Sennheiser HD 439 Headphones Black

I picked these headphones up as a replacement for my years-old Bose TriPorts whose earcups are falling apart. I already own a pair of 558s, but at present my girlfriend and I share a small room and open-back headphones don't work well with our respective sleep schedules. 

Packaging

Blister pack, nothing to write home about. Same basic packaging as most of their low-end stuff.

Accessories

Kudos to Sennheiser here -- included are two different cables (4' and 10') as well as a 1/4" adapter plug, which in my experience is kind of rare for $100 headphones. As a company, they're pretty good about this. 

Quick note about the cable: If you decide to swap them out, you're going to feel like you're breaking the cable connector trying to pull it out. This is normal -- it's at a funky angle as it goes into the speaker and it takes a good deal of prying to pull loose.

Build Quality

As already touched upon with the cable, build quality is only so-so. As is pretty typical of Sennheiser's lower-end products, there's a plasticky feel throughout. The weird cable requiring crazy amounts of tugging, the not-inconsiderable creak of the gimbals, etc. In reality, the headphones should hold up quite well to reasonable use...they just don't necessarily feel like it. Gotta cut corners somewhere, I suppose.

Comfort

I defy you to find more comfortable circumaurals at this price. The velour earcups and headband cause these suckers to melt to your ears and disappear after a few minutes' use. I can barely handle leatherette anymore, I'm so spoiled on this sensation.

Sound Quality

Why am I touching on sound quality last? It's the last thing you notice when you take the headphones out of the package. Boom, there goes your mind.

Looking at the package, you'll see the ominous phrase "Extended Bass Response." Oh lawd, Sennheiser is trying to make Beats, you may think. Thankfully, no. Bass is somewhat heavier than the other $100 headphones Sennheiser produces (the musician-centric 280s), but it doesn't have that bloated, overreaching feeling of Beats' EQ-based enhancement -- here it feels like a natural extension of the headphones' design, and helps to ground the overall feel of the music.

A few days' burn-in certainly won't hurt these guys, just to wear the edges off the sound. To my ears it felt more settled with use.

Overall, the sound feels assertive and balanced across the range, with surprisingly wide staging for a closed-back setup, especially one so basic as these. There's no confusing them with my 558s, but it certainly doesn't sound like the sound is emanating from my pineal gland, either.

Cable noise is noticeable at very low volumes, but that's par for the course at this price point / with this brand. Unless you have parts on hand and a good deal of electrical/mechanical savvy, they're not worth cable modding. It's just something you deal with.

At 32 ohms, these will sound fine coming from your portable device -- my Galaxy S3 with its shiny Wolfson DAC puts admirable sound into these cans, and I wouldn't expect much less from an iDevice or other mobile options. That being said, I noticed a distinct improvement in presence and clarity when I jacked these directly into my sound card (Auzen Raider 7.1) as opposed to the aux jack on my desktop speakers or through my phone. So if you have something to juice the sound (amp/DAC) then you'll hear a benefit. 

Summary

From start to finish, a worthy headphone. Especially good as backup cans or gifts to budding audiophiles. Build quality is -ish, but not distressingly bad. Best-in-class comfort and superb sound quality for price. 

Disclaimer: My review may be rather invalid due to my lack of experience in the audio world. In that case, if you are new to this, it may be very helpful.

The HD 439 was definitely a good buy for its purpose of being my iPod's go to for music.

Sound Quality

The sound is great for the price. Very crisp at the mids to highs, and the bass wasn't overpowering.

The soundstage however, was a slight let down, being kinda too narrow to enjoy some more closed-off' sounding songs

Build Quality

The build quality is terrible, but expected for the price.

They are made of a cheap, lightweight plastic that does not feel durable at all (So little that I feel worried taking them in a bag due to possible breakage)

Comfort wise, these things are good. They are too light to be a burden, but maybe so much that moving around quickly may make them fall off.

Additionally, my ears (not that big) don't fit perfectly in the headset. This, along with the diagonal circum-aural earcup design means the headband feels like it is leaning forward.

Isolation

The isolation isn't very good. Even for closed back. Any comfortably loud volume that is enough to drown out other noises can be heard by anyone nearby, though not extremely clearly.

Think about that before buying.

Extras

If you have any lower quality mp3's, this will gladly identify them. The HD 439 make it very obvious when a low bitrate is apparent.

The replaceable cable[s] (1.4 and 3 metres I think) are kinda tricky to remove at first, but not too difficult. The replaceable part is great if you break one though.

Summary - TLDR

If you are looking for a decent pair of headphones, that wont break the bank, are expendable and for use with a portable device (iPod for example), these are likely the ones to get. If you are looking for A+ quality in every field, you may want to look somewhere else. All in all these headphones do their job as a great set of cans to take places where you could break or lose them, due to them being rather cheap and still decent.

If you can afford better for at home use only, DON'T bother with these. Go look at some 558's or something.

First of all, I am by no means, a critical audiophile with a trained ear, so don't expect this review to have an in-depth breakdown of the sound.  I'm merely a college student that enjoys listening to my music.  I have had the Sennheiser HD 439 for four months and here's my review:

For its price range, the comfort is unmatched.  I have worn them nonstop for 4+hours everyday (well mostly everyday) for the past four months and I always experience no discomfort whatsoever.  I don't even feel the weight of the headphones pressing on my head when I put them on and I have a pretty small head.  These are easily much more comfortable than the other headphones that I own, the Ultrasone Pro 750 and UE 6000, by a large margin  Also, the cable is detachable and that's a nice feature and a pretty rare one to find on headphones under 100$.  In addition, you can buy a replacement cable from Sennheiser's website for relatively cheap so all is not lost if your stock cables get messed up.  As for the design, the HD 439 is definitely not for those looking to make a fashion statement, but I believe that its design is the best looking out of the Sennheiser 4XX series.  As for durability, these headphones can take quite a beating.  I have had the cord of the headphones yanked several times, I have accidentally dropped them on the floor 3 times and I stuff it inside my backpack (with them inside its own pouch) all the time and these headphones are still alive and kicking and they still sound fantastic. 

Sound-wise, these are not the headphones for bassheads... period.  THERE IS bass, however, it is not boomy, punchy, or in your face at all.  If I listen to a hip-hop song on my UE 6000 with ANC, I can definitely hear much stronger bass compared to the HD 439. Once again, I apologize for the inability to breakdown the sound further with the various terminology, but as a non-critical casual listener, I find that they sound fantastic for its price.  However, The HD 439 sounds just as great as the UE 6000 on passive mode and they definitely sound better than the more expensive Bose AE 2.  I can't comment how they sound amped, but they sound great unamped and I don't think it's necessary to pair them with an amp. The HD 439 really shines with mellow and laid-back genres of music and I find that they sound great with progressive, soft rock, r&b, soul, lounge, chill out, chillwave, downtempo, ambient.  Don't get me wrong, these are still fantastic and versatile all-arounders if you listen to multiple differing genres of music.

What closed-back headphones under $100 other than the Sennheiser HD 439 offers great overall sound quality, sound great unamped, are extremely comfortable, has velour padding and premium comfort, has an effectively simple design, and has the option of a detachable cable?  If you can't answer that question and are looking for headphones that have all of the features that were just mentioned, your search should end with the HD 439.

These are about all i asked for for X-mas, yet i did not get them (not upset at all). I took my money the next day and went out to get a pair from my local Best Buys (which has them at a regular price of $79.99). 

As soon as i got home, I plugged it up to my guitar amp to jam a bit, on a clean setting, there was some initial popping. I began to get worried. After i turned up the gain, they sounded great. Now there is no popping at all unless I just play entirely too hard or loud. 

I also notice, through these, a massive difference between ALAC files and AAC files. I re-downloaded a lot of my music yesterday as ALAC or FLAC files (lossless) and put those on my itunes and ipod.

Sound: People try to complain about the bass quantity in these, but i think it is just enough. There isn't too much bass to where it drowns out the rest of the music, but there is enough to where you can, at some points, feel it. It is the perfect balance. I'm not even planning on purchasing any pocket amp as i originally intended.  The highs are crisp and accurate, and the bass complements the songs instead of making them. It's great!

Design: The plastic on these feels as if it could have been better, however, for the price i paid, im not complaining. I usually look for sound quality for the price. If design is what you want, these look nice, but feel rather cheap... until you put them on. My only other concern is the chords it comes with seems like they will snap if run over by a rolling chair. 

Comfort: Let me start out by stating that i wear glasses. This was initially a worry, because most headphones make my glasses dig into my head. I could wear these for hours. They are not heavy, fit nicely around the ears, and have just enough clamping force. if i shake my head too fast they will slip and re-position themselves, but they don't cause my glasses to dig into my head, and fit nicely around them. The isolation is average, but if you turn them up a bit, you won't hear anything else. Leakage is pretty minimal. Could be a little bit better, but what could you complain about? 

Overall These are a great pair of cans. You can't go wrong, but upon initial purchase, just be patient with them and keep playing your music through them. Bad recordings will stick out like a sore thumb through these as well, so if you are having a bad time with them, check your recordings. I would recommend these to anyone that enjoys both quality and comfort from their headphones. 
 

after weeks and weeks of reading the reviews, i decided to give it a go and test this headphones in a concept store and eventually bought them. my first impressions were, these are veeery comfortable im telling you. i had pleathers before this one and for about less than 2 hours my ears starts to heat up and sweat. i use this for like 4-5 hours with taking it off whenever i will talk to someone here in my office but thats it. in short, this is so comfortable it can stay in your ears for quite awhile. 

build quality is is mediocre. i expect more for a $100 cans. these are all plastic and if you have heavy hands, you might break them...i think same as hd 598's? (correct me pls if im wrong). they have detachable cables. i use the longest one if im using this as an FPS gaming headphone. 

of course for the sound quality. some bassheads will probably get dissapointed. it has bass, but not those skullcrashing bass. its more of clear bass. very balanced. highs and mids are great. and this cans are veeeery versatile. you can use them in any music you want. i use them on hiphop and rnb's, rock, alternative, power ballads, mellow songs, piano, acoustic versions and my all time favorite for these cans....REGGAE. i dont know if its just me or these cans sound very very nice on reggae songs.

balanced sound, has bass but not skullcrashing, very comfortable. these cans are a must have. but you might not want to use during workouts or listening to music while doing headbangs because they might fall off.  and you might want to purchase a portable amp. but thats just me. for others these cans are good without them but i find it better with a FiiO e6 attached to it

Hi all :D,after about 4 months of saving and debating,i finally picked up a pair of these beauties.

Just over 2 months of owning them,and i feel the need to do a review on them.

Keep i mind i'm not an audiophile,just a student who loves his music. 

The phones came in a blister pack and contains the phones themselves,2 cables,and 1/4 inch adapter.The cables are 1.4m i believe and 3m in length.They start with a right angle 2.5mm back and terminate in a 3.5mm straight jack.

Out of the box,they were a little bass light and the highs were slightly sibilant,but after a week of burn in,the sound became much more balanced.

After 2 months, verdict.

Highs: Very crisp and clear

Mids: Clean and accurate

Low/bass: Extends down low,but is missing some of the "punch" bassheads crave. Hopefully and amp with bass boost (Fiio E11) can fix this.

Overall,these headphones are very comfortable,well built,good value,and quite balanced in terms of sound signature. They work well with almost all genres,a great buy,but an amp may help.

Will post pictures if requested

-Cheers

EDIT: Slightly muddy for music above 170bpm (techno)

I had to make a choice ladies and gentlemen. The Sennheiser Hd 439 or the AKG K-240s. After hours of video watching, review reading, and talking to friends, the hd 439 came out on top. In part because of the fact I got them refurbished for 60 bucks, and because of some common problems people had with the K-240s. After a few days of burning in, I feel safe saying that I made the correct choice. I'll do my best to give you an accurate representation of the Sennheiser HD 439s. Lets start of with the Negatives (that way you'll finish with the good stuff, and a smile :D) namely the build quality. These headphones aren't built incredibly well, considering the 100 dollar price tag. The plastic is the same as the HD 201 (for those of you who don't know those are a 20 dollar headphone). That being said, there may be metal reinforcements inside the headphone. One part of the build that I was happy (and surprised) about is the detachable cable. These are one of the two >100 HD headphones with this feature. Basically these headphones aren't made for snowboarding. I think they will do fine in daily commute (even the hd 201s did). Well thats all for the cons, lets move on to the good stuff.

 This headphone features a type of padding I have never had touch my ears. Its a plush, and breathable cloth that reduces sweat by 100% compared to plastic or pleather. The cups encompass my ears completely. This allows the headphone to rest completely on my head, and not my ears. This creates extreme comfort, as an over ear should. After about 2 hours I started to notice the pressure of the headband a bit, but not enough to make me take them off. Overall these headphones are very comfortable, not the most comfortable, but no complaints.

 The Isolation is next on the list, and I guess I'll throw in cable quality. The isolation is excellent. Being a closed back headphone the only way the sound can really get out is through the pads. I plugged the headphone straight into my ipod for this, no amp, and at 50% volume my dad said he couldn't hear anything. 75% he could here it, but not very much. 100% was noticeable, but this is in a silent room, so in commute, or in any place with people talking, it will be drowned out. Noise doesn't enter these headphones when music is above 50-60 percent (excluding quiet acoustic music, and stuff like that). Quite a few headphones boast superb passive noise cancellation, but these are the second best at it I have ever heard (second to the Shure SRH-840). These easily destroy the Beats by Dre's ACTIVE noise cancellation. Moving to the cable, its nothing special. I noticed heavy cable noise before playing music, which worried me, but didn't end up being an issue at all. any music will drown it out. The headphone includes a 4' cable for daily use, and a 10' cable for hifi use. Any speaker amp's headphone jack will power these well.

 Onwards to sound quality. The main reason I chose this headphone over the AKG is because I have come to know Sennheiser as a company who cares an extreme amount about their products sound quality. I have never owned or tried a Sennheiser product that that has disapointed me sound quality wise. The highs are clear, and upfront. The highs are anything but harsh. They do their job without harming the users ears in any way. The mids are extremely crisp and accurate, female vocalist shined right through the mix, making me laugh with pleasure. The low end was a pleasant surprise. When initially reading the box which claims "Extended bass response" I was worried I was going to get sickening bass. I misunderstood one word. "Extended". Sennheiser really spent their time making the bass clear, responsive and accurate. The bass isn't upfront, or sickening by any means. The sound stage is as good as open back headphones of the same 100 dollar price tag, making the experience of wearing these headphones a real treat. I also have to mention that the instrument separation is excellent as well. I heard things I never expected possible with 100 dollar cans. These headphones provide a refined sound experience that blew my expectations away.
 
My Ipod nano (which ever one has the camera) couldn't quite drive these, but when I added my fiio E6 to the mix, the headphones really shined. I plan on using these for everything from daily use in school to Live mixing at concerts. I am extremely happy with this purchase and hope they last me forever. I would pay 100 for these in a second, but the 60 dollar price tag certainly helped. I suggest everyone have a pair, even if just to use as a portable headphone.

EDIT: I didn't mention it before, but these headphones look pretty nice. Most of Sennheiser's products aren't eye pleasing, but these are an exception. You won't be ridiculed by your peers for wearing these, don't worry.
 

First, this is my first review ever. I decided buying these headphones after reading other reviews on this forum (thanks guys!) and I felt somehow in debt.

I'm trying to be as objective as I can, but nothing can change the fact that I actually love! these cans.

Comfort:

I wish I hadn't skipped so many english classes, so that I can express my feelings more accurately towards this aspect. I could literally forget that I'm wearing them and search them. Even thought they are circumaural and cover my huge ears entirely, wearing my sport-frame glasses isn't a problem at all. Ear pads are cushy and really nice. The only problem is that my ears sweat when I wear them outside more than 30 minutes and it's very hot (i usually sweat a lot). The earpads get all wet and i'm afraid that all that liquid could damage the driver.

Build quality and design

I didn't have much time to wear them outside the house, but I'm sure that when I do I'll receive a lot of compliments. The design is nice and nicely-done. They are light, but the plastic doesn't feel cheap at all. Now regarding the cables, due to my wire-tearing experience, I'm afraid that they wont last long. But they look kind of solid, made from matte rubber so I may be wrong. I don't know if the wire is tangle-free because obviously these cans don't fit in any of my pockets :). The isolation is great both ways, when listening to music at a mid-volume with these babies I tend to scream when talking to somebody. These cans are "closed" enough to even hear/feel the bass of my own footsteps when walking. 

Audio quality

Ok, I'm afraid to do this because I'm pretty much a noob and this is the most expensive pair that I have had. I like the accuracy of the bass and not only. Now I finally understand the importance of bass guitar because I can hear every note. I can also identify the voices in a 3-voice choir. I listen to rock, blues, r&b, pop, pretty much anything and the HD 439 served me just fine So I would say that the sound quality it pretty good. I'm totally satisfied, anyway. I am happy enough to think about replacing my 6.5 GB of music with 320 kbps mp3 files, because i can sense even a quiet parasite noise in some 128 kbps tracks. The soundstage made me turn my head a couple of times Now, the source may be the problem and this is the reason why I'm looking forward to buy a pocketamp. My smartphone didn't let me down. The volume is loud enough even without using an equalizer. But while plugging these into some cheapest Logitech 2.1 computer speakers, I felt significantly more boom than putting them directly into my HTC Desire. Sound seemed more open, natural, like listening to speakers, not headphones. So i guess I'm gonna pull another 20-30 dollars out of my pocket to buy some amp.

Ok... Hope this helped. Sorry for my kind-of-bad english, by the way, and for not using right punctuation. You can ask me anything, as long as you want to hear a noob's opinion. Overall, if I could turn back time, I would definitely buy them again.