Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Open-Back Headphones

[VSG]

Sennheiser adds to its studio headphones line with the HD 490 PRO. It uses the brand's latest generation dynamic drivers in a new chassis that looks neat and functions even better. Add to this a few clever tweaks throughout and a fully-featured $99 DAW plugin, and the HD 490 PRO makes a compelling argument to be your new music mixing/mastering/producing set of headphones.

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[Onasi]

Seems almost like strictly a studio option, at least at MSRP. Although I THINK there was supposed to be a cheaper SKU without the plugin and only one pair of pads, no? Am I crazy?

Anyway, I’ve seen these being praised as an overall upgrade over the 560S (even though it seems like a completely new driver), the Sonova split DID muddy waters a lot. Problem is, again, the price. It’s fine for a professional model, which this IS, but a lot of it is actually IN those pro-targeted features. For the consumer customer base… ehhhh. Would I grab this over a Sundara or Ananda? Mm, nah. Hell, not even over the aforementioned 560S on a deep discount - twice the price ain’t worth the upgrade. But if I was mixing and actually needed an open set? Sure, those are rare enough in the pro-space and this one seems like the most “modern” full package.

 

[VSG]

Seems almost like strictly a studio option, at least at MSRP. Although I THINK there was supposed to be a cheaper SKU without the plugin and only one pair of pads, no? Am I crazy?

Anyway, I’ve seen these being praised as an overall upgrade over the 560S (even though it seems like a completely new driver), the Sonova split DID muddy waters a lot. Problem is, again, the price. It’s fine for a professional model, which this IS, but a lot of it is actually IN those pro-targeted features. For the consumer customer base… ehhhh. Would I grab this over a Sundara or Ananda? Mm, nah. Hell, not even over the aforementioned 560S on a deep discount - twice the price ain’t worth the upgrade. But if I was mixing and actually needed an open set? Sure, those are rare enough in the pro-space and this one seems like the most “modern” full package.

Not sure I've heard of a SKU with no pluging and single set of pads tbh, but that would certainly be intriguing from a value perspective.

 

[Onasi]

@VSG
Okay, I was just misremembering. Apparently, there is a MORE expensive SKU with additional cable, headband and case. The announcement was almost a year ago, so I guess I have an excuse.

Sennheiser Introduces HD 490 PRO Reference Studio Headphones | TechPowerUp}

I was even discussing it extensively with T0@st there and I still misremembered. I am getting old.

But yeah, no, at 480 it’s even less attractive.

 

[diak]

Wonder how these would compare to the recently announced/released(?) meze 105 AER at the same price point

 

[VSG]

@VSG
Okay, I was just misremembering. Apparently, there is a MORE expensive SKU with additional cable, headband and case. The announcement was almost a year ago, so I guess I have an excuse.

Sennheiser Introduces HD 490 PRO Reference Studio Headphones | TechPowerUp}

I was even discussing it extensively with T0@st there and I still misremembered. I am getting old.
View attachment 372720
But yeah, no, at 480 it’s even less attractive.

Yes, I have mentioned that other SKU in the review.

Wonder how these would compare to the recently announced/released(?) meze 105 AER at the same price point

I only heard the 105 AER in back in July, months before release and also before this review was written, so I can't rely on memory to say how the two would compare. Meze seems to be prioritizing YouTubers for review samples based on what I am seeing, so I doubt we'll see a review here anytime soon.

 

[Onasi]

@VSG
I must have missed that mention, yeah. And then misremembered an additional cheaper one to boot.

Can I also say that the Mixing pads heavily remind me of some aftermarket ones that are available for the 500 and 600 series from the likes of Dekoni, Misodiko and others? Similar effects of warmer sound and a bit narrower soundstage.

 

[RedelZaVedno]

HD 600 is still a price/performance king imho (6XX and 560S are also very good if you're on a budget). The only downside of it is somewhat narrow sound stage and lack of bass. Sennheiser HD 820 solves all these issues, but $1500 pricetag is just too much. I also really like open HIFIMAN Sundara and Arya. Both really nice bright yet neutral sounding headphones for the price. And then there is Aune AR5000. A real audio delight when used with equalization.