HD 490 PRO Open-Back Professional Headphone

This headphone is my first I believe hi-res headphone, so I would first focus on the physical aspect: weight, comfort, design etc. 1. Weight: This headphone is light and I am able to wear it 8 hours straight without any issue. 2. Comfort: Very Very comfortable and it does not feel tight to my head. Because the ear cups are flexible and twistable, it covered my ear perfectly. 3. Design: Very simplistic (which I really like). Although 490 pro is very light, when I hold it, it feel very sturdy, the headband doesn't feel cheap and the adjustable part feel easy to adjust while also hold it position fairly tightly. Notable mention: The cushion is not leather like surface, so no need to worry about the surface get peeled off one day and stuck to your hair. So in terms of the physical aspect of headphone itself, it is 5/5. Now comes to sound quality: - please note: I am not any music creator or professional musical listener. I am just a normal consumer and this is my first time step into this territory. The sound is crisp compared to my previous gaming headphone and it is further enhance if you do some EQ. It is ok if you don't do any EQ but I still feel like do some adjustment is better as after I did some EQ, without it feel a bit plain. But again, the sound itself is very clear and crisp. Very good! New user friendliness: Although the product state it is "Professional Headphone", I feel like it is still very friendly for new user, and here is my reason- no need a bunch of setup for it to work. HD 490 pro has a low enough resistance and fairly high sensitivity to plug directly into your pc and drive using your motherboard. Compare to some other high resistance and/or low sensitivity headphones which needs dedicated amp and/or DAC, HD 490 pro doesn't need you to pay a fortune for it to work. I feel like it is a pretty good entry point for new users who just into music and want to enjoy more on music (like me). You can just get this headphone first to feel the sound enhancement, then after you can by those frontend and get other headphones which needs dedicated frontend. Worth every single penny for this headphone.

Comfort: Absolutely, the most comfortable headset Ive ever worn with the stock "bassy" earpads. The others are a little scratchy. Sound: Great sound with crisp detail. Sounds like a pair of HD600's with the bass cranked up and a massive soundstage. Sounds are incredibly separated, defined and accurately placed on the stage. With games, I can perfectly track moving targets through walls. Earpads: Velour: Standard "fun" earpads for more bass. Keeps strong presence of mids and highs for having so much bass. Its too much really, but it doesnt muddy anything because of the strong separation of sounds. I can be playing a game and blasting music and still hear voices and footsteps. If you have a DAC thats strong and punchy you're gonna have fun with these. Analytical: Lets all that bass out so you get the real mix of these. The details are more defined and clear. If you professionally mix music or need to strip the nonsense from your games audio and hear those feet, this is the one. They do take away from the comfort... keep that in mind. These are the performance option. Bottom line: Coming from the BD DT 1990 pros these hold their own, which for the love those get is a statement. Ive had the HD 600s and 650s as well as the 590s. I feel like these are somewhere between the 650 with the soundstage of the 590. Though people do directly compare them to the 560s, which Ive owned in the past... I dont understand that one. If you are buying these for gaming youre gonna have a good time. They make most games sound like they are in surround and its very accurate and clear. If you cant afford these, a close second is the HD 590. Those are almost as good for less than half the price.

Amazing quality. Soundstage and imaging is really nice. Decent bass response without muddying anything. Easy to drive, I paired with a Moondrop Dawn Pro. Nice for FPS shooters too. Super light and comfortable. Just get them, they are worth it for sure.

Good build quality and comfort. Recommend for music and gaming

crazy good headphones, with comfortability to match with subtle looks. Highly recommended

Muito leve, confortável e soa como eu esperava que soasse (baseado na minha experiência prévia com outros fones da Sennheiser). Demorou um pouco para chegar, mas o vendedor foi super atencioso e teve boa comunicação durante o processo.

Ich habe den Sennheiser HD 490 ausführlich getestet und war von der Klangqualität sehr angetan. Der Kopfhörer bietet einen sehr ausgewogenen Sound, mit präsenten Bässen sowie klaren Höhen und Mitten. Klanglich wirklich top. Allerdings hatte ich erhebliche Probleme mit dem Tragekomfort, weil der Druck auf dem Kopf so stark war, dass ich nach etwa 20 Minuten Kopfschmerzen bekam. Auch ein Wechsel der mitgelieferten Ohrpolster hat nichts daran geändert. Zudem gab es ein störendes Knarzen, wenn man die rechte Muschel oder das Kabel berührt hat, und die Kabelbuchse war unnötig groß. Letztlich habe ich mich deshalb entschieden, den Kopfhörer zurückzugeben.

Are they great value? Honestly no, they are overpriced. BUT, if you want the most comfortable headphones that you have likely ever worn, then these are it. It's up to you if you want to pay for it. I did and don't regret it. In terms of sound they are great as expected, nice and open, large soundstage so you can really pin point where individual instruments are coming from, like you are sitting in the middle of an orchestra. They do need a bit of EQ to take away some sharpness.