Sennheiser HD205 II, Closed over ear headphone with rotatable earcup

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You see, I am a big fan of tight, fast, punchy bass. Bass that leaves you shuddering from the first hit, and then escapes like a bandit before you can react. I do NOT like warm, fuzzy, lazy-ass, boomy, wooly, loosie-goosie, overblown, ghetto-car-audio-that-just-rattles-license-plate-frames bass that can't decide whether it's coming or going. So along those lines, I just want to say that the HD 215 exhibits some of the best bass characteristics that I've come across in a long time. When used with a headphone amp/DJ equipment - these are among the best sounding headphones I've owned, and I've owned a lot. These are great, but not audiophile quality. Curiously, the HD 215 seems to excel at placing sounds along the Y-axis better than it does along the X-axis. I'm not sure what this is about. Maybe some strategically applied crossfeed will compensate for it, but it is a bit irregular.

Especially very sensitive headphones maniac my material articulation and after 2 years the death headphone level and yet I am Like many of it's Sennheiser bretheren (and unlike many V-shaped DJ cans available today) the HD 215 offers a favorable mid-range presentation. The lows are a bit to be desired when paired with any media player/mp3 player (iPod, iPhone, etc.), but the mids and highs

Sennheiser HD 205 - Pros & Cons

For HD 400 series (except HD 435, HD 445, HD 455, HD 465, HD 475, HD 477 and HD 497), HD 250, HD 520, HD 530, HD 540 and HD 560 (oxygen-free copper) 37974BSF

These phones have a very low threshold and give you a big bass bump at about 70-120hz and you don't want any of that when you are buying a set. I think that headphone mixes are important. Isolation was not that bad when cutting drums and that is unusual for a set of cans like this. Whereas the HD 212 Pro gives you an abundance of warm and boomy bass; the HD 215 offers you a balanced low end with fast, tight, and controlled bass. Would it be a disappointment and wind up being nothing more than just a marginal improvement? Or is it a worthwhile upgrade and thus totally deserving of it's place on Sennheiser's totem? Let's find out.Mids are squarely neutral but smooth - are neither irritatingly forward nor disappointingly recessed - and extend nicely and consistently into the highs.

If you've got more than enough headphones and are merely curious, look for these to pop up in The Deal Thread and pull the trigger then. So if you've always liked the HD 428's sound signature, but wished that it had deeper bass and brighter highs, then the HD 215 might just be what you've been looking for. It's not as comfortable as the HD 428, but hey we can't have everything we want. And while I would not describe the sound as warm or rich, I wouldn't exactly label it as being clinical either. It's very much middle-of-the-road, neither truly flattering, nor giving offense. And it is precisely because of this balance that the HD 215's mids are unexpectedly pleasant on multiple levels. Of course, this also means that the highs are not particularly clear - or clean. In fact, if there were any portion of the HD 215's range that I would describe as being a little warm, it would be the highs.

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The HD 215 isolates well for what it is. Like all closed circumaurals, it does a reasonable job attenuating most external sounds. However, both low frequency machinery hum and co-workers' mid-range pencil tapping still found their way in. They were muted to be sure, but I wasn't about to pretend that I didn't hear them as I gave them that scornful stare. What you'll hear is fast, punchy, tight, controlled, precise, and even bass. In other words, the HD 215's bass is very German. For the most part, the HD 215 maintains a smooth transition in levels from lows-to-mids. There didn't seem to be any annoying drop-outs or break-ups in the various organ and cello passages that I tested with. And again, while the HD 215 doesn't have a pronounced mid-bass hump, I nonetheless found the mid-bass to be both adequate and agreeable for most genres - with overproduced poppy pseudo R&B being the exception. The HD 215's headband extenders have a fair bit of give for just the right amount of wiggle. Likewise, the ear cups' swivel joints are fluid and have a good blend of play and stiffness. In both cases, they are looser than the HD 205's corresponding parts. I have a theory that this was done on purpose to increase comfort - but I'll cover that in more detail in Ergonomics & Comfort below.