Product Description
These high performance headsets feature premium metallic components and exchangeable earpads for superior performance.

Product Features
    * Advanced acoustic system with powerful neodymium magnets and lightweight diaphrams for lifelike stereo sound experience.
    * Sleek black/metallic finish
    * Premium metallic compnents and exchangeable earpads for superior performance and durability
    * Carrying pouch included for easy storage and protection
    * Optimised for iPod, iPhone, MP3 and CD players

Technical Details
    * Model: HD238
    * Product Type: Headphones
    * Transducer principle: Dynamic, open
    * Frequency response: 16 23000 Hz
    * Impedance: 32
    * THD: 0.5 1kHz100dB
    * Sound pressure level 1 kHz 1Vrms: 114 dB 1kHz1Vrms
    * Cable length: 1.4 m single-sided OFC cable
    * Connector: 3.5 mm straight plug
    * Dimensions of individual pack W x H x D: 200 x 53 x 189 mm
    * Dimensions of multi-pack W x H x D: 445 x 427 x 270 mm
    * Weight: 0.63 lbs 286 g

Specifications
    * Frequency response:16 - 23,000 Hz
    * Sound pressure level (SPL): 114 dB
    * Transducer principle: Dynamic, open
    * Ear coupling: On-the-ear
    * Impedance: 32 ohms
    * Total harmonic distortion (THD): <0.5 percent
    * Connector: 1/8-inch (3.5mm)
    * Cable length: 4.5 feet

Customer Review

By
A. Yen "cellist"(MA, USA)
Killer performance: open earpad phones, December 20, 2009

If you're like me and lots of other people who are used to bargain-bin phones or those little white iEarBuds, I guarantee you've never worn headphones this comfortable and good-sounding at the $100 and under price-point. These are open supra-aural (on-ear), meaning a few things:

1. The earpads fit on the ear rather than around. These are nice cushy pads and are incredibly comfortable even for long listens.

2. The back of the phones aren't closed, so at high volumes you get outward sound leakage, and at low volumes you can hear a lot of what goes on around you.

If you want highly accurate listening at low-to-mid volume in quiet environments, where outside noise is unlikely to be an issue, then this is the right format phone for you! I find myself constantly wearing these while studying at a library, where there's no reason to be pumping my volume to leakage-level anyway. I've never been able to listen to these phones at a high enough volume to cause distortion so I am willing to bet this isn't an issue.

Now let's talk about sound quality. These phones will BLOW AWAY whatever came with your portable listening device. The sound may be a little "smaller" than a full-sized earphone. That being said, the open-air design means that the sound much more approaches listening to live instruments in a room than having a pair of tiny speakers posted by your ears. These headphones produce such realistic sound and are so comfortable it's easy to forget you're in your bedroom and not in Symphony Hall.

Compared to cheaper headphones, the HD 238s are surprisingly transparent, natural-sounding phones, with clear bass response that never booms, clarity in the mids, and crisp highs. Due to their good sound and open design, these earphones never sound boomy or tinny and never have problems with strange echos that plague cheap closed phones. I would describe the sound as balanced, relaxed (never overly sparkly or punchy), and accurate.

Highly recommended. Best applications: Portable device listening in quiet environments. Also work pretty well for mixing recordings in a quiet location. Don't bother if: You listen in noisy environments like airplanes or you are a DJ.

By
Bernard L. Mathews "Palsgraff"(Houston)
Robust and comfortable, April 21, 2010
 
Having amassed quite a collection of headphones, I find this is my current favorite. To give you a context, I currently own in the Sennheiser line the HD202, HD212, HD280, HD555, HD570, HD580 and PX100. I also have the Grado SR60, Koss Portapro and a variety of "in ear" phones from Koss, Sennheiser and Etymotic. It is a strange obsession, and I would consider myself a headphonophile if I had any true sense of what distinguishes good from average. Let me just state that my criterian is what pleases me, and I suggest that be true of you as well.

When using a portable MP3 player I am interested in a little bit of sock, added to clarity. Before, oddly, this was most present with the cheapest of the Sennheiser line, the HD202, which I still think is an excellent set of headphones at an unbelievably low price. To me the HD238 is similar in its sonic qualities (surely a little better), but is oh so comfortable. They are lighweight and highly portable. They fit into the supplied pouch without any wrestling, and seemed to me to be at top performance without any lengthy "burn in".

For serious listening, I would probably go with my HD555 and an in line portable amp. However, for casual listening, it would be hard to beat the HD238s. they play robustly without amplification from an iPod, or similar device, and probably cover up some of the deficiencies with compressed music. I am quite pleased.

I have only one complaint so far. The stitching on one of the earphones has begun to fail, exposing some of the interior foam. This happened after a week of careful use inside the home. It does not affect performance of the phones, however.

---