Sennheiser HD 490 Headphones
Sennheiser HD 490 Headphones
[Mar 02, 2000]
Solomon
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
very clear highs and fliud mids
Weakness:
bass a bit overdone and slowish I think those who gave 490s 2 or 3 stars are too picky. Actually it is not bad! I compared it against Grado 80, and the highs are even a tad better, more detailed and extended. It fits classical best, I think. Okay with rock and pops. Similar Products Used: Sennheiser 470, Grado 80 |
[Mar 08, 2000]
Greg
Casual Listener
Strength:
relatively comfortable and definately nothing else
Weakness:
Everything. Loose Base, attempt highs, worst sensitivity. Solomon: Similar Products Used: Too many, never tried H470 although everybody agrees H470 is even worse. |
[Oct 03, 2000]
Paul Penrose
Casual Listener
Strength:
Lightweight, comfortable, inexpensive. Ok, I've read all the other reviews and anybody that paid more than $50 or $60 for these cans might feel a bit ripped. Now I paid $34 at ubid and got a decent, entry-level, light weight set that while they will not match $100-$300 headphones, are really quite good. For me the highs are less important since I can't hear above 17K anyway, and I like lots of bass. I also listen mainly to rock and jazz, and mainly at the office where I need to be able to hear the phone ring and people enter my cube. At my preferred volume levels I don't bother anybody else and I cringe to think of how loud people must be running them to bother people in adjacent cubes. Yikes! They do take some time to get used to, but are very comfortable when you do and can be worn for hours on end without the usual ear sweating. |
[Mar 27, 2000]
Erik Niemi
Audiophile
Strength:
Comfortable, nice sound
Weakness:
NOT good for portables Nice sound...BUT don't try to use these with portables like diskmans...These sound nice but require the power of an amplifier of some sorts. Descent Base for their size, the highs get a little fuzzy when at any high volume! |
[Feb 21, 2000]
Tee
Casual Listener
Strength:
Light weight
Weakness:
Sound Quality I bought these on the net for $49.00 unseen, but the design turned out to different than I was looking for. Foam rubber ear padding was not comfortable for me. Advertisement claimed that these were award winners. Personally, I don't see how. Bass was not that good and mids/highs were disappointing for what I think should have been for a brand that brags sound quality. Similar Products Used: Sony, Sennheiser |
[Feb 16, 2001]
JoeL
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Solid bass, nice mids and crisp highs---VERY COMFORTABLE
Weakness:
Had to exchange first pair due to distortion in left ear. They do leak music and can disturb others if played loud. A long time ago I realized that when it comes to stereo equipment all you have to do is please yourself. These headphones do a very fine job and are the most comfortable I have worn. They please me and that is all that is important. I'm not quite sure why the reviews tend to be so different.At times certain products evoke strong feelings and they are either loved or hated. Or,perhaps,Sennheiser has a quality control issue with this model. I love these headphones and it is obvious that others don't agree.Don't get me wrong, other more expensive models do sound better and cost much more. I can only suggest that you give 'em a try and if you like them you can purchase a very fine set of phones for a very reasonable price. Let your ears decide! Similar Products Used: Sennheiser MS100, Sennheiser HD450 II |
[Dec 09, 2000]
Javier Huerta
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Powerful low end, ultra-light design, modular construction, detachable OFC cable, very attractive
Weakness:
Emphasizes too much the low end; highs are soft; not neutral. Not too efficient. First of all: don't believe the hype. If you use these headphones in a portable device, you will get the worst quality you can imagine. These babies scream for a powerful receiver or a dedicated headphone amp. Why? Well, let's just say that 106 dB rated efficiency is... a lie. More like 86 dB. My Sennheiser 580s (an admittedly low-efficiency headphone) need way LESS power than these cans. Go figure. Similar Products Used: Sennheiser 580, Alessandro MS-1, Koss SportaPro, Sennheiser 400, Bang & Olufsen A8 Earphones |
[Dec 02, 2000]
Limp Lump
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
None.
Weakness:
TREBLE IS HIZZY,HARSH AND PAINFUL. For instance, the "S" words in lyrics sounded terrible, the cymbals of the drums too, the treble plainly sucks ass. I HATED THESE HEADPHONES. THEY ARE NOW REPLACED WITH HD565 OVATION (GREAT HEADPHONES). They suck. I have nothing good to say about them. Weird, since all other sennheiser phones i´ve tried sounds awesome. Similar Products Used: HD565, HD200 MASTER |
[Apr 12, 2000]
Stace
Strength:
Very comfy
Weakness:
Boomy and Tinny all at once. External acoustics are awful for environmental purposes. I can't recommend these headphones. The bass is unnatural and boomy, and some of the higher frequencies ring out like a screeching cat. I've tried to compensate with EQ. |
[Oct 11, 2001]
Hartman Won
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Super-Aural Design
Weakness:
Power efficiency...needs an amp. Yo I dunno wusup wit all you haters of this product. Maybe Sennheiser had quality control problems with this product, but my unit produces a very clean, refined soundstage. I think a common pitfall with this set of headphones is wearing it correctly. I read one person telling to wear it backwards, and I was able to reproduce this same upped clarity of sound by wearing the earpieces a bit lower. And that basically did the trick for me. Make sure ur ears ARE in the middle of the earpieces; do not trust ur feeling, look at yourself in a mirror and judge from there. As for portables, no don't listen to portables with these- get some earbuds or something. I use these on a computer with a turtle beach santa cruz, and I can get good volume and great sound. Similar Products Used: Panasonic HP's, Sony MDR's |