Rating: 
Summary: Worth the Money
Review: I listen to a lot of different types of music, I listen to music all the time, and I use headphones a lot. So I wanted a good pair and I didn't want to pay more than 50 bucks. I did a little research and picked this pair, and I could not be more pleased. They sound great (I am by no means an audiophile, but I know when it sounds good) with all types of music. They are very comfortable and seem to be sturdy. If I had any complaint, it's that at lower volume levels, it doesn't cancel out background noise terribly well. But that is a fairly minor complaint, seeing as I usually listen to music at higher volume levels. The bottom line is that you will not find a better pair of headphones at this price that sound better. You could spend $75.00 (which I have) for headphones and not get a pair that sounds this nice. If you want high quality without the high price tag, buy this pair now.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible!
Review: I own several pairs of headphones. Some cost more than others. For example, one pair is over $150, one is around 40, and these Sennheiser ones. These out perform even the more expensive pair by incomparable measures. The bass response is perfect; deep and long, and I can hear instruments in the songs I never knew existed. They are perfect!
Rating:
Summary: Very Pleased
Review: I picked these pretty much at random awhile ago. I saw some Sennheisers on sale and decided to splurge, not knowing anything at all about headphones. These 212s are fairly comfortable. They're definitely snug but I can wear them for a few hours before they make my head sore. They don't make my ears hot or sweaty. They keep out the noise and keep in the music very well. Understand that this is my first piece of "nice" audio equipment, so take this amateur opinion with a grain of salt. For all I know, any set of $70 headphones would sound like this. That said, I am very impressed with the music quality. Everything is clearer and I feel much more "present" for the music. It moved me to upgrade the quality of my MP3s from 128Kbps because now I can hear when a cymbal doesn't crash right or when the singer is whispering under the vocal track. With the ol' $10 earbuds, I'd probably never know the difference. While everything sounds pretty good, the bass on these is a lot more *pronounced* than the other ranges. However, it's not any moreso than in my new car stereo. With both, I have to depress bass-heavy music with the equalizer. Maybe that's just how consumer audio electronics are made now. Overall, I consider this a very good purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent headphones
Review: I purchased these from Amazon a couple months back and I must admit that they are awesome. At the time I was planning to buy a portable jukebox (Nomad Jukebox 2), and was familiar with the concept of packaged headphones. Packaged headphones let you listen to music, they don't let you experience it. So after purchasing the jukebox, these headphones arrived shortly after. When I tried them for the first time I immediately noticed the nice clean sound coming from these headphones. I love Rap, R&B, Alternate, Metal, etc. I definately love bass. These headphones definately deliver on the bass. Throw in an equalizer and you'll be in bass heaven. With regards to a comfortable fit, that varies from user to user. At first they weren't very comfortable, but after continued usage they began to fell like a part of my head. lol. When I'm on campus, everyone that I let listen to music using these headphones are amazed at the sound quality. Because its a closed headphone, it blocks out most of the sound. I'm not sure how long the cord is, but its probably 9-12 feet. While this headphone is great for most music, I wouldn't recommend it for those into classical and other types of music that doesn't really use bass. It definately was made for those who want more bass in their music. When you first use these headphones the sound quality will be awesome, but I wouldn't suggest turning the music up too loud until after some hours of usage. I hooked mine up to the stereo and turned the volume up to an acceptable level and left it playing over night. The sound quality does get better. While I loved these headphones so much, I decided to give away mine. Actually, I accidentally left it in a classroom and someone took it. At least they'll be listening to some good music. Because they're so good, I just added another to my cart. As soon as I have the money I'm buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Okay for the price...
Review: I received these things on Christmas Eve at my workplace, and couldn't use them until I left. The perfect place to test and see how well they cancelled sound - Wal*Mart during the holidays - was where I proceded. The first thing I noticed is that for headphones that squeeze your head these things weren't too uncomfortable, probably wearable for a few hours without any problems. So, I proceded in with my music playing at a low volume - and thats just about all I could hear, was my music. I could hear the undertones of people talking - barely - but it wasn't enough to bother me or take my mind off of the music. It was great... walking around a store crowded with people and not hearing them :) During this time, comfort wasn't an issue. These things aren't as comfortable as, say, my Sennheiser HD 570s but they feel more comfortable than any cheap pair of headphones - especially closed ear ones. The cord is generously long - a little too long for my tastes, but too much with cord length is much better than too little - and the sound is okay, although my other two pair of Sennheisers - my HD 570's and PMX60's - seem to sound superior. The middle ranges are well produced, but at high volumes with my CD player (a Riovolt PSX100) the highs and lows were not as well pronounced. At home on my workstation the highs are there, but still not as well as with the other two pairs of headphones. The bass really isn't as advertised on the package - it doesn't hit the lows as well as the HD 570s do in a pronounced fashion, and requires an equalizer to get them. You only feel the bass at high volumes - at low volumes, it seems only a little bit better than any other pair of headphones. As these are going to be used for gaming, mid and high-ranges are more important for locating people and enemies, so it doesn't bother me much. I bought the HD 570s since I didn't think these things would be the best for music, anyway :) So my verdict? If you can, try before you buy. For music purposes, these are better than any headphone I have tried in their price range, but still mediocre in performance. They effectively block out sound even at low volumes, and people couldn't hear my music at higher volumes. For gaming they are very effective if you tend to favor a closed ear design as I do, as you wont receive much - if any - outside sound or interference and the mid and high ranges (often found in weapons and footsteps) are well pronounced enough. These aren't magical like higher-end Sennheisers where you can hear everything you couldn't hear before in music, but you can hear ALMOST everything except for the most subtle of differences, and fit the price range they are in.
Rating:
Summary: collegeguy-glued-to-my-computer
Review: I use my computer every day as often as I can. I listen to music constantly. When I'm not, I either playing a video game or watching a movie. I needed some headphones that had a good sound to price ratio. These are definitely some of the best sounding headphones I have tried in this price range. They even compete sound wise to some upper end hp's. I was told that they were super comfortable, which influenced my decision to buy them. I disagree that you could where them for 2+hours and not have redear. They were not as comfortable as I thought they were going to be. They are semi-circumaural, which means that they rest slightly on your ear. Full circumaural hp's are what are needed for true comfort. You will pay a larger price though for circumaural hp's with the quality of sound that these offer. These hd212's replace my previous sony mdr-v150s, so I moved up in comfort level, but still keep in mind these aren't hp's that you can wear forever. Sound quality is awesome though.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I was slightly skeptical upon recieving these headphones. However once I put them on and began cranking some of my favorite tunes through them, I was impressed with the quality of sound that I heard. They have a nice tight bass and good clean highs. Highly recomended.
Rating:
Summary: Finally found a pair of headphones I can keep
Review: I work on a computer all day and almost always am listening to music or online radio. So, after trying in vein to find another set of AudioPhase headphones exactly like the ones I had, I purchased a nice set of Sony's in the '$30 price range. They sounded ok and had a good cord length but after wearing them for about 10 mins my head felt like a squished tomato. I thought the headband would wear in and adjust to my head but after a few days I could tell this wasn't going to happen, those things were made for kids I think. Then I bought a nice pair of Maxwell's with advertised noise cancelling. They were also mediocre, but the cord was way to short. When you wear headphones for more than an hour, it is likely you're going to move around and you dont want them getting yanked off your head by a short cord.
Upon returning the Maxwell's I stumbled onto this brand. They were about $15 more than I had spent on either pair before, but they looked really sharp. I had never purchased a Sennheiser product before, and so I was nervous. Come to find out they make a lot of high end stuff (probably why I never heard of them before) and this is their entry level product. The guy at the store let me open them to check comfort. I put them on and instantly knew they'd be comfortable for a long time. This proved to be true and the cord is very long and more than adequate. I can wear these for up to 4 hours with only minimal discomfort seeping in at the end of that time. Then just take a little rest and you're good for the rest of the day. I've had them for about 2 months and they fit just as good and comfortable as the day I bought them.
I read several people's reviews who said 2 things that confused me.
1) These headphones have noise cancelling - They do not. Unless you count the fact that they go over your ears and 'block' the noise. They do this very well, but have no true NC features. This is not an advertised feature, so that fact should not be surprising.
2) These provide too much bass and was out other tones. - This isn't true in my opinion. I listen to a lot of music, and while I like a true bass response in a headphone, I also demand clarity. This set reproduces all ranges of sound to my satisfaction and with great clarity. Besides, you can always adjust your audio players EQ if you need to tweak the output right?
Also, the packaging says the cord is detachable and the earcups come off, but I don't see how and they do not include any diagrams to assist folks who wish to do this. I didn't really care, but if this is possible, I'd like to know how just in case. So any future reviewers that have this info, feel free to share!
I gave this 5 stars, but I realize there are better headphones out there. In this cost-category though, I don't think the 212's can be beat. All in all, a great value and I'm sure these will last for years like the Audiophase's did.
Rating: 
Summary: Bass on steroids, but comfort/balance not there for me
Review: I'm sure there are audiophiles who will love the HD-212 headphones but these are not for me. The bass is overwhelming and tends to wash out the treble and midrange. I tried comparing this set to my 8-year old Sony MDR-V404s and the Sennheisers were no match in terms of balance, smoothness and comfort. For pros, I have to admit the noise reduction capabilites are terrific. I can't hear anything from outside, even with the sound turned fairly low. The cord length is generous, and using this to watch movies never sounded better. Supposedly you can remove the cups and the cords, but that was never an area of my concern. For cons, I have several considerable complaints. One, these headphones are just not comfortable for me. The closed cup design is a tight squeeze on my ears, and I can't listen to anything for more than an hour before I start feeling burdened by the pressure. The bass, often overexaggerated on classical/pop and downright deafening on electronic/trance, starts to give me a headache before I'm done with one CD. The worst thing is how most music in my collection is not properly balanced. I have to do major tweaking with an equalizer before I can get vocals to comfortable levels. Again, midrange and treble suffered a tremendous distortion at the expense of booming lows. Granted this set was really an experiment for me; this is the first time I've tried Sennheiser and a closed cup design. Unfortunately I can't say these headphones won me over in either category. I'm returning these to Amazon and going back to looking for another Sony to replace an already proven winner.
Rating:
Summary: Great Bass, Comfortable, and great noise-cancellation
Review: I've had this pair for five days now, and I have to honestly say that these are the best pair of headphones available in the mid-range price. If you love hip-hop, strong beat music, these are the best headphones you'll find for this price, heck even for under $100. The Bass is truly amazing, you have to experience it to believe it. If you're into Pop, rock, you'll still experience excellent quality, but you might have to turn down the bass on your media player settings. All in all, these are the best all around headphones you'll find for this price. And if you love to feel your head vibrating with true deep, crisp bass, THESE ARE A MUST BUY! Both treble and bass work brilliantly at the high volumes, and pretty well at the low volumes too. You won't get fuzzy music at all. Conclusion: Crisp treble, accurate sound, incredible bass even at high volumes.
Not only are these headphones comfortable, they are light-weight too. I have big ears and a reasonably big head, and I can easily wear these for two hours non-stop without red ears, even with glasses. My sister who has a smaller head and ears loves the headphones too. Conclusion: Comfort is not an issue with these headphones.
Probably my second favourite thing about these phones (besides the sound) is the noise cancellation. These phones have made riding on the subway a divine experience. With these on, I can close my eyes, and imagine anywhere the music takes me. Furthermore, these work great at the library, especially at moderate to moderately high volumes. A person studying next to me couldn't hear a thing at 75% volume. This is great for me since I'm at college, and can blast my Third Eye Blind music without disturbing my room mate. Conclusion: Great noise-cancellation.
So if you have a budget of $40 - $100 and looking for the best headphones and/or the best value, get these. I can't emphasize this enough: these are incredible headphones. Trust me, you'll be thanking me for the next few years.
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