The PX200 Headphones Kick bAss
Written: Feb 16 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Bass, Sound Quality, Comfort
Cons: Barely Reduce Background Noise
The Bottom Line: The PX200 has superior sound quality, but fails to substantially reduce background noise.
|
|
|
| tbthorn's Full Review: Sennheiser Electronic PX200 Headphone PX200 Collap... |
Recommended Uses
The Sennheiser PX200 headphones are recommended for portable audio devices. The headphones are designed to reduce background noise, making them ideal for travelers and individuals working in loud environments. Honestly, I don't have much use for these headphones or any others. I don't own a walkman (or is it discman nowadays?). However, I received these as a Christmas gift from a certain online website that wanted a review on them, so I'm going to do my best to review them thoroughly.
Appearance and Aesthetics
The PX200 headphones look much like any other pair of cushioned headphones, which is somewhat surprising since they are touted to greatly reduce unwanted noise. The headset and the earpieces contain a little bit of extra padding, but they aren't bulky. The padding does not dramatically increase their size or weight. The set weighs in at about 2 oz on my kitchen scale. The headphones have a pretty sleek two-tone look of black and silver. The cord measures about 4.5 feet, which will allow me to test them on my home computer.
Fit and Comfort
I must have a somewhat peculiar head shape because it is very rare that a pair of glasses or headphones fits me comfortably. It doesn't matter how much I adjust and bend them; they don't sit the way that they should. The Senneheiser PX200 fairs slightly better than most. I guess that Germans must have the same problem that I do because the headset fits me reasonably well; however, these will probably not fit someone with a wide skull. I can only pull the headphones apart for about an additional half-inch before the tension becomes strong. There is also limited clearance of about a quarter-inch on the top of my head when the the arms of the headphones are adjusted to maximum length. The arms themselves can be adjusted individually to one of 10 different lengths.
I am only able to comfortably wear these across the apex of my scalp. When I try to wear them across the back of my head, the earphones slip down off of my ears. This is partially due to the composition of the cushioning. It's a comfortable but somewhat slick foam. However, said foam adds considerably to the comfort of the headphones. There are cushioned rings around each ear piece. The lateral arm also has two 2-inch stretches of cushioning where they rest on the scalp. This provides for an optimal comfort, but I find that the padding on the ear pieces does not fit properly to my ear. The cushioned ear pieces are a bit larger than my ears and form a very loose seal that allows a fair amount of air to pass through, thus affecting their ability to block background noise. That brings me to the next section on evaluating performance.
Performance
Reducing Background Noise: The package says that the design "reduces unwanted noise." I'm not sure how they can distinguish between an unwanted noise, like a passing train, and a wanted noise, like your hot neighbor knocking at the door; but such a statement strikes me as an invitation to put them to the test. I've found that the claim is somewhat misleading. The headphones themselves do very little to reduce background noise. They barely muffle the faintest of noises without an audio source. Background noises only seem reduced because the audio component has been optimized. The headphones also do very little to reduce nearby sounds. I can clearly hear the click of my keyboard as I type this review and listen to Me First & The Gimme Gimmes at my computer. It's needless to say that I'm disappointed with the degree of noise reduction. If you're as easily distracted as I am by subtle noises then these headphones may not suit your needs.
Sound Quality: The sound quality is excellent for such an average-looking piece. The clarity is extremely good, although there is the anticipated heavy vibration at high volumes. Everything in my music collection sounds superb, from Weezer to Hanson.
Bass: Headphones are notorious for having inadequate bass. I didn't expect much more from this particular set, but I was actually impressed. The bass maintains its integrity to a much higher level than any previous headphones that I've worn. The White Stripes and Metallica can be played with the appropriately high level of bass.
Portability and Case
These headphones are collapsible by bending each arm inward. They collapse very easily to a size that makes them easy to store in a pocket, a drawer or a purse. They also include a small, durable case for storage. The case even has a 4-step instructional diagram for collapsing the headphones, but the pictures are somewhat difficult to follow. I wouldn't even recognize some of the pictures as headphones. The set fits snuggly for maximum space conservation and easy portability, making them ideal for travelers.
Durability
The construction is solid. I haven't had a lot of time to spend with them, but they easily tolerate moderate bending and toying. The arms readily snap back even after being stretched almost completely linear.
Price and Value
The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is around $60. I'll be honest in saying that I wouldn't spend $60 on a pair of headphones even if I won the lottery. I don't have many uses for them. I live alone and my work environment permits music to be played outloud. I think that these headphones are superior in quality, but they're not worth $60 to me.
Final Comments
The PX200 is a great pair of headphones that don't quite meet expectations in the reduction of background noise. I wouldn't pay $60 for them, but it may be worth it to someone who requires superior sound quality for a portable audio device.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tbthorn
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Tom
Location: lost in thought
Reviews written: 196
Trusted by: 192 members
About Me:
Vacation (vA-kA-shun) 1. Eating too much 2. Drinking too much 3. Getting a tan
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.