The latest pair of Sennheiser headphones keeps the cord in your life, but aims to offer solid sound and supreme comfort.
As much as we love a good pair of wireless headphones, there are times when a wired pair is just as desirable. Take when you’re sitting at a computer, and working with audio creation and mixing software.
While you could technically edit and work on music and audio with a pair of wireless headphones, it’s so much more reliable to stay corded. There’s no risk of timing going out, and the sound is just that much more reliable overall.
It’s no wonder that when Logic Pro is open on this journalist’s computer, a pair of great wired headphones are plugged in. That’s all there is to it.
In the past two years, that has jumped between the plushy comfort of the Rode NTH-100, and the fantastic and light Sennheiser HD 25, both of which are stellar options. But there’s now a new pair to consider, as Sennheiser treads ground between both, delivering pro-grade sound and plushy comfort in a way that aims to impress.
Launching this week, Sennheiser’s HD 490 Pro are a little different from the either of those pairs, and yet also much the same. Like the Rode NTH-100, they’re designed to be comfortable and easy on the ears, with a design that pulls back on pressure points and has a soft pair of ear pads, plus a handy case to hold it all together.
And yet like the HD 25, elements are designed to be replaceable. Two pairs of pads are included in the pack, both of which hare washable, and there are two types of cords, as well: curly and standard straight.
But more importantly, the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro is built to be clear, and really made for creators creating content, thanks in part to an open design and a combination of neodymium magnet and low frequency cylinder.
You can see through the headphones thanks to that open design, and this marriage of components aims to deliver accurate and clear bass, while also handling the mids and highs.
Built for audio pros, Sennheiser also includes a slightly cut-back version of the Dear Reality DearVR MIX studio mixing plugin for use with digital audio workstation software (like Logic Pro), which can effectively turn the HD Pro 490 into a pair that can mix and master spatial audio.
You probably won’t be able to simulate head turning without an extra piece of hardware, as the headphones lack a compass or accelerometer — they’re standard headphones — but it’s something extra in the package.
Clearly, that pro focus means the HD 490 Pro aren’t a pair of headphones for everyone, and really aim these cans at content creators, but folks who know they need something like it will find the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro online and in stores shortly for $749 in Australia.
