Sennheiser EH-2200 Headphones

Pros: Superb balance of comfort, quality, efficiency, and price.
Cons: Reveals limitations of source material, no headphones will make crappy pop music sound good.

Prologue

Do you love music? I mean, do you REALLY love music? Do you still occasionally watch the music video channel just in case there is something new and decent, even if it means enduring another Brittany Spears video? Do you own...

Pros: Capable of very intense, deep, tight bass.
Cons: Flimsy

A couple of years ago, I was looking for new headphones. Tired of spending money on average headphon ...

Pros: Sound, Comfort, Build Quality
Cons: not so nice "out of the box"

When I first got these headphones the sound from them was painful the bass was thin and weak and the highs were piercing and shrill causing guitars to be painfully harsh the headphones jut seemed way too bright... Then I hooked them up to my cd ...

Pros: Light, comfortable
Cons: Low power-handling capability, detachable cord detaches too easily

I actually have the EH-2270 headphones which may have some very small differences, but look exactly the same and have the same specs as the EH-2200s.

I've noticed that when using these headphones with higher powered sources, the drivers...

Pros: Good Sound, Light, Comfortable, Replaceable Parts
Cons: Could have more defined treble

I'm not a hardcore audiophile--I don't use these phones in a recording studio environment. So spending eighty bucks on a pair of headphones was a lot for me. But I certainly was blown away at the quality difference between a $30 pair of Sony's and this...

Pros: Comfy, bright, long detachable "1can" cord.
Cons: Treble is a bit weak.

Design - I am a huge fan of sealed (Your ear is totally enclosed) headphones. The other Sony MDR-CD60's I had before these really pinched my ears due to an odd seashell design on the pads, which oddly also heated them up from earcup pressure. The...

Pros: Comfortable, good sound, mid-sized
Cons: Electronics fail! Over, and over, and over. Replacements, repairs... FAIL!

I have sent my cans back twice. Got a replacement once and a repair once. And the headphones continue to fail. First one ear shorts out. Then the other goes. Useless, waste of money. A shame too, because they're the perfect size, and good sound, and comfortable. If they could get their act together and actually make the electronics work, they'd be great. But instead, they are an utter failure.

Pros: Detachable cord.
Cons: Small ear cups for a circumaural. Music sounds as if forced out.

The EH 2200 was the first closed circumaural Sennheiser set I purchased. I thought they would be the same physical size and similar construction to the HD 570s, which I find very comfortable. They are actually very small, barely fitting over my ears. The sound is pinched and constricted, not taut and clear as I expected. The bass reproduction is substandard even when boosted by an equalizer. The construction is uninspired and not very substantial. I am very disappointed.

I love Sennheiser headphones starting with my first pair of HD-414s in the early 70s. I still have 414s, 424s and a relatively new pair of HD-570s. I'll probably try a few more circumaural Sennheisers before I give up. It would be easier if there were actually stores where you could try a variety on and listen but I guess business models don't allow that kind of customer service anymore.