Remember when I bought some excellent $65 headphones? I’m still loving them. They compared quite favorably to $90 studio monitor headphones. But how do they compare with even less expensive over-the-ear headphones? I avoided overpaying for the $90 set, but could I have gone even cheaper?

To find out, I compared my Sony MDR-V6′s to some inexpensive–but very well reviewed–Sennheiser HD201′s.

The verdict? The Sennheisers did sound great. I recommend them for people on a budget. But I can easily tell the difference between them and my Sonys. The Sennheisers have a decent bump in the bass response, but the clarity of the mids and the crispness of the highs make my Sony’s really shine in comparison. Even wannabe audiophiles will appreciate the difference.

Summary. If you want excellent, flat-response headphones get the Sony MDR-V6 set. If you’re on a budget and still want good over-the-ear headphones, try the Sennheiser HD201 set. I see no reason to pay top dollar for the Sony MDR-7506 model, however.