I need some cans: HD449 First Impressions - Page 2

Alright guys, thanks for all the help, think I'll be going with the HD449... This decision was made simply based on reviews, the 449s offer a little more clarity over all, specially in the mids vs the M50, but the M50 has a more punchy bass and low end.

Can't wait to hang up these TiTans

So I hopped on the train to J+R and got the HD449s, and I've decided to write a little review since it seems not many people have them or there's just few reviews. Let me start off by saying I'm pretty new to headphones, the only other phones I own are SkullCandy Titans, and 20$ buds not even worth mentioning. At J+R they had a little test area and I was able to try on a few other phones so I'll try to compare em to those, but don't expect extremely detailed descriptions lol.

Sennheiser HD449 - First impressions, well they're pretty much all plastic, the little aluminum piece feels like plastic too.. So I can understand people saying they feel a little 'low quality' or 'flimsy', but it's good quality plastic and there's no cheap looking seams. However, there's a reason for all this plastic... they're light! these cans are actually a little lighter then my mouse!

Fit: I've got a medium sized head and medium sized ears I guess.. these things fit like a glove. My ears are fully enclosed and just barely touching the insides of the cups, so I'd imagine if you have ears just a tad bigger then normal they might not fit properly or be a little uncomfortable. Overall these are pretty comfy, I can definitely wear these for longer periods of time vs my TiTans. I was able to try the 518's and the 598's, both had bigger cups so they were a bit more comfortable as your ears weren't touching the cups, and the cloth cushions on the 598's were very soft and will probably help with the sweaty ears you get from closed-backs.

Sound: These were exactly as I expected from the reviews I've read. The midrange and the vocals are very clear and I can definitely hear distinct sounds, all my music sounds so different compared to my TiTans since I'm hearing stuff I've never heard before. The bass is there, it just very tight and balanced, it's not rumbling or over powering... upping the bass on the EQ will give just a little more punch but not much more.

Compared to the 598, the 598 definitely has more bass, and probably just a little better mid's and hi's, but they're over a 130$ more so it's expected.

Compared to the 518, the 518 are open backs and it has more bass yes, but it sounds a little muffled.. not tight like the 449. Also I think the 449 does a better job with the mid's and hi's

Overall the 449's hit my requirements for the budget nicely, I got my awesome mids and great vocals and a balanced bass. Perfect for the music I like, Beyonce - end of time sounds amazing, as well as stuff from Florence + Machines. My Caribbean and Dance music are enjoyable with just enough bass.

I would not recommend these for Rock and Hip-Hop tho, it just doesn't have the bass for Hip-Hop, and Rock just sounds average.. the instruments aren't distinct and I'm sure there's better cans for those.

For movies, it's just OK, the great mids and vocals sound awesome for effects like a chopper flying, or hearing people and effects in the background which brings the movie to life, but with the lack of rumbly bass there's just not enough impact at climax moments like when things are blowing up.

Power: On my way back I plugged em into my phone (LG Beacon) and honestly they sounded terrible... it just had no volume.. but that's because my phone couldn't provide the power necessary to drive these. My on-board sounds pretty good, there's enough volume to make my head hurt after a little while. These could probably benefit with a decent amp or a better card to maybe pick up the low end a little... but with the amount you have to invest in a decent amp or card it might be better to just get better phones lol

Cons: There's not much to say.. I kinda wish these came with a coiled cord vs straight, but that's just a personal preference cuz I hate the kinks in the line. I also wish these were made of nice shiny metals and stuff.. but that would make them more expensive and heavier... and I wish they had a little more bass, but then they would be almost as good as the 598's lol.


All I can say now is this audio game is addictive... next time I upgrade will probably be to something like the 598 or better with a nice amp or card... anything less will seem like too small of an upgrade to justify the cost.