Koss UR29 vs. Sennheiser HD201

Presenting the Koss UR29 and the Sennheiser HD201: two mid-range headphones from two leading commercial headphone companies. These have not been reviewed individually at the Tech2.0 labs, so I shall highlight any features that might call for attention along the way.

Form Factor
The Koss UR29 is a closed back circumaural headphone and built pretty sturdily. The backs of the cans have a smooth finished aluminum surface, with the logo and some dotted design in deep grey. The rest of the body is black: thick cushioned headband, ear cushions and cord. The cord has a volume control on its length, controlled by a smooth slider switch. (This is absent in the Sennheiser, so Koss scores a point.)

The Sennheiser HD201, on the other hand, is lighter, though still sturdy. The cans have a silvery outer surface, with the silver part being smaller, bearing just a black logo. The headband says “Sennheiser” in silver, and bears a cushion too, though smaller than in the Koss.

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The two designs are not very different, nor are the ergonomics. I had no issues with the weight, comfort level, or looks of either the Sennheiser or the Koss, though the Koss feels a tad heavier on the head. Wire lengths are comfortable in the case of both.

Technical Specifications
The Koss site states there’s an anisotropic magnet for the drivers: this means the ‘magnetization’ of the driver is more concentrated and aligned in one direction. It’s coupled with a Mylar diaphragm, which I presume offers a broader frequency response and louder sound. The rated response is 18 Hz – 20 KHz, which is actually wide, but we shall test and see. The impedance is quite high at 100Ω, and the rated sensitivity is a respectable 101 dBSPL/1mW.

Sennheisers have different specs, mainly a 24Ω impedance. The impedance basically tells you what kind of devices you should use the headphones for. The lower ones work well for portable and PC outputs, which are low-level outputs. The Koss is higher, though those kinds are a bit more rugged and can be used with a variety of amplifiers and outputs. The sensitivity is a healthy 108 dBSPL/1mW. The frequency response is 21 Hz–18 KHz.

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Performance
Let’s move on to the subjective views, and this time there are quite a few of us involved in the testing, doing the A/B regime etc. I used Chesky’s pure recordings first, before moving on to multimedia sound from games and PC movies.

The first thing that struck me about the Sennheiser was its loudness through my PC soundcard, which is courtesy the low impedance. This brings in a nice sensation of being engulfed by the sound at loud levels, though prolonged exposure to such levels is better avoided.

The sound is balanced at the low frequencies, though there is not much punch at the low end. The highs and mids are more impressive, with a controlled bump in the 2-5 K region of frequency response. What does this mean? Basically, it involves a slight increase in level at high frequencies, which gives the listener a sense of clarity and ‘air’. But there’s a flip side to this: bad recordings sound too bright.

The detail in the sound is decent, so is the Dynamic range. I would not call the sound laidback, but this is typical with Sennheiser sound; it’s not in your face at all.