[user123456]

As title says. I picked up a pair to see if they were worthy of a gift, but they suck so hard. Why does everyone have these as their value pick? If anything this would give me a bad impression.

Otherr thoughts?

Come on Head-Fi, let's break the old standard and come up with a decent budget headphone.

 

[aragornmustdie]

finally

yes, i also can't see it

bass is non existant, awful build quality

(im a semi basshead, though)

 

[user123456]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aragornmustdie /img/forum/go_quote.gif finally yes, i also can't see it bass is non existant, awful build quality (im a semi basshead, though)

Yeah man.

People are so used to the norm. Come one, let's raise our fists in resistance. (Establish better budget headphones)

The build quality sucks, I agree 100%. I picked it up and you can instantly tell how crappy they are.

Edit- If anyone disagrees, please tell me. You can buy my pair. I kicked them around a bit and then started stomping on them, but they still sound as crappy as they usually do.

 

[appophylite]

Agreed that stock, they are not the best headphones and there are better options around.

However, when you pair them with an amplifier, the sound quality improves rather nicely. It's still nothing to brag about but it becomes much nicer in terms of SQ.

 

[Exediron]

I thought everyone recommended either the Grado SR-60 or the Koss KSC-75 as a budget headphone. When did that change?

Anyway, I've never heard the HD201, so I can't really say. It's entirely possible it sucks. You should buy a whole bunch of other headphones for a similar price and do a big review

 

[paaj]

how can it suck for the... what... $30 they cost?
... ibuds cost $30

 

[apatN]

I gave them to my dad. He's perfectly happy with them and they don't sound crap. They're the budget budgetphones. For the money, they're pretty good I think. They're one of the cheapest full size cans. If you want the 'best' budget headphones; look at Koss.

 

[tim359]

The HD 201 isn't amazing, but considering the $25 or so, it's probably one of the better headphones for the money. They're actually rather detailed and clear for what I thought a $25 headphone would sound like.

 

[Shoewreck]

Mine did suck hard until I modded 'em - required full disassembly, drilling a hole in back of the inner chamber (only seen when opened) and filling the chamber with foam. Now they suck not as hard a they did before... Some bass, quite neutral (but stil dirty) highs are there...

 

[steinba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by user123456 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Y Come one, let's raise our fists in resistance. (Establish better budget headphones)

Come on! For the price you pay for these, you can't really complain.

 

[spinali]

My father loves the 201, albeit primarily for listening to audiobooks. Then again, he's nearly deaf...

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steinba /img/forum/go_quote.gif Come on! For the price you pay for these, you can't really complain.

Exactly. But of course, price doesn't always correlate with quality (lol@Bose) but there is a point in which it does. People expecting too much outta something.

 

[yashicaman]

25 bucks buys you the Sennheiser HD-201's. For the price they are fantastic. Double the price and you pretty much double the quality. Probably the best cans for the lolly are the Grado SR-60, but they cost around 69 bucks a pair.

I purchased 2 pair of Sennheiser HD 201's a couple years ago--1 for each of my young sons. They are pleased with them. They are closed cans and I'm pleased with them. My eldest (almost 9) has cottoned to my Sennheiser HD-595's. I gave him permission to use them whenever he wanted and to look after them. I've moved on to other headphones (AKG 701 and Grado 325i in particular).

I've listened to the 201's and they are fair. Little bass, no real sound leakage, shallow soundstage and rather narrow, fair mids and highs, but what does one expect for 25 bucks? For a budget phone, the 201's are stellar. Best closed cans in the universe for 25 bucks.

Give Grado SR-60's for a gift. Don't be such a tightwad!

 

[appophylite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exediron /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought everyone recommended either the Grado SR-60 or the Koss KSC-75 as a budget headphone. When did that change?

I don't think it ever did. Most budgetphone recommendation still end up being typically PX100, PortaPro, KSC 75, iGrado, Grado SR60/80 Air Cushion, Marshmallows, etc, etc.

The HD201 is not recommended very often, but it often ends up being many people's first headphone because when they search, the see the price and they see the name Sennheiser. If you were to search back to some of the older posts/threads on the forum back around 2005/2006 and later, you'll see that a lot of people mention that the Senn. HD201 is a very light sounding headphone, almost too light with very little to no bass when they are listened to out of the box. However when you consider that they only cost $25, factored by how well they scale up with even a simple amplifier such as a CMOY or PA2v2, they are actually not the worst deal around.

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by user123456 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Come on Head-Fi, let's break the old standard and come up with a decent budget headphone.

I recommend a modded JBL 410 Reference as decent budget headphones for ~$20 shipped. Search Head-Fi for JBL410.