New Sennheiser HD 448. - Page 2

Thank you for the detailed impressions. That all sounds very to my linking. I'm very curious how the 448s can sound more open than the 238s, them being closed and all. The later sound really good now that they're modded, but the missing foam does unbalance them somewhat, with the bass and the high end being too emphasized for my liking. They sound clearer, but still somewhat distant in the midrange.

I'm almost certain I'll go for the HD448 soon, might even ditch the 238, which were a huge step up from the Senn HD202. This whole audiophile stuff is fun, but alas, the wallet..

Which are better, HD 555 or HD 448? I have tight budget and closed is + which should I get?

Well, the only way I can explain the "more open" comment is that the clarity is better than the 238, without sounding boxed in, like most closed headphones sound. The midrange is phenomenal on the HD448, and unlike the HD238, the HD448 is somewhat midrange centric, in that the midrange is very clear and prominent, and the highs and bass are not as prominent, but still clear and well-balanced. Another midrange prominent headphone that I have owned is the AKG K601, and though the soundstage on the HD448 is not nearly as huge or three-dimensional as the K601, the midrange clarity on the HD448 does remind me of the K601, though I no longer have them for direct comparison. From what I can tell from your comments on the HD238, I think you will like the HD448 very much.

I like the HD448 better than the HD595, and as I recall, I liked the HD595 better than the HD555. Another plus about the HD448 is that it is much more durable due to the better headband design. My old HD555 and my current HD595 both experienced cracking in the headband on the part that attaches the earcup to the headband. the plastic on that part in the HD555/595 is very brittle and is prone to flexing, alas the cracking problem. The HD448 has a more durable plastic with a design that isn't prone to a lot of flexing, so it should be more resistant to cracking in the long term. The only detraction that I can tell is that if you have a small budget and don't have a headphone amp, you'll want to save up for a headphone amp, as the HD448 sounds much better with one. A nice inexpensive option that works well with the HD448 is the HeadRoom Total Airhead ($99). Don't get me wrong, if you have the newest generation iPhone, or last two generations of iPod touch or iPod nano or iPod Classic, then they should be able to drive the HD448 to fairly loud levels without distorting, but the bass will sound thinner than it would with an amp. Also, if you are a basshead, then I would look at the HD438 instead of the HD448.

Hows the guitar in 448? much better than in 438? I'm more a guitar person than bass so bass doesnt matter that much for me. And hows the sound without amp, cause I wont get AMP at the same time maybe next year.

And If anyone knows, how does 448 compete against Alessandro MS-1 2009?

Guitars, both acoustic and electric sound very good out of the HD448, especially acoustic, and the sound without an amp is dependent on the type of portable player you have. If it uses a wolfson chipset you might find that the HD448 brings out the distortion inherent in those chipsets' built in headphone sections, but on the other hand, if it has a cirrus logic chipset then it will sound very clear. As I said earlier, the bass will be less voluminous and exhibit somewhat less definition with a cirrus chipset at loud volumes, but my experience with wolfson chipsets is that even the HD555 will sound not so great at loud volumes, and as the HD448 is more detailed the distortions of the Wolfson chipsets will be more prominent. Also on the regards of the alessandro I'm not sure as I have never heard an alessandro, but if it is similar to the SR225, the clarity should be similar, just without the peaky upper treble, but this is conjecture on my part...

Eric

Looks like I'm definitely buying the HD 448 next. As far as the HD 238, I actually ended up putting the foam back in mine, I liked the extra clarity, but it seemed to take away from the soundstage without it.

One day I'll get around to trying the HD 238 with the center foam back in. With the HD 238, it collapses the pads a little, which may be what degrades the soundstage. The collapsing doesn't happen with the HD 228 after the removal. Thanks for pointing this out and helping me to make the distinction.

I put the foams back in tonight. They will not be coming back out. In my opinion, the "astroid mod" only works on the HD 228, not the HD 238.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Eric - congrats on your 500th post and thanks for sharing your experiences with different headphones which is really helpful.

Please can you help me decide which headphone to buy for work powered off a computer. I want a descent sound quality for background listening. Noise isolation is only a moderate factor. Sometimes I will like to use them with a Cowon player which is much more powerful then an iPod.

Ive narrowed down to the Senn HD448 vs the Denon AH-D1001 (online they can both be sourced for less then USD100).

One review stated the HD448 had poor bass quality but Id value your opinion on this:
"We listened to headphones with a variety of different sources, including the new Apple iPod Touch and the Creative Zen, and found them to be quite sensitive and capable of good volume levels. Overall, the sound of the HD 448 is quite balanced but with an emphasis on the bass. As a result it's best suited to rock, dance, R&B etc. However, despite its bottom-heavy balance, it's not particularly talented down there. The sound is full, but bass notes can sound a little "bloomy" and ill-defined."
Sennheiser HD 448 Review - Headphones

As I cant hear either of these headphones any advice from folk who have listened to both is very valuable.

I don't think of the HD448 as bass heavy, actually they are on the lean side, especially unamped. With your cowon player though, you may have a different experience, as my iPod is not so powerful volume wise. However, while the Denon has more bass, the Sennheiser 448 has very tight bass and considerably more detailed mids and highs in comparison to the Denon. I actually prefer the HD448 for very well produced music, such as classical, folk, jazz, big band and even very well recorded and not overly dynamically compressed pop and R&B. The denon on the other hand is more comfortable overall and is easier to drive unamped. But, if you like hearing lots of details and a more cohesive soundstage, then the Sennheiser 448 is hard to beat at the price. If you think you need more bass, check out the HD438 which is similar, but has a bass response similar to the Denon. On HeadRoom's blog Tyll Hertsens did a great comparison review between the 448 and D1001, along with the Shure SRH440 and Sony MDR-V6, that at least for the HD448 and D1001 mirrors my findings on both headphones. The blog can be accessed by going to this link: Right Between Your Ears
The only real knock he found was that the bass on the HD448 could be too lean for some people, so if you know you like a lot of bass, either the Denon, or the HD438 would be the headphones I would consider. I hope this helps.

Tried returning it too, now I'll let my ears get used to the new sound. How bad was the degradation of the detail from the mod to the stock configuration?

Eric, you are seriously making me envious of your HD448. Already considering upgrading ASAP.

LOL The HD448's really make me wish that Sennheiser made a midrange open headphone lineup with high amounts of detail and clarity with the soundstaging of the HD595. That would be a killer headphone. At least I have the clarity and detail part squared away for now.

--Eric

So, I went and ordered my very own set of HD448 and I've been listening to them all day long today.

First off, I was expecting something larger, but they're not that big actually. I like the look and the overall feel (they've been keeping my ears warm today, it's cold ). No shiny bits, no gloss, except the silver decorations. They just barely cover my ears all the way around. The pleather feels ok for now, no overheating, but that's mainly because of the cold weather.

And now, the sound. It's a bit different than the HD238s. The bass is there and it's loose and not exactly lean, as violetta88 said. I think the people at cnet.com and I share the same first impression of boomy, unfocused bass, but I'm sure this will get better with burn-in. Or it could be just the nature of the phones, closed and all.
The mids are very nice, much more upfront and alive than the HD238, although still dark, in the Sennheiser way. They handle guitars well (Buckethead and Queens of the Stone Age, for the record). The highs are airy and crisp, absolutely no faults there. I can't find any difference to the HD238 here, same thing and a good one too.

Once the bass problem gets better, I'll really love these phones, but they kind of make your head go "boom boom" at first, if you know what I mean.

And btw, people have been comparing these to the Denon 1001 and complaning of too little bass? Wow. I'm affraid of those phones.