comfort to wear, light weight, help me understand how much better other headphones actually are.

$39 plus shipping for something like this is really a rip
off. muffy and over emphasized bass, crippled highs, What?
sensitivity 106db, how could this be true? Even Koss sporta
pros provide higher volumn than this one.

What pieace of cr*p this is. If you want artificially "enhanced" bass, you should buy this one. Undefined BASS, Spliting highs sound like torture, mid is at most ok. The
problem is I used my Grado SR60 first, then I tried this.
What a difference! Feeling like suddenly going from open world into some enclosured room. Yes, this one is cheaper than Grado SR60, but $39 for something like this? I think even the Koss prota pro is much better than this. Sensitivity at 106db? 86db is more like what it is.
I am a casual listener. But even I can tell the difference
between this and a much better sounding headphone. I think this headphone is a joke.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDV-400, Koss prota pro, sporta pro, the "plug" (also
a disappointment), Grado SR-60 (very uncomfortable but at
least have decent sound)

Bass, comfort

lack of transparency, grainy, can be harsh

First of all, I have to say that I bought these for a second system (too lazy to move my HD600's from upstairs to downstairs) and comparisons to the 600's will leave these wanting every time. That said, these phones are not in any way indicative of Sennheiser quality at ANY price point. When you move up in frequency from the bass (which is quite good), you run into midrange colorations and, worse, a grainy, harsh treble. They emphasize vocal sibilance and generally do a poor job of conveying the musical message.

The Grados and the Senn 495's are a few bucks more and well worth it! If you only have enough money for the 490's, live with your Walkman phones until you can scarf up the extra bucks. These are no better sounding than those that came with your Walkman. There are many better sounding phones at this price point and even less.

Similar Products Used:

Senn 495 and 600, Grado SR80

I have bought these headphones to compare them with a pair of Grado 80.The Sennhaiser were more expensive than the Grado, and sounded very different. Here are my observations:
* Bass/Midbass is overly reinforced on the SennHeiser, and not refined.
* The HD490 has a very dark, thick midrange.
* Trebles sounded brittle.
* Switching to the Grado was like removing 5 pounds of wax piled in your ear canal. What an openess and clarity. Tonal balance is just perfect. Not to mention how much more "holographical" the presentation was.
* The Grado are not very comfortable. You can forget easily that the Sennheiser are on your head.

But because I bought a pair of Headphones as the reference sound to build speakers around it, I have to neglict the comfort aspect. So I just give 1 speaker to the Sennheiser because they were more expensive than the Grado and they just sounded not much better than a low-fi $20 Labtec headphone.

comfort, good bass, no headaches

weak highs, distortions with some records(specially the ones with low frequencies)

Very deep and controlled bass but always natural and not harmful. Also good mids but not enough high presence, the voices seem to be distant.
Very well built headphones, after a while you will forget you have them on: they are very light, and you can listen any kind of music for hours without danger for your ears.
If you have a low-cost cd player or you are going to use them with a PC this is your choice. I've tried the HD495 and for a little bit more of money you will have much better highs and more natural sound.
But if you can't spend more money, please DON'T LISTEN to the senn's HD580 or HD565, you could have a depression!
Surely the best headphones at the price.

Similar Products Used:

AKG, SONY

VERY clear sound, comfortable, balanced sound

Open design

I think theses headphones worths the price. The sound is very clear, especialy when you compare it with others products in this price range. They are a lot of worse headphones.
I recommand it.

Similar Products Used:

Boss, Jenson

Natural, warm sounding music; excellent for dvds

can distort with too much bass

first off, for around 50 bucks, im not sure what some of you people were expecting. i mean, sure, the grado sr60's are absolutely stunning for the same price, but are also exceptionally hard to find(other than on the net). Compared to sonys that cost the same, these are absolutely amazing. a much cleaner sound with excellent bass response and very clear mids and highs. These will obviously not sound as good as cans costing much more.....thats why they are so cheap. and these are most assuredly meant for home listening, not on portable devices. hooked up to my hk 520, these absolutely shine, however the volume on a discman is too low. however, due to the open design, most people would not use these for traveling phones(they are a little large too). jsut get a pair of earbuds for on the go. my only complant is in music with heavy amounts of bass, the sound can distort a little at higher levels. however, the bass is usually too strong at this point anyways, so i end up turning it down. also, be sure to break these in before judging them. as with any good speaker, they need at least 2 or 3 days worth of music on them before they even start to sound good.

Similar Products Used:

many sennheiser, grado, sony, koss, and jvc headphones

Very detailed sound, with LOTS of bass.

Needs a good amplifier

I think that this product isn't quite as bad as some of the other reviewers make it out to be. What the 490 really requires, in order to sound good, is some serious amplification. Mine will not work at all with a starndard "boombox" or portable. The volume has to be maxed out on the player for the sound to audible over the phones, with all the resulting distortion and "mushiness".
With a good stereo receiver or amplifier, the 480s perform much better. They were quite acceptable on a 40-watt/channel Denon, though the amp had to be turned way up in order to get to a realistic listening level. This "audibility threshhold" occurred well below any amount of distortion on my Denon 275R, though.
On a Yamaha RX-777, which has a "rated" output of 100 wts/channel, the Sennheiser 480s have thus far performed admirably. They don't seem to require a higher power level, on this machine, than do my Paradigm speakers. Thus, the volume control does not have to be adjusted when switching from speakers to headphones. Running from the Yamaha, the headphones are quite enjoyable, and recreate a a very enjoyable, if "warm", sound.
So, if you have a good amp, these 480s should work fine. I would recommend against them for use on portables, though.

Similar Products Used:

Cheap Walkman-type sets

Very Comfortable, long wearability, almost forget I have em on.

Volume is dissappointing. A bit unbalanced.

I have read all the other reviews on this product here on this site, and I must say I wish I was aware of it's excistence before I purchased these cans, or at least wise enough to have investigated it a bit more prior to buying. I got these direct from Sennheiser USA based soley on thier reputation, expecting a good experience for the fifty bones I laid down for them. I am reasonably satisfied with the mids and highs and sorely bruised regarding the bass. Way too high. Haven't even tried em on a portable, I wouldn't spend that much on a set for a discman, get some earbuds! I spoke directly with a rep concerning these, and got the expected hype, even had a couple of e-mail exchanges with a Mr Douglas. He was not very helpful at all, go to an outlet and let some pimle-faced teenager give you his input. The highs are clear, especially after 100 hrs of break-in. Until then, don't excpect full potential. Mids are acceptable, but the bass extension will dissappoint you if you were looking for "blow your socks off sound". I was happy with the JVC's I have, and was looking to move up a bit from entry level phones. My JVC's have the sound that moves me, bassy and no distortion, clean for the price. My Senn's are wonderful at low volume, I might even go exceptional, but they don't have the volume and seperation I was hoping for. Not good at all for the radio, but digital recordings are crisp and somewhat satisfiying. The one place they did excell was when I watched dvd's while using them. I will take the advice of others here who recommend the Grado SR60, or move up to the Senn HD 600's. Over-all, not too bad I guess, for the money. You can find them cheaper if you look around a bit.

Similar Products Used:

I have a set of JVC circumaural, low-end cans, I don't know what the model # is, but I paid $14.95 for them.

Lets keep things in perspective. The 490's are entry level cans. I purchased a pair for under $80 and so my expectations were not for ultimate studio quality. When considered in their proper place the 490's are a more than able competitor.
My first audition was Miles Davis and his re-masterd "Kind of Blue". The bass was indeed a bit over done, but oh the definition and clarity of the horns was right up their with the best of em. I found my interests leading to Shostakovich and his 14th String Quartet. Again very respectable range, clarity and a sound which was amazingly clean for such an inexpensive product. For the price-point the 490 is a definite finalist.

i have mixed feelings about this one. i think they're great entry level headphones. they have clear highs and, a warm (albeit thick sounding) midrange. my only real qualms about these headphones is the bass. the bass is a bit overwhelming, and very loose and uncontrolled. this actually gives the headphones a thick, warm, casual sound. if you like bass you'll probably like these phones, but i'm not much of a fan of heavy bass.
compared to other entry level headphones such as the grado sr-60, the hd490's sound more balanced, but not as natural. if i had to choose between the two, i'd take them both. the hd490's work well with some recordings, but with others, they may sound bassy. likewise the grado sr-60 works well with some recordings, but can sound excessively bright.

all in all, i'll give them a good review. this one comes down to personal taste.