New Sennheiser HD 448. - Page 3

The bass does get tighter over time, also the clarity of the midrange improves with burn-in as well.

Thank you for posting your impressions and congratulations on your new headphones. One thing you mentioned though, did cnet review the HD 448? Where did you find that?

@priest
Here's the link you were looking for priest:
Sennheiser HD 448 Review - Headphones

I find that the bass quantity and quality on the HD448 tends to vary with the amp and/or the source it is played on. Directly out of my iPod, the bass is a bit loose, but out of my iPod through a LOD to my total Airhead, the bass is cleaner, leaner and tighter. However, out of my Meier Corda Move, through the same iPod via the same LOD, it is somewhat loose and the bass is quite fuller. So, amplification and source quality and the sonic characteristics of upstream components make a large difference in the sound the HD448 will produce. Eventually I think I will check out the HD438, as I like the quantity of the bass in the HD238, and thus find the HD448 lean, but the mids especially of the HD448 seem much clearer than the 238 and even my HD595's. I'll let you know my impressions of the HD438 in a few weeks when I have them and they are burnt in a bit.

@zmd
I look forward to hearing your impressions as the headphones break in. You may find that the bass of the HD448 is hard to describe, as with different genres it seems totally different than the bass with other genres. I'm glad you at least like the mids on up on the HD448's.

P.S., you can call me by my first name, Eric, instead of violeta88--It's an old, old nickname

--Eric

Ok Eric

I've been kind of busy these last days, but still found time to break in the HD448 and they sound better and better.
The mids have "blossomed", if you will, into something alive and upfront, unlike other Sennheisers and pretty much any other headphones I've ever had. Male voices, percussion and acoustic guitars are really wonderful and electric guitars are more vibrant and refined.
The bass is still a bit too much for me, but I guess that's just a problem I have (anti-basshead). It seems to be a bit loose and enhanced in the wrong places, with a bit of resonance, missing out around 60Hz, where I like most of my thump, but I could have discerned all that from the frequency response graph.
The soundstage is quite something. I've caught myself flinching at times when hearing a sudden and unexpectedly positioned voice.

I'm pretty happy with them so far, they're comfortable and insulation is quite good, at home and on the street, although the cable tends to twang when it's brushing against me while walking.

Cool, I'm actually in the process of getting new earpads for the HD448 (the velour HD438 earpads to be exact) and a replacement for my extension cord that came with my HD448's (the one that came with mine was defective). Sennheiser has been awesome in helping me with both of those things, btw. I actually have a pair of PX200-II's out on loan to me to do a review on, which are breaking in, and while they are not burned in enough to do a fair comparison, I have a feeling the HD448's are still going to be the more detailed of the two. Your comments are exactly what I hear on the HD448's now. There could be more energy in the lower bass, but I think it would put the balance too much on the dark side, IMO. On the other hand, I have decided to at least fix my HD595's as while they aren't as detailed in the mids, they do have tighter bass, have better extension both in the bass and in the highs, and they image very well. The HD448's make me want Sennheiser to make some midrange headphones that are an improvement over the HD595, as now I know they are capable of making exemplary cheap headphones. Anyway, I am glad you enjoy them.

Thanks, Eric. Just got mine tonight and am listening to them right now. They clearly need some burn-in because they sound a little congested. Much smaller than I thought they would be. Exciting though. Eric, the way you talk about headphones and sound is impressive, so I am looking forward to your PX 200-II review.

Sorry about that. Sounds like a nerve-wracking experience!

Thanks, they do definitely benefit from burn in, about 50 hours should be good to show you what they can really do. Oh, and the PX200-II's are more detailed than I originally thought. Apparently I had the placement wrong on my ears. If I had only three words to describe the PX200-II's I'd describe them as clean, relatively detailed and punchy. Ok that was four

Eric

How is the soundstage on this pair of headphones? Does anyone think that this pair would be suitable for gaming?

The soundstaging is actually quite good for a sealed headphone. The imaging is pretty wide and has a good amount of depth as well. As to their performance in gaming, I do not know as I haven't gamed with them before. Maybe one of the others may be able to better answer that one.

Eric

Oh okay well thanks a lot for the info, i'm seriously considering purchasing these for gaming (90%)and musical purposes(10%). So far as I know, these are the best (closed) headphones I can get for the price. Oh, Also, one more thing, how is the isolation on these? Will people say ~5 feet near you be able to hear what your listening too on normal volume?

Another thing, you may consider the HD438 as well if you want a bass-heavy headphone with the same detail and clarity of the HD448. It's around $10-20 cheaper, and has velour earpads and headband pad vs the pleather earpads/headband pad of the HD448. The HD448 still has a good amount of bass, but it is more subdued than headphones like the HD595, for example. The HD438 has a similar bass response to the HD595 on the other hand. The HD448 is a clearer-sounding headphone than the HD595 and the mids are a bit warmer than the HD595. As far as I know the HD438 should be similar to the HD448 in the mids and highs. EDIT: I just saw your last comment, and the HD448's don't leak much sound even when playing at loud volume levels.

Okay well that is great about the sound leakage thing, I like to play games in the weee hours of the night, and it gets tiresome to my significant other, and I think the HD448 might be the way to go for me, because clarity > bass in games.

Eric, any updated impressions on the PX 200-II now that you've listened to them for awhile? You've probably seen that HeadRoom gave them 4.5 stars, so my interest is even more piqued. Thanks.

Hey priest:

I have to admit that when I put the PX200-II's on I don't listen to them for very long before putting on the HD595, HD448, or HD238 again. They are nice headphones, still somewhat finnicky about placement, but they don't quite give me the sense of fine detail that the HD238, HD448 and HD595 give me. The bass on them is great however, IMO it is better-defined than the HD238, which can be sloppy at times. The PX200 can be described as a less detailed HD238 with the tightness of bass of the HD595, and similar tonal balance in the mids and highs of the HD448, and less soundstaging capability than the HD238, but still quite good for the size and form factor. However, there is a somewhat "boxy" or congested note that I have noticed even when they are placed properly on my ears. This may go away with further break-in, but I am having a problem with getting the break-in to happen, since I am enjoying my HD448's, HD238's and have found a liking again to my HD595's (I finally found the sweet spot for the HD595's). I was hoping to have my old HD580's back from my friend who had them for the past year this weekend, but I won't see the 580's until next week, which was part of the holdup on the PX200-II review. I will be writing a comparison review between the PX200-II, HD238, HD448, and HD595 pretty soon, and will add the HD580 in when I can.

EDIT: I have a question for you, do you think the comparison review would fit best in the full-size or portable headphone category?


--Eric

Thanks alot, Eric. That gives an excellent feeling for the PX 200-II. I think I am going to have to give them a try, given that they are closed, and there is really a dearth of good portable closed headphones, in my opinion. I have yet to find the one I truly love like some of my full-size ones. I've been using the HD 448 almost exclusively as my "portable" headphone lately, unamped from my ipod. I love the sound of it, and it is very light and comfortable, with a nice short cord, so it can easily be used for that purpose. It's a weird headphone, because it almost perfectly straddles the line between portable and home use. I am unaware of any other headphone like that.

I think your comparison review sounds phenomenal and would fit in either subforum, but personally I would put in the full-size one, because it will get more visibility, and also because I think the HD 448 is the newest headphone, and the one that most people would be dying to hear about.