jump3r
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2012
- Posts
- 103
- Likes
- 10
The sound of the Sennheiser PX-100-II is quite
different from the sound of the PX-200-II, and where I
would normally expect a closed earcup (PX-200-II) to
produce better bass than an open earcup (PX-100-II),
the opposite is true with these two headphones. Bass
with the PX-100-II is very strong and has good detail,
but is not so strong as to be overpowering, muddy,
boomy, or any of the other negative qualities I
associate with unbalanced bass response.
The midrange of the PX-100-II is slightly shy, but not
so distant that it's a problem. Many of the
lower-priced headphones, and even a few of the mid- to
upper-priced headphones have midranges with noticeable
colorations such as a nasal or "honky" type of sound,
but the PX-100-II doesn't suffer from any of that as
far as I can tell. If you're willing to take a chance
on possibly ruining a five-dollar set of ear cushions,
you can easily remove the foam ear cushions from the
PX-100-II and cut an approximately 15 mm hole in the
center of the cushions, then put them back onto the
headphone. That will improve the midrange and the highs
without making them strident or harsh, and is a safe
and worthwhile modification in my opinion.
The PX-100-II's highs are smooth, but rolled off quite
a bit at 10 khz and above when connected to the
headphone jack of my iPod Touch (2010 version). When
connected to a decent headphone amp with a "line out"
connection (not the headphone jack of the portable
music player), the highs improve significantly. I did
not experience problems with sibilants in either case.
Comparing the PX-100-II to the mid-priced sennheiser hd598 and
the high-priced Sennheiser HD-800 headphones, the
PX-100-II had clarity nearly equal to hd598 and noticeably less clarity than the HD-800. Still, the
PX-100-II's overall level of detail is quite good,
even when listening to high quality source material on
good hi-fi gear.
The following are some of the music tracks I tested
with, and the main features I listened for with those
tracks:
Blues Project - Caress Me Baby (piercing guitar sound,
handled very well).
Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers (guitar string detail
and quality, excellent).
Commodores - Night Shift (bass detail, excellent).
Germs - Forming (raw garage sound, good).
Lick The Tins - Can't Help Falling In Love (tin
whistle, very clear and clean).
Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side (bass impact good;
detail good).
REM - Radio Free Europe (drum impact, very good).
Rolling Stones - She's So Cold (bass impact and guitar
sound, good).
U2 - With Or Without You (bass slightly boomy;
high-pitched instruments and sibilants, handled well).
Van Morrison - Into The Mystic (bass, good).
Who - Bargain (voice trailing off: "best I ever had",
good vocal harmonics).
different from the sound of the PX-200-II, and where I
would normally expect a closed earcup (PX-200-II) to
produce better bass than an open earcup (PX-100-II),
the opposite is true with these two headphones. Bass
with the PX-100-II is very strong and has good detail,
but is not so strong as to be overpowering, muddy,
boomy, or any of the other negative qualities I
associate with unbalanced bass response.
The midrange of the PX-100-II is slightly shy, but not
so distant that it's a problem. Many of the
lower-priced headphones, and even a few of the mid- to
upper-priced headphones have midranges with noticeable
colorations such as a nasal or "honky" type of sound,
but the PX-100-II doesn't suffer from any of that as
far as I can tell. If you're willing to take a chance
on possibly ruining a five-dollar set of ear cushions,
you can easily remove the foam ear cushions from the
PX-100-II and cut an approximately 15 mm hole in the
center of the cushions, then put them back onto the
headphone. That will improve the midrange and the highs
without making them strident or harsh, and is a safe
and worthwhile modification in my opinion.
The PX-100-II's highs are smooth, but rolled off quite
a bit at 10 khz and above when connected to the
headphone jack of my iPod Touch (2010 version). When
connected to a decent headphone amp with a "line out"
connection (not the headphone jack of the portable
music player), the highs improve significantly. I did
not experience problems with sibilants in either case.
Comparing the PX-100-II to the mid-priced sennheiser hd598 and
the high-priced Sennheiser HD-800 headphones, the
PX-100-II had clarity nearly equal to hd598 and noticeably less clarity than the HD-800. Still, the
PX-100-II's overall level of detail is quite good,
even when listening to high quality source material on
good hi-fi gear.
The following are some of the music tracks I tested
with, and the main features I listened for with those
tracks:
Blues Project - Caress Me Baby (piercing guitar sound,
handled very well).
Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers (guitar string detail
and quality, excellent).
Commodores - Night Shift (bass detail, excellent).
Germs - Forming (raw garage sound, good).
Lick The Tins - Can't Help Falling In Love (tin
whistle, very clear and clean).
Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side (bass impact good;
detail good).
REM - Radio Free Europe (drum impact, very good).
Rolling Stones - She's So Cold (bass impact and guitar
sound, good).
U2 - With Or Without You (bass slightly boomy;
high-pitched instruments and sibilants, handled well).
Van Morrison - Into The Mystic (bass, good).
Who - Bargain (voice trailing off: "best I ever had",
good vocal harmonics).
