First off I would like to thank Faheem for donating, um I mean lending me his Sennheiser HD201 headphones for reviewing. 
I have always blindly recommended these to people without hearing them myself as I used to base my view on reviews other people have written.
However I helped my friend buy these a year back and on hearing them on his PC a couple of months ago, I was mortified to hear how bad they sounded !
They sounded thin, had barely enough bass and were very shrill.
So when Faheem offered his headphones to me to test I did not hesitate and took up his offer.
I have used the HD201s from different sources and have used an amplifier as well to test these out to see how source dependent these phones are.
[BREAK=Specifications & Design]
Sorry I don't believe in specifications for headphones as more often that not specifications are very misleading ! For instance these 24 ohm headphones are more difficult to drive than my (so called) 150 ohm RE1 earphones. :bleh:
That said, the non misleading specifications of the HD201s are that they are closed circumaural headphones.
(Circumaural means the headphone pads completely surround your ears & helps block outside sound and closed headphones means they dont have any openings on the outer covering of the headphones so that sound does not leak out). This is all theory since these headphones dont block out much noise and if you blast the music other people can hear it too !
[BREAK=Packaging]
Well I did not get the box so I have no idea of the packaging.
However Sennheiser does give a 3.5mm jack -> 6.3mm jack convertor bundled in the box. Other than that you get nothing else. This isn't a dealbreaker since even my HD650 came with only a adapter and nothing else.
Anyways here are pictures of the headphone -
[BREAK=Testing Methodology]
Since these headphones are light, they can be worn as a portable source. So for this review I am testing this with two sources -
1. My Compaq V3000 series laptop with Conexant HD Audio chip (16 bit)
2. My BlackBerry 8330 phone.
Also to test the effect of an amp I am using two different amps for this review -
1. FiiO E3 (~$7)
2. Meier Porta Corda III (~$100)
The Porta Corda is a Amp cum DAC (a sound card substitute) and I will test the headphones using the DAC as well as on the laptop onboard sound.
Sound tests -
I have 6 different tracks that I really love and I listen to frequently - (Anybody who ribs me for listening to such old songs will be reported to the mods ! :bleh: )
1. Roxette - Dangerous
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
3. Westlife - Angel
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
[BREAK=Portable tests]
While I seriously doubt anyone would walk around with these on the street, its highly possible that someone would use this with a portable mp3 player in his/her own home.
Also these headphones NEED burn-in. I have done about 25 hours and the sound has dramatically changed.
1. Roxette - Dangerous
Straight out of the BlackBerry, the treble seems a harsh and the the sound is bright. (Emphasis on treble and higher mid range). The bass is there and it has impact but the treble kinda muffles it. But the sound stage is quite wide and the sound is very engaging as opposed to the laid back sound of the HD650. There is also plenty of detail so that you can pick out the position of the instruments pretty well. All in all a good show for this song IF you can stomach the siblance. (Harsh treble)
With E3 - The treble harshness is reduced, the bass has more impact but the overall detail is reduced. Some will not like the muddy bass and I am torn between the sound with and without the amp.
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
I chose this track due to the initial part which has deep bass and for its emphasis on bass and mid range. And yes the bass feels nice and deep. Also the drums have good impact and the instrument separation is great. However the treble here is a bit shrill and when the singer is belting out the high notes, the treble distorts and shrieks. The 8330 unfortunately does not have a custom EQ and so I cant test if an EQ tweak can fix the harsh treble. But even with the harsh treble (in certain parts), the sound stage and bass makes this song enjoyable to listen to.
With E3 - The treble harshness and overall treble has reduced here and the bass impact has really gone up. Again the E3 muddies up the sound but I prefer it to the original since the treble shrill is gone ! :hap2:
3. Westlife - Angel
This is not a favourite track of mine, as it has just vocals and little else. But it is a good test track of mid range performance. The HD201 aces this one as the vocals maintain low - mid notes and the singers voice does not reach notes high enough to distort. And the vocals of this track is clear and smooth. The sound stage and details are also very much there and you can hear some background instruments as well as the vocals and piano. All in all the HD201 has aced this test and it was enjoyable to listen to this track with the HD201.
With E3 - Again I prefer the E3. The vocals were a bit thin before. Now they sound more meaty and you can really feel the singing.
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
Added a highlish track to the mix and this song has a lot of instruments along with vocals and again the HD201 gave a great performance. The sound stage and details are excellent and its again easy to pick out the individiual instruments in the song. The initial initial vocals in Hindi is smooth but once Emenem starts singing, some of higher notes cause the sound to distort but again its rare and the song still sounds very nice on the HD201.
With E3 - This time I prefer the original sound as the instrument separation is better in the original and the treble harshness is still there.
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
This song has plenty of treble and I wanted to see how the HD201 fares here. To my great surprise, the treble never distorted and the sound stage and detail the HD201 gave was amazing for just a 1k headphone. The HD201 seriously aced this test.
With E3 - Again I prefer the original as the details are reduced in this song.
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
Ok this song sounds great only on headphones that have bass impact and sounds pretty ordinary on bass anemic earphones like the PL-30 and PL-12 that I had. First off the 8330 did not have enough juice to drive the HD201 to loud levels for this track and I used the volume booster function. Now the bass really came out and instruments were very detailed as usual with these headphones and the bass was adequate for this track with enough impact and depth. The vocals were good for the most part, but Roxette's voice distorted on certain notes that detracted from the song. If I removed the volume booster function, the distortion in the voice was not noticeable anymore but the bass impact was also reduced substantially. So a mixed show for the HD201 on this track.
With E3 - The treble harshness is reduced, the bass has more impact but the details are reduced a bit. Some will like the sound this way (I certainly did !) but the sound is a bit darker (more emphasis on the bass and lower mids) and the instrument separation is reduced.
This concluded the impressions for the HD201 with a portable source and I must say that the fact that if a phone can drive these cans so well, then most mp3 players should be able to drive these with ease. The E3 is good for tracks with an emphasis for bass. Otherwise it muddies up the sound.
[BREAK=Laptop sound impressions]
The same songs were played and I tried the laptop first with Foobar straight out of the headphones jack and then I tried with the Corda Porta III amp + DAC using the built in DAC.
1. Roxette - Dangerous
Here the sound is improved compared to the BlackBerry but the difference is slight. The harshness of the treble is very slight here and its not very noticeable and the song sounds nice overall on the HD201.
DAC + Amp - OMG ! The sound is far more detailed and it sounds amazing. Unfortunately the harshness in the trebble does not go away and it spoils the track for me. But then I decided to try some EQ tweaking and one or two notches reduction in the treble makes this an enjoyable to listen track to listen too.
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
On the laptop, the bass has more impact but slightly less depth and the sound stage is bit wider. The treble now distorts far less and the track sounds even better than it did on the BlackBerry. I really enjoyed this song here.
DAC + Amp - The bass is deeper in this track and again the sound is more detailed. Again I used a custom EQ to reduce the trebble. (Nothing else was boosted)
3. Westlife - Angel
Again the HD201 aces this test. And it was really nice listening to this again on the laptop
DAC + Amp - I dont know how, but out of the DAC, this highly enjoyable track became even better ! The voice suddenly became clearer and smoother. Again I used the custom EQ
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
Here the sound was very similar to the sound out of the BlackBerry. However the bass depth was less and the treble harshness of Eminem's voice was unfortunately still there and I felt it sounded better on the BlackBerry.
DAC + Amp - The bass is deeper and the song is more detailed. I needed to reduce the treble in the 16k band my a few more notches to reduce (but not eliminate) the harshness. But it still sounds better than either on the BlackBerry or the from the Laptop sound card
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
Here again the HD201 did a great job and presented this song with the treble harshness in check and gave a pleasing sound. The sound was a bit more forward and engaging as compared to the BlackBerry.
DAC + Amp - Well the DAC did it again ! The song is presented in a more pleasing way again and I can hear the bass more clearly now. I am seriously starting to like the headphone now even though the treble harshness is there in many other tracks because of the custom eq smoothing it out.
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
I had to max out the volume for this song to be loud enough to enjoy. The bass is again improved compared to the BlackBerry and the treble harshness is again very slight and does not detract from the music. The bass has impact but lacks a bit of depth I feel. Its still more enjoyable here than on the BlackBerry since the treble distortion is not very noticeable here.
DAC + Amp - The DAC really improves on the laptop sound card and the bass has more depth now that was missing earlier.
I tried using the E3 with the laptop, but somehow that did not work out as I got heavily distorted sound.
[BREAK=Conclusions]
I really liked these headphones and I feel the recommendations given to them are well worth it. But they need a good burn-in to sound good.
However these ARE difficult to drive. I have a Hotaudio DAC+amp which gives a lot of hiss on sensitive cans. Even my 150 ohm Head-direct RE1 gives a decent amount of hiss. However the hiss on the HD201 is barely noticeable ! :S
Even on my laptop, the sound was maxed out to listen at comfortable listening levels.
However if you have a decent sound card like a Xonar or a Creative Audigy or you have an existing amplifier, I believe you should be able to comfortably drive these headphones. Also use a custom eq and reduce by a notch or two the last column in the equalizer to reduce/remove the harshness in the treble.
So here are the Pros and Cons in a nutshell -
Pros -
1. Good sound with great sound stage and details
2. Very light weight and comfortable. Can be worn for hours.
3. Can be used without an amp and with a portable player.
Cons -
1. Needs EQ tweaking to reduce treble harshness which can be a problem for some portable sources that lack a custom eq like the ipod.
2. Very long wire. Can be easily tangled.
3. Some portable sources will be unable to drive the HD201.
I have always blindly recommended these to people without hearing them myself as I used to base my view on reviews other people have written.
However I helped my friend buy these a year back and on hearing them on his PC a couple of months ago, I was mortified to hear how bad they sounded !
They sounded thin, had barely enough bass and were very shrill.
So when Faheem offered his headphones to me to test I did not hesitate and took up his offer.
I have used the HD201s from different sources and have used an amplifier as well to test these out to see how source dependent these phones are.
[BREAK=Specifications & Design]
Sorry I don't believe in specifications for headphones as more often that not specifications are very misleading ! For instance these 24 ohm headphones are more difficult to drive than my (so called) 150 ohm RE1 earphones. :bleh:
That said, the non misleading specifications of the HD201s are that they are closed circumaural headphones.
(Circumaural means the headphone pads completely surround your ears & helps block outside sound and closed headphones means they dont have any openings on the outer covering of the headphones so that sound does not leak out). This is all theory since these headphones dont block out much noise and if you blast the music other people can hear it too !
[BREAK=Packaging]
Well I did not get the box so I have no idea of the packaging.
However Sennheiser does give a 3.5mm jack -> 6.3mm jack convertor bundled in the box. Other than that you get nothing else. This isn't a dealbreaker since even my HD650 came with only a adapter and nothing else.
Anyways here are pictures of the headphone -
[BREAK=Testing Methodology]
Since these headphones are light, they can be worn as a portable source. So for this review I am testing this with two sources -
1. My Compaq V3000 series laptop with Conexant HD Audio chip (16 bit)
2. My BlackBerry 8330 phone.
Also to test the effect of an amp I am using two different amps for this review -
1. FiiO E3 (~$7)
2. Meier Porta Corda III (~$100)
The Porta Corda is a Amp cum DAC (a sound card substitute) and I will test the headphones using the DAC as well as on the laptop onboard sound.
Sound tests -
I have 6 different tracks that I really love and I listen to frequently - (Anybody who ribs me for listening to such old songs will be reported to the mods ! :bleh: )
1. Roxette - Dangerous
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
3. Westlife - Angel
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
[BREAK=Portable tests]
While I seriously doubt anyone would walk around with these on the street, its highly possible that someone would use this with a portable mp3 player in his/her own home.
Also these headphones NEED burn-in. I have done about 25 hours and the sound has dramatically changed.
1. Roxette - Dangerous
Straight out of the BlackBerry, the treble seems a harsh and the the sound is bright. (Emphasis on treble and higher mid range). The bass is there and it has impact but the treble kinda muffles it. But the sound stage is quite wide and the sound is very engaging as opposed to the laid back sound of the HD650. There is also plenty of detail so that you can pick out the position of the instruments pretty well. All in all a good show for this song IF you can stomach the siblance. (Harsh treble)
With E3 - The treble harshness is reduced, the bass has more impact but the overall detail is reduced. Some will not like the muddy bass and I am torn between the sound with and without the amp.
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
I chose this track due to the initial part which has deep bass and for its emphasis on bass and mid range. And yes the bass feels nice and deep. Also the drums have good impact and the instrument separation is great. However the treble here is a bit shrill and when the singer is belting out the high notes, the treble distorts and shrieks. The 8330 unfortunately does not have a custom EQ and so I cant test if an EQ tweak can fix the harsh treble. But even with the harsh treble (in certain parts), the sound stage and bass makes this song enjoyable to listen to.
With E3 - The treble harshness and overall treble has reduced here and the bass impact has really gone up. Again the E3 muddies up the sound but I prefer it to the original since the treble shrill is gone ! :hap2:
3. Westlife - Angel
This is not a favourite track of mine, as it has just vocals and little else. But it is a good test track of mid range performance. The HD201 aces this one as the vocals maintain low - mid notes and the singers voice does not reach notes high enough to distort. And the vocals of this track is clear and smooth. The sound stage and details are also very much there and you can hear some background instruments as well as the vocals and piano. All in all the HD201 has aced this test and it was enjoyable to listen to this track with the HD201.
With E3 - Again I prefer the E3. The vocals were a bit thin before. Now they sound more meaty and you can really feel the singing.
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
Added a highlish track to the mix and this song has a lot of instruments along with vocals and again the HD201 gave a great performance. The sound stage and details are excellent and its again easy to pick out the individiual instruments in the song. The initial initial vocals in Hindi is smooth but once Emenem starts singing, some of higher notes cause the sound to distort but again its rare and the song still sounds very nice on the HD201.
With E3 - This time I prefer the original sound as the instrument separation is better in the original and the treble harshness is still there.
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
This song has plenty of treble and I wanted to see how the HD201 fares here. To my great surprise, the treble never distorted and the sound stage and detail the HD201 gave was amazing for just a 1k headphone. The HD201 seriously aced this test.
With E3 - Again I prefer the original as the details are reduced in this song.
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
Ok this song sounds great only on headphones that have bass impact and sounds pretty ordinary on bass anemic earphones like the PL-30 and PL-12 that I had. First off the 8330 did not have enough juice to drive the HD201 to loud levels for this track and I used the volume booster function. Now the bass really came out and instruments were very detailed as usual with these headphones and the bass was adequate for this track with enough impact and depth. The vocals were good for the most part, but Roxette's voice distorted on certain notes that detracted from the song. If I removed the volume booster function, the distortion in the voice was not noticeable anymore but the bass impact was also reduced substantially. So a mixed show for the HD201 on this track.
With E3 - The treble harshness is reduced, the bass has more impact but the details are reduced a bit. Some will like the sound this way (I certainly did !) but the sound is a bit darker (more emphasis on the bass and lower mids) and the instrument separation is reduced.
This concluded the impressions for the HD201 with a portable source and I must say that the fact that if a phone can drive these cans so well, then most mp3 players should be able to drive these with ease. The E3 is good for tracks with an emphasis for bass. Otherwise it muddies up the sound.
[BREAK=Laptop sound impressions]
The same songs were played and I tried the laptop first with Foobar straight out of the headphones jack and then I tried with the Corda Porta III amp + DAC using the built in DAC.
1. Roxette - Dangerous
Here the sound is improved compared to the BlackBerry but the difference is slight. The harshness of the treble is very slight here and its not very noticeable and the song sounds nice overall on the HD201.
DAC + Amp - OMG ! The sound is far more detailed and it sounds amazing. Unfortunately the harshness in the trebble does not go away and it spoils the track for me. But then I decided to try some EQ tweaking and one or two notches reduction in the treble makes this an enjoyable to listen track to listen too.
2. Backstreet Boys - I Still
On the laptop, the bass has more impact but slightly less depth and the sound stage is bit wider. The treble now distorts far less and the track sounds even better than it did on the BlackBerry. I really enjoyed this song here.
DAC + Amp - The bass is deeper in this track and again the sound is more detailed. Again I used a custom EQ to reduce the trebble. (Nothing else was boosted)
3. Westlife - Angel
Again the HD201 aces this test. And it was really nice listening to this again on the laptop
DAC + Amp - I dont know how, but out of the DAC, this highly enjoyable track became even better ! The voice suddenly became clearer and smoother. Again I used the custom EQ
4. Eminem vc PMC - Mundeya To Bachke
Here the sound was very similar to the sound out of the BlackBerry. However the bass depth was less and the treble harshness of Eminem's voice was unfortunately still there and I felt it sounded better on the BlackBerry.
DAC + Amp - The bass is deeper and the song is more detailed. I needed to reduce the treble in the 16k band my a few more notches to reduce (but not eliminate) the harshness. But it still sounds better than either on the BlackBerry or the from the Laptop sound card
5. Mark Anthony - You sang to me
Here again the HD201 did a great job and presented this song with the treble harshness in check and gave a pleasing sound. The sound was a bit more forward and engaging as compared to the BlackBerry.
DAC + Amp - Well the DAC did it again ! The song is presented in a more pleasing way again and I can hear the bass more clearly now. I am seriously starting to like the headphone now even though the treble harshness is there in many other tracks because of the custom eq smoothing it out.
6. Roxette - Fading like a flower
I had to max out the volume for this song to be loud enough to enjoy. The bass is again improved compared to the BlackBerry and the treble harshness is again very slight and does not detract from the music. The bass has impact but lacks a bit of depth I feel. Its still more enjoyable here than on the BlackBerry since the treble distortion is not very noticeable here.
DAC + Amp - The DAC really improves on the laptop sound card and the bass has more depth now that was missing earlier.
I tried using the E3 with the laptop, but somehow that did not work out as I got heavily distorted sound.
[BREAK=Conclusions]
I really liked these headphones and I feel the recommendations given to them are well worth it. But they need a good burn-in to sound good.
However these ARE difficult to drive. I have a Hotaudio DAC+amp which gives a lot of hiss on sensitive cans. Even my 150 ohm Head-direct RE1 gives a decent amount of hiss. However the hiss on the HD201 is barely noticeable ! :S
Even on my laptop, the sound was maxed out to listen at comfortable listening levels.
However if you have a decent sound card like a Xonar or a Creative Audigy or you have an existing amplifier, I believe you should be able to comfortably drive these headphones. Also use a custom eq and reduce by a notch or two the last column in the equalizer to reduce/remove the harshness in the treble.
So here are the Pros and Cons in a nutshell -
Pros -
1. Good sound with great sound stage and details
2. Very light weight and comfortable. Can be worn for hours.
3. Can be used without an amp and with a portable player.
Cons -
1. Needs EQ tweaking to reduce treble harshness which can be a problem for some portable sources that lack a custom eq like the ipod.
2. Very long wire. Can be easily tangled.
3. Some portable sources will be unable to drive the HD201.
