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Today's Bonus:
- Professional-style hi-fi stereo headphones for DJs and other music specialists
- Dynamic, open circular design enhances trebles and mid-range frequencies
- Ultra-lightweight, rugged housing delivers comfortable, extended listening
- Replaceable cable and leatherette ear pads for extended service life
- 10-foot highly conductive OFC copper cable; 2-year warranty
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These are great headphones. They reproduce sound very naturally and have an extremely flat frequency response found typically in headphones costing far more money. The best part of these headphones is that they are very easy to drive at only 32 ohms. That means you can plug them into your portable and achieve blistering sound pressure levels. These headphones are articulate and a pleasure to own. The open air design allows the music to extend beyond the cans and expands the music, granted not as well as Sennheiser's high end phones like the hd-600 or 650's.The headphones are easily adjustable and comfortable for more than an couple of hours. They feature replaceable pads and wires which is a great advantage.
Who should buy these headphones:
-People who want faithful music reproduction that extends from low bass to high treble.
-People who listen to clasical and jazz music (although I love them for all my music listening)
-Audiophiles on a budget and who don't want to buy the headphone amp to power their HD-600's on a portable device.
Who shouldn't buy them:
-People who want that extra crazy bass boom for their rap, dance,etc.
-Here's a tip if you want the same great performance with the extra bass boom go for the 212pro model or the better sounding EH250 model.
Buy Sennheiser EH 350 Professional Open-Aire Dynamic HiFi Stereo Headphones Now
I studied the headphone specs and reviews until my eyes watered and I'm quite happy to have settled on these.FORM Nice, simple physical design. Replaceable cable and ear cups are nice features, 10' straight cable is longer than necessary for most uses, and the 1/8" connector with obligatory 1/4" adapter is the way to go unless you are working from extremely high end source equipment, in which case, you're probably not reading this review.
FIT As of the time of this review the Sennheiser website lists these headphones as "circumaural" (around the ears) in the 'Features' section but on the 'Technical Specs' page they list them as "Supra-aural" (on the ears). No wonder people are confused. In reality, the way the ear cups fit will depend primarily on the size of your ears. On my reasonably average sized 40-year old ears, they are circumaural, but barely. Unfortunately fit is a critical aspect of headphones it doesn't matter how good they sound if you can't stand to have them on your head. Obviously this is an inherent risk in on-line buying, so just be aware that the ear cups on this model are definitely on the small side of the circumaural offerings. That said, they fit me (and many others based on reviewer comments) just perfect. They do keep my ears warm but not nearly to the point of sweating thanks to the "open-aire" design. Note also that the cups only adjust up and down so if you've got a really giant noggin (to house your enormous brain) they may be on the tight side. For me, they're just tight enough to be snug. I'd have to be doing some serious head-banging to shake these things loose. These are also VERY light so that helps quite a lot in the comfort department.
FUNCTION I have to say these were just a little harsh sounding initially but they seemed to smooth out after a couple of hours of use. I suppose this improvement is due to the initial speaker break-in. Now they are quite nice warm, full, and entirely pleasant. The bottom line is that these headphones sound great nice separation, tight crisp bass, plenty of high end detail, etc, blah, blah... essentially, everything you would expect. Just keep in mind, they are marketed as suitable for "monitoring" applications. This means that they are designed to deliver an absolutely flat, accurate representation of the source signal. I don't have the equipment necessary to measure this level of accuracy, but that's how they sound to me exactly like the original recording was meant to sound, with plenty of highs and lows and no unnatural boost on either end. The open back design won't block much ambient sound, but as others have mentioned, there are benefits to open 'phones in terms of overall sound quality. In terms of source, I've been getting acquainted with these headphones by way of a variety of music on CD (Bill Frisell, Godsmack, Stone Sour, Robert Earl Keen, 'Maiden, Willie) played by Windows Media Player on an IBM T42 laptop with a standard issue SoundMax integrated soundcard. Just a side note on source, if you're shopping for higher end headphones, consider the quality of your source format. Nicer headphones may make mp3 files sound better but they will also highlight any shortcomings in the compressed format.
IN SHORT: Well, they are Sennheisers after all, and those folks know a thing or two about headphones. If these are comfortable on your ears and you're anything short of a full-blown audiophile, you'll definitely like them. I won't say they sound great "for the price" because at well under $100, they actually sound great despite the price. Of course if money is no object then you can surely do better, but I don't think you can do worlds better unless you are starting with high end source equipment. For most of us listening to good quality recordings in lossless formats on portable cd players, laptops, and the like, the eH350's are more than adequate, they're perfect.
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i was in the market for a portable, lightweight, enclosed and cheap headphone when my steady but old senn 540 II reference went dead.the eh-350 is very lightweight and surprisingly comfortable (after about 15 minutes i completely forgot i had them on) and comes with a 10ft. cable just long enough to feel less contrained...
for the money, this has to be one, if not the best, of the best sounding headphone in the market. my girlfriend uses a sony can that pushes a lot of bass but feels uncomfortable to the ears after 30 minutes. a friend uses the grado series but those are quite more costly and sound "cold" and leaning towards the high frequencies, to my ears... the grado may be better suited for metal or hard rock...
the eh-350 on initial listening sounded a bit dull or flat but after breaking it in, for about 10 hrs., the headphone drivers blossom and it opens up a warm, almost velvety range of sound, though not as expansive as the hd-600 i use for home listening. if you listen to mostly vocal, adult contemporary or acoustic music in certain rock genre, classical, jazz and folk this headphone is the way to go.
oh, did i mention how lighweight and comfy these gems are?
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Well, it took me a week of researching customer and tech reviews, but I finally settled on the Sennheiser EH 350s and I have been exceptionally happy with my choice.The primary point of purchasing new headphones is because I play a bass guitar and I wanted a pair in order to hear the nuances of the music I am playing. Also, I own a couple MP3 players and I wanted some headphones to use with them as well.
The first pair I bought, just willy-nilly really, was the Skullcandy Skullcrusher "subwoofer" headphones. Big mistake, it was the worst $45 I ever spent. Their mids and highs were lackluster, and the so-called "bass" was really just vibration with little really true bass frequency. Sure I could "feel" the vibration of the bass, but it was impossible to pick out individual notes because it drowned everything out. Then my dog chewed them up because he was disgusted as I was, and although I share his enthusiasm I was sad to see I couldn't return them :)
Anyway, the EH 350 is like night and day with the Skullcandy's. The Sennheiser's really try to reproduce the original studio sound, hence why they are called monitor headphones, and they do an excellent job of it. The sound is flat, as the sound is not artificially boosted, which also means that music that comes out of it will sound slightly quiet. But I found that if I just jack up the volume on my preamp or mp3 player the sound comes out strong and loud. I use a 30GB Zune, and it has plenty of power to blast out a sound that is just tolerable at highest volume. This is good because some headphones out there have troubles producing a good volume with mobile devices. Now onto the sound quality.
The mids and especially the highs are very well defined with these headphones. They shine through with exceptional quality and precision, and although the highs are a bit stronger they actually balance well with each other. The highs were a little too high upon first purchase, but after a couple days it mellowed out nicely without losing any of the previous power. After only a two hour burn in, you will notice an appreciable improvement in sound quality. I am excited to think how these will feel a month from now.
Of course, I really bought them for the bass. Upon first purchase the bass was a little too quiet for me, or perhaps it might be better to say that the highs drowned it out too much. Actually I think it was a mix of both, but now that a few days have passed the bass has become excellent. Some reviews listed this product had a bass that was slightly too quiet. The fact is, that is how bass usually sounds in the studio. The key with bass is that you train your ear to hear it, rather then just try to buy headphones that artificially boost the bass. If you want to hear a tight, true bass sound that has the power to blow your mind away, go out and buy a pair of $1000 dollar monitor speakers and feel the love. Otherwise, you wont be able to beat the well balanced richness of the EH 350's bass.
The end effect? Although the sound of monitor headphones can tend to be flat, the EH 350 sound comes out exceptionally well balanced. Although I couldn't call them "golden with richness", they will however produce a sound that is so accurate to original studio that you will pick up hidden nuances and stylizations that you will have never heard before. With these headphones, you can hear each of the individual instruments and voices of your favorite music instead of them all muddled together like other headphones who might sound more rich. I would highly recommend these headphones to any musicians who are looking for monitor headphones on a budget but who don't want to sacrifice sound quality. I also recommend these headphones to anyone who has ever wanted to play an instrument or sing, these headphones make it easy to tune your ear to individual instruments and puts forth and incredibly accurate note and pitch.
Note however that the EH 350s, like most monitor headphones, are open ear. That means that sound is allowed to pass freely out of the headphones. This allows the sound to extend past the headphones and makes it so that the shape of the headphone cup does not distort the sound like a lot of closed-ear headphones will do, and it has the additional benefit of keeping airflow within the cups, so your ears never sweat or become uncomfortable. On the other hand, although the EH 350s are pretty good at keeping at least moderate noise levels out, other people around will be able to hear what you are listening, especially in quiet or small quarters. These might not be the best headphones for you if you are wanting to take them on the bus or be in crowds. Some headphones are large and noticeable. I have noticed that the Sennheiser's are small and stylish enough to at least go largely unnoticed, but I wouldn't call them attractive.
But how do they fit? It is true that Sennheiser's are slightly tight as many reviewers have stated. But this is how they are designed. I am a male with a reasonably sized head. I wont say I have the biggest head out there, but I have been known to have a sizeable noggin. Although the EH 350s sit tight, they do not sit uncomfortably so. In fact, the tight fit is actually a necessity to the open ear system of the headphones and improves sound quality, and as I stated previously this makes them able to reasonably block out moderate external sounds without losing the benefit of open ear headphones. They also are slightly too bulky to take jogging and undoubtably would be uncomfortable if you took them running with you.
One other point before I move on, the cups on these headphones are slightly small. I would say I have slightly smaller then average sized ears for a man and they go around my ear and sit on my skull, but people with large ears might find the cushions lying on the ears instead of around them. It is also very important to note that the leather cushion on the top of the headphones should rest firmly upon the top of your head as to hold some of the weight. If you over adjust these headphones the weight will fall on the cups and your ears will begin to rest on the hard plastic within. After about an hour, this will cause discomfort. This is, of course, easily alleviated by simply properly adjusting them to fit your head.
What about value? At prices well under $100 dollars, these headphones are easily worth twice their price. I don't think any headphones at any price will be able to beat the 350s precision. You will have to begin looking at the $200 dollar price range if you want headphones that will have the precision of the 350s and have a more full bodied richness. I hear the 595s might be what your looking for if you have dough to spend.
Overall, the Sennheiser EH 350s get a five star, 9 out of 10. With a perfect balance of precision and value, you can't beat these headphones if you have less then a hundred dollars to spend.
Oh, and thankfully, my dog has decided to spare these headphones... for now...
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