This is an astonishing pair of headphones for $25! I have owned Sennheiser phones for years (the others so old I could not provide the model numbers without substantial research) so, I know they are excellent hadphones. I bought these to replace a cheap, cheap pair ($5 panasonics) which I bought for when I am listening to my mP3 player outside. mI bought those because I live in an environment which just chews up electronics: the Windward side of Oahu, where we typically have 99% humidity (or worse, it rains more often than not), salt air, sulpher (from the volcano)... nothing lasts here :( so I bought some headphones I would not have to worry about for when I am doing yard work or in my semi-enclosed studio. We also have a pretty substantial amount of ambient noise for a rural area: fighter planes from the nearby Marine base, weed whackers, highway noise...so I usually have a pair of head phones on when I am outside. I had thought my cheesy phones "OK," i.e. better than I would have thought a $5 pair of headphones would be (and better than the earbus which came with my shuffle, or zen, or zune, or Archos). I stumbled on these for 422 last week and decided to order a pair, and WOW! what a difference. I didn't know MP3s could sound this good! These phones are also good at blocking out ambient noise; a dramatically better listening experience. I had qualms, not having ever seen a pair of Senheisers in this price range, but just a few seconds put those doubts to rest. The sound is excellent, and while I can not compare it directly to my other Sennheisers (as I will not take those outside, use them with the same player, or in the same environment) these provide the best sound of anything I have used with any of my MP3 players, including speakers. The sound is clear and rich, very life-like. i will echo what I read in another review: they are not very comfortable with eyeglasses (or sunglasses, or other protective eyewear). It is a tight fit, but, that is where the noise reduction comes in. these have completely, completely blocked out the noises which leave me feeling stressed and irritated at the end of the day; astonishing! )blocking out fighter planes just overhead!) There is no question but that the open-air phones are more comfortable... or that, for me, they would not be especially good in this particular environment. I am guessing that if I wore them without eyewear they would be a good deal more comfortable (but, that would not be particularly wise, for me, when I am working ;) they are not so uncomfortable that I would even consider going back to what I was using before (any of my other phone, plugs, earbuds...) in fact, I am thinking about ordering a second pair in case these are discontinued, or mine disintegrate from the salt-air, or my kids run off with them ;) If you do not like a tight fit, look at the open air phones, but you are not likely to find them in this price range. What you get for $25 is just fantastic! if you are willing to spend $300; well, these may not compare favorably, but I would be very very surprised if there is anything else you can get for $25 which sound half as good. I know there are numerous more detailed reviews of these phones. I added my 2 cents because i am so happy with these, and so surprised at the sound quality in a pair of $25 head phones!
Edited 12/4/2011 to note that after living with these for a year or so (almost daily use) I wonder 1) why they have such a long cord? (really unnecessarily so) and 2) While the take up reel (to contain the ridiculously long cord) was a good idea, it is very badly implemented. It crimps/ compromises the cord some without providing a secure catch. It frequently pops out/ come unwound creating an awkward (and for me sometimes dangerous) situation. Most people will not have the exact same issue (as I wear these while sitting over a 2000 degree torch, and so distractions... are a very bad thing). But, I can not imagine many people would opt for a 10-15 foot cord. I guess it is a plus if you need to be across the room from your equipment, but.... even when I was on the air there was never a time I needed a cord of this length. Consider getting a velcro tie up
Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Cable Ties, 0.5 Inches x 8 Inches Long, Black, 100 Ties per Pack (91140)
for the cord to contain it. Other than that, it is hard to complain about such good sound for so little $$.
I vacillated over giving these 4 or 5 stars: took one off because they are not as comfortable as other Sennheisers, but then put it back on because the sound is so good, and the value:
amazing!
--------------------update----------------------------------
I came back to revise this review to lend some perspective. I did not mean to in any way imply that these are audiophile phones. They are not, and do not touch the sound quality of my Sennheiser wireless, open air, or 460s (I could go on ;) ) I bought a pair for my daughter as her first headphones. My husband wears his when he walks the dog (often in the rain)and doesn't want to ruin his Grados, and I wear mine in my outdoor studio. We all have better headphones, but use these when we are in an environment which might damage the others (or, even these). I have had mine for 3 years now, which is a lot of milage from a $25 set of headphones, and that is the context for this review. These are pretty great for $25! For a little more you can get better headphones:
Sennheiser HD 429 Headphones Black
or
Audio-Technica ATH-M30 Professional Studio Monitor Closed-back Dynamic Stereo Headphones
e.g. BUT for inexpensive headphones, these are pretty great, if you can deal with the ridiculous cord.
Because of the insanely low price I even purchased a few extra sets as back-ups, but these have held up remarkably well and my back-ups are still in their boxes.
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This Item  Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones (Black) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -18% $1,149.12 New Price: $1,399.00 | -8% $32.99 List: $35.99 | -17% $190.23 List: $229.25 | -15% $16.99 Typical: $20.08 | $99.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it May 9 - 13 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Noise cancellation | ||||||
| Bass quality | ||||||
| Comfort | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sold By | — | ARF Tech | OneOdio USA | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| connectivity tech | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired |
| headphones form factor | Over Ear | Over Ear | Over Ear | Over Ear | Over Ear | Over Ear |
| connector type | 3.5mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack | plug in | 1/4-inch, 3.5mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack | — |
| noise control | sound isolation | — | sound isolation | — | — | sound isolation |
| headphones jack | 3.5 mm Jack | — | 3.5 mm Jack, 6.35 mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack |
| cable feature | Detachable | Retractable | Retractable, Detachable | Detachable | Retractable | Detachable |
Reviews with images
great sound, sturdy, easy to fix
UPDATE AUGUST 24, 2019: Almost 5 years of daily usage and still kicking! Works like a charm and sounds amazing as always. Attached a current picture of the ol' reliableI bought it for 22 $ back in november 2014 and still using it to this day. the best headphones I've ever had, period.I previously owned a pair of turtle beach z11's and I thought they sounded alright, until I put on these...the difference in sound quality is NIGHT and DAY, and the maximum volume on these with 20mm magnets is a LOT higher than the z11 with 50mm magnets, I can't use the z11's anymore, they sound absolutely horrendous compared to the 202'sPROS* AMAZING sound quality. detailed, crisp high and mids, decent lows. you can hear little details in some songs you cant with other 20$ headphones.* REALLY long cord means you can repair it infinite times if the cables break near the cups, where they usually break.* headband will never, ever break because its a very sturdy single plastic piece. left and right cups are detachable.* noise isolation is alright. don't expect anything close to active cancelling, but outside noise won't distract you at least.CONS* uncomfortable when using for extended periods of time, especially if you use glasses. These oval shaped inner holes are smaller than my ears and end up squished by the pads.* your ears get sweaty if you use it for too long in the heat* cables are thin and break relatively easily near cups if you aren't careful with these, but if you have a solderer and solder wire you can easily fix them.* plastic coating on headband and earcup foam peel off after a year or so. but maybe mine peeled off faster because I cut my hair REALLY short with a hair trimmer and it pierces through the coating. maybe, idk.* bass is not too powerful. it's just normal. don't buy these if you want to listen to dubstep or other heavy bass music.even though they're not perfect, they were very easy to fix for free when I didn't have money to buy new ones and sound very good.Buy these if you want easy to fix and sturdy headphones with very good sound qualityDon't buy these if you want comfort and heavy bass**** I see that the 202s now cost 40$.. there are currently (August 2019) better and cheaper alternatives****
Top reviews from other countries
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De las mejores opciones por un precio reducido
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Reviewed in Spain on November 20, 2016
Vienen envueltos en plástico bastante protegidos, el conector es de 3.5 mm pero incluye un adaptador de 6.3 mm, además de una pieza bastante útil para enrollar el cable restante y que no esté suelto.
La calidad de los materiales es buena, es plástico en su mayoría aunque no da sensación de ser frágil. Las almohadillas son cómodas y cubren completamente la oreja, por lo que se pueden utilizar durante varias horas sin molestia. Un punto importante es que se pueden utilizar con gafas y no molestan, al contrario que muchos cascos que hemos tenido. La diadema tiene un acolchado en la parte superior como es normal, además de permitir ajustarlos a diferentes tamaños de cabeza.
Respecto a la calidad del sonido es donde más destaca su relación calidad-precio. Tienen unos buenos bajos y no distorsionan en exceso con el volumen al máximo. Los he comparado con unos Audio Technica ATH-M50X y no se nota tanta diferencia, en el caso de los Audio Technica se paga más por una mayor calidad de los materiales y un ligero mejor sonido. Es decir, en la mayoría de las ocasiones no se va a notar la diferencia con unos cascos de mayor precio.
Como conclusión, creo que estos cascos son una muy buena opción si se busca unos en los que prime la calidad del sonido antes que los materiales, a bajo precio.
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