Headphone Reviews

The Sennheiser PX 200-IIi
The Sennheiser PX 200-IIi (MSRP $149.95) is a general-purpose headset ideally suited for kids, students, and casual home, office, and travel use. It’s light and small, very well built, and will easily survive unending rounds between backpack, computer desk, and kitchen junk drawer. Best of all, it packs neatly into a very small size with a unique folding design making it only slightly larger than a pair of sunglasses when stowed. In typical Sennheiser fashion the design is elegant and understated basic black, tastefully mixing matte and gloss textures in the plastic with silver metal accents.

Comfortable and secure on the head, the PX 200-IIi is a pleasure to wear. The two small, pleather covered head-pads are mounted to either side of the headband and nicely distribute the negligible weight, provide a secure fit on the head, and reduce the potential for an annoying hot-spot on the crown of your head. The ear-pieces are quite small, but the pleather pads are thick and compliant providing a substantially better seal, and therefore better isolation and bass performance, than the previous incarnation of this headphone. The ratcheted adjustment mechanism in the arms clicks along smoothly with just the right amount of friction to adjust easily but stay put once set.

The cable is thin, compliant, and rubbery making it relatively immune from mechanical noise. The cable is terminated with a standard four-segment 3.5mm headset plug. The connector housing is very thin allowing it to be plugged into portable devices with a protective cover in place. I’ve got an Otterbox Defender case for my iPad and have had trouble fully inserting headphones with anything but a slender connector housing.

The remote/mike housing is a hard plastic capsule about six inches down the cable. I would have preferred about three more inches as I found the little fob catching on and rubbing against the collar zipper of my fleece. This created significant mike noise on the receiving end when I tested the unit as a head set for phone conversation. The iPod controls work well, but had a bit of a cheap feel in my fingers.

The metal band in the arms are attached to the metal part of the headband with what looks something like a slightly beefy and good quality eyeglass hinge, and includes a screwed in pivot pin. Plastic covers on the arms are also screwed on. The earpads and headband pads are replaceable, and parts can be ordered online from Sennheiser’s site. It’s not too often you can disassemble and rebuild a headphone in this price range; I’m constantly impressed by Sennheiser’s attention to detail in the materials and manufacture of their product.

Sound Quality
As a category, small, sealed cans are among the worst sounding type of headphone. The sealed enclosure behind the driver is extremely small, which almost universally causes this type of headphone to have a boxy sound somewhere in their response, often delivering congestion in the mid-range, uncontrolled attack, and a lack of depth and air. Also, the small ear-pads resting on the folds and ridges of the outer ear will almost always make for difficulty establishing a good seal, usually resulting in significantly reduced bass response and isolation from outside noise. While the PX 200-IIi suffers from these problems, it is among the best fitting and sounding headphone of this type. My criticisms here should be taken in that light.

The spectral balance of the PX 200-IIi is quite well behaved, though moderately over-emphasizing the mid-range and having somewhat uneven highs. The bass, though slightly under-emphasized relative to the rest of the spectrum, is substantial and tight, and will satisfy those looking for articulate and weighty lows. Trouble maintaining a good seal is likely, however, and folks wanting significant bass slam may want to look for a larger circumaural (around the ear) headphone capable of compressing a bit more air.

The transition from down low through the mid-range is nicely continuous, and delivers a very natural sound for a headphone of this type. Voices posses a natural timbre and excellent intelligibility. These are excellent headphones for video and movies, and a very good headset for clear phone call reception. However, the somewhat humped-up nature of the upper-mids can have them sounding somewhat barky (think “hoot,” but somewhat higher). As the mids roll-off, I hear a moderate peak in the mid-treble slightly accentuating bow rosin and cymbals, followed by a marked roll-off in the top octave reducing a sense of air and space. The net result is a lack of depth and air, but enough energy in the highs to satisfactory balance with the bass and mids.

The dynamics of these cans are quite good, delivering eye-blinking impact when called for without becoming piercing. The dynamic punch is a bit tainted by the “bark” of the upper-mids, however. The resulting presentation remains quite satisfactory. These cans pack plenty of well-controlled punch.

Imaging on headphones is a contentious subject but die-hard headphone geeks will contend that a “headstage” does exist --- though it’s quite different from normal speaker imaging. It’s a moot point here, because the PX 200-IIi delivers little imaging or depth, imaginary or otherwise. The coherent highs needed to pull it off just aren’t there … and with this type of headphone, they very rarely are.

Bottom line: I dug my music with these cans. No, it wasn't great, but they delivered a full-bodied and well balanced sound that was remarkably satisfying.

Summing Up
The PX 200-IIi is a shining star in the category of small, sealed headphones/headsets. With its good looks, comfortable fit, terrific build quality, extraordinary compact fold-up design, and well behaved sound quality, I simply can’t think of another headphone of this type that ticks all the boxes quite so well. I can’t say I love these headphones --- they’re far too utilitarian to be the focus of my audio lusts --- but I will say I can’t do without a pair. They’re just too handy to have around. Perfect on the headboard for nighttime iPad Netflix documentaries; perfect as an easy-on-easy-off headphone for an iPhone while traveling. I bought the review pair; the only question remaining is whether I’ll end up with a box of four a decade from now. It’s not unlikely.

This one is Wall of Fame bound. Highly, highly recommended.

Here's the video! Don't forget to have a peek at the measurements

Further Reading
Sennheiser's product page for the PX 200-II and PX 200-IIi.

Hobbyist zmd's review on Head-Fi.