Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones (Black)

FIRST OF ALL!!!!... let me point out that I'm not mooching lotion, maxipads, vitamins and toenail clippers 20 hours a day so I can work my way up to a discounted set of headphones given to me in return for an "honest" 5 star "canned" review. I bought these with my money (in fact I bought two pair) and owe nobody nuttin, especially no fake five star review so that I may move up to reviewing a free juicer next week. (Note to Amazon, you are making your review section 100% useless.)THAT, being said... I paid $24.99 for these headphones almost a year ago. I expected to get what I paid for - Boy! was I wrong. I absolutely could not believe the quality of sound from these headphones. If you are a fan of bass, it will make you hairs stand on end and give you butterflies in your stomach. I just start with mentioning the bass because that is the weak point of cheap headphones. The mids, highs and vocals are Chrystal clear and spot on - I don't know how these could sound any better. You'll hear your music in a whole new light - like hearing it for the first time.And forget going to the movies or shelling out 25k for a home theater - put these on, get your popcorn and favorite IPA and hit play - and be prepared for a majic carpet ride. Crazy stereo, sorround sound, 3D sound, Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" sound - you'll be ducking and dodging gunshots from behind you, jets flying over your head right to left, stomach rumbling bass and crazy realistic G7 whistles (think the note Mariah Carey hits when that vein pops out from her forehead) bomb whistles (if you're watching a military movie for example, of course).Sennheiser makes very high end electronics. I'm talking products that only best selling musical acts and starting MLB pitchers can afford - $10,000 microphones, $8,000 receivers, $5,000 wireless Mike systems, $10,000 speaker monitors, $5000 in ear monitors, $3,000 headphone amplifiers, AND headphones ranging from 2, 3, 4, 5, $6,000 and up. They regulary sale a line of $16,000 headphones - AND they sale a pair of $50,000.00 headphones (don't know why, can't fathom the concept - but they do)Yes, they do have a line of "affordable" gear in the hundreds to low thousands range for us Noobs. But when I saw these headphones for $25, I could not help but to see what was up. And man, I feel like Sennheiser made a mistake and put these out by accident - or some engineer, who was tasked with designing a super low end entry point pair of blah headphones, played a joke on his bosses and packed these headphones up with some high end components.Any way, you buy these $25 headphones and you think they suck and you find another pair of headphones for under $100 that sound better, I'll buy those Sennheisers from you.Big easy champs AT GEE MALE DOT COM (no spaces - fix the obvious.)Headphones cover ears, easily adjustable from child to giant head, very light weight, soft ample cushioning in ear pads, 10 foot cord (can come in handy or tangle you up to the point you will curse). I've fallen asleep with these on (that's how comfortable they are) and have woken up with one of the earphones disconnected from head piece. But they snap right back on. Description says the individual earphones are removable (don't know why, some recording thing?)So, to make a short story long, these headphones are the BOMB!!!! I'd make the analogy that it is as if Porsche made a car that was 90% as good as a 911 (oh wait, they do... the Cayman) and then sold it to the public for $899.98.So..... TWO BIG THUMBS UP!!!!!(One complaint - these were in lighting deals before Christmas only available to prime members for a few minutes and I sat around for a couple of hour to snag them up - felt like I won the lottery. Paid $29.99 for them - winner!!!!! But guess how much they cost now, regular everyday price - yup, $29.99! That ain't right man, that just ain't right)

These are the first pair of over the ear headphones I have purchased. I purchased them based on extensive reviews and looking for the cheapest possible option with the best possible quality. Admittedly, I haven't used any other over the ear headphones to compare. With that being said, I would still definitely recommend these headphones. I am not the least bit disappointed in them and do not regret purchasing these headphones over any other more expensive options. Having only spent around $25 dollars for these off Amazon including shipping I couldn't really justify spending $100+ on a pair of headphones after listening to these. I am sure there are some quality headphones in that price range that "might" sound better than these but for only $25 dollars these sound amazing enough. Unless you have money to throw away or need serious studio quality headphones for producing, these headphones are all about great sound + extreme value. You might not regret purchasing more expensive headphones based on all the money you save with these. I went with these over the comparably priced Sennheiser HD 201 because reviewers said the HD 202 II had more bass. Some reviewers said that the bass may make them sound muddy, however. When I first plugged in the headphones they did sound a little muddy but that was easily remedied. I played with my equalizer settings and then I downloaded a program called DFX Audio Enhancer which is a sound processing program. The difference was night and day and these headphones no longer sound muddy. DFX Audio Enhancer is why I am able to to give them 5 stars. If these headphones sound muddy to you then try downloading that program. SRS also makes an audio enhancing program as well. Both have free versions as well as paid versions. I am not affiliated with either of these companies. Another thing that helps these headphones sound better when you listen music is if you listen to high quality music downloads at 320kpbs if possible. Listening to music at 240p or 360p streaming on Youtube won't sound as good. So before blaming these headphones for sounding muddy make sure you are listening to high quality music sources and have your equalizer settings optimized.Prior to these headphones I have used earbuds almost exclusively. I've used the iPhone earbuds and honestly anything sounds better than those so that's not a fair comparison. I've also used Sony earbuds and JVC Marshmellow earbuds. I personally like the sound of earbuds just as well as over the ear headphones but I will say that the HD 202 II over the ear headphones separate the lows, mids, and highs better and can keep up with faster music better. The glitches sound crisper with these headphones when I listen to dubstep. A good song to listen to that will really help you see how well these headphone perform is Skrillex - Kill Everybody (Bare Noize Remix) on blast with DFX Audio Enhancer turned on at the default settings. It's amazing how well these headphones can keep up with the glitches and separate the glitches from the mids and bass. These headphones also seem solidly built and have thick cables which is a plus. I don't see them breaking but if for some reason they do, they come with a 2 year manufacture's warranty. The cable is also fairly long if for some reason you need a really long cable.If I were to have to list some cons of this product I would say that out of the box without playing with your equalizing settings and downloading a sound processor they may seem muddy. Also, if you wear these headphones for a long time they might make your ears a little sore from pressing up against them. Nothing intolerable but noticeable so worth mention. Also, the cord is very long. This could be a pro to some or a con to others. If you need a long cord then it's great to have. But if you are using these to listen to music on the go from your phone or portable media device then a long cord might get annoying. I only use these at home so it doesn't bother me. And comparing these to earbuds, when you listen to loud music it leaks and other people can hear your music. It's not that loud but, considering earbuds don't leak at all, it is noticeable.