Sennheiser EH-150 Consumer Headphones

After having good experience with the Sennheiser HD202, I decided to get the Sennheiser eH-150 for my mother. It is a newer model and looks slightly different, but it seems to be very similar to the HD202.

About the Sennheiser eH-150

The belongs to the "Evolution" series of the Sennheiser's model lineup, whatever that means. These headphones are enclosed, have replaceable leatherette ear pads and feature 10-foot (3m) Y-style cable. The headphones have nominal impedance of 32 Ohm and advertised to produce 18-18,000 Hz frequency response and less than 0.5 percent THD (total harmonic distortion). They weigh 130 grams sans the cable.

The eH150 are made of gray plastic and fit me perfectly. They also seem to be durable. The 3-meter Y-type cable terminates with a compact 3.5-mm headphone plug that works well with portable devices. The headphones came with an adaptor for conversion of the headphones' 3.5 mm plug to 6.3 mm for use with home gear (my receiver and my mother's receiver both have 6.3-mm headphone plugs).

Usage

The headphones are rather light and do not create much pressure on my ears or the areas around my ears. The padded areas around the drivers are soft and cushy, but in warm weather may get warm and moist. Since they will mostly be used indoors, this is not a problem.

The cable is long enough to reach pretty far. In fact, it is a bit too long for some applications, but that is not a big problem.

The eH-150 take up a bit of storage space, but not as much as some larger headphones I have seen. They are also pretty sturdy.

Sound Quality

One of the most important qualities of the headphones is the sound quality. Obviously, one cannot expect that an inexpensive set of headphones will sound "amazing". But the eH150 produce very good sound (for the price, mind you) with well-defined bass, smooth frequency response and good treble. The instrument separation and placement is very good and the overall sound quality is excellent for the price.

I definitely get the feeling of being able to hear instruments that I have not heard with the lesser headphones, e.g. stock iPod headphones or, worse yet, the stock headphones of the Philips HDD077 MP3 player.

But you obviously can get better sound by spending more. Also, these do not sound as warm or balanced as the portable Koss KSC75. In particular, bass and lower midrange are a bit hollow. But they have much better sound insulation, better comfort and longer cable.

The headphones did require some break-in time to sound their best. Not everyone believes in speaker/headphone break-in. What it is: you have to play music through the headphones at moderate volume for certain amount of hours before they start performing their best. I do believe that the sound of the eH-150 did improve after 25-35 hours of break-in.

The eH-150 can play pretty loud with portable gear like my iPod Nano or my mother's CD player. But with some portable players that do not produce much volume and are designed for sensitive headphones (e.g. Philips HDD077), the volume might be insufficient for some songs and/or environments.

If you are thinking about buing the replacement headphones for your portable, make sure that your player can produce loud sound with your stock headphones first and expect the volume to drop just a little with the eH-150. But with better sound insulation than the majority of stock earbuds, the eH150 can compensate for some volume loss by reducing the amount of noise that enters your ear.

Impedance

The eH150 have impedance of 32 Ohms, which should suit most portable as well as home gear.

Sound Insulation

The eH150 features good sound insulation. They leak very little sound as well, which is important in public transport or if you try to listen to music/watch TV while trying not to disturb others in the room. Of course, they do not provide as much sound insulation as some other, more expensive headphones and they are not noise-canceling, but I find the insulation more than sufficient for most environments.

Obviously, the sound insulation of the eH150 is definitely better than over-the-ear Koss KSC75 headphones I use occasionally and, of course, better than the earbuds that ship with MP3 players.

Bottom Line

The Sennheiser eH150 is a good inexpensive way to get better sound from your portable MP3 or CD player or get good sound from your home gear without disturbing your family members or neighbors. I recommend it overall. But for portable gear, check out cheaper and more balanced-sounding over-the-ear Koss KSC75 headphones .