Love my HD202's!!! I remember picking up 5 pair for $89USD! That deal was probably about 10 years ago, through Musician’s Friend. I personally think that are better and more comfortable than the 201’s, which I have about 30 or so pairs of those for my students to use. I also really like the 203’s that are identical to the 202’s except the color of the headband and a slight difference in technical numbers. I do have to admit though I am a bit of Sennheiser junkie…(love my 280pro's and 380pro's, looking at the Momentums next!) Beats, any iteration of them, are over priced for what they give you. I would rather pay 1/10 of the price for Beats and get way more than 1/10 of the sound quality that I am looking for from a headphone. Also, the 201’s, 202’s, and 203’s are not intended to be high end by any means, they are entry level, and for the price there might be better but I like the sound that they provide.
I remember when the Bose Triports (original ones TP-1) came out and they were originally priced for $150. There was a price drop later that made them a little better, as far as what they were actually worth with SQ. I was still in radio at the time and always using and trying all kinds of closed cans. A friend of mine purchased the aforementioned TP-1’s (original price) and was proud of the Bose label. In the studio I always used my Koss Pro 4AA but on the go, or when I was broadcasting from a mobile site, I used the HD202’s. The TP-1’s were intended to be used on the go with mobile players and such, which to an extent so are the HD202’s. He asked me to listen to the Bose and give them a quick overview. Without saying anything, I let him listen to my HD202’s. He was amazed and slightly upset that he paid over 6 times more than what I had and the SQ was nearly the same.
What I am trying to say is that sometimes, you don’t always get what you pay for…Don't buy into the hype.
