Sennheiser HD 238 Precision [Review]

From Sennheiser's Precision range of headphones, we have for you today the HD 238 Precision. These are over the head supra aural headphones meant to deliver life-like stereo sound and designed to work with a wide range of devices including portable players. We ran it through its paces to see just how precise these headphones are.

Bundle

• Sennheiser HD 238 Precision
• Carry Pouch
  
  

It must be noted that the HD 238 do not come with a 6.3mm adaptor, or a flight adaptor for that matter. This means if you have to use it with a source that demand these plugs then you'll have to get your own adaptor.

Design & Construction

The HD 328 has a simple over the head supra aural design. The earpads are adjustable and have a soft foam padding that is user replaceable. The headbands also have soft leather padding on them. The speakers have a metallic black design with a silver ring surrounding a grille at the back. The open design allows for a better sound quality. However, it also results in sound leakage from the speakers.

The headphones have a 1.4m, single sided cable. The cable is thin and flexible and seems fairly strong. The headphones themselves feel sturdy but they are also very light. The design is very discreet, which means you can wear them without attracting too much attention. The cable length is ideal for using the headphones with portable devices.

Performance

The HD 238 has been optimized for use with portable devices, so I began my tests with portable players for which I used an Apple iPod Touch. I also tested the headphones with an Apple Mac Mini, a Sony Hi-Fi with audio CD as the source and then connected it to our Logitech Z-5500, which were connected to a Sony PlayStation 3 (via Optical connection) for testing the audio with Blu-ray movie and gaming audio.

I must say that I really liked the audio quality of the HD 238. Just as the name suggests, they have a very precise audio signature without any exaggeration or depression of any particular frequency range. The bass has a nice punch to it. However, don't expect an earth pounding bass response that you usually get with in-ear earphones here. The HD 238 might not go very low with the bass but I found it sufficient for most music genres.

The mids are also pretty clean and come out well. The treble was also excellent. If I had to nitpick then I would say that I sometimes found them a touch too sharp, but that was very rare and overall the HD 238 is capable of putting forward a very consistent and balanced soundstage.

The best part is that this consistency was observed with even portable audio sources. Sure the much more powerful amp of the Sony Hi-Fi helped the headphones achieve a more robust bass response, but even with the iPod Touch the sound was still superb. The HD 238 did not suffer the usual flat sound syndrome that headphones usually go though when connected to a low power device.


When using the headphones for movies and gaming they performed admirably. However, here I would have definitely appreciated a more powerful bass response. It is safe to conclude that the HD 238 is best for music playback and not so much for movies and gaming.

It must be noted that although the HD 238 can go pretty loud, they do not distort at these high volumes, though the bass can cause vibrations in the speakers. The speaker units actually flutter with the bass at high volumes thus giving your ears a nice massage. This is probably a result of the large sized diaphragm drivers that are a bit too powerful for the lightweight enclosures. Of course you have to be crazy to listen at such high volumes and if you don't then you probable won't notice this flaw.

The headphones are very light and coupled with the soft foam earpads make for a very comfortable wearing experience. Even after a couple of hours of wearing them I did not notice any fatigue. The slim, single-sided cable is good as it does not come in your way. However, the headphones may slip off your head if you were to tilt your head down.

The HD 238 is not meant to be noise-canceling headphones and due to this they allow plenty of external sound to filter in your music. The open back design leaks sound and people sitting close to can listen to the music you are playing.

Verdict

The Sennheiser HD 238 Precision is priced at Rs. 5,990 and comes with a two-year warranty. At that price I feel they are a bit expensive. This feeling is exacerbated by the lack of necessary audio adaptors in the package. However, there is no denying the excellent audio quality of these 'phones. So if you don't really need a 6.3mm adaptor and your only requirement is headphones that deliver a solid audio quality experience, then I would definitely recommend giving the HD 238 a look.