound like they reproduce sound as intended in production. And at a silly low price.
Cheap headphones (as well as some very expensive ones) often over-emphasize low frequencies. Which of course is worthless in a mixing situation.
I have seen some reviews here that actually complain about the lack of bass / beats / untz. Me, I prefer cans that colour sound as little as possible.