Cingular Go Phone: Sennheiser HD 215 Extreme DJ Sound Headphones Review

I am not a huge fan of excessive bass in headphones. For me many of the sealed cans offer a less than desirable listening experience.I own a pair of EH-250's and like them for a few songs then suddenly listening fatigue sets due to the overpowering bass. My EH350's are better but I absolutely need a sealed set of cans. My perceptions about sealed cans changed the minute I put the HD215's over my ears.

Sound Quality:
I immediately noticed how great the soundstage is on these phones. They provide a very expanded sense of spatial placement, especially for sealed cans.This was the first drastic improvement over the midsized cans I own.

The next thing I noticed is how well presented all the mid and high frequencies are.These phones provide vocals and acoustic arrangments very desireable traits such as great detail and transient repsonse often missing from cheaper phones.

Having said all that, I do have to point out the bass is ever so slightly shy. Litterally a 2db parametric bass adjustment makes it perfect for me and improves the linearity of the phones. Honestly the rated frequency response for my Iriver H320 is 20...20,000hz +/- 2db and usually amps shy the bass away when the volume is turned up because it is the most demanding part of the music.So the adjustment may be for the phones and maybe for the MP3 player either way 2db is perfect.

A breif note on the bass; although less pesent than many phone out there, the extreme amount of detail in the bass reproduction makes some of my other aforementioned phones almost seem muddy. These babies are clean sounding and responsive to very deep bass notes.I love hearing all the hidden detail in the bass and these phones provide me with the deepest growls and transient response for this price range.

Construction:
These babies are top notch.Designed with professional use in mind they are built tough.I have heard poeple complain about plastic exteriors but honestly plastics are fast becoming superior to metal products in durability, tensile strenghth, and price. I don't use the swivel on the right earpiece but it does function as stated.

Comfort:
I place listening fatigue over pressure and weight at all times because I have phones I can keep on my head for hours but I am forced to take breaks due to listening fatigue. Next I consider how comfortable they are when properly adjusted for headsize and seal. I have to say these phones shine in both areas. Well designed lightweight and circumural design does wonders for these phones. I often listen for 4 hours or more at a time.

Efficiency:
Yes they are 32 ohm and they do have a 112db sensitivity rating but they do like a little extra power than other similarly rated pones.If you have a power saving (lasts more than 10 hours on two AA bateries or worse yet a single AAA) cd or mp3 player you will not get the sound these babies can provide and should look elsewhere. Besides why pay more for the cans than the source which is a common mistake in the marketplace.

Remember processing comes from the device NOT the phones, they simply reproduce the signal that is fed into them.Bad source always equals bad sound. A reveiwer below obviosly fell into the misconseption that better phones always provide better sound.

Summary:
Great dynamics and transient response win out over slightly soft but extremely well defined bass.No listening or comfort fatigue. Great sound attenuation.Exception spatialization and great construction make these phones a very good value.

Don't buy if:
You want the overemphasized bass other cheaper options will provide. Like the EH250's or the HD212's.

You don't need a sealed can. there are far more options in open aire full sized designs from Sennheiser that can sound better.

You have a cheap portable source.Get an Iriver Hxxx series or the slighly less good sounding Ipod or Creative Labs for a portable unit. Something that can truly supply a good 10-12mW at 32ohms.

Final thoughts:
These cans take about 15-20 hours to break in properly so expect them to sound slightly bright and lacking in the bass at first.Once they break in they are warmer sounding and much better balanced.

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Product Description:
Enjoy Excellent Sound: The HD 215 has both outstanding sound characteristics and excellent attenuation of ambient noise. The rotatable ear cup for one-ear listening and the sigle-sided coiled cable make them ideal for DJ monitoring. The HD 215 comes with a protective pouch for storage and transportation.