Sennheiser HD 495 Silver Headphones

Sennheiser HD 495 Silver Headphones 

DESCRIPTION

Frequency response: 17 - 23,000 Hz Nominal impedance 32 ohms Characteristic SPL 106 dB THD < 0.2 % Weight approx. 140 g

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 56  
[Oct 03, 2010]
Ryan Clark
AudioPhile

Terrific!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 30, 2003]
armband
Casual Listener

Strength:

Confortable. Powerfull bass(good on some occasions).

Weakness:

Need a powerfull source to amplifier it. Bass sometimes too boomy...

I've bought this headphone set because I'm moving from my house to a old cheap city appartmant. So I thought, I'M m gonna buy a good headphone set to keep the noise down. I must say, I've got better expectations. I'm not desapointed, but... You a good receiver(amplifier) to use this it. The bass is strong and the treble is sharp. They are very confortable.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jun 15, 2003]
sbolotin
AudioPhile

Strength:

Incredible sound, particularly bass. Well-priced and durable. Zero problems in two years of ownership.

Weakness:

Demand a lot of enegry so they may sound weak on on a portable player; however, hooked up to a stereo, they can blow you away. They are also load to surrounding people, which will annoy them. (Understandably.)

A couple years ago, I had gotten sick of the crumby sound of my stock headphones that came with my CD Player. I also wanted headphones so that I could listen to my music loader without disturbing my parents. After exstensive research for headphones in the $100 dollar range, I found the Sennheiser HD-495s and I have fallen in love. They are perhaps the best-sounding headphone I have ever tried. The price is better than decent for its range. The bass is incredible. Being an avid music listener, I demand good sound. These headphones deliver it! I'd recommend these headphones to anyone who cares deeply about the sound of their music but does not have too much cash to fork out. The only drawbacks that I have found to the HD-495s is the amount of power they require and that they are very load to those in one's proximity. Still, they're worth every penny.

Similar Products Used:

Aiwa, Sony, and Optimus

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 07, 2003]
tim
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

price, brand, light weight

Weakness:

dont work very well with my portible MP3 player. Open ait design. Not very good in a crowded room

these headphones were a great, deal 60 bucks!! they work great with my system in my room, but lack power when uses with my slimX mp3 player. Part of the problem could be the MP3 player.

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 26, 2002]
Alan
Audio Enthusiast

Weakness:

None.

Sennheiser's are definately the only brand of audio equipment on my list. I have tried Aiwa (good), Sony, JVC, RCA, and many other brands -- none of which have met my standards of quality. I expect comfort, clear sound and good bass coming from my headphones. This product is well worth the cost of $150, and I can expect it to last for *many* years to come. Sennheisers are German engineered, what more can I say?

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 11, 2002]
Paul
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

I was wondering what the hell the differences between the HD 490 and the HD 495 were… now it’s clear that the HD 495s have much, much better sound than the HD 490s. While the two units look almost identical and share almost the same specifications, the hardware inside must be radically different. These don''t take anywhere close to as much power to drive, and I’ve found they can be played at much greater volumes than the HD 490s on exactly the same hardware. The bass is nowhere near as strong and persistent with these ‘phones, which is greatly appreciated. On the quieter tracks, the bass seemed out of place on the HD 490s, and with louder stuff like techno and industrial music it started distorting. The HD 490s did settle down and improve a lot once they were burned in, although the overall clarity was never as good as these were right out of the package. I wouldn’t call the HD 490s crap for the price, though, and if I hadn’t read about these and decided to spend a great deal more money they would’ve served me well. I burned my set in using a looping pink noise sample at near maximum volume for two days straight – got the idea off a post here, and it worked beautifully. If you’r

Weakness:

These ‘phones are extremely lightweight, which is great to wear but requires them to be made of plastic. I’m not really worried about them breaking because the plastic used is flexible, but they can and will scratch rather easily. The phones have a cheap feel to them due to the materials used, however this sure doesn’t seem to affect build quality. I’m worried about the cloth wearing out on me as it doesn’t seem overly sturdy – only time will tell if this is the case. Poor quality sources are easily exposed, which can be disappointing and frustrating at times. That’s more of a compliment to the HD 495s than anything, though. If you''re after a pair of SR60s or even SR80s, check these out first.

Having used my KOSS portaPro headphones for what must be over 5 years, I was pretty upset when I came into my room one day to find they had been stepped on by someone while I was out. I was just in the process of settling on a set of Logitech Z-560s for my computer system to upgrade the sound when I decided I''d first try to upgrade my headphones to something that would compete with those new speakers. After a quick trip to Future Shop (I know, I know) I stumbled upon a set of Sennheiser 490s mislabelled at $59.99 instead of $99.99 (Canadian). I checked their specs, when over the KOSS and Sonys they had and decided to give them a try. When I got home I did a ton of research and found this site… and the HD 495s. Luckily for me, I was able to price match the HD 495s down to $99.99 or the huge difference in price from $59.99 wouldn’t have made the upgrade worth it.

Similar Products Used:

KOSS portaPro, Sennheiser HD 490, Grado SR60

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 23, 2002]
Ben Jacobs
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

accurate sound reproduction. good source separation. very light & comfortable

Weakness:

bass is ordinary and can distort at very high volume. noisy from the outside. cord length.

I was looking for high quality headphones that could be used with a portable device (as well as TV & HiFi Amp), value for money was not my primary concern... also needed an open pair (so I could use them when walking down the street). I mainly listen to classical music (usually solo piano but a fair amount of orchestral and some operatic). These produce very crisp, accurate, realistic sound (to the point where they can show up a old/poor recording with ease). They are particularly good at separating instruments & voices (I consider this the best sign of good quality reproduction) but are pretty ordinary at reproducing bass. When the volume is cranked up to very high levels you can hear the bass distorting. Another negative point is that they are very noisy on the outside. I read this criticism in another review and thought little of it at the time... now i know what they were talking about when they said youd have difficulty using these on a plane). The phones are comfortable though... damn comfortable and really light. They come with a detachable cord, the length of which dangles in no mans land (i think its 9''). It oughtve been either 3'' or 12''. You can probably buy a different cord for little though except the end of it that plugs into the earpiece is not a common diameter like you might suspect (ie perhaps hard to find the correct cord in your local hifi store). In terms of using them with a portable player (i have a sharp MD)... well… they work... you have to turn the sound level to near-maximum… theyre certainly better when plugged into a proper hifi amp, but theyre still superior to my old headphones (crappy pair that came with MD). I had difficulty finding a good all-rounder -a pair that could serve both portable & hifi players- and overall I''m pretty happy with these.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Mar 23, 2002]
Ben Jacobs
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

accurate sound reproduction, good source separation, very light & comfortable.

Weakness:

bass is ordinary & can distort at very high volumes. Cord length.

I was looking for high quality headphones that could be used with a portable device (as well as TV & HiFi Amp) and I wasnt too concerned about value for money... also needed an open pair (so I could use them when walking down the street). I mainly listen to classical music (usually solo piano but a fair amount of orchestral and some operatic). These produce very crisp, accurate, realistic sound (to the point where they can show up a old/poor recording with ease). They are particularly good at separating instruments & voices (I consider this the best sign of good quality reproduction) but are pretty ordinary at reproducing bass. When the volume is cranked up to very high levels you can hear the bass distorting. Another negative point is that they are very noisy on the outside. I read this criticism in another review and thought little of it at the time... now i know what they were talking about when they said youd have difficulty using these on a plane). The phones are comfortable though... damn comfortable and really light. They come with a detachable cord, the length of which dangles in no mans land (i think its 9''). It oughtve been either 3'' or 12''. You can probably buy a different cord for little though except the end of it that plugs into the earpiece is not a common diameter like you might suspect (ie perhaps hard to find the correct cord in your local hifi store). In terms of using them with a portable player (i have a sharp MD)... well… they work... you have to turn the sound level to near-maximum… theyre certainly better when plugged into a proper hifi amp, but theyre still superior to my old headphones (crappy pair that came with MD). I had difficulty finding a good all-rounder -a pair that could serve both portable & hifi players- and overall I''m pretty happy with these.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Mar 14, 2002]
Drlfter
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great dynamic sound range. Awesome 4 point-esque sound in Counter-Strike. VERY light and comfortable

Weakness:

Kinda steep price (actually paid the $100 US MSRP?!). Try to find them below $130 Can. and you got a sweet deal.

Absolutely killer set of phones for my daily usage. Being an avid gamer and audio enthusiast I needed a set of headphones for my computer. Late nights of surfing and groovin to mp3s can really annoy a significant other while listening to a 400 watt computer system, so a nice set of headphones was pretty much required. It came down to the Grado SR-60''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s and the Sennies and I chose these baby''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s for the awesome sound quality and comfort. Bass is sort of lacking, but then again they are headphones and you are not going to get those gut punching atom blasts of an 18" inch sub from them. In conclusion, for the price they are a great set of phones and I would deffinately recommend them for anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60 (also incredible phones.)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 25, 2002]
decmate
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Very light and comfortable. Good sound for the money.

Weakness:

Some distortion on bass lines.

I was initially disappointed with these cans. There was a definite problem with bass, causing a very muddy indistinct sound. I used them for a few hours and almost decided to return them. I had read, however, that they take a bit of breaking in, so I left them connected to my amp (Kenwood 3020 SE) and played through them continuously for 72 hours. What a difference it made. There is still some colouration with the bass, particularly on "live" recordings, but this may improve with use.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic,Ross,Sony.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 56  

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