I have owned a pair of these for quite some time now (well over a year). I looked high and low prior to buying the Sennheiser headphones trying to find a decent sounding pair for listening to MP3s while i work. I believe the Sennheiser HD56 to be the best value vs price headphones of the their type for the price. Incredible sound Bass, midrange, and treble all very clear and precise. They sound a great deal more expensive than what they are ! I simply love mine and am now looking to buy another set for my wife to use with her new MP3 player.

I am listening to a pair of these headphones (Sennheiser 56) Connected to my MP3 Player at work as I write this. I too purchased my set to fill my need for light comfortable headphnes while working. I find them to be the absoloute best price vs performance of the headphones I've owned or tried out when looking for new headphones to purchase. I've been dissatisfied with all other brands in the price range and in my humble opinion these are a fantastic value the base, midrange, and treble are all awesome for their size and price. I would recommend these to anyone.

Isn''t it all about sound?!?! Well, the hd-56 just do that, they sound amazing!!! They have clean trebles, mid, and bass. Headphones have a "neutral" sound. Cord on one side is great.

One negative note. I had to unmount the headphones once so I could install some padding between the speakers and their mounting holes. Otherwise, at loud levels, I could hear some "grinding" noises. Since that has been fixed, hd-56 have been performing flawlessly!!! Just a tad pricey (52CDN$), still well worth it!!!

I looked a long time for comfortable headphones that could be suitable in an office environment. I first tried Sennheiser HD 433 and they were way too noisy for my office mates, even though the sound was great. I could not resolve to go with closed headphones (imagine that 8 hours a day). Best compromise I could find were old pair of Sennheiser HD-50 I found in the Paris metro subway 10 years ago. Having gone through them, I decided to get their successor, the HD-56. And boy, have I been pleased with this experience. Crisp mid-ranges, sharp trebles, and precise bass. These headphones are the most "neutral" you can find in the 30-50$ price range. They do not colour the sound like Kosses do, and they are way more precise than anything Sony have in this range. One has to consider that these headphones have high impedance (100 ohms), so they need a bit more juice to provide loud music than say, 32 ohms for koss ur-20. I have another pair of portable headphones to buy sometime soon for my cd-mp3 player, and after having heard Sony''s mdr-v150 and 300 (ultra crap), koss td-61,65 and ur-20 (ok but too colorful), and some pathetic Jensen and Panasonic stuff, I think I am going to stick with another pair of HD-56!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-540, HD-433, HD-50 Sony MDR-V900 Koss TD-65

Comfort(!), single-side cord, good overall sound

Muted highs, short, very flimsy cord

Like another reviewer here, I needed something for work that would be comfortable for hours, sound good, and be unobtrusive. Super-aural (around the ear) would have done too good a job at reducing outside noise, so I wanted supra-aural (on top of the ear).

While I periodically have to take them off (if nothing else for bathroom and coffee breaks), they're the most comfortable out of the 7 or 8 that I tried. Add to that a good overall sound and only $15 "refurb" at Sennheiser's site made them the cheapest of all the models I tried.

I gotta deduct 1/2 star for the cord and 1/2 star for the muted highs, but recommended and a terrific value (and they're NOT made in China).

System: PC with sound card
Source: Streaming audio, MP3s, CDs

Similar Products Used:

All kinds of Sony ($20 - $100), $50 Denon

Lovely midrange, confortable to wear, excellent considering small size.

Cord to short.

I bought these for a small Sony AM/FM tuner walkman - which as you would expect was bundled with some nasty 'bud' earphones. The Sennheiser HD56 (which cost more than the Sony Tuner Walkman....) turn a cheap 'tannie' into a real delight to use. It gives the tuners 'flat' output nice bass and plenty of sweet midrange. Could be be possible to really enjoy HI-FI sound from a complete source/output package costing less than $60(US) or was I paid $100 Australian dollars - I say YES!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Koss etc.

I bought these headphones to fill a specific need: I want to listen to music at work, but I work in an office where I can't listen to music in my cube on speakers and can't wear headphones that either cut off the outside world or that look like they will (translation: non-enclosed walkman headphones only). I dropped by my local shop, and tried out this least-expensive series from Sennheiser (actually, the ear-bud style may be cheaper, but I find them unwearable).
For my office environment, these are just what the doctor ordered: subtle gray-on-gray color with very plain styling, a cord short enough that it doesn't get in the way (trade-off: I have to pause the disc and take them off if I'm doing anything but typing at my computer, but extension cords are cheap).

For what they are, they put out decent sound. They're obviously not HD600's, but cost less than 1/10th the price. The bass isn't stunning (and given the limitations of the design, it couldn't be), but it's the best I've heard in this type of design, and the midrange and treble is well defined and make Sony's offerings sound harsh and tinny by comparison.

Also important in the work environment is the chance that they'll get stolen out of my desk. Even though the HD56 model is the most expensive of its series (the other Sennheiser walkman styles are $15 and $22 respectively), the thirty-dollar price means they can be replaced without breaking the bank.

Five speakers are well deserved for great sound, given the constraints of size and and price.

I saw the reveiw below, and it reminded me that I have a pair of these! I wanted good sound, but I too needed a small walkman-style design and ear buds just won't do. I've trusted the Sennheiser name ever since buying a pair of HD 455's about 2 years ago and being very satisfied with them.The HD56's sound much better than any other earphone with this type of design (Sony, Koss ...). They're a bit more comfortable than thier competitors too, but not nearly as comfy as Sennheiser's more expensive models. The bass is good enough, but the midrange precision is where these stand-out against thier competitors. Great sound for such little earphones.
I paid about $40 Cnd. for my attractive HD56's which I think is a little much considering that a nicer (but larger) pair of Grado's or Koss' could have been purchased for a few bucks more. But I did need the small walkman-style design, and this is the best there is. Even so, I'll rate these only 4 stars for the premium you have to pay (around here at least). I highly reccommend these to anyone who wants a small, convienient and great sounding portable headphone.

Later!
mike s
v7q2@unb.ca

I reviewed these headphones in January (below) but I absolutely must put another note here. Last week the cord of my loyal 2.5 y/o Sennheiser HD 455's was chewed through by our cat. I can't get a new cord right away, so I've been using my brother's Sony MDR-P10's (see my reviews of those two). The Sony's are an awfull attempt at full-sized closed headphones. Even still I thought they'd be giving me better sound than my small HD-56's (which I hardly ever use at all since my Sony walkman broke, again). Just for fun tonight I dug out the HD-56's to use, because the Sony's were killing my head (FAR too tight, oddly shaped). I honestly wasn't expecting an *improvement* in sound!!!
The Sony's lack everything - low bass is absent, mid bass is exagerrated, vocals seem distant and muted, highs and mids have no life to them - flat. To get any sort of realistic sound from them I have to use the tone controls a lot.
The Sennheiser HD -56's are too small to have great bass extention, but they do manage pretty well and seem to actually go lower than the big Sony's (albeit, not with much authority). Some bass tones might distort a tiny bit at higher levels though. These do not sound good when the tone controls are used (I think that's a good thing) - they're at thier best with bass and treble set flat. But the HD-56's take the cake with the rest of the freq. range! Voices are FAR more natural and inviting, highs are much more clear and precise. Oh! And they're much much much much much much more comfortable than the Sony's! I couldn't wear them for half a day and not notice, like the HD 455's, but a few hours isn't a problem.
Giving that the HD-56's outperformed a larger and more expensive (though not by much) pair of newer Sony's I'm going to have to upgrade my rating to 5 stars!
These are the PERFECT small headphones. You do have to pay a bit more for them, but it's more than worth it!
Later!
mike s
v7q2@unb.ca

Comfortable, very good value

Trebbles are a little "metallic"

Very comfortable, small, practical.
I use it with my Philips CD "walkman" player every day. Much more comfortable than the little earphones that come with the CD player.
The sound is somehow "metallic", but improves a lot when I press the earphones to my ears a little.

I bought them 24 euros in Paris.

YC

Similar Products Used:

Philips, Aiwa