Sennheiser HD205 II, Closed over ear headphone with rotatable earcup

Product Information

The HD 215 has slightly better bass extension, so you're going to hear lower frequencies with the HD 215 as it digs a little deeper. The HD 215's bass response is also tighter and better-controlled, so generally-speaking you're going to hear clearer and cleaner bass with the HD 215. In many ways, the HD 215 is the antithesis to the HD 212 Pro. Eschewing minor details for the sake of brevity, here are the top three contrasts that can be drawn:

We used the HD 205 II headphones in conjunction with a Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 laptop (with Dolby Home Theater technology), an Onkyo TX-L5 receiver, and the Apple iPod Classic, Creative Zen: Vision M, and Zune HD MP3 players. With a 32-ohm impedance level, it takes little power to drive these headphones, so they're easy on the batteries in portable devices.

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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. In conclusion these more affordable cans from Sennheiser are good for several things such as home listening and DJing. The only significant issue with these headphones is they would not be recommended for portable uses considering the length of the cord and their overall size. If I had to rate this headphone 1-10 it would get a solid 8.3. 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. The HD 215 has a much wider and more spacious soundstage than the HD 205. With the HD 205, it always seemed like the action was happening right next to me (or pretty darn close to me). And while I don't consider the HD 215 to have a particularly cavernous soundstage, it is nonetheless noticably wider and deeper than the HD 205 will ever be. In an open comparison, I would say that the HD 215 is among the most comfortable DJ cans I've worn. I personally reached over 3.5 hours of wear - on more than one occasion - without removal due to discomfort.

The HD 205 and HD 215 can be considered "brothers" in Sennheiser's DJ line-up in more ways than one. They share the same basic design. They have somewhat similar sound signatures. And they are relatively close in terms of pricing (at least when compared to HD 25s). I listened to a lot of other models in this range and in a range somewhat higher (up to 150 €): frankly, the HD 205 does not have to turn pale at slightly more expensive models. 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. Highs are noticeably sharper, crisper and brighter in the HD 215. This is not to suggest that the HD 205 is muffled or closed-in, but the HD 215 clearly reproduces more of the top end since the HD 205 rolls-off sooner. 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.To facilitate DJ usage, the HD 215 features a swing-away right ear cup for one-eared monitoring/cueing. This is essentially the same swing-away mechanism that the HD 205 employed. However, this time around Sennheiser made it much better (and a little worse). Most of the differences in function, usability and comfort have already been covered in the main review above (where the HD 215 won hands down), so this comparison will concentrate largely on SQ. I found these headphones to be a bit bassy when I first bought them, but at the same time, I feel now that the amount of bass is quite reasonable. Most devices will let you manually alter the levels these days anyway. Mids are squarely neutral but smooth - are neither irritatingly forward nor disappointingly recessed - and extend nicely and consistently into the highs. Of course, all of this is hardly surprising. HD 215s have never been known as bassy cans, nor does Sennheiser market them as such. So in this case, it appears that all our bass are NOT belong to us. Having said that, I do feel that if Sennheiser were able to extend the HD 215's bass response - and boost its general bass output - the HD 215 would be one formidable set of "fun" mid-fi cans.

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. Highs are textured with a certain amount of body and weight as to not be too thin. Only the tendency towards sibilance scores it a markdown here. Owing to it's speed and precision, the HD 215 exhibits much better PRaT than the HD 205. In fact, the HD 215's surprisingly good PRaT is some of the best I've heard for it's price point in quite some time.

Sennheiser HD 205 - Pros & Cons

And in case HD 205 owners are curious, the HD 215's isolation is noticeably superior. Combined with a quantum leap in comfort, that makes the HD 215 the clear winner in this contest.