[applaudio]

I have listened to the Sennheiser PX 100, and they have a nice, detailed, and bassy sound. Before you ask, I love fairly plentiful bass as long as it's clean and accurate, but I hate bloated or muddy bass. These phones have pleasantly emphasized, punchy and exciting bass, without sacrificing detail and a decently well-balanced sound signature. And they're not a bad price, plus they seem to be easy enough to drive with a portable mp3 player, which is critical for me. I will definitely be using higher bitrates, and plan to purchase the Sony Walkman X-1000, or another recent Walkman model that is easier to justify the expense of. However, Please note that I will not use an amp, as that defeats the purpose of an affordable portable setup. Oh, and while I could live with an open set of cans, I would certainly prefer to have some isolation, and don't want to bother people in the college library when I'm listening to music, due to excessive leakage. Also, my music preferences are for rock (of pretty much any flavor, and ranging right into the blurry areas between rock and pop, a bit of lighter metal, some of the less obnoxious punk, and even some rap-rock hybrids). So, detail and soundstage are important, yes, but it's really more about feeling the music, if you know what I mean. Right. Now that we have all that out of the way...

Here's what I need to know: using the PX 100 as the natural benchmark, as I have some experience with it, and am also considering it as an option, how do the HD 228 and HD 238 compare, sonically?
Does the HD 228 suffer from what I'll refer to as 'closed can syndrome'? I.e., is it muddy and congested sounding? If so, is this minimal enough that it is still a contender sound-wise when compared to the PX 100 and HD 238? And is it a decent trade-off considering the fact that there is at least moderate isolation? (HeadRoom says around -8 dB worth of isolation.) BTW, I don't want to completely block out my surroundings, so moderate isolation is really all I need.
And is there a significant gain to be had by opting for the HD 238 over either the HD 228 or PX 100? How do the sounds vary between these different models? If there is some distortion at high volumes, how high of volumes exactly are we talking about? Remember, I don't listen to my music especially loud. Which would be the best option for me, given that I'll be driving them from a portable mp3 player? I.e., which is the most efficient and/or offers the best sound without an amp?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer, and thanks for bothering to read my whole post.

 

[insyte]

Have you considered adding the HD25-1 II to your list?

 

[JayB18]

The HD238 is like an improved PX100. Its not going to give you much isolation but if you really like the PX100 the HD238 would be the way to go.

 

[priest]

The HD228 has typically darkish Sennheiser sound, but it is not really any darker than the PX 100 to me, or muddy (pad placement on the ear is extremely important with this headphone). Its main advantage is of course that it is closed. I wonder if it is really a replacement for the PX 200, which doesn't seem to get much love. Whatever post-burn-in darkness the HD228 might have is completely eliminated by performing the astroid center foam removal mod. There's a tiny round piece of foam under the pad covering that can easily be removed (and put back if you don't like the sound with it removed). Makes them actually quite bright. After doing that, I use them more than my PX 100.

I have only listened to the HD238 once in an Apple store, and I had to crank it way up. Seems like a monster to drive. It did sound great, but I'm not sure what advantage it would have over the PX 100 for over twice the price. However, listening for 15 minutes in an Apple store does not make me qualified to opine in the least. I will say that I coveted it immediately but also immediately started questioning why I needed it since I own the PX 100.

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by insyte /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you considered adding the HD25-1 II to your list?

Actually, I hadn't. Mainly because it's very difficult to find any kind of detailed review of them.

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by priest /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD228 has typically darkish Sennheiser sound, but it is not really any darker than the PX 100 to me, or muddy (pad placement on the ear is extremely important with this headphone)...Whatever post-burn-in darkness the HD228 might have is completely eliminated by performing the astroid center foam removal mod... Makes them actually quite bright. After doing that, I use them more than my PX 100.

Hmm. They really sound that much better after removing the little foam, eh? I'm quite curious to hear any additional impressions on these, particularly from others who have performed this modification on them.

Switching topics, the HD 25-1-II has an impedance rating of 70 ohms! Doesn't sound like it would be the best for portable, no-amp applications to me. Am I wrong?

 

[captian73]

The HD25-1's are probably the most forward presentation of all the Sennheiser's I've got. They're easy to drive, the bass is hard hitting, not gut thumping deep as such, but it will move you.

The HD238's are superb, however I do find that when it comes to any half decent amount of bass, the wave a white flag. I don't have my PX100 anymore, one driver (yes driver not cables or anything) gave up the ghost, so i only have the PX200's to compare with the HD238's, which isn't the same thing as comparing the PX100 and HD238's.

If you could, get the HD25-1 -II. Still my favourite headphones in the world for allroundness!!! good at bass, good at being powered by your average mp3 player, good at isolation. in fact for cutting out ambient noise without the need for noise cancelling technology, I've yet to hear better!

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captian73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD25-1's are probably the most forward presentation of all the Sennheiser's I've got. They're easy to drive, the bass is hard hitting, not gut thumping deep as such, but it will move you. The HD238's are superb, however I do find that when it comes to any half decent amount of bass, the wave a white flag. If you could, get the HD25-1 -II....Still my favourite headphones in the world for allroundness!!! good at bass, good at being powered by your average mp3 player, good at isolation. in fact for cutting out ambient noise without the need for noise cancelling technology, I've yet to hear better!

About the HD 238, I'm not sure what you mean when you say they "wave a white flag" "when it comes to any half decent amount of bass"... do you mean they're simply not capable of producing very much bass, or that they start to distort with too much bass coming to them, or the bass doesn't reach terribly deep, or is in some other way unsatisfying...?

Also, I'm having a little trouble believing that the HD 25-1-II are driven as well as you say they are by a portable player. 70 ohms seems like a real beast to drive without adding a portable amp to the setup, am I wrong?

What is your audio source? How high do you have to turn it up?

 

[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applaudio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm. They really sound that much better after removing the little foam, eh?

The difference is radical.

 

[JayB18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applaudio /img/forum/go_quote.gif About the HD 238, I'm not sure what you mean when you say they "wave a white flag" "when it comes to any half decent amount of bass"... do you mean they're simply not capable of producing very much bass, or that they start to distort with too much bass coming to them, or the bass doesn't reach terribly deep, or is in some other way unsatisfying...? Also, I'm having a little trouble believing that the HD 25-1-II are driven as well as you say they are by a portable player. 70 ohms seems like a real beast to drive without adding a portable amp to the setup, am I wrong? What is your audio source? How high do you have to turn it up?

The HD238 in no way lack bass. You must be a serious bass head if you think so. The HD25 really benefit from an amp and are uncomfortable from what I've read.

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayB18 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD238 in no way lack bass.

Yeah, from everything I've read they seem to have plenty of bass, that's why I was so confused.

 

[applaudio]

Just out of curiosity--and I know that this is sort of an awkward comparison, since they're two very different types of phones--but how would the HD 228 compare (from an audio perspective, and from an isolation perspective) with the Sennheiser CX 500 canalphones? Sorry for the curveball.

 

[JayB18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applaudio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just out of curiosity--and I know that this is sort of an awkward comparison, since they're two very different types of 'phones--but how would the HD-228 compare (from an audio perspective, and from an isolation perspective) with the Sennheiser CX-500 canalphones? Sorry for the curveball.

The canalphones will give more isolation. Cant comment on sound as I have read nothing on nor heard either of them. If you don't need any isolation the HD238 is the best choice.

 

[applaudio]

Bump!

 

[robby]

I bought the HD228 -- they should arrive by Friday. I've also used the PX 100 extensively so I'll be able to give a good review/comparison, hopefully. Pretty excited about the purchase.