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Author Topic: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods  (Read 3284 times)

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ultrabike

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HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« on: May 06, 2013, 10:14:02 AM »

These headphones have been with me for a few years now. I bought them mainly as a cheap way to watch movies through our receiver without waking up the kids. Bought them mainly based on reviews from Amazon.

Impressions

The HD202 is a good example of a basshead headphone. It is also fairly dark, but very easy to follow movie dialog through it, and with many songs very likable. Being a bass heavy can makes explosions and stuff fun. This is definitively not a high-fi can, but for $20 something bucks it probably shouldn't be. TBH, I like this headphone for what it is.

The headphone feels cheaply made. It rest and exerts pressure on the ears. Over time it can be a little painful to wear, so comfort is not one of it's strengths.

There is however one thing that might make these headphones interesting to some. It is relatively straight forward to mod in order to tune it's bass response.

Below are some measurements of the stock headphone, and some FR overlay plots of the modded HD202 (2 different tunings) vs stock.

Please note that I do not consider my measurements authoritative in any way, and I'm fully aware that much more experienced folks such as Marv and Tyll probably will be able to provide more accurate results. The plots provided however do correlate with what I hear. If Marv is interested in measuring them I have no problem sending them his way.

The Mod

After removing the pads and the driver, the cup reveals a very small hole/vent around the center. Upon closer examination, the center of the cup (where the hole is located) is actually a soft plastic circle glued to the hard plastic cup. Covering the small hole with any material will have the effect of erasing the bass of the HD202 from existence. Partially and carefully covering it tunes the bass.

My preference with this can ended up with having in a little of a bass hump, but somewhat less than what the stock headphone provides. This also has the effect of filling and flattening the mids. I believe it is possible to tune this headphone to almost flat response from around 40Hz to 2kHz.
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firev1

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2013, 12:44:35 PM »

Is it just me, or is that decay surprisingly clean above 2khz? Looks good for 18 bucks.
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ultrabike

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2013, 04:11:14 PM »

There seems to be a little bit of ringing going on at 10 kHz (AKA Lower Treble Razor of Death) which also afflicts the AH-D7000 around 9 kHz and other phones. There might be some sibilance with some music. The bass of these cans might mask the problem to some extent.

EDIT: Added CSD that better shows the 10 kHz ringing due to a narrow phase discontinuity (perhaps a standing wave).

EDIT2: I definitively agree with FirevUno that these are fairly nice for $18. I still like the KSC-75s a little better in terms of sound, but being a closed design the HD202 offer very good isolation. Another thing I found somewhat interesting is that the distortion (in the bass region) in these seems dominated by 3rd harmonics, while the KSC-75 is mostly 2nd harmonics. The HD558/598 seems to be dominated by a combination of both 2nd and 3rd harmonics. Either way, harmonic distortion is no good tho.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 06:08:11 PM by ultrabike »
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sachu

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2013, 05:32:15 PM »

nice.. i wonder how different the HD201s are from the 202.. thinking not much..if any at all.

Using the 201s at work driven with a Liquid Fire. SOunds pretty darn decent for the 13$ I paid for it given its closed. Can't use my KSC 75s at work.
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ultrabike

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2013, 05:53:05 PM »

Dunno fo-sho, but based on HeadRoom's plots the HD201 seem to have a less bass. If I seal the little port inside the cups of the 202s I think I get something relatively close to what HeadRoom shows for the 201s...
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donunus

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2013, 03:28:02 AM »

nice.. i wonder how different the HD201s are from the 202.. thinking not much..if any at all.

Using the 201s at work driven with a Liquid Fire. SOunds pretty darn decent for the 13$ I paid for it given its closed. Can't use my KSC 75s at work.

The hd201 and 202 are very different. The hd201 strives for a more neutral sound while the 202 is muuuch bassier. I prefer the 201 if connected to a good amp but for just plugging in anywhere, the 202 wins for me. The hd280pro is a perfection of the signature of these two cans combined.
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Sforza

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2013, 06:05:54 AM »

I like the 201, except for the really steep bass roll off. I like the 202 as well, but wish it had less ringing. It's great for the price though!
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RexAeterna

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2014, 05:40:38 AM »

these were my first pair of over ears as well but i paid retail for 70 bucks at the time at best buy. was looking for something to use with my computer and consoles for night time use. i felt they sounded good when i first got them and actually liked them. they didn't sound too dark to me and liked them. they did have fun bass and defiantly killed my ears after certain time with their ridiculous clamping force they had they were good headphones even considering the 70 bucks i paid for.

i noticed sibilance with the 202 as well but with certain tracks but wasn't too bad too me. never sounded as bad as the disappointed 240 studios inner foams removed stabbing your ears.
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ultrabike

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2014, 06:09:33 AM »

This is indeed a classic IMO. I got lucky with the price. Good memories.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2014, 07:21:29 AM by ultrabike »
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Drakkard

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Re: HD202 Impressions, Measurements and Mods
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2014, 08:28:39 AM »

Ahh, my first worthwhile headphones. Bought them for about $33 at a time.
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