Sennheiser HD 201

Why I purchased these Headphones

Being a relative newcomer to the world of IPods’ my Nano is just over a year old and I have found it to be an absolute revelation in terms of the amount of songs I have access to just at the press of a button. The only downside for me with this wonderful piece of technology is the earphones that come with the device, having ‘odd’ ears anyway and being partially deaf in my left one I struggle to get a snug and secure fit with the supplied earphones, I find that they often slip out or become uncomfortable after I have worn them for a long period of time and being slightly deaf find the volume to be too low to get the full audio experience.

Becoming fed up of complaining about the earphones and frustrated with not being able to get the best out of my IPod I recently read a review about a pair of headphones; specifically the ones I’m about to review –the Sennheiser HD201 and I was interested to read that they were IPod compatible. At only £12.99 for a well known industry brand name I decided to take a chance and order a pair from Amazon, their arrival earlier this week prompted a great deal of excitement from me and I had very high expectations.

What do you get, and how do they look

Out of the box the headphones are stylishly designed being predominately black with silver accents on the ear cups, they are incredibly light at just 164 grams and have a padded section on the head band which allows them to sit comfortably on the top of your skull, the band is adjustable so can be made to fit any sized head from small to large and once in position they are comfortable and able to be worn for a significant period of time. The earcups themselves are large and padded which completely cover your ears but are not too thickly cushioned to become cumbersome or uncomfortable, they are hinged to allow movement and adjustment and unlike headphones of old these sit exactly where you want them to without slipping or rubbing your ears. The lead from the phones is very long which is handy if plugging into a television or home PC as you will have plenty of wire to allow you to sit away from the screen and with the headphones a 6mm adapter is supplied allowing you to change the size of the jack from the 3mm one that is already fixed.

How do they perform?

It’s all well and good having a pair of headphones that look nice but it’s the quality of sound that is important, the HD201s provide a crystal clear delivery of music that is rich in both depth and texture and you can pinpoint exactly the deep bass and crisp trebles of any music track. As my right ear is stronger than my left I often have difficulties getting a good balance of sound but these deliver a flawless quality which allows me to get the absolute best out of my music collection and are poles apart from the earphones which came supplied with my IPod. I mentioned in my opening paragraph that I always thought my IPods’ volume was too low when wearing the earphones, I now realise that this is actually incorrect. The volume is absolutely fine through these headphones and appears louder now than they ever did before, this is despite the fact that the headphones do not have any independent volume control of their own. Earphones are clearly not suitable for me and I have therefore deduced that Headphones are definitely the way forward except this leaves me in somewhat of a dilemma...

Earphones Vs Headphones

Practically speaking wearing a pair of headphones with an IPod isn’t really ideal for a number of reasons with portability being the main one. The earphones are effective as they are small, unobtrusive and provide the wearer with their own personal audio experience. Headphones are larger, heavier and come with a long, trailing wire – I couldn’t imagine myself walking the dog or laying on a beach somewhere hot with my IPod and a pair of headphones on. Music does ‘leak’ from the headphones which harks back to the days of the Sony Walkman, you knew when you were in the vicinity of someone with a walkman as you could hear an annoying, tinny sound around you – Earphones seem to eliminate any leaking sounds and are not as annoying for people around so are far more suited to a portable device. And of course there is the visual aspect, at least with earphones they are somewhat hidden and inconspicuous, headphones on the other hand are clearly visible – again, I couldn’t imagine myself walking around with a pair of headphones on outside of the house as they are just too obvious.

Thoughts

This of course shouldn’t detract from the Headphones themselves and for what they were designed to do. They are superbly made and provide a wonderful sound experience for the wearer and whilst they are IPod compatible they realistically are not intended to be a replacement for the earphones that are supplied. These are far more suited for indoor use for your television, hi-fi or home PC and the fact that they can be used with an IPod should be seen as a bonus – I love my pair and they have provided me with hours of listening pleasure in the short time I have owned them.

Techy Stuff

For the more technically minded people reading this review Sennheiser advise that the headphones “low frequency extends to 21Hz” and “perform to the upper limits of human hearing with ratings of 18kHz and 22kHz and deliver dynamic potential to spare for reproducing any musical style with real-world levels and impact, with SPL limits of 108dB and 112dB” To be honest this means absolutely nothing to me but if you know your stuff then this could be a deciding factor in whether or not you buy them. It is worth mentioning here as well that even at the low price of just £12.99 there is a 2 year warranty included with these headphones so that may provide some assurance as to the quality of the product and the fact that nearly every review I have read about them all say similar positive things should all be taken into account.

Conclusion, Availability and Rating

In conclusion then the Sennheiser HD201s are an affordable yet stylish purchase which I highly recommend. They are comfortable to wear and offer an outstanding audio experience, I rate mine very highly and have no problems in giving them a full, five star rating. At just £12.99 from Amazon they look and feel more expensive than their price tag and whilst I may not have found a permanent replacement for my IPod’s earphones in these their use indoors more than justifies their purchase. If you are looking for a new pair of headphones then these should certainly be a consideration.

Thanks for reading my review, please note that this may also appear on dooyoo under my username.