[Basketballer]

After my great loss last week when my Philips SBC HP550 broke at the point where the cable connects to the adapter....i went online and asked for advice on what pair of headphones is the best for the money. I got many rave reviews about these HD201's so i ordered them for $25 shipping included from amazon.com

I just got them, and tried them out with eagerness....and....im dissappointed. I am an audiophile. A true sound enthusiast, and to me there is nothing better than a great set of headphones or even better a car system.

Anyway, my first observation, the cable/cord. It's like 100 feet long. What. I like my philips's cord that was longer than traditional cords by a good length wayyy better.

then i listen to them.....they suck. they are average headphones. the bass sucks. the volume sucks. it distorts so easily. my sony $10 headphones was a better purchase. They distort at a higher volume than the HD201's. The volume period, is low on the 201's. The Sony earphone are about 4 levels louder on my mp3 player as they sound like the 201 volume is the same as the sony's at 34 compared to 30. The headphones are not very attractive. They look worse in person than in pictures. the ear surrounds, are not as soft or plush at my Philips, and the material covering the speaker on the inside of the cups looks like they are going to fall out sometime sooner than i would like them to.

OVERALL RATING: Philips SBC HP550 = 9/10 Sony earphones = 6/10 Sennheiser HD201 = 4/10

I listen to rap/hip hop mostly, i need to feel and hear full undistorted bass at high volumes. The 201s dont cut it. I guess i was asking the wrong people. I know lots of audiophiles that love clear, bassless music and consider that great sound quality. That is not my taste. I need bass that is deep, distortionless and full. I want to listen to my music loud. is that too much to ask.

VERY DISSAPPOINTED

ps. after i ordered the 201s, i noticed the HD 215s and everyone was talking about their bass. so i ordered them the next day, and should get them tomorrow. I really really hope that the $52 i spent on those make up for this dissappointment. if not, i might just even send both back, eat the shipping cost, and go get me the new philips headphones i saw at FYE even though they are so ugly. I need that sound.

pss. they needs to be a Smily that in which the smily is crying and wearing Sennheiser HD201's.

 

[tfunk408]

i'm not surprised by your impressions, however, i'd like to point out that source plays a big factor here.

out of my ipod mini, these sound uninteresting. the sound is best described as "thin" and sibilant. running a pa2v2 between the mini and the hd201 did not bring out the life from these cans.

on the other hand, whe n i plug these into my panasonic pcdp (1996), unamped, the sound becomes so much fuller. the bass really opens up (i listen to a fair bit of hip hop and electronica), and has decent impact when bass boost is switched on.

in conclusion, i only use these with my pcdp OR out of the headphone out of my klipsch promedia (has a decent built-in amp circuit). running them straight from my sb live or my ipod mini results in a poor listening experience.

 

[diredesire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basketballer After my great loss last week when my Philips SBC HP550 broke at the point where the cable connects to the adapter....i went online and asked for advice on what pair of headphones is the best for the money. I got many rave reviews about these HD201's so i ordered them for $25 shipping included from amazon.com I just got them, and tried them out with eagerness....and....im dissappointed. I am an audiophile. A true sound enthusiast, and to me there is nothing better than a great set of headphones or even better a car system. Anyway, my first observation, the cable/cord. It's like 100 feet long. What. I like my philips's cord that was longer than traditional cords by a good length wayyy better. then i listen to them.....they suck. they are average headphones. the bass sucks. the volume sucks. it distorts so easily. my sony $10 headphones was a better purchase. They distort at a higher volume than the HD201's. The volume period, is low on the 201's. The Sony earphone are about 4 levels louder on my mp3 player as they sound like the 201 volume is the same as the sony's at 34 compared to 30. The headphones are not very attractive. They look worse in person than in pictures. the ear surrounds, are not as soft or plush at my Philips, and the material covering the speaker on the inside of the cups looks like they are going to fall out sometime sooner than i would like them to. OVERALL RATING: Philips SBC HP550 = 9/10 Sony earphones = 6/10 Sennheiser HD201 = 4/10 I listen to rap/hip hop mostly, i need to feel and hear full undistorted bass at high volumes. The 201s dont cut it. I guess i was asking the wrong people. I know lots of audiophiles that love clear, bassless music and consider that great sound quality. That is not my taste. I need bass that is deep, distortionless and full. I want to listen to my music loud. is that too much to ask. VERY DISSAPPOINTED ps. after i ordered the 201s, i noticed the HD 215s and everyone was talking about their bass. so i ordered them the next day, and should get them tomorrow. I really really hope that the $52 i spent on those make up for this dissappointment. if not, i might just even send both back, eat the shipping cost, and go get me the new philips headphones i saw at FYE even though they are so ugly. I need that sound. pss. they needs to be a Smily that in which the smily is crying and wearing Sennheiser HD201's.

Sounds like you needed to have done more research... These phones are pretty lifeless out of certain sources, as mentioned above, and I haven't seen anyone recommend them for a bassy, impactful sound, either. They really open up with a proper source, sounds like you're a basshead, too, which isn't exactly the niche these cans fill.

 

[Basketballer]

so knowing about what I like, can you guys make any other suggestions for headphones that would satisfy my basshead, loud music, yet distortionless appetite?

will I be impressed by the HD215's? if not, then i really want to order or go out and buy a pair of "my kinda headphones" as soon as possible.

 

[Basketballer]

also, the source I'm going to be using is the Cowon America Iaudio5 Mp3 player if that makes a difference.

ps. i dont know anything about headphone amps. do they make ones that arent that big and are ideal for just amping everyday Mp3 player walk around/ride bike around rap music listening activities? It would be sweet if they really improved sound and it fit on my belt or pocket.

 

[AdamP]

Should have gotten the K81DJ

 

[incognitoedleon]

Yeah the HD201 really doesn't cut it for the music you listen to. I found them severely lacking as well. For your musical tastes, you might want to check out the Philips HP250 if you want to stick to around the same budget. I'm pretty much the only person that pimps these phones here

. The highs are not as good, but the midrange is much more full. The bass isn't exactly deep in quality, but it's more impactful and fun. The problem is that they are even harder to drive than the HD201's (plainspeak: you gotta turn the volume up higher to reach "normal" listening levels). If you don't mind earclips, check out the Koss KSC75 instead. It's around the same price or less, but can almost hang with the SR60's.

 

[AdamP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by incognitoedleon Yeah the HD201 really doesn't cut it for the music you listen to. I found them severely lacking as well. For your musical tastes, you might want to check out the Philips HP250 if you want to stick to around the same budget. I'm pretty much the only person that pimps these phones here . The highs are not as good, but the midrange is much more full. The bass isn't exactly deep in quality, but it's more impactful and fun. The problem is that they are even harder to drive than the HD201's (plainspeak: you gotta turn the volume up higher to reach "normal" listening levels). If you don't mind earclips, check out the Koss KSC75 instead. It's around the same price or less, but can almost hang with the SR60's.

No way... the KSC75's can't hang with the SR-60s.

Not in bass extension and impact. While the SR-60s will do the bass nicely the KSC-75s will fart out some distortion on low powerful notes. Not to mention the fact that you really need to get the KSCs clipped to your ears properly to get any decent bass response.

 

[incognitoedleon]

^I wrote "almost."

Quote:

It's around the same price or less, but can almost hang with the SR60's.

 

[Basketballer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamP Should have gotten the K81DJ

those look beautiful. what about the K27 line? i might now pay $78 since im getting fed up. and i'm doubtful about these 215s. 201s, im returning. but together i spent $77 for the Sennheiser's and if they were great i would've just kept them. but anyway...what about those k27's cuz i read they are ideal for mp3 players and such. as the k81s look like they are for DJs at parties. the K27s look crazy with 127db compared to the 115db of the k81. i thought the 81's were the louder of the two. maybe they just have more bass. either way good suggestion, AKG looks nice

ps. the k27s, looks to beat all the stats of the k81s. why r they cheaper. freq range, 11khz-28.5khz ..damn. 127db.

 

[Headphony]

The Audio Technica ATH-M30's would be worth a look also.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basketballer After my great loss last week when my Philips SBC HP550 broke at the point where the cable connects to the adapter....i went online and asked for advice on what pair of headphones is the best for the money. I got many rave reviews about these HD201's so i ordered them for $25 shipping included from amazon.com I just got them, and tried them out with eagerness....and....im dissappointed. I am an audiophile. A true sound enthusiast, and to me there is nothing better than a great set of headphones or even better a car system. Anyway, my first observation, the cable/cord. It's like 100 feet long. What. I like my philips's cord that was longer than traditional cords by a good length wayyy better. then i listen to them.....they suck. they are average headphones. the bass sucks. the volume sucks. it distorts so easily. my sony $10 headphones was a better purchase. They distort at a higher volume than the HD201's. The volume period, is low on the 201's. The Sony earphone are about 4 levels louder on my mp3 player as they sound like the 201 volume is the same as the sony's at 34 compared to 30. The headphones are not very attractive. They look worse in person than in pictures. the ear surrounds, are not as soft or plush at my Philips, and the material covering the speaker on the inside of the cups looks like they are going to fall out sometime sooner than i would like them to. OVERALL RATING: Philips SBC HP550 = 9/10 Sony earphones = 6/10 Sennheiser HD201 = 4/10 I listen to rap/hip hop mostly, i need to feel and hear full undistorted bass at high volumes. The 201s dont cut it. I guess i was asking the wrong people. I know lots of audiophiles that love clear, bassless music and consider that great sound quality. That is not my taste. I need bass that is deep, distortionless and full. I want to listen to my music loud. is that too much to ask. VERY DISSAPPOINTED ps. after i ordered the 201s, i noticed the HD 215s and everyone was talking about their bass. so i ordered them the next day, and should get them tomorrow. I really really hope that the $52 i spent on those make up for this dissappointment. if not, i might just even send both back, eat the shipping cost, and go get me the new philips headphones i saw at FYE even though they are so ugly. I need that sound. pss. they needs to be a Smily that in which the smily is crying and wearing Sennheiser HD201's.

Well, theres your problem. Even fairly cheap headphones have standards.

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by incognitoedleon For your musical tastes, you might want to check out the Philips HP250 if you want to stick to around the same budget. I'm pretty much the only person that pimps these phones here .

You are not only one

 

[Preshure0617]

sorry...the HD215 won't cut it. the high end is really really good (among the best in a closed can), but the bass is thin (though accurate).

sennheiser + inexpensive + bass = EH150 or HD202

if you can afford it the hd485 is awesome, but again, it's open. easy to power + warm, deep deep deep bass

 

[Mercuttio]

I would consider the Sennheiser HD212... they're still making that right? It's definitely the cheapest Basshead can out there. Looking at your post history, it doesn't seem that anyone reccomended the HD201 to you... they told you to get the Portapro or KSC75. Given your specific tastes in "feeling the music" by having it so loud, I'm guessing you're pumping up the volume to make up for the lack of dynamics in most headphones. Bad call... you're headed for hearing loss that way.

I think you ought to get the HD212, so you can listen at reasonable volumes. Also... weird throwing around of the word "audiophlie" don't you think?