Sennheiser HD490

Reviewing headphones is a little like reviewing printers in a way. The final proof is in the output, and the rest is a little, well, ancillary. The average person doesn’t know, or even care, what happens under the bonnet.

I received the new Sennheiser HD490 Pro headphones yesterday, and before I tell you my thoughts, the ‘new’ Sennheiser is not the same as the ‘old’ Sennheiser. You see, the non-microphone division was sold off to a 3^rd party company a little while back, and this includes the folks that make the headphones.

They have kept the name and branding though – why would you not with the name Sennheiser has – and I can attest there has been no loss in quality. None. Zip.

Anyway, onto the headphones themselves.

The HD 490’s are an open back design and are very light. Very, very light in fact with precision engineering that allows for really good ventilation so you don’t get hot, sweaty ears.

The ergonomics are fantastic; the HD490s are primarily designed as headphones for audio mixing and production as against simply listening to your favourite Pink Floyd or Emerson Lake and Palmer album.

Indeed, they come with access to the acclaimed dearVR MIX-SE plugin from Dear Reality, which as the blurb states, “places you in the ‘sweet spot’, turning your DAW (digital audio workstation) into an ultimate mixing environment”.

It further explains that, “DearVR MIX-SE simulates the carefully designed acoustics of mixing studios, helping you ensure a balanced, consistent translation of your mix on different systems”.

You also get two sets of switchable earpads, each with a different sound signature, and yay, they are washable and easily replaceable. They are even grooved to cater for people who wear glasses (as I do).

Sennheiser has thought about the cable too, one of the pieces of the headphone puzzle that many don’t think about, and the engineers have created what is now a patented system of a coiled structure that blocks any cable born noise.

Small thing to most people but critical to an audio engineer.

Oh and you can plug the cable into either the left or right side of the HD490s.

Another techie aspect that the average person wouldn’t think of is the magnets that drive the actual sound mechanism. These are special “neodymium” magnets that Sennheiser says gives maximum efficiency and performance, allied with geometrically angled earcups to optimize the transducer placement for consistent sound.

Righto, having said all that, and it really sums up in the phrase that “all headphones are not born equal”, having dealt with audio and audio engineering since the mid-70s, I have NEVER heard a quality as pure as what the HD490s produce.

I spent a constant 3 hours with them last night in a variety of tasks from music mixing and playing back, audio editing for a video and of course simple music listening pleasure (Mike Oldfield’s Ommadawn and Yes’ Fly From Here: Return, and at the end had no fatigue, and importantly for me, only a hint of tinnitus, which I normally suffer from through the day.

(If you didn’t know and suffer from tinnitus, it doesn’t cure it – there is no cure as yet – but the effects can be minimised with decent headphones, especially noise cancelling ones).

The Sennheiser HD490s are not just headphones. They are an audio engineering triumph. Maybe that sounds gushing, but if you are in the serious audio business, give ‘em a try and I think you’ll agree.

At around AUD$749 or so, they are of course not for everyone, but as I say, if you use headphones as part of your day-to-day (or are a music aficionado), give them a try. I reckon you’ll be very impressed.

There is more info on the Sennheiser website.