anyatinagan
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2005
- Posts
- 39
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- 0
Alright, i'm not really familiar with some of the terms you guys use around here, particularly the terms "rolloff" or "extension" so please bear with me and try to be as understanding as possible while I provide you with my beginner's first impression of the HD 205
I have to admit, I got interested in this pair of headphones intially because of the way it looks. Now as it turns out the sound doesn't deviate much from its aesthetic quality, which is good, at least i dont feel any remorse for spening $53 on a pair of headphones. I compared the HD 205's build and SQ with my friend's HD 212 pro since it's the only other decent headphone that i could get a hold of. My friend has had the HD 212 pro for five months now, so i'm assuming that it's been properly burned in. Also, I dont own an amp (not yet anyway), so the phones were plugged straight into my ipod shuffle.
Accessories/Freebies
It comes with a gold plated screw-on jack adapter and a black pouch that looks like it's made of leather but I could be wrong. The pouch looks and feels quite nice though
Build Quality
No creaks so far on the 205. I could hear little creaks with the 212pro while looking around or turning my head sideways. Not a major problem with the 212pro because it doesn't happen often, it just does it sometimes, but right now i'm being critical (or anal) for analytical purposes. The seal is much much better on the 205 IMO, maybe because it clamps tighter, or maybe it's the shape of the cans - they're smaller and lean towards the circular variety whereas the 212pro's are for lack of a better word - oval. Although both are sealed cans, i've noticed that the 205 isolates ambient noise a little more efficiently than the 212pro. Both are made of plastic, but they're not fragile by any means. I'm curious about the 205's single sided cable, because it doesn't look like it's detachable like the 212pros which worries me because i know it'll need to be replaced eventually. I'm not gonna try to pull it out just to find out though.
Sound Quality
Now onto the climax, sweet cherry - the sound quality. My 205's haven't gotten a proper burn in yet, so i'll probably be updating this mini impressions post in the future to tell you guys how burning in improves or deteriorates it.
Right now, listening to Ani DiFranco's Studying stones (192kbs mp3) with the 212pro, i've noticed the violin at the beginning of the song, just right before Ms. DiFranco starts singing, sounds a bit recessed and i find myself straining a bit because it would've sounded better if it was a bit more forward sounding. The 205 does this a little better. the sound of the violin is clearer and doesn't sound muddy. I'm assuming that people determine the brightness of a pair of headphones by measuring the prominence of the highs? The 205 is not bright at all, i think the highs are enough and wont cause fatigue. I also think that the mids are handled well and are well presented. The songs that I've listened to with the HD 205 didn't sound lacking in detail, and I wasn't even blasting the volume (afraid of hearing loss). The bass, compared to the 212pro, is well-defined IMO. I asked my partner to perform a side by side bass listening test with the HD 212pro and HD 205, to put emphasis on objective analysis, and he concluded that the 205 sounds better. He felt that the bass sounds like a separate instrument or entity, unlike the 212 pro, which sounds as if everything in the audio spectrum is tainted with bass. This, coming from a person who refuses to put on a headphone because he feels suffocated everytime he puts one on. The 205 is a bit punchy too, and that's a good thing. The song we tested the bass on is Familiar Feeling (Martin Buttrich remix) (vbr2 mp3) by Moloko.
Overall I'm quite satisfied with my purchase. Not bad for a first headphone I'd have to say. I'm just excited with the amount of options out there waiting for me. I'm eyeing the HD 555 for my next purchase. I'm wondering how my HD 205 will fare against it. I dont want to be strictly on the sennheiser house, but senns are the most common audiophile headphones around here. And Philips. AKG's impossible to get here. Beyer Dynamics too. See my predicament?
I wish i could've tested the HD 201 against the 205 when i was at the store, seeing how well regarded the 201 is for entry level cans around here but i was too excited to buy the thing.
I'd love to hear what others think of their 205s.
Ah, and curse you head-fi (is it right to curse head-fi this early?)
*************Jan 01 2006 Update: Pics******************
It looks like i wont have my camera back sooner than I'd like (friend borrowed it). So here are some shots taken with my coworker's phone camera. Not as clear as one would like but heh
I have to admit, I got interested in this pair of headphones intially because of the way it looks. Now as it turns out the sound doesn't deviate much from its aesthetic quality, which is good, at least i dont feel any remorse for spening $53 on a pair of headphones. I compared the HD 205's build and SQ with my friend's HD 212 pro since it's the only other decent headphone that i could get a hold of. My friend has had the HD 212 pro for five months now, so i'm assuming that it's been properly burned in. Also, I dont own an amp (not yet anyway), so the phones were plugged straight into my ipod shuffle.
Accessories/Freebies
It comes with a gold plated screw-on jack adapter and a black pouch that looks like it's made of leather but I could be wrong. The pouch looks and feels quite nice though
Build Quality
No creaks so far on the 205. I could hear little creaks with the 212pro while looking around or turning my head sideways. Not a major problem with the 212pro because it doesn't happen often, it just does it sometimes, but right now i'm being critical (or anal) for analytical purposes. The seal is much much better on the 205 IMO, maybe because it clamps tighter, or maybe it's the shape of the cans - they're smaller and lean towards the circular variety whereas the 212pro's are for lack of a better word - oval. Although both are sealed cans, i've noticed that the 205 isolates ambient noise a little more efficiently than the 212pro. Both are made of plastic, but they're not fragile by any means. I'm curious about the 205's single sided cable, because it doesn't look like it's detachable like the 212pros which worries me because i know it'll need to be replaced eventually. I'm not gonna try to pull it out just to find out though.
Sound Quality
Now onto the climax, sweet cherry - the sound quality. My 205's haven't gotten a proper burn in yet, so i'll probably be updating this mini impressions post in the future to tell you guys how burning in improves or deteriorates it.
Right now, listening to Ani DiFranco's Studying stones (192kbs mp3) with the 212pro, i've noticed the violin at the beginning of the song, just right before Ms. DiFranco starts singing, sounds a bit recessed and i find myself straining a bit because it would've sounded better if it was a bit more forward sounding. The 205 does this a little better. the sound of the violin is clearer and doesn't sound muddy. I'm assuming that people determine the brightness of a pair of headphones by measuring the prominence of the highs? The 205 is not bright at all, i think the highs are enough and wont cause fatigue. I also think that the mids are handled well and are well presented. The songs that I've listened to with the HD 205 didn't sound lacking in detail, and I wasn't even blasting the volume (afraid of hearing loss). The bass, compared to the 212pro, is well-defined IMO. I asked my partner to perform a side by side bass listening test with the HD 212pro and HD 205, to put emphasis on objective analysis, and he concluded that the 205 sounds better. He felt that the bass sounds like a separate instrument or entity, unlike the 212 pro, which sounds as if everything in the audio spectrum is tainted with bass. This, coming from a person who refuses to put on a headphone because he feels suffocated everytime he puts one on. The 205 is a bit punchy too, and that's a good thing. The song we tested the bass on is Familiar Feeling (Martin Buttrich remix) (vbr2 mp3) by Moloko.
Overall I'm quite satisfied with my purchase. Not bad for a first headphone I'd have to say. I'm just excited with the amount of options out there waiting for me. I'm eyeing the HD 555 for my next purchase. I'm wondering how my HD 205 will fare against it. I dont want to be strictly on the sennheiser house, but senns are the most common audiophile headphones around here. And Philips. AKG's impossible to get here. Beyer Dynamics too. See my predicament?
I wish i could've tested the HD 201 against the 205 when i was at the store, seeing how well regarded the 201 is for entry level cans around here but i was too excited to buy the thing.
I'd love to hear what others think of their 205s.
Ah, and curse you head-fi (is it right to curse head-fi this early?)
*************Jan 01 2006 Update: Pics******************
It looks like i wont have my camera back sooner than I'd like (friend borrowed it). So here are some shots taken with my coworker's phone camera. Not as clear as one would like but heh
