[episiarch]

Over the weekend I heard the MM400 at the Apple Store Regent Street (London UK) and they're remarkable. The sound is good! (I won't try to quantify how good because I wasn't able to try them with tracks I know nor adjust the volume. But they were _much_ better than what I expect to hear when I pick up a display headphone at an Apple Store. They were wired down to the display and now I'm not sure whether I was hearing a wired or wireless signal at the time.) They're light and comfortable, somewhere between PX200 and HD238 in size. Didn't get to try out the headset functions. The MM 400 doesn't have the NR that the MM 450 does, so I didn't try that either. The passive isolation of the MM 400 was nothing to get really excited about but a whole lot better than I expect of this small-and-light class of headphone.

There are also supposed to be two mic-less models, PX 210 BT and PXC 310 BT, but I'm not certain how available these are yet.

The price is high at £179 (at Apple, somewhat less at Amazon) for the MM 400, but I could see these as compelling enough to be worth it for some applications.

 

[Gamerphile]

The MM450/400 and possibly future models up there are mobil-phone enabled and tested e.i. headsets... the others are not but pure stereo bluetooth music receivers - thats the only difference besides between modelles some don't have the noise-cancelling etc. so they can be made at a lower price point.

BTW if you like Apple products and Sennheiser the latest I heard was they have a very good relationship since Apple like the way Sennheiser can cater to their headphone/headset needs due Sennheiser unique brand, quality, mass production capabilities etc. and willingness to corporate. So thats properly gonna spill fruits in the future.

 

[chashulme]

If someone can provide the dimensions of the mm450 when folded, that'd be great. I'd like to see if I can find a good travel case for them, since the one provided reportedly is not very protective. This is among the big complaints about them, along with price point and battery life. If I'm going to spend that much for them, I'd like to make sure they're safe.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by techfreakazoid /img/forum/go_quote.gif Came across the following: Sennheiser Communications Revolutionizes Stereo Bluetooth Sound Quality Solrød Strand, August 2009. Enjoy music and never miss a call – Sennheiser Communications introduces the MM 400 Series, combining the quality of luxury headphones with the superior functionality of an advanced Stereo Bluetooth communications headset. Sennheiser Communications is proud to announce the launch of a wireless stereo series. Featuring advanced Stereo Bluetooth technology, the MM 400 and MM 450 TRAVEL are communications headsets for the demanding global traveler. Designed to work seamlessly with the latest mobile phones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, they also deliver world-class stereo sound with all types of music – thanks to the A2DP profile developed especially for Stereo Bluetooth. As Product Manager Johannes Kaulfuss states: “Bluetooth technology together with the advanced A2DP profile is so mature that great stereo sound is now possible. That means we at Sennheiser Communications have developed and launched probably one of the world’s best Stereo Bluetooth headsets.” ........ blah, blah, blah .....

Sorry, but what a load of marketing hypocrisy is this? Makes me ROFL. First they decided to go with Kleer Audio, at a time when Bluetooth 2.x units with EDR where readily available, and now they act as if they invented A2DP themselves. Unbelievable!

 

[Gamerphile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, but what a load of marketing hypocrisy is this? Makes me ROFL. First they decided to go with Kleer Audio, at a time when Bluetooth 2.x units with EDR where readily available, and now they act as if they invented A2DP themselves. Unbelievable!

The idea of marketing trash talk is to get the owners and average consumer the right impression. The point they are trying to make I think is that their products shouldn't be thought of as comparable to other A2DP product because practically everything on the market before these where introduced where not even what I would call serious audio products. This product series I think is one of the primary reasons for Apple <-> Sennheiser relations - I know for a fact that they share the same view about the SQ of other A2DP products on the marked and was very positively surprised when they heard a prototype of these for the first time.

A2DP is just the standard there is a lot of other things going on behind the scene on such products technically like which codec to use for the audio transmission and how well you treat that etc. - all in all Sennheiser Communication does it in a way that together with the proper analog electronics and psychical speaker design etc. makes the sum of the product leagues ahead of the competition in SQ.

FYI I know there is one or 2 of the head-fi respected brands that make A2DP products and haven't heard these long enough to see if they are reasonable but they are really small compared to the real world marked where Jabra, a few others and the MP brands like Nokia where the major players.

 

[james444]

^ Still, marketing nonsense IMO. I believe any Sennheiser rep would be surprised if they heard their own Senn IE8 driven by my Samsung SBH900. I bet it blows the MM 400 series out of the water. Anyway, I'm eventually going to audition one of these, to find out for sure.

 

[Young Spade]

Hmm could be useful for those quick "in the car" situations when you don't feel like bringing your whole rig or something; if I had some they would definitely get some use on the road.

 

[marc1uk]

I bought a pair of mm400's recently - the bluetooth but not noise cancelling pair. £100 for active noise cancellation seemed way too extreme, particularly as I've not been overly impressed by NC in the past.
The mm400's do well on the bluetooth aspect though - the charge holds a good 5 hours of play, if not a great deal longer when in standby. They pair well with my laptop and phone, and range is good - i can wander from my laptop into the adjacent room, maybe 15m before they quickly lose reception - even they they stutter & eventually cut out, but haven't yet dropped connection. I haven't had a chance to try out the call quality on them yet - i didn't really intend to use them as a headset (wasn't even aware they had a microphone in them until after i'd bought them).
The sound quality over bluetooth is impressive too - I honestly don't notice the difference between wired and wireless. That said, I'm not blown away by either. The bass can be punchy, but there's an absence of true bass & sense of immersion. Generally midtones are reasonably lively, but not very clear at all, and the sound stage is pretty weak. It all just sounds very much on top of itself, and when there's a lot going on things sound muddled. For an outdoor, portable pair they're pretty good, and the passive noise isolation's not bad, but indoors they are a little disappointing.
 
 
 
P.S:: First review, hope it's helpful to someone. I should note the other pair I own are a pair of Sony MDRXD200's, which are a massive pair of over-ear open-backed 'phones, so perhaps I'm expecting too much from a small, portable, closed-back, on-ear pair. I'd like to hear what others think of them, so please post up if anyone else has these.

 

[esdwa]

Got pair of these to use with my Samsung Vibrant (known also as "Galaxy S")
a stereo Bluetooth enabled phone with Android 2.1 OS.
- pairs instantly, no additional question asked
- sound quality is just amazing
- player control from the headset ear panel (play/pause, prev,next, volume)
- can receive calls (accept,reject,voicemail) and talk with vibrant still in my pocket
- noise canceling included
- its fold-able set so it wont take much of the storage space

Notes:
- some players like TuneWiki does not support on-ear control, funny that most of simple and free ones do
- built in microphones for noise canceling are also used during the call, no strings attached
- battery lasts around 12 hours with bluetooth and noise canceling turned on; it is rechargeable but replaceable pack so no worries if one day it dies; can be replaced
- built to last; sturdy high quality materials but still lightweight
- charged from wall or any USB port
- battery died during trip? No problem, connect your player using included 3.5mm jack cable
- tested yesterday during 2 hours round air trip, worth every penny.
 
Highly recommended.

 

[bto232]

I just got mine today have been using them all day there great fantastic sound quality both for music and taking call's. I had done months of research online and found from reviews that these were the best. My partner always has problems hearing me whenever I use a hands free device whatever that may be but when I called her today in the supermarket and while driving in the car she had no problems hearing me. I would recommend these. Also the skip track buttons work with iOS4 for the iPhone which is a bonus cause I thought they didn't judging by the reviews I had read. So all in all a great set of head phones.

 

[rovex]

Portable headphones have made the transition to single corded earcups and now i believe the next step will be wireless for the high end cans. The thing is, sound quality through Bluetooth will increase to the extent where it will be as good as wired. I find the controls on the Senn's cup very intuitive and just incredibly convenient. Wireless is just all round more convenient.

 

[andreiru]

So you cannot use your amp with these and you can use them for VoIP (FaceTime / Skype / Fring) calls, correct?

 

[andreiru]

Can confirm Skype/FaceTime/fring etc work, so does everything else and the sound is remarkable and so is battery life - small battery but lasts 8+ hours of continuous listening. No lag. Some major issues when connected to mountain lion. No issues with the iPad.


~ Andrei.