I bought this 2 weeks ago with 175 $ open box. In Romania, where are made. I like them very much with black pads, I Have also sundara and hexa…for me this 3 headphones are all I need. What a can say is that sound is subjective…give them a tray before dismiss them.
I walked into a local audio shop to try and buy this. Got distracted by a pair of fiio ft1. I walked away with the fiio instead. It was rather noisy in the shop and I wasn't wow'ed right away by the h490 pro. The fiio's look caught me off guard, and it sounds quite good for the money and for a close back in general. Would love your review on it as well. I have been using iems for the past two years. EM6L, EA500LM, Davinci, Supermix 4, Medusa.
Thank you for your review, I was honestly not expecting much from the HD490 Pro and you just confirmed it. The HD600/650/6XX can't be replaced by anything for the price they are offered at, and still remain the headphone legends.
Muddy bass and recessed vocals? No. I got these last night. You're absolutely wrong about both. The vocals are forward, and the bass is decent but lacks oomf. I immediately stopped the video when you spouted this nonsense.
HD600 is still the king. All they have to do is update hd600 to have some more sub bass. Closest thing we have is hd660s2. Which I think people are a bit harsh on and surprisingly underrated.
I know this doesn’t have anything to do with this headphone but why are iems wiping the floor with over ear headphones and closed backs when it comes to clarity? I’m finding cheaper iems sound significantly more detailed for the same price.
Because they don't interact with the pinna and hrtf as much, they're also a much more minimum phase device which allows for smoother treble reproduction, the overall tonality still needs worked on for most iems. But it's getting there
@@CammyFi ive preferred IEM's for awhile now as i have found in the past that i used to get frequent ear infections when wearing over ear earphones as my ears always stayed way too warm but even with that being the case, i was considering buying some reasonably high-end earphones for the sake of much improved sound compared with my current Sennheiser IE600 and Meze Audio Rai Penta IEM's. The comfort of the IE600's are seriously comfortable but they have connection issues with the cables and the Rai Penta sound better but both lack bass to me. Assuming the same value, say $1,000 USD, are IEM's generally better than similarly priced overear earphones?
Hi,ThanX! To remove nasality even on mixing pads. Just lift the headphones up a few centimeters or place something under the rim. Perhaps it’s the characteristics of my hearing or the shape of my head :) This effect is clearly observed on the tracks of Brian Johnson's collection “Brian Johnson & Geordie - Keep On Rocking”.
Note about the MIX SE software these headphones come with, I tested it for about 4 hours and honestly it's not impressive, localisation somehow seemed worse and the headphone compensation seemed to be detrimental to the sound... I personally wouldn't use gimmicks like this for professional work. Use it more as a fun toy.
Maybe it'd be cool if they included a small USB gyroscope. You can clip onto the headphones, but no, to do any of that you need to wear a full blown VR Headset. Imagine rocking up to the studio with one of those..
have you heard DT 900 Pro X? how does it compare? (that is what I am using and like them, though I had wondered about these and the sony MV-1 and Ollo headphones, too). That said, I think that mixing/mastering headphones should be reviewed for their intended purpose
I agree! But a lot of interest was put forward from the audiophile community also for these, which is what this channel is about and somewhat tailored to. So I kept it short and to the point (although I do work professionally). I've had a pair of DT900 Pro X and DT700 Pro X, and I only kept one, which is the DT700 Pro X, because of its absolutely amazing passive isolation. However, I feel like as an overall product, the DT900 Pro X compared to the 490 Pros feels a little more refined, it had a nice boost to the upper treble (Analytical illusion of more detail) yet not as abrasive as the DT990 and the bass extension is almost perfectly linear. The response overall is pretty decent apart from a 4k dip. However, a common thing I noticed between the 490 Pro and DT900 Pro X is the kind of limpness and compression to the bass and overall sound. Which was understandable for the beyer as it had a quite thick layer of damping over the front baffle. But I'm not sure with the sennys what causes that.
@@CammyFi Is the limpness and compression in the bass in the DT 700 too? (Same driver) It might be that 900 is open-back, with a more linear bass, rather than a bass hump and lower mid dip.
@msd5808 Yes! The DT700 Pro X also has this. But it's more acceptable and forgivable as they're a closed back with also pretty acceptable tuning, which is hard to come by, really, especially with this build and level of isolation.
I think you got a lemon. I have been A B ing these against my 560s. 490 dig dipper in the low end with no muddy mid bass and seperior seperation/imaging over the 560s. What is the source you use for driving these 490 pros (i.e. Dac/Amp)?
I was expecting there to be some step up in sonic performance from 600 series. On the sidenote 490, 560s or 900 pro x purely for detail retrieval and suckh?
Detail isn't really quantifiable anyway, however I do think the presentation of the 490 Pro and to an extent the 560s and DT900 Pro X is really smoothed over
Anyway makes no sense since Neumann is owned (at least 50%) by Sennheiser Pro. Both have also differenr targets, the Neumann NDH-30 were designed to exactly sound like their monitors. Overall I think the review is fair but I see it also too negative. The 490 Pro are worse than the 600 for the reasons mentioned in that video. But definetly a huge upgrade to the 560S. At that point I absolutely disagree
You gotta factor in the price difference. The 490 Pro's are a little over double the price of the HD560S, yet only slightly better in some minor regards. I'm not the type to actively make up positive things to sweeten or sugarcoat things, I like to just put it how I see it.
@@bastianschuler2408 I had this headphone for a week and irs absolutely not worth the price, on my head it was also way too bright, hd560s isnpeaky in the treble but it is overall just a better headphone than the 490, hd560s just sounds more normal, hd600 is quite a lot better than this new 490
I believe it's unfair to compare the current prices to the discounted prices of older models. However, as I mentioned, there's a significant difference for me between 560 and 490, though the difference is less pronounced when comparing it to 600. It took me only a few minutes to make a decision regarding the 560S, but I spent hours listening and comparing it to the 600 before concluding, as you mentioned, that the timbre and overall performance of the 600 are superior. Nonetheless, I recognize the 490's advantage for mixing purposes, as advertised, in "finding the blind spots." I think your critique of the 490 is overly negative, and it would be beneficial to highlight specific songs for comparison to substantiate your points, as I believe you're making a valid argument but are too harsh in your judgment.
Well, ime the HD600 (new version/SS) tends to be a bit too shouty/fatiguing and lacks sub-bass extension for most of my music library. The comfort and the fact that pad wear changes the sound too much are aspects that I find really annoying. Can't you make the 490 Pro sing with a little EQ to follow the Harman 2018 or 5128 DF 10dB tilt? The tuning is almost there anyway. I know a lot of people who buy the HD800s and HD560s to use them as an EQ platform but the 560s comfort is also not good for my head shape. Would you recommend the 490 Pro if I'm willing to EQ and want an overall upgrade in comfort compared to the HD600?
@subbybass1432 It supports the top of your head better and also takes a bit of stress off the pads, I've been using one for about a year, and it's absolutely life changing.
Nice relaxing review. I'm curious if you tried the Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R as I own one, I like their fun bassy sound, but the comfort for my long gaming/youtube marathons is just isn't there, they are simply aren't deep enough. If you did, could you please give a quick comparison between the two in terms of sound? Thanks again.
Sennheiser hasn't made anything truly superior to HD600 and I think we shouldn't expect them to. Good remains good. They still could improve price to performance etc instead of the opposite. Maybe they're manufacturing costs are no longer tenable to compete.
Soundstage isn't really a priority I set for headphones however the 490 Pros with either pads sounds slightly wider than HD600 and comparable to the 560s. It does also heavily depend on your own HRTF. So you should really try them yourself to figure this out.
HD600, The HD660S2 has some irregularities and quirks somewhat unsuitable for this purpose. However, you could just keep the hd560s if it's working out okay for you
Great review :-) Kinda dissapointing :/ Already the usage of the HD560S driver would be a huge a downer at this price... Well good I watched your review, definitively would be a waste of money for me. A bit strange though, that even after they separated the consumer department, both keep creating kinda meh products in their respective fields.
What do you think about the HD660s2? Not for professional use but for music enjoyment and gaming. And how do these compare to those? Because some people also hate the HD660s2. I think it's a preference thing. I bought them a few months ago for 200$ off, and liked them a lot but returned recently since the HD490 Pro released and the return window was closing. I can still get them in the next discount if I buy and do not like the HD490 Pro. What attracted me was the new design after 20+ years, one sided cable, headband, swivel, etc. And I really like bass (although it is very decent in HD660s2 as well). Both are good for gaming with good imaging, which I heard is not good with HD600 or HD650/HD6XX. (HD660s2 is the only audiophile headphone I used btw, but I did a crazy amount of audiophile research (reviews, sound demos, graphs, technical stuff, etc.) for weeks before buying)
please calm down the 490pro and hd660s2 are absolutely bad for gaming. very intimate soundstage and very dull sounding, like its a piece of paper infront of the speakers. If you want something for "gaming" buy a beyerdynamic. Sennheiser just released 2 bad headphones with the 490pro and 660s2 and people are trying to defend them because of sennheisers reputation and with stuff like "its all subjective". bro no even a good company like sennheiser can make mistakes and drop bad headphones, noone is perfect. If you want something really good in that price range, buy a hifiman edition xs.
Edition XS with like a -4dB treble shelf is pretty okay, even better when you put a capra headband strap on it cos hifimans pool noodle pleather headbands are awful 🥶
@@eiskalterorangensaft you are absolutely wrong. Have you tried the HD660s2? "very dull sounding" no it's not dull sounding at all. I don't want crappy Beyerdynamic treble. Look at the forums and watch some reviews before talking. Soundstaging is more like an extra. It's kind of an illusion created by the headphones making the speakers sound external. What you need it imaging, and it is far better on the HD660s2 than any other HD6x0 models. HD490 has better soundstage apparently so that is why I am curious. Plus, nobody recommends the Edition XS for gaming. Planar magnetics are very different. They have their own pros and cons. Also, the Edition XS leaks sounds as it there is a speaker in the room. It leaks as much as you are hearing it. Look at Rtings for technical stuff like measurements of driver matching and soundstage. Don't rely on them for subjective stuff of course, but they are pretty good for measurements of certain stuff. Some people may not like the HD660s2, but you saying those things about the sound is just wrong.
@@CammyFi I am not interested in Planar magnetics right now. I heard that the Edition XS and Sundara's sound very good though. I have to try the HD490 pro to hear the treble. It doesn't look as smooth in the graphs (kind of like HD560s), so that is why you probably find it sounding like coming from frosted glass (compared to HD600). HD560s and 490 both look good with everything other than the treble accuracy. I think HD560s is almost harman, but the weird wiggle in treble makes it not as good as HD6x0 line.
Sennheiser is a company going DOWN HILL FAST with their releases I’m not sure what their thinking their making all of their headphone way more customer oriented not audiophile In my observations the majority of term are easily outclassed by other brands. I had high hopes for the Sennheiser momentum 4’s and they only sound SLIGHTLY GOOD but nothing special the ie200 was positively MEH to me even know the glowing reviews about it I felt like it lacked clarity sound stage with and depth everything felt closed in I know it’s an iem but I’ve heard cheaper ones sound better in comparison the S2 edition didn’t feel like a big enough upgrade from Gen 1 I’m really wondering what they’ll release to get audiophiles back in their good graces the ie600 was a great addition but honestly nothing really else has peaked any curiosity or interest for me and I’m sure many other people feel the same way lately.
