Sennheiser PX 200 II B Closed on Ear Mini Headphones (Black)

Comment: I love these headphones. I owned (and lost) the prior version (PX 200) so I high expectations for these headphones. I take them with me on my travels. They are very comfortable; compact to a small size; and are excellent over-the-ear headphones. An buy for the money.

Comment: I bought these as an update for a much-loved pair of Sennheiser PX-100s that gave up their ghost a few weeks ago. My new phones finally arrived today and the excitement I felt as I unwrapped them soon gave way to profound disappointment. The sound quality on these phones is not what I was expecting after the PX-100s. The sound is clear and crisp, but also brittle. I really loved the warm bass tones that the PX-100s put out, and the PX-200s just don't deliver. At first I thought it was my imagination after a couple of weeks with crappy backup phones, but I just tried my iPod with the PX-100s, which still play from one ear, and there's no comparison. Plus these phones, because of the pads, really stick out from your head in a frankly dorky way. I wouldn't care about that if they had the sound I'm looking for, but they just don't fit the bill. These are going back to Amazon ASAP.

Comment: This is my first Sennheiser purchase, of which I've had for about a month. I have upgraded from headphones that cost roughly $20, such as the closed Philips SHN5500/37 Noise-Canceling Behind-The-Head Headphone, and the Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones. Picking the PX 200 II, it is clear that it lacks booming bass. At first, this seemed to be a bad thing. Then, I noticed all the tiny details in my music that I have never noticed before. Quiet voices, drum beats, and other details that my cheaper pairs never clearly pronounced. It may not have booming bass, but it does clearly play mids and highs, with bass which that brings good overall balance. Lows are more pronouned with adjusted eq settings.

Build quality is very good. A large metal strip covers the top of the padded section, which feels pretty durable. The single wire connection is an improvement over the first PX200. The folding feature is nice, but wasnt a major factor in my decision. The closed design is also good at reducing ambient noise.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. I can listen to my music with greater detail.

Comment: I give these headphones five stars because of their brilliant design. They look like they are too convenient to have such a great sound, but Sennheiser made it happen somehow, despite the small drivers on these guys.

I found that these headphones did require a few hours of breaking in before I got the bass response that I wanted out of them, but after that they sounded marvelous. I also didn't care for the volume control, I never touch the thing, but I can see it being useful in some situations. Of course, do not expect head-pounding bass, you want full-size cans for those, not these mini-earphones. Pounding bass is bad for your music anyway.

Overall I would describe the sound as very clean, never grating, which is very important when listening for extended periods of time. The accuracy, while not perfect, was way beyond adequate at this price point.

Great for someone who needs extra-portable headphones who, like me, do not like earbuds or in-ear monitors. The PX 200 II folds neatly for storage in the handy pouch, and they are too nice sounding and portable not to keep with you at all times. Highly recommended.

Comment: First let me say that I am a big supporter of Sennheiser. I think they make some of the BEST headphones on the market. I really love the cx500 earbuds. This pair the PX 200II are not a good pair of headphone if you want noise isolaters. They have a solid build and are very fashionable. However the bass is NOT good compared to the CX 500's and the noise cancellation is NOT there. You can hear everything around you(especially if you're in the gym)and for me that's a big turn off. Do yourself a favor and order the CX 500's...you will be gald you did.