Sennheiser HD 201 Pictorial and Review

[KrazyIvan]

EDIT* Pictures have been updated-

First the photos. Let me say that this was a Christmas present from my brother in North Carolina. When I saw the box I just could not wait.

Technical Data

Dynamic Closed type phones - Circumaural

Frequency Response: 21-18,000 Hz

Max. SPL at 1 kHz, 1 Vrms: 108 dB

THD @ 1 kHz, 100 dB SPL: <.7%

Impedance: 24 Ω

Weight (without cable): 165 g

Signal Cable: 3m copper cable (OFC)

Connector: 3.5mm with 6.3mm adapter

Review

Let me start off by saying that I don't really believe in burn-in. I have a bit of a mechanical engineering background and the idea of burn-in just does not go over well with me. Sorry to those that believe that burn-in improves headphone sound quality. No offense is intended. With that out of the way, let’s get started.

The HD 201's are budget headphones. They are not pretty to look at. This is probably in keeping with the budget nature of the cans. They can't make something look that pretty and then charge $20 for them, can they? Yes, they cost $20.

I did a listening test with my NF610 and some SP recorded material (Wave in Head- Electronica from Germany. It seemed appropriate. ). I left the bass and treble at max and the volume at 17/30. I started off with the oldest headphones in my inventory, my Pioneer SE-405's. That may be a little unfair. The NF610's amp just does not have enough power to drive them properly. The sound was lacking in bass and started to crackle a bit. I decided to take them off and switch to my Koss TD/60's. These were $20 back in 1990 and came with an extra set of horrible ear buds! The volume was better and there was definitely nice bass and what I thought were crisp highs. Okay, let’s try my Sony MDR-V250's. These cost $35 a couple of years ago. Bass was about the same and the highs where slightly better than the TD/60's. Enter the HD 201's. I plugged them in and put them on. My jaw dropped. Nice tight bass, not boomy, super crisp highs and the mids have a nice presence not too forward but just right. I compared them to my EX71's for fun. I still liked the sound of the HD 201's better.

After using them for about two hours I can say they are very comfortable. They still heat up my ears a bit but they do not clamp down on my head like my Sony's do. My ears sit inside the cup nicely.

Sound leakage is minimal and they provide good isolation. My daughter had to tap my shoulder a little while ago because I did not hear her ask me a question.

They come with a two year manufacturer’s warranty. To me that says that Sennheiser is confident with the build quality. They are plastic and the ear cups are vinyl covered cushions. The headband also has a cushion on it that keeps the plastic headband from resting on your head. Since they are a bit big they are best suited for listening at home. The cord is also too long to consider for portable use without bundling it up.

Overall I am really thankful to my brother for thinking about me and getting me these. I feel the HD 201's will soon become my favorite at home 'phones.

As with any sound related review, you may find that the sound quality does not meet your needs. Sound is so subjective and everyone has a different opinion. Take this review with a grain of salt. Honestly, at $20 you don't have much to lose.

[Ishiyoshi]

Looking good, Ivan. Thanks for sharing your review.

[Christopher]

Good impressions -- for the price it seems like a decent set of cans. It'll be interesting to hear how they are after a hundred or so hours of "burn in". One thing I really like about Sennheiser, regardless of the price range, is that most of their 'phones are quite comfortable in long-term listening situations.

[KrazyIvan]

The one thing I can say about "burn in" on my Koss TD/60's is that they sound exactly the way they did when I first bought them in 1990. I am guessing but they probably have over 2500 hours on them. I am not really expecting any change in the HD 201's.

To quote someone at another forum:

There is nothing to burn in on a normal dynamic headphone. On a dynamic midwoofer or woofer speaker, in the first few minutes or hours of operation, the brand new suspension components may loosen mechanically, thus causing a very slight reduction of the Fs[resonant frequency] of the transducer(s). This would result in slight[and unlikely to be audible in all but the most extreme cases] increase of low frequency extension. The use of the dynamic transducer at high rates of excursion/incursion may temporarily stress the rubber surround causing a temporary and very slilght change in it's physical properties that would return to normal when the high level of stress is reduced or stopped. The non-linearities in the magnetic gap at these extreme movements will likely be of a far greater magnitude in effect.

A normal dynamic headphone has no such suspension system. The diaphragm is terminated directly to the edges of the transducer frame. Slight physical property changes may occur in the diaphragm during use at constant high amplitudes if it heats appreciably, or if used in very extreme temperature climates; but no permanent change would occur. It is unlikely that the small change that would occur temporarily would be audible.

Burn in of an audible magnitude on standard headphones is something often assumed to exist without real evidence. You will adjust/compensate, mentally, for the new sound balance. So, metaphorically, you may burn in to the headphones.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

EDIT* I forgot to add that after using them for a total of three hours on my PC I did notice one thing. I need to re-rip my mp3's. 128 kbps just does not cut it with these headphones. Who would have thought that a $20 set of cans would be so revealing.

Edited December 21, 2005 by KrazyIvan

[akijikan]

I'm surprised 128 kbps MP3s ever cut it for you. Guess your old headphones were never that good to begin with.

[KrazyIvan]

I'm surprised 128 kbps MP3s ever cut it for you. Guess your old headphones were never that good to begin with.

I don't have very many, they were ripped at a time when I needed to conserve space. Since i have upgraded my hard drive that is no longer the case. I listen to SP recorded MD's as my main music source anyway. I thought it would be a good idea to see how they worked with the computer.

[mercury_in_flames]

lp2 sounds fine to me

[zerodB]

Sounds like a great buy for $20. And the two-year warranty is music to my ears. About time manufacturers got behind their products.

[atrain]

koss will replce broken parts on 20 year old porta pros free of charge. champs

[KrazyIvan]

I just wanted to update the post a little now that I have had a chance to use these phones a bit more. I am in love with them. This is the only set of headphones that I can connect directly to my CDP-XA1ES CD Deck and enjoy the music fully. I usually don't do that with any of my decks headphone outputs. I just bought "The best of Sixpense None The Richer" CD and it was absolute audio bliss. I was on the computer tryping up some stuff at the time and just had to stop what I was doing to enjoy the music. I will be listening to my MDCF Holiday swap MD next and these phones will be my weapon of choice.

I am going to have to explore the Sennheiser line some more. If this is what a budget phone from them can do, I can only imagine what their serious stuff can do.

There are a couple of drawbacks that I already mentioned. My biggest peave being that they heat up my ears. I don't see that much can be done about that without raising the price or affecting sound quality. Actually I am not sure if anything can be done about that. The second is the cord. It is entirely to long for me, even for home use. I have to keep it bundled up, which I hate doing. A two meter cord would have been more than enough for me.

[KrazyIvan]

I updated the pictures. Still not the best I have taken but a lot better than the previous pictures.