[PaulRivers]

Quote:

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

Statistics are borderline meaningless in headphones, people recommend headphones based on either personal experience with how they sound, or what they've heard from other people's personal experience on how they sound.

 

[warpdriver]

AKG K81DJ or Sony MDRV6 for decent bass (not overly bloated bass)

 

[dave al'orange]

Got a pair of HD201s for my girlfriend a while back, and I can tell you there is also a definite burn-in period for the 201s. Took a few weeks of her listening to them for them to really warm up.

They're a very nice-sounding headphone for $20; not sure how great they'd be for lots of rap though. They do an excellent job with jazz singers and indie rock.

 

[tfunk408]

i don't know of many headphones that really sound good out of a mp3 player. i've had the best luck with the ksc75, various earbuds, and to some extent, the hd555. in fact, i'm beginning to give up on portable mp3 players altogether...

 

[Karajan]

Well, it seems that people begins to realize the stuff the new sennheisers are made. The new 2004 senn series, all of them( 515-55-595; 201-215; 465-485) are a complete failure. I supose Sennheiser's technicians have realized that and are storming their brains in order to solve this great "fiasco". Go with the grado sr60s, basketballer. They are the same price than the HD215s, and extremely better. They have impact, agression, bass, raw power.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karajan Well, it seems that people begins to realize the stuff the new sennheisers are made. The new 2004 senn series, all of them( 515-55-595; 201-215; 465-485) are a complete failure. I supose Sennheiser's technicians have realized that and are storming their brains in order to solve this great "fiasco".

Do you have access to Sennheiser's sales figures or something? To a company, a product that sells is a success. Seems to me Sennheiser sells plenty of their recent product line.

 

[kramer5150]

I also was not impressed with the HD201. Too flat / dull / boring to really capture my interest. Too sloppy for my tastes too. Dont get me wrong I DO appreciate balanced, spetrally flat cans... But they'd better spank me HARD with detail resolution, speed and dynamics to make up for it.

On the other hand.. I dont really think you gave them a fair chance given your source and amp.

 

[tfunk408]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karajan Well, it seems that people begins to realize the stuff the new sennheisers are made. The new 2004 senn series, all of them( 515-55-595; 201-215; 465-485) are a complete failure. I supose Sennheiser's technicians have realized that and are storming their brains in order to solve this great "fiasco". Go with the grado sr60s, basketballer. They are the same price than the HD215s, and extremely better. They have impact, agression, bass, raw power.

not sure i entirely agree with what you said about the new senn line being a failure. i'm actually enjoying my hd201 and hd555. on the other hand, having since picked up a hd580 (and soon to come goldring dr150), i'm sure that the earlier two will fall out of favor for me.

 

[Big_Irish]

I've been with my HD-201 for about 3 weeks now. Before burn in they were thin, not much soundstage or bass. After a looong burn in they bass loosened up and the soundstage opened up. This is through my headphone out on my Logitech z-580 speakers though. They do seem to distort at high volumes easily, but I don't listen to em loud. Remeber these are only 20 bucks.

 

[facelvega]

If anything I feel like the 201 is less of a disappointment than the 555/595. Once they're burned in and with a decent source I find them pretty pleasing for some kinds of music; better than a DT231, anyway, and a lot cheaper. The 555/595s are to me the kind of phones that sound great until you listen to them next to a 580+ or even an SR125+, which reveal how limited they really are. And for all the talk of immediacy I still hear the old Sennheiser veil. For 17 bucks, I'll forgive that, but not for the price of a pair of 595s.

 

[Oistrakh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basketballer 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.

if you're an "audiopfile" and a true "sound enthusiast", well of course you'd find them dissapointing! They're only around 20 bucks, and aren't world class headphones mind you. Plus you also didn't give them time to burn in

 

[Basketballer]

well, i dont like the senheisser 201s at all. I got the HD212s for $52 shipped. these are a LOT better. Great headphones. It would be nice if they got a liitle louder. and it would be nice if the bass was a little more harder hitting. but overall. they are great. the cable is too long for my purposes but no big deal.

i ordered the AKG k81's after the dissappointment with sennhesier for the 201s. i was afraid the 212s might have let me down. but they are good. i have a feeling after listening to u guys, that the 81s are going to be perfect. they are a lot better looking than the 212s.

i will find out tomorrow when they get here. in the meantime i am sending my 201s back, and i dont know what i will do with the 212s yet. depends on how much i like the k81s. i might just hold on to them, or maybe sell them to a friend.

 

[funkadelic]

A common problem with cheap audio kit that gets rave reviews as a really good deal at the price is that people read the reviews and expect that they are going to get some kind of ultimate audiophile experience for a niminal price and then never really get past the initial disappointment.

I have the HD201s and I agree that they can sound kind of thin at times, especially at first but things do get better.

When I first plugged them in they seemed to distort very easily, from quite low volumes, after a couple of overnight burn-ins things improved considerably and they will now go as loud as I need them to.

They also sound much better EQ'd to add more bass. They sound excellent plugged into the line-out on my Creative T3000's.

before sending them back I would give them another listen, but before you do you need to wrap your head around the fact that there are $20 budget headphones not cheaper competitors to high-end cans. Burn them in well, EQ if necessary and stop expecting them to be something they were never intended to be and you have a good budget set of headphones.


Simon

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega If anything I feel like the 201 is less of a disappointment than the 555/595. Once they're burned in and with a decent source I find them pretty pleasing for some kinds of music; better than a DT231, anyway, and a lot cheaper. The 555/595s are to me the kind of phones that sound great until you listen to them next to a 580+ or even an SR125+, which reveal how limited they really are. And for all the talk of immediacy I still hear the old Sennheiser veil. For 17 bucks, I'll forgive that, but not for the price of a pair of 595s.

Your experience only. I owned 580s, was never satisfied with them (too dull), heard the 595 and haven't looked back since. I also owned 600s at one stage--also not a patch on the 595. I've had Grado (SR80) and probably 3 dozen other good phones over the years, but the 595 is where it's at for me. To be clear though, I listen to symphonic/orchestral music only; I have no interest in rap or rock etc. There may be better phones out there for those styles, but for plain neutrality and musicality the 595 is unbeatable at sensible prices.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facevega If anything I feel like the 201 is less of a disappointment than the 555/595. Once they're burned in and with a decent source I find them pretty pleasing for some kinds of music; better than a DT231, anyway, and a lot cheaper. The 555/595s are to me the kind of phones that sound great until you listen to them next to a 580+ or even an SR125+, which reveal how limited they really are. And for all the talk of immediacy I still hear the old Sennheiser veil. For 17 bucks, I'll forgive that, but not for the price of a pair of 595s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 Your experience only. I owned 580s, was never satisfied with them (too dull), heard the 595 and haven't looked back since. I also owned 600s at one stage--also not a patch on the 595. I've had Grado (SR80) and probably 3 dozen other good phones over the years, but the 595 is where it's at for me. To be clear though, I listen to symphonic/orchestral music only; I have no interest in rap or rock etc. There may be better phones out there for those styles, but for plain neutrality and musicality the 595 is unbeatable at sensible prices.

Gotta agree, I have the 580 & 595 and in comparison have found the 580s a bit dull. They have a Cardas cable on them too.
I'm using a SuperMacro-3 amp, so no question of the 580s being underpowered. Plus I got the 595s new for £80.

An advantage I'd give to the 580s is that they are substantially better built and easily completely taken apart by hand in minutes.