Sennheiser PX 200 Professional Headphones

These headphones were recommended to me by many audio forums. They are known to be very good for their size. These are my first real headphones. Before I knew about good headphones I would only go for the cheapest thing available. I didn't really care about what I used. Just as long as there was sound coming out of them.

I have an iRiver iMP-550 and the player is really great, but the earbuds that came with it(Sennheiser MX 300) were not of my liking. Not because of the sound, but because of the comfort. They weren't comfortable at all. I went out looking for something better. I wanted to spend a little money this time. I thought "if I spent $150 on a cd player why not spend a little extra to get decent sound?" So I went to a few forums asking about portable headphones. Every place recommended the PX 200s with a few other choices. Well I saw the PX 200s and I was in love. They really are a nice piece of German engineering.

I continued to read up on these headphones and decided that I wanted them. So I did, I bought them online at amazon.com. I ordered them and paid $40.94 with free shipping. I couldn't wait till the day they would come.

When they did come I opened the box to the Sennheiser PX 200s(The box is also very nice). The first thing I thought was that they were really small. The pictures on the internet really make them look a lot bigger. Well once I connected them to my iRiver I realized that the sound was really dim. I remembered that the forums also told me it would take a few weeks for the headphones to "break-in". Also the closed design was very different for me. I couldn't hear much of the noises surrounding me. For example you could hear things, but if someone said something to you it would sound muffled.

As the weeks passed the headphones wore in. I still thought that the bass wasn't there, but I soon understood that the bass was there. Other headphones make the bass so heavy that it makes people think that a lot of bass is good. Many of my friends tried my headphones and said that they don't have any bass. Well they really have to try them for a few weeks because that is how long it takes to understand these headphones. I did some direct comparison with some of my friends' cheap headphones. Yes my friends' headphones did have more bass, but what the major difference was the crisp sound. They're headphones had a lot of bass, but there wasn't a certain point were the bass was noticeable, but rather the whole time I listened to any song there was bass. The bass was so bad it drowned out everything else. Also when switching back and forth during the testing I realized that the cheaper headphones' sound was really bad. All I heard was unclear music. The Sennheiser PX 200s are really an advancement when compared to ordinary headphones. You just have to be willing to pay for the headphones. Then you will be able to listen to good sounding music.

Another thing is that it takes a long time to get the correct fitment. When I first put them on I thought that they were perfect for my head and ear. I could barely hear outside noises. Well then I realized that the Sennheiser PX 200s really hurt my ears after about 2 hours of use with the position that they were in. Then I changed the position a little and they didn't hurt my ears anymore. Also they blocked noise just as well with the change in position. After the change I could listen to music for 5+ hours without pain on the ears. Another thing is that the closed design really makes the covered part of your ears warm. After a few hours of use you will need to air your ears out a little. I usually take a 20 second break every hour or so. Over the headphones are really comfortable once you get the correct fitment.

These headphones are so clear that they maybe too clear! These headphones are responsible for me encoding my music library at a higher bitrate. With these headphones you really hear all the details. I use to have all my music encoded with MP3 at 128 kbps or 192 kbps. Now I have them encoded to atleast 256 kbps. Even at that quality I can still tell the difference between MP3 and the orginal CDs with these headphones.

The carrying case that comes with the Sennheiser PX 200s are really nice. These headphones, to me, are really durable, but with the carrying case it adds to more protection to the already durable headphones. Some say that the case is too big, but I think the case was no smaller than it could have been. It was the perfect size for my use. When going out I will always bring the case for them. Another thing is there compact size. They are already small, but when folded up they get to a size that really amazes me.

In my personal case the Sennheiser PX 200s are a perfect match with my iRiver iMP-550. The color goes with the iMP-550 so well. Also the mini-jack fits into the iRiver iMP-550 Remote, so that is another plus in my case. Also the clear sound from the iRiver goes great with the sound from the Sennheiser PX 200.

I always recommend these headphones to my friends when they are talking about getting a portable audio player. These really bring out the best in your portable player and is really worth the money. Do a little searching and you will find a good deal on these. I know that ecost.com had them for about $30. Great deal for some great headphones.