These are solid IEM's. I've owned mine for about 2 years and they're still working. They're showing serious wear, but still working. They are decent at low volumes but the bright mid-range and grainy, sharp treble is tough to listen to a lot of music through. The newer versions of the S4 seem to be an improvement. The bass is decent, but lacks extension and is a bit wild. Definitely bleeding into the mid-range.
The cable is fine, but it is permanently "coiled." This is very obnoxious. However, they've seen a stupid amount of abuse and the cable is still holding together fine. This is very impressive. The tips fall off far too easily but they do work well for me.
These headphones are great. If they fit, they cannot be beaten at the price. Unfortunately, I can't even keep earbuds in my ears, much less have them isolate.
If you need replacement earbuds, this is the right choice.
Sound
This section is going to be especially simple. This device sounds incredible. It is exceptionally clear and balanced. When paired with my HiFiMan HE-300's, I was blown away with the presence, tightness, impact and extension of bass, the neutrality and separation of the mid-range, and the exceptionally clear (but never sibilant or even slightly fatiguing) treble.
I'd go into more detail about the sound quality, but there simply isn't any more to say. It's amazing in every way. No matter what headphones I tried it with (with one exception explained later!), it provided a perfectly neutral source. No matter what aspect you look at, it delivered. Separation, extension, balance, impact, decay, the A 200 P was perfect.
The single flaw in the internals of this device is the amp. It is advertised to handle headphones under 600Ω, it was a push to fully power the 250Ω DT880's. There wasn't enough headroom to really rock out. I cannot imagine a pair of 600Ω headphones being able to be properly powered. With my 50Ω HifiMan HE300's, the maximum volume was only slightly into the uncomfortable range. Someone wanting to blast some rap, for example, through a pair of DT770 Pro 80Ω might be left wanting a gain switch.
Build Quality & Aesthetics
The build quality is great. It survived a week in a relatively open backpack pocket with barely a mark on it. The only thing that I can nitpick at about the build quality is that the volume wheel is easily scratched. Being so exposed, even in the case, it should be more resilient.
The device looks amazing to me. It is simple yet unique. The size adds to the aesthetics all the more. It looks great next to my Note 3 in its black/silver case. The case is also very nice, sporting a durable faux leather.
Late in the testing period, I began experiencing some weird behaviors. The sound on my A200P would cut in and out, and sometimes even jump to full volume. A few times, I was using it to preamp my speakers, and once it awakened my whole family. It turns out, the USB connector on the device has some contact issues. I assume Beyerdynamic would be very good to deal with getting a replacement, but that doesn't change the fact that this device has a weak point.
Design & Accessories
The device has a combo lock/power slider. I am not a fan of this but it works just fine. It has a play/pause button and buttons for seeking forward and back. They worked fine with Android and iOS devices. The bottom sports a weird but very smart smaller-than micro USB port. It puts the stress of bending the cable on some of the housing and not on the connector itself. If a wide variety of cables and lengths are offered at a reasonable price, this is a VERY good choice. The volume wheel is great. It dominates the device and has a very satisfying but subtle soft tactile resistance when changing volumes. It almost feels digital, as opposed to a strong mechanical click.
The device comes with a case, which has a flap for belt attachment and a strap for attachment to phones. The case is great, though the top is left open, which I do not like. The strap for phone attachment, however, is odd. It looks cheap, especially when stretched. It is very small, and would struggle to go around larger phones, not just phablets like my Note 3 (a task at which it failed completely) but also more normal phones like the Galaxy S5.
The most obvious and crippling feature missing from this device is a lack of a line-out. It is a great quality DAC but if you want to use it with speakers or your car stereo, you're stuck using it pre-amped.
With my experience, the battery life is great! I realized the other day that I had been using it with my phone for about 3 hours a day over 5 days without charging it.
Here's where it gets a bit weird...the cables. It comes with a cable to connect via micro USB and one to connect to iPhones via the lightning connector. Each cable is about 4" (10cm). When mounted on your belt, that cable is often too short to place the phone in your pocket without the phone dangling from the cord. This wasn't an issue with my Note 3, as it is huge, but it was awfully close, and getting the phone out of my pocket was VERY difficult. Even with a small phone like the iPhone 5, getting the phone out of a pocket was not easy. Then, when you have your phone out of your pocket, it is attached to your hip by a 4" cord. This could've been remedied by including 12" or so cords. If they make this option available cheaply, then all is well. I just don't see the point of including a belt loop case without a cable you can use it with. On the bright side, it does fit next to most phones in the pocket. I was able to put it next to my Note 3 in most jeans, though I chose to leave the case off due to the added thickness. It also includes a nice full-sized USB cable for charging and connecting to PC's.
Comparisons iBasso D-Zero
Compared to the iBasso D-Zero, this thing really shines. It lacks the slight high-mid emphasis of the D-Zero, and it doesn't have any of the graininess in the treble that the D-Zero has. It's amp seems to be in line power-wise, which is disappointing due to the increase in price. The D-Zero has line out, which the A200P lacks.
Fiio E17
The Fiio E17 is not very clear, where the A200P is exceptionally clear. There is a lot of grain introduced by the E17's amp, especially when gain is used. Even with a +12Db gain on the Fiio, the Beyerdynamic is only slightly below it in volume (at max). The Fiio E17 is slightly warm where the A200P is very neutral.
In short, the A200P completely outdoes the iBasso and D-Zero in sound quality. It should, though, considering the price differences. More power would be nice but considering the size, it isn't ridiculous that hte A200P isn't more powerful than it is. I'd love to see a comparison with the iBasso D6 or D12.
Conclusions
Sound:
This thing is great in the sound department. Clean, neutral, black background. Amp isn't up to spec but still very good.
5/5
Build Quality
Very solid, nice finish. Volume wheel could have a more durable finish.
4.5/5
Aesthetics
Clean, simple, gorgeous.
5/5
Accessories
Comes with a nice case, micro USB, full USB and lightning cables. Case is very nice, though the smart phone attachment strap needs to be stretchier. Smartphone cables are too short for use with belt buckle function of case.
4/5
These ratings combined with the price leave me to rate it a 4/5. It is simply too expensive to not include the cables to use it with the belt attachment feature for the case. Still a very nice device and should serve MANY customers very well. The sound is exceptional and Beyerdynamic should be very proud to have made this device.
Pros: Inexpensive, durable, lightweight, good sound, bass, in-line remote
Cons: A bit small for over-ear, a bit big for on-ear, thin cable/connector
These are my favorite headphones of all time. They aren't the best sounding or looking or the best quality build, but they aren't lacking and can be found for VERY cheap.
Quality and looks
The looks are very good. I would prefer a matte finish but the leather-texture on the back of the ear cups looks very nice. The chrome also looks nice. They are small and look completely non-pretentious. The build quality is shocking. While very thin, small and light, these headphones have survived about 2 years of abuse from me with no issues. The cable is thin and small but the connectors and in-line mic/remote have not worn down. I could not be happier in this category
Sound
The sound is very impressive. They are 32 Ohm, so they can easily be driven by a phone or iPod. However, they scale VERY well with a good DAC and AMP.
The bass is a strength for these. The extension is very impressive. Low-notes in trap songs like Trap or Die 2 by Young Jeezy or Lost by Gorilla Zoe are the only things that give these headphones any trouble. The bass does lack accuracy a bit this low, but it is still impressive. Hard hitting bass like a good kick drum sounds great too. They hit hard without dampening the mids. When amplified, the bass sounds very juicy.
The mids are well balanced, though a tiny bit warm. Personally, I very much like this. They are definitely not as good as you would expect from an audiophile headphone, but for a portable headphone, especially with the price in mind, these are very good in the mids.
The highs are not terribly sharp or at all fatiguing, but still clear and even a bit sparkly. Sound great for all genres. They become more present when amplified
The sound stage is lacking. Without a good DAC and AMP, they do sound very compressed. However, when paired with a Schiit Vali/Modi or a Fiio E17, they do open up.
Genres
With rock music, they do well, but are a bit imbalanced without amplification. After being amped and paired with a good DAC, the guitars come through very well, and all kinds of vocals sound good. Cymbals are not too bright, but can be a tad sharp if not amplified. the drums are a bit recessed, as the upper mids are not these headphone's strong point. However, bass guitars and kick drums sound very good.
With metal, these cans are quite good. The only complaint I would have is a tiny bit of sharpness with cymbals at high volumes. The heavily distorted guitars don't muddy up the rest of the sound, and clean guitars sound very detailed. They don't do anything for the lack of bass and low-mids that much metal suffers from, but that isn't the fault of the headphones and can be helped with EQ. Snare drums sound very good, but don't overpower any of the sound.
With rap, these things are fantastic. Vocals are forward and balanced. High electronic noises are clear but not overbearing, and the bass is very impressive. Nothing stands out, and nothing is lacking. This is the best genre for these headphones when unamplified without a doubt. They do very well when amped as well.
These sound good with other genres such as orchestra and jazz, but I don't listen to them enough to comment about how they do.
Value
This is the shocker. These can easily be found for under $50 lightly used. Even at $100 new, I think they sound better than ATH-M50's or any other offering. They often go as low as $30-35 for lightly used models, and at that price, they are stupidly good.
Conclusion
Though they are not perfect, they have proven to keep me interested for 2 years. They brought me out of the dark for audio (I upgraded from skullcandy) and they still are enjoyable to listen to. I highly endorse these headphones!
General opinion on these is that they're seriously bass-heavy, so either Klipsch has made a revision or you're quite the basshead. I had a pair of the Reference One, and couldn't listen for more than thirty minutes without serious bass fatigue.
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