Sennheiser HD-270 Digitally Compatible Headphones with Bionetic Design

[Smokin Gunn]

Link

The Sennheiser HD270 Studio Monitor Headphones make sound mixing as transcendent and pleasurable as leaning back in the easy chair for a good long listening session. With optimum sensitivity and wide dynamics, the HD270s satisfy the most stringent demands of professional mixers and DJs alike. These cans are in a class of their own, with incredible spatial and transparent sound reproduction and optimal attenuation of ambient noise.
Designed for playback in analog and digital recording applications
Duofol diaphragm virtually eliminates standing waves in the cpasule
Bionetic design adapts headphones to individual cranial contours
Fully modular, replaceable parts
Closed, circumaural dynamic Hi-Fi stereo design
Single-sided, 10-foot reinforced OFC cable with mini stereo jack and 1/4-inch adapter
Sensitivity: 106dB
Frequency Reponse: 12Hz-22kHz
2 years Parts and Labor Warranty from Sennheiser

 

[fornax]

Review

 

[Praxis]

From the review fornax cited:

My initial impression was that they obviously have a whole bunch of isolation. The thrum of the computer room dwindled mightily; even my deafening keyboard was barely audible. Full marks for noise reduction, then.

Next, I noted that they don't have the big fat bass boost that many sealed headphones offer. Bass boost is a feature, not a bug, for a lot of people; if you miss the bowel-loosening WHUD of your elephantine subwoofer when you're listening with headphones, a pile of bass boost in the 'phone tuning may make you all teary-eyed. Gamers are likely to enjoy it, too.

But, for what it's worth, the bass response of the HD 270s is pretty smooth.

As for the midrange and treble, though...

Well, to coin a phrase... oh dear.

When I listened to electronica and metal and games, the HD 270s didn't sound too bad. When I listened to music that makes it easier to tell if Bad Things are happening to the frequency balance, though, it was obvious that these headphones are not, in point of fact, very good at all.

Compared with really cheap sealed headphones (entry level price point: Less than $AU25...), the HD 270s sound terrific. Most cheap sealed 'phones have severe resonance issues, and very crummy drivers that bring their own weirdness to the table, and the result may suggest that a tin can telephone features somewhere in the signal chain.

But by the standards one should apply to $AU300 Sennheisers, the HD 270s are really quite dreadful. Terms like "muffled" and "muddy" and "severe coloration" and "they cost how much?!" sprang to mind while I listened to them. Nothing carrying the Sennheiser name, at any price, should have clearly audible ear-cup resonances, but these things certainly seem to, and they're not even cheap.

I swapped the HD 270s with other headphones a few times, and got sick of saying "eeew!" and "yeargh!" and "blecch!" every time I put the 270s back on, so this is where my sonic evaluation of them stops.

If these things cost $AU75 delivered, they'd be worth considering. At $AU297, they're a joke.

On to the HD 212 Pros.

The 4 consumer ratings at Amazon were generally positive, though one fellow noted that after a short while the cord started flaking and one channel or the other would cut out. Epinions had three reviews, one, two and three stars (out of five). Consensus seems to be that these cans are fine if you are in to bass, but may not be up to snuff in the treble range. I always dial the bass down and treble up, so I guess I'll take a pass and wait for something better.