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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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