Sennheiser HD 485 Headphones

[Winnow]

I went headphone shopping locally the other day with my mind set on picking up a set of Sennheiser HD 595's which have a street price of around $200.00. I couldn't find them anywhere but did find the HD 485's which sell for ~$80.00.



These are full sized headphones but are 32 Ohm and easily driven by portable players. You probably wouldnt want to wear these around town but are great for home use.

Sometimes more expensive isn't always better as the 485's are designed for a little more full bodied (warm) sound as compared to the reference headphones.

Some of the good points:

-excellent sound even at very low volume
-excellent, tight, clean sounding bass, for headphones (midrange and treble are also outstanding)
-very comfortable fit. Open style, full sized that covers entire ear.
-comes with a heaphone holder which can clamp to a desk or shelf and makes for a nice place to put your headphones.

Negative:

-not really a negative but since they are open style, sound escapes them so you probably wouldnt want to listen to pr0n in public with them.

I'm impressed. If you have a portable MP3 player with quality sound (like the Creative Zen Vision!), you might want to check these out. They are exceptional at creating a soundstage and trance music sounds amazing on them.

I listened to my Hackers soundtrack to test them out. My reference song, Halcyon, On & On sounded great. I uncontrollably started to dance listening to Prodigy's Voodoo People and then settled down to enjoy Heaven Knows by Squeeze. You really do hear more music with quality audio equipment. I could hear lipsmacking and one backup voice for a choras I didn't know was there before.

These are also excellent for gaming due to their spatialization properties.

Here's some various links for other's comments on them:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sennheiser_HD_4 ... 41506.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007Q ... e&n=172282

Good Headphone site:

http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manuf ... hd-485.php

Sennheiser Site:

http://www.sennheiser.com/nordic/icm_en ... oot/500266

The important things for me in a headset would be:

-comfortable fit for long wear
-above average bass (but remain tight and clean sounding)
-good soundstage

For $79.00, I'm more than happy as I would have spent double or triple that for headphones to get quality sound.

As with speakers, headphones are personal preference so you never know.

[Zamtuk]

you actually walk around with those headphones attached to your zen vision?

now that is comedy.

[Ransure]

Winnow ---->

[Xouqoa]

I've had a set of Sony studio monitors for a while, and they're great.



I don't think I'd plug them into my Zen, though. I'd like to get a nice pair of the earbud ones for that.

[Kelshara]

you actually walk around with those headphones attached to your zen vision?

now that is comedy.

Some of us actually appreciate good sound. Which you wont get from those typical shitty iPod headphones. I use full headsets 90% of the time for several reason:

- Sound quality is 100% better
- Wont kill your hearing nearly as fast
- It shuts out other sounds so is way better while at work, travelling etc
- I couldn't care less what other people think heh

In fact I am looking for a new pair of headphones right now. I only use smaller earplugs while working out.

Sound quality > All

[Truant]

there are 2 reasons I wear studio monitors almost exclusively.

1. to my ears, they just sound better. I can hear more, and hear more clearly.
2. Even if they aren't noise cancelling, I can pretend I can't hear you, and you have to fuck off. That right there is worth it.

[Winnow]

you actually walk around with those headphones attached to your zen vision?

now that is comedy.

You're god damned right I do! : )

I plug them in at home. On the road, I have a different set from Sony that hook on to the ears and have no band at all but aren't ear buds:



They're the most comfortable headphones I've used for travelling. The spring loaded ear thingies hold them securely without the irritation and annoyance of a headband, behind or above your head and with better sound than earbuds.

If you can't wear full sized headphones in your home while on your computer, watching a movie or otherwise, you need to recheck the cool guide and figure out that noone gives a shit what headset you're wearing when you can't be seen. Then again, with the arguments I've heard from iPod users about how better sound quality doesn't matter in an audio device, I'm not surprised. If you wore them in public, it'd be just like Truant mentioned. As with NBA basketball players that also wear them, it's a matter of being able to ignore everyone you want pretending you can't hear them.

[Mawafu]

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/pr ... sid=009927

Best headphones I have owned. I've walked out my apartment, down the hall, down the stairs and to the street and still had crystal clear reception of MP3s off my computer.