[drummerman1]

Why is it that every headphone company these days puts “Pro” in the name of their products? Like where are the “sennheiser hd 490 Amateur minus”headphones LOL

It applies to the male ego, 99.9% of punters.

 

[blarney]

Arachne Audio on Etsy makes these for you. From Spain, not too expensive imo.

Not for the HD 490 Pro nor the DT 1777X GO. And they're not cheap at all.

Still trying to find out when the original Sennheiser 4,4mm cable that was announced for EUR 39 will be available.

 

[RainyDog]

Does anyone know which headphones use the exact same connector? I want to get a short 1-1.2m or 4ft cable, but it's hard to be sure what will fit. And custom cables seem pricey

I just received this custom short balanced cable from Lunashops on AliExpress. Works perfectly and handles extremely nicely.

Got both 4.4mm and a 2.5mm for using with my Qudelix.

$13 each + VAT.

I specifically asked for 0.8m lengths as I only listen from portable devices these days so prefer to have as little excess cable as possible. But you can request any length at all really.

There's no specific listing for this exact 4-pin mini-XLR variant but I've advised them to add one and include HD 490 Pro in the description. So just send them a message in the meantime and they'll sort you out.

https://lunashops.aliexpress.com/store/804746

 

[maegnificant]

*Edit* removed the link, this is a fake store

New store, 490 is relatively cheap here. 30 day money-back-guarantee though, paypal and klarna options of payment, too. I am going to take the plunge and try them.

 

[chirsu]

I just received this custom short balanced cable from Lunashops on AliExpress. Works perfectly and handles extremely nicely.

Got both 4.4mm and a 2.5mm for using with my Qudelix.

$13 each + VAT.

I specifically asked for 0.8m lengths as I only listen from portable devices these days so prefer to have as little excess cable as possible. But you can request any length at all really.

There's no specific listing for this exact 4-pin mini-XLR variant but I've advised them to add one and include HD 490 Pro in the description. So just send them a message in the meantime and they'll sort you out.

https://lunashops.aliexpress.com/store/804746

Now that price looks reasonable, thanks

 

[chirsu]

Why is it that every headphone company these days puts “Pro” in the name of their products? Like where are the “sennheiser hd 490 Amateur minus”headphones LOL

I agree that there is such a trend, but as far as I know Sennheiser had this naming scheme long before it became a trend. Now that consumer and pro division are completely separate - it makes even more sense. For example HD 280 Pro exists since 2013. Also I think HD 490 did exist, but it is completely unrelated to this headphone

 

[chirsu]

DT177X Go

Hart makes affordable cables.

Was checking in to comment on how these are doing w more run in. The short of it is the sound is fantastic. I've settled on the 6 series foams and this has made a good bit of difference. I do not feel I'm missing anything w these cans in this config. I have them paired with the Fiio Q11 now, which I had put away, and decided on whim to see how they get on since the 490 like power and I kept feeling the need to turn up my dongles.. Oh man it is a great pairing. Listening to Beethoven at moderate volume now in a blissful state. I luv these cans

Yeah, they look great, but 50$ for a cable is still pricey in my books

 

[rafaelo]

It’s sad how Apple does some stupid trend and everyone joins in. I still can’t forgive them for starting the headphone jack purge BLUETOOTH WILL NEVER BEAT WIRED NEVER.

They did to promote their Bluetooth business but why everyone else followed like sheep.

Paradoxically the phones get much thicker now so there is no point. I kept my 6s plus until last year but eventually I was forced by my job to move on because of a security update.

If they ever will do an audiophile jack again like the new macs everyone will follow...

Copy paste, copy paste....

 

[ADUHF]

Great to see Sennheiser trying out some new studio designs. This market needs more competition. And this headphone looks like it has a some potential, but also maybe a couple areas where it could potentially use a few tweaks or some work, from my perspective.

The headphone has plugs on both sides, for example. But it looks like the cables are single-sided, which I'm not a fan of. (Maybe there's a way to use a two-sided cable with these though?) Aside from that, the ergonomics and build look pretty decent, and like somethin I'd probably enjoy using.

Based on DMS's measurements (done on his HBK 4128 rig), the response appears to be fairly neutral-ish, but with some slight possible caveats. I'm lookin primarily at the raw graphs at around 3:50 in the above video...

Bass extension looks pretty good for an open dynamic headphone, with the velour pads. And the transition into the mids looks smooth. (This is more of a problem on alot of closed studio headphones I've used.)

Mids look pretty good, except perhaps for the recession around 2 kHz that DMS noted. I prefer upper mids that are a little withdrawn right around 2k with alot of music I listen to. But this might be a bit too much for some. You can definitely hear the difference, and how that area begins to sound more recessed (or possibly even a bit muffled) on the HD 490 Pro vs the HD 600 video that drummerman1 posted here...

...The HD 600 is probably a little too forward for my taste though in the upper mids. (Your mileage may of course vary on all this.)

Re treble, on the 4128 rig, I generally like to see a pretty nice, well-defined peak at around 3k on the raw measurements, give or take. And then a bit of a dip between that and the next ear canal resonance at 9 kHz. What I'm seein on the HD 490 Pro though is a peak at 4k, and another small one at 6.5k. So this might come across a tad bright or sibilant in the low to mid treble. It doesn't look too pronounced though, based on these preliminary plots. I'm pretty sure this headphone will also end up on Resolve's 5128 rig though, at some point, which may help to clarify things in this area a bit more.

The high treble also looks a bit rolled off. So maybe lacking a bit of air near the very top of the audible frequency range. This is something you'll see on other studio gear, including the AKG K371, Sony MDR-7506, and Senn HD 280 Pro, to name a few. And I believe it's ostensibly done to reduce ear fatigue. I'm not sure it's a good thing though from a music listening standpoint.

This is all conjectural though until I can get a pair to try myself. Or can see more graphs.

 

[stevodotorg]

I just received this custom short balanced cable from Lunashops on AliExpress. Works perfectly and handles extremely nicely.

Got both 4.4mm and a 2.5mm for using with my Qudelix.

$13 each + VAT.

I specifically asked for 0.8m lengths as I only listen from portable devices these days so prefer to have as little excess cable as possible. But you can request any length at all really.

There's no specific listing for this exact 4-pin mini-XLR variant but I've advised them to add one and include HD 490 Pro in the description. So just send them a message in the meantime and they'll sort you out.

https://lunashops.aliexpress.com/store/804746

Ah dang, that looks way better than their photos. I may have to order a second cable. I just ordered a US made Mogami cable from ebay. Hasn't come yet, it's not braided but it does seem really nice for the price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125755262205

 

[Moukkis]

Ah dang, that looks way better than their photos. I may have to order a second cable. I just ordered a US made Mogami cable from ebay. Hasn't come yet, it's not braided but it does seem really nice for the price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125755262205

That you linked not fit 490

 

[stevodotorg]

That you linked not fit 490

Welp, you're right. Thanks for pointing that out to me- it's a 3 pin, not a 4 pin. Sigh. Hasn't shipped yet, going for a cancel.

 

[ADUHF]

Plus has more accessoires like a case and extra cable, headband etc.

Imo the plus version should be the only version, but I get it.

Thanks for pointing this out. I hadn't noticed there were two different versions of this headphone, ie "Pro Plus", and just plain "Pro". And the latter is $80 less.

It looks like both include the Dear Reality mixing plugin though, based on Sennheiser's specs...

https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us/catalog/products/headphones/hd-490-pro/hd-490-pro-700286
https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us/catalog/products/headphones/hd-490-pro/hd-490-pro-plus-700287

 

[ADUHF]

It’s sad how Apple does some stupid trend and everyone joins in. I still can’t forgive them for starting the headphone jack purge BLUETOOTH WILL NEVER BEAT WIRED NEVER.

The "Pro" has nothing to do with Apple. It's intended to show that the headphones are designed with music production and pro audio gear in mind.

The impedance on this headphone is 130 ohms. And its sensitivity is only 105 dB/V or 96 dB/mW. That makes it harder to drive, but a fairly good match for the higher impedance, and higher voltage headamps on alot of pro audio gear (vs. low impedance, low voltage outputs on alot of portable consumer devices).

That doesn't mean you can't use it for other applications though. You may want a dedicated amp though to get more volume.

 

[equalspeace]

The "Pro" has nothing to do with Apple. It's intended to show that the headphones are designed with music production and pro audio gear in mind.

The impedance on this headphone is 130 ohms. And its sensitivity is only 105 dB/V or 96 dB/mW. That makes it harder to drive, but a fairly good match for the higher impedance, and higher voltage headamps on alot of pro audio gear (vs. low impedance, low voltage outputs on alot of portable consumer devices).

That doesn't mean you can't use it for other applications though. You may want a dedicated amp though to get more volume.

Yes, 490 luvs power and scales w better amplification.