[NAeternal]

Quote:

Hi guys, I got these yesterday after a lot of deliberation (I was actually so tempted to get the 449 because they're exactly the same price here, but glimpsed 2 posts around these forums saying the 439 was the "cream of the crop" and that the 449's lacked bass).
 
I like the impact of bass, instrumental hip-hop beats, any EDM music,m but also the drums in rock music as well.
 
When I first got these I found them really weird. I've been using Steelseries Siberia V2's for over a year, and while the 439's bass had more 'impact', every other detail sounded more tinny than what I am used to. I kept swapping the headphones over on tracks and preferring my existing Steelseries.
This lead me to have another play with my sound card equalizer settings and...wow. Any audophiles on here will probably say I've committed a terrible crime against sound but this equalizer setting is amazing bass-wise. I suppose I now understand why the word 'warm' is used to describe bass.
http://i.imgur.com/lgUpjuA.png
 
So now that that EQ setting, the HD439's beat my Steelseries. The Steelseries improves with it as well, but the bass is not as punchy and I can tell there is some detail missing with it. 
 
Now, about the bass mod... that sounds interesting, but how reversible is it if I don't like it? And what exactly do I do, I hear some people say to remove some tape, others to what, punch holes in the tape?
 
Thanks.

Would you recommend it for a Rock/Metal listener who needs a lot of instrumental clarity?

 

[Sheza]

Quote:

Would you recommend it for a Rock/Metal listener who needs a lot of instrumental clarity?

Give me some tracks and I'll try it out? Haha. It largely depends on the EQ settings too... anything flat sounds a bit tinny to me.

 

[pouskidis]

Quote:

Now, about the bass mod... that sounds interesting, but how reversible is it if I don't like it? And what exactly do I do, I hear some people say to remove some tape, others to what, punch holes in the tape?  
Thanks.

Dude, you won't need any EQ if you go for the mod.
The mod is reversable, as long as you keep the tape, and be carefull not to overdo it sticking it back. The glue goes off after 2-3 times. But after leaving all the 3 holes open in these and listening to the results, I will NEVER have to use this damned tape again.
 
Check out my results for 439 in this topic http://www.head-fi.org/t/651036/new-sennheiser-hd-419-mod#post_9394532

 

[Sten]

So I want to purchase my first set of decent sounding headphones, but I don't know if I should go with the HD 439 or  the HD 449? I mostly listen to Rock, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, and Post- Hardcore. I also plan to buy the Fiio E6...

 

[Gilly87]

I haven't heard the 449 myself, but the 439 is a good headphone; maybe a bit dark if you like your guitars really vibrant and crunchy like Grado fans. The 439 is still a great headphone though, I recommend it all the time to people who listen to classic rock, electronic, downtempo, or hip hop. The replaceable cable is pretty sweet too. Hard to go wrong with them if you ask me; they might not totally amaze you given your genres, but I don't think they'd be disappointing either, especially for the $50ish you can find the refurbs for on Amazon.

So I want to purchase my first set of decent sounding headphones, but I don't know if I should go with the HD 439 or  the HD 449? I mostly listen to Rock, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, and Post- Hardcore. I also plan to buy the Fiio E6...

 

[Sheza]

May I just add these darn headphones were ~$110 in the UK thanks to our overpriced electronics.

 

[sofastreamer]

buy them at amzon.de

 

[mamadsa]

At least i bought that and 439 is a legen........(W8) .....dery on sennheisers headphone.........after that you burn in the 439 ,you here everyting that you want it.....but you can hear something about your dollars not any more ( good for this price).....!!!
but I offerd to every one that want to buy it : If you want a bass handle headphone it's not good! you must just one use Pioneer Se-Mj 31 (its awesome speakers , bass and usuall cost) !!
the sennheiser don't have a good bass but have a quallity sound which is surrended your body!!

 

[juan1894]

Quote:

At least i bought that and 439 is a legen........(W8) .....dery on sennheisers headphone.........after that you burn in the 439 ,you here everyting that you want it.....but you can hear something about your dollars not any more ( good for this price).....!!!
but I offerd to every one that want to buy it : If you want a bass handle headphone it's not good! you must just one use Pioneer Se-Mj 31 (its awesome speakers , bass and usuall cost) !!
the sennheiser don't have a good bass but have a quallity sound which is surrended your body!!

 
 
I´m glad you like the HD439 like most users of this post do. If you want a bass handled headphone with most of the same clarity, you should try the bass mod in this cans.
 
Cheers!

 

[NAeternal]

With amp, when you boost the volume the basses distort like hell.
You should consider it before buying HD 439. It can be annoying.

The rest, these cans are great. Nice sound/detail, adequate bass, comfortable.

 

[pouskidis]

HD-449 is actually better, but difficult to bass-mod, since it gives REALLY deep bass and vibrates. You need to open the 3 holes to let them breath and then use the "towel" mod to reduce bass reverberation and deepnes. With 439 things are less complicated, as I simply open the 3 holes wide open, and not using towel mod as it significally reduces bass for them.
 
For me, any mod that covers any or all of the holes is a sound quality compromise.
 
I repeat: For one who need bass, just get those sens and mod them. For those who don't like bass, look for other open models. I would recomend HD-497, which is simply the best of the 4xx series in highs and mids and breaths so much better than the closed 439 and 449. But it is an older model, you won't find it anywhere, and the next best thing is to go up a category (5xx series). Wich of course may be much better (up in the 5x line, cheap 5xx's may sound too muffled) but much more expensive.

 

[NAeternal]

Is anyone experiencing vibration/distortion on the left can @high volume or is it just me? 

It touches to my ear, literally

 

[juan1894]

Quote:

Is anyone experiencing vibration/distortion on the left can @high volume or is it just me? 

It touches to my ear, literally

Yeah, i had the same problem. But without distortion, you have that distortion with the bass mod? ( In my senns, i left one hole uncovered (center) and i tried the mod with two holes open too and no distortion at all). My solution was put some tape like that
 

 
Can be pretty strange but it solves my problem xD 

 

[pouskidis]

Doesn't this affect sound quality?

 

[juan1894]

Quote:

Doesn't this affect sound quality?

Nope