The Ultrasone HFI-2200 headphones are a home theater option currently available for $300. Though they don't have an outrageous aesthetic, their brown and orange coloration is quite a departure from the typical blacks, whites, and grays of today's headphones. In addition to the unconventional colors, the HFI-2200s have two interesting features. The first is a nearly 15 foot-long cord, which will most likely be overkill. Unless your system is set up in an amphitheater, you won't have any issues with the cord falling short. The HFI-2200 headphones also have the ability to fold up into themselves. While condensing the headphones makes them slightly more portable, the feature is probably best used by DJs who like to mix with one ear.
Performance (read the full lab performance results at HeadphoneInfo.com)
Our lab tests discovered audio quality wasn't the HFI-2200s' strong suit. Even an inexperienced ear can tell they sound overly boomy. We verified this with our tests: the bass was a bit loud and showed a significant amount of distortion. Vocal sibilance and the attack (initial sound) of some drums will be very underemphasized. While these headphones didn't block out external noise very well and tended to leak your own playback into your surroundings, in the home theater environment neither of these shortcomings should be an issue.
Comparisons (read more in-depth comparisons at HeadphoneInfo.com)
Really, the HFI-2200 headphones aren't a bad buy for $100 or less. Unfortunately, they cost $300, which causes them to compare unfavorably to many other headphones out there. If you're looking for a set of home theater headphones, the Sennheiser HD 555s are a great option at $180, and have far better audio quality. If you were looking for good over-ears with versatility, your $300 could buy you a pair of Bose QuietComfort 2s or 3s. Both of these headphones have better audio quality, active noise cancellation, and are far more comfortable.
