[a3ds]

 They arrived today, exceeded my expectations. Swaffleman made quite a review, excellent headphones, a bargain, they sound great on my mobile phone, I am in love.

 

[aditya322]

Hey.

I am very new to the community and quite honestly, an absolute beginner at headphone selection and all that jazz. However, its time I really got myself a decent pair considering the fact that I have been dealing with crappy in-ears and earphones all this while and borrowing mid-range sets which really weren't all that great. The best set I have owned till date is the Sennheiser LX 90, which is pretty poor actually and not good enough for amateur sound mixing/recording.

Going by what I have seen or read on this thread and a few reviews online, the 203s seem to be a really good buy. Going by their frequency response on headroom, they seem worth their price. But they have been out there in the market for a while, so I was wondering whether I should expand my horizons and look into a few other brands or just check out some of the newer Sennheiser models.

Any suggestions? Need an on-ear headphone which is comfortable and has a flat-ish response and fits into 30-40$ price range.

Cheers.

 

[aditya322]

Okay. Am a step away from ordering..
203s or not? The comfort level seems to be the only issue..
Cheers.

 

[phrozenspite]

okay all.. so I have 203s right now which i like the sound of a lot... what headphones do you all recommend as an upgrade after this? I tried the 280s and the reproduction of the vocals was completely inaccurate and the overall sound was completely underwhelming in comparison(I've heard many of the bands i use to test live, so it isn't just a colored vs flat type deal).  

 

[Meder]

I recently purchased these for home use and I simply do not like them.  They seems a bit bass heavy with tamed highs to me and its really not my thing.  I do see why these are very good for the price if you enjoy the darker sound, but to me they just come off as hidden and un detailed in a way.  Im not hearing my music the way it was meant to be heard in short is how i feel.
 
  What type of signature do you all consider these headphones?  It seems if they are neutral with tamed highs and sort of undefined bass to me.  I ask this so I can hopefully find something i enjoy.  I do like the dark laid back sound, but I am not willing to give up  detail and clarity for it.  All I can base my opinion off of are the ety hf5 iems which i enjoy very much but would not be against a bit more impact on the low end.
 
 
  What type of sound signature do these hd203s have?

 

[greenberet]

I recently bought a apple iPod touch 32gb for myself. I'm in plans to buy a Sennheiser HD 403 for use on iPod. I'm not sure if these headsets can be driven on iPod. Any suggestions??

 

[musubi1000]

Wow I recently just picked these up after I heard a girlfriends hd 202 that impressed me. These have more bass, texture and impact than my Denon D2000 and AT-M50s. They are also super easy to drive as no amp is necessary at all to sound great! This is all any student or low budget buyer needs for any electronic, rock, rap, hip hop, alternative music. The bass is their standout feature with tons of texture and a pleasant impact that won't wear you out. It sets a great background for the forward mids and pleasant treble that won't offend anyone but has just enough juice to make me a happy canner. The sound stage is smaller than the Denons and ATs but any uneducated ear won't care as these sound much funner than either. unbelievable value.

 

[priest]

I agree. A much overlooked under $50 closed headphone, provided you like bass.

 

[arlekin21]

I saw these in Best Buy and where i live they constantly go on sale for $30. Im wondering if you would reccomend me getting them ad they would be my first pair of "higher quality" headphones.Which ones should i get the Hd203 or the HD 419 i only ask about these since they are in the price range i am looking for but i wouldnt mind seeing other headphones between $30-$60

 

[DASA]

I know im kind of late to this party but i want to give my two cents:
1. These are absolute steal at the price they are at, These pair of headphones is the brick i used to smash the window of poor SQ headphones. Metaphorically speaking.
2.these have apparently nice bass nice thump and punchy type of bass not so boomy. These changed my perception of bass in music and how big a role it plays.
3.mids are nice but can be overshadowed by the bass in some songs.
4. highs are really present and in some songs can be really over powering(very few songs)
5. The comfort is good enough for me but it may be a problem for people with big ears.
6. to tame the bass a bit i put some cotton under the pads to give some distance between the driver and my ear and it also widened the soundstage(added bonus)
7.nice isolation but needs the volume to be cranked up a bit for it to be effective

overall these headphones are awesome for every person wanting a better experience over the cheap buds or low end cans

 

[JCred]

I know im kind of late to this party but i want to give my two cents:
1. These are absolute steal at the price they are at, These pair of headphones is the brick i used to smash the window of poor SQ headphones. Metaphorically speaking.
2.these have apparently nice bass nice thump and punchy type of bass not so boomy. These changed my perception of bass in music and how big a role it plays.
3.mids are nice but can be overshadowed by the bass in some songs.
4. highs are really present and in some songs can be really over powering(very few songs)
5. The comfort is good enough for me but it may be a problem for people with big ears.
6. to tame the bass a bit i put some cotton under the pads to give some distance between the driver and my ear and it also widened the soundstage(added bonus)
7.nice isolation but needs the volume to be cranked up a bit for it to be effective

overall these headphones are awesome for every person wanting a better experience over the cheap buds or low end cans

I've got two years on mine now and they are still my favorite cans- You can drive them from a toaster and they'll sound good. They are definitely bass heavy, but not in an offensive way. Joe long have you had yours? The drivers really do evolve for the better over time?

Pro tip: See if you can find a cheap pair of hd408s on Amazon, for the sole purpose of cannibalizing their ear pads- then use a blade to cut out the portion of the foam that covers the driver.

Sent from my GB27 (4.1.2) leaking SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[daexactbb]

Thanks for the review. I was looking for a birthday gift and headphones are my go to gifts. Thanks for the assurance that I didn't make a mistake

 

[DangerClose]

Quote:

I recently purchased these for home use and I simply do not like them.  They seems a bit bass heavy with tamed highs to me and its really not my thing.  I do see why these are very good for the price if you enjoy the darker sound, but to me they just come off as hidden and un detailed in a way.  

 
I, too, thought the 203 is a bit bass heavy with tamed highs.  I tried the remove the liners mod, and there is a noticeable difference.  The highs no longer blend into the upper mids, and it no longer sounds like you are listening through a veil.  (Which you were. literally.)
 
I think "pleasant treble" is a good description of how they are stock.  This might explain why multiple people have said, unlike other headphones, they can listen with these for extended periods of time with good volume and not get tired or a headache.  Removing the liners makes everything a little more "immediate," and the highs are more... high, and clear.  I find myself listening at a slightly lower volume now than before -- not because the highs are overpowering, but I think maybe because before I was turning the volume up because the highs were missing and I was trying to hear them.  If that makes sense.
 
I think I also turned the volume up because, without high highs, I could.  ...There's that "pleasant sound" coming into play again.  Though, when I first got them, the bass was too much for me; too much bass is unpleasant, and I turned it down on the EQ.  Somewhere along the way, I stopped doing that.
          
No liners pushing the highs into the upper mids also means the upper mids aren't as thick and rich and warm, like I was trying to describe.  I think Meder nailed it with the comment, "Im not hearing my music the way it was meant to be heard in short is how i feel."  With liners, it's a pleasant sound, but the tamed highs made me think I was missing out on something that should be there.  I don't know if people would agree they sound better without liners, I'm not even fully sure if I agree with that other than for clarity, but I think they sound more true.  And, highs vs. tamed highs aside, it's hard to give the clarity back.  
 
Make sure you pop the plastic "plate" back onto the cup fully if you take the liners off of them.  I had both on with only one of the two (four?) "snaps" on each side popped back in, so the plate wasn't fully seated over that white paper, and they definitely didn't sound right.  Lost a lot of bass and fullness.  
 
The HD203 is notorious for physically crushing people's heads.  These certainly hurt my ears when I got them.  Somewhere around the 20-30 hour mark they stopped crushing my head.  I don't know if the headband stretched a little or if the pads lost a little puffiness or what.
 
I was considering getting a pair of Superlux 661 (which apparently sound similar or better than Sony V6 and 7506), RX700, or Incipio F38/FA-004 to try to get a bit more highs (and perhaps a little punchier bass), but no liners on the 203s have lowered the priority on that.  If anyone has 203s and any of those, I'd love to hear comparisons.  Also considering JVC HA-S400 for not much reason other than apparently they sound really good, but it'd be nice to hear how they compare to 203 if you have them.