Sennheiser Headphones - 201's or 202's

[joe501]

Ok just a quick question...

Which is better and why?

Sennheiser 201's
or Sennheiser 202's?

Or if anyone can find me a better pair avaliable in the UK for under £30!

Thanks!
Joe

[ploder]

I would like to know the answer to this question myself. I am in the same position as you and am currently considering:

Technics RPF350 http://tinyurl.com/y6xrf3 £29.99
Technics RPF200 http://tinyurl.com/ylhjug £19.99
Sony MDRXD100 HIFI http://tinyurl.com/tjmht £11.10
Sony MDRXD200 http://tinyurl.com/yllod4 £17.99

Although there are probably more..researching all this is taking a long time. I would especially like to know about the Technics RPF350. Maybe we should make a budget under £30 stickie?

Originally Posted by joe501

Ok just a quick question...

Which is better and why?



Thanks!
Joe

Have you actually demoed either or both of these? as that would be the best way to tell. I have a pair of the 202's and am still very happy with them.

[joe501]

I havent been able to try any out as I am going to buy on the internet and dont live near any big shops..

If someone could help me and ploder out it would be much appreciated.
Ploders headphones he has found look good too, another thing I forgot to mention is that im looking for big ones that fit right around the ear, not the smaller ones.

[ploder]

I forgot to mention is that im looking for big ones that fit right around the ear, not the smaller ones

This is what I'm looking for too. Just been researching this and apparently we want 'circum-aural' headphones as opposed to 'supra-aural' which only rest on top of the ear. Watch out for this in the technical description. This would eliminate the HD-202s and HD-212 Pro from our list.

Originally Posted by joe501

another thing I forgot to mention is that im looking for big ones that fit right around the ear, not the smaller ones.

Would that be for comfort reasons ? or an audio preference ?

[StevieDvd]

I've not tried the HD202 but did have the 201s for a while, actually used them for commuting as they are closed and quite isolating.

The 201s were quite a hit over at head-fi and still rate as good for budget headphones and they don't need an amp either.

I don't usually comment on the lower end headphones, either iem or standard as my equipment is all at the other end of the price scale!!

I recabled my 201s just for the hell of it but gave them away to someone at a head-fi meeting for their first proper headphones.


Steve

[ploder]

joe501, what worries me about the Sennheiser HD-201s is the frequency response (21-18,000Hz) I just don't see how that can deliver a half-decent sound. They may be good for the price (according to the reviews online) but I'm not convinced they're the best you can get for under £30. I don't think the Technics RPF350 are that good either because Which? only gave them 41/100 and said the sound was unlcear. Don't rush into buying anything just yet as we have only just begun our journey to find the best circum-aural headphones for under £30

I'm currently looking at the Audio Technica ATH-T22 & ATH-T44 http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/re...0_t_series.pdf for £21.48 and 29.48 at iheadphones.co.uk. Unfortunately, they are out of stock and I can't find them for that low price elsewhere. There also seems to be a lack of reviews on them, but they do look impressive on paper.

[joe501]

Originally Posted by skinnyfat

Would that be for comfort reasons ? or an audio preference ?

Well I suppose mainly for comfort, but I also like the idea of a mini coccoon around my ear that the sound is trapped in, I think it makes the music more immersive

[joe501]

Originally Posted by ploder

joe501, what worries me about the Sennheiser HD-201s is the frequency response (21-18,000Hz) I just don't see how that can deliver a half-decent sound. They may be good for the price (according to the reviews online) but I'm not convinced they're the best you can get for under £30. I don't think the Technics RPF350 are that good either because Which? only gave them 41/100 and said the sound was unlcear. Don't rush into buying anything just yet as we have only just begun our journey to find the best circum-aural headphones for under £30

I'm currently looking at the Audio Technica ATH-T22 & ATH-T44 http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/re...0_t_series.pdf for £21.48 and 29.48 at iheadphones.co.uk. Unfortunately, they are out of stock and I can't find them for that low price elsewhere. There also seems to be a lack of reviews on them, but they do look impressive on paper.

Ploder, I know nothing about sound apart from that the human ear can hear from 20-20,000 Htz on a good day! But I dont know how critical the htz difference is regarding sound qulaity! Do you or anyone else know?

Also apart from people on here and technichal specifications we have no idea what is the best... either those Technicas are so good that they are alwyas out of stock or not in enough demand...

I will try looking for other forums as well for people to help us out, but please everyone keep posting on here if you can help in any way!

[ploder]

But I dont know how critical the htz difference is regarding sound qulaity! Do you or anyone else know?

According to this article a wider frequency response is no guarantee of quality: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7612_7-6322607-4.html And there was I beginning to think that I could tell a good pair of cans by their specs on paper lol. The problem is we may probably never know unless we physically try them on. This would be difficult as I more or less live in a slum area with no decent av shops. I am thus relying on peoples opinions and reviews. There seems to be a shocking lack of first hand opinion on the headphones in our price bracket. Anyway, at the moment I am going through as many manufacturers webpages as possible and trying to find headphones forums e.g

www.head-fi.org/forums/
http://headwize.com/ubb/forums.php

As a starter pair of cans you can't really fault the 202's and they are easy to drive as well so you can get away without using a headphone amp

[ploder]

As a starter pair of cans you can't really fault the 202's and they are easy to drive as well so you can get away without using a headphone amp

But the 202's don't fit around the ear, which is what I and joe501 wanted. I've made a new thread on Head-fi about which full-sized, closed back circum-aural headphones are best for under £30:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...=1#post2640695
Unfortunately I haven't got much of a response yet. There are plenty of headphones which look far superior on paper than the HD-201, but after spending countless hours searching google I can't find many reviews on them. The reviews tend to be focused on the high priced headphones.

Originally Posted by ploder

But the 202's don't fit around the ear, which is what I and joe501 wanted.

Well at the risk of sounding blunt, why did you then bother asking about them in the first place in your OP ??

[StevieDvd]

The HD201 are very light and isolating so you don't have to worry about them going around your ears (circum-aural) they fit over the ears (supra-aural).

They get my vote as a good budget headphone as I and others have used them even though we had more expensive models for other usage. I once let a forum member here try out the HD201, HD600, HD650s and some Grado's and though he did realise the 201s were a cheaper model he was suprised at exactly how cheap they were.

Remember you won't get Senn HD650 quality (build or sound) for £30!

Steve