Today, Louis reviews the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Plus, which is a new set of open-back dynamic driver headphones designed for the pro audio user. It is priced at $479.00.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. I thank Sennheiser for this opportunity.
Click here to learn more about the Sennheiser products we have previously reviewed on Headfonics.
Note that this feature follows our latest scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
Today we will review the recently released HD 490 PRO Plus, labeled a professional studio monitor-type headphone.
The HD 490 PRO Plus headphone was designed by Sennheiser to be a referencing tool for home-studio music creation work and music creators that use DAO environments.
Priced at $479, it is slightly cheaper than our recently reviewed higher-profile HD 660S2 release which some pros are known to use in the studio environment.
How does it perform against one of Sennheiser’s better-known headphones and how well does it compete against other branded closed-backs in the price range? I find out in more detail in my full review below.
Features
The HD 490 PRO Plus is a set of open-back headphones designed to be worn for long referencing sessions with little discomfort. The ideal type for studio pros as well as relaxed listening audiophiles.
Sennheiser used a 38mm dynamic driver tuned for a neutral response, or shall I say to closely mimic the Harman curve.
This driver features Neodymium magnets and an ultra-light voice coil and as previously mentioned, the drivers are angle-mounted to produce a wide-open sound with improved staging capabilities.
The headphones are rated with an impedance of 130Ω and an SPL of 96db /mW meaning some good voltage is required but it’s not as hard to drive as some of their 300 ohm equivalents such as the HD 660S2 or the HD 600.
Sennheiser also implemented a low-frequency cylinder system to enhance bass response which to me is a forward step to counteract the common Sennheiser south-of-the-border neutral-sounding bass response.
I always felt there was room for improvement in that frequency region since I am a listener, like many who prefer full-bodied bass.
One more bonus from the HD 490 PRO Plus is the inclusion of a copy of dearVR Mix-SE that allows you to simulate the acoustics of famous recording studios. I did some research on this app and found out it also has presets for most of Sennheiser’s line of headphones.
Design
Cup
The HD 490 PRO Plus’s cup shape is not common to the Sennheiser lineup of headphones and seems to be a new design.
It has some similarities to the one used on the Accentum Wireless. It’s a smaller cup when compared to their HD 6 series line and not as oval-shaped. The cups did gain some girth over other Sennheiser models.
These cups are mounted on some polymer yokes and designed to allow the cups to rotate freely almost 360 degrees, but only allow approximately 15 degrees of pivot which is just enough to cover most facial angles.
This allows the user to lay the cups flat on either side, DJ style but do not freely spin since they stop at each extreme which is preferred over a completely free-spinning cup.
The cup’s construction is also an all-polymer material except for the back grill which seems to be made of metal. The grill is finished in black enamel to match the all-black color theme, except the headband which is a brushed stainless-steel metal spring.
Headband
The Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Plus headband is a new design assembly from Sennheiser that from what I can tell looks tough enough to endure some punishment and is very comfortable to wear.
I have to admit, even though Sennheiser uses a lot of plastic parts, I’ve never had a catastrophic failure with over a dozen Sennheiser headphones I’ve owned and the HD 490 PRO Plus seems to follow that trait.
The weakest spot of the overall construction seems to be the top of the yokes where the cups are allowed to spin but I wouldn’t worry much because this headband assembly seems solid.
Comfort & Isolation
The HD 490 PRO Plus clamping force works together with the soft pads perfectly and provides just enough clamping force to hang on but not enough to create any discomfort or excessive pressure points.
The top portion also contributes to comfort with a split cushion that relieves pressure at the center point.
Even though Sennheiser shrunk the overall circumference of the pads, they still managed to design the headband to provide the user with a high degree of comfort.
Isolation is not a strong point here since this headphone has an open-back design. In a studio environment, you want some isolation but you also do not want a headphone that bleeds out sound and this one doesn’t bleed out much.
The HD 490 PRO Plus leaks out very little sound which is desirable. The amount of leakage is tolerable at close range and from a few feet away becomes negligible. The problem here is the isolation which is negligible.
Stock Pads
My overall experience with Sennheiser headphones in general tells me that they’re sensitive to pad swapping and any deviation from the original pad will produce a sound profile different from the stock sound.
Sennheiser capitalized on that this time around by supplying two pads that provide the HD 490 PRO Plus with two distinct sound profiles. One pad is for producing and the other for mixing according to Sennheiser. We’ll talk more about their effects later.
But let’s rewind the tape here. Did Sennheiser say these pads are washable?
What a great idea it is to have the ability to wash an item that is made of cloth and that will touch your skin daily. What a novel idea. Are we not happy that headphone designers are not sock and undergarment manufacturers?
Another aspect that no one has mentioned is the possibility of further sonic tweaking here. You can play around with the inserts or remove them and perhaps come up with one that will open these up since the stock insert is rather thick. Just be careful because the driver would be exposed without the insert.
Stock Cable
I can mention a few positive points about the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Plus cable system. First off, the cups have dual ambidextrous connectors and you only use one at a time.
That allows the user to use whatever side to connect the cable. Sennheiser includes a cover for the unused plug which is a thoughtful touch.
Second, they use a mini type of 4-pin connector with a hefty feel. This is a pushbutton system to lock the connector in place. But that’s one of the issues I see. It’s a unique connector so shopping around for a good aftermarket cable will be a chore.
The first thing I would do is look for a better cable because the stock cables only offer single-ended connectivity. The stock cable assembly is made of thin wiring in rubber insulation, and the plugs are also rubber plugs.
The input side uses a 3.5mm common TRS plug and Sennheiser includes a 6.35mm adapter. My set came with two almost identical cables of different lengths, a 1.8-meter, and a 3-meter cable. These cables are too basic in my opinion and leave the buyer desiring a better cable.
The only novelty about them is the swirl on the top portion which according to Sennheiser controls the amount of noise transmitted to the cups via the cable. It works, but it does look unusual.
Packaging & Accessories
Besides the two cables and the two sets of pads, Sennheiser includes a nice carrying case that allows you to take along the headphones, and all the accessories including the two cable and pad sets with you.
The rest of the HD 490 PRO Plus accessories consist of literature and Velcro straps and all come inside a laminated cardboard box illustrated with the product’s specifications on the outside of the box.
Sound Impressions
The following sound impressions of the HD 490 PRO Plus were completed with the SMSL SU-X and SH-X amplifier and DAC combo.
These units have a keen ability to harness most or all of a headphone’s performance capability. I also used the iFi Audio NEO iDSD 2 to add some color to the sonic presentation.
I attempted to use some dongle DACs but only the most powerful and top-tier models like the iFi Audio GO bar Kensei, and the FiiO KA17 which can drive the 130Ω impedance adequately.
Summary
The HD 490 PRO Plus’s general characteristics can be summarized as well balanced with a negligible amount of veil that lets the mix come through, allowing you to hear all the elements and nuances of each track distinctly.
I felt this headphone was revealing enough to be more than just a studio monitor. They seem to be forgiving in most cases and tend to sound good with most recordings.
I was expecting them to not possess that characteristic and not be as musical without that anticipated clinical characteristic overall.
The HD 490 PRO Plus presents the listener with a neutral tone with little to no coloration. I still feel that the impactfulness and richness could be improved, but this tuning allows the listener to focus on note distinction and each note’s tone.
There is a veer away from the typical Sennheiser sound in that the bass response has some increased output. The bass has more presence but overall, the total frequency response, especially above 200Hz is evenly tuned.
Bass
I agree with the direction Sennheiser is taking. It seems they’re putting in the work to produce a bottom end that will please more listeners than before. This bass increase seems to happen below 50Hz giving the bottom end an improved body.
The HD 490 PRO Plus’s bass is effective down to 25Hz and at that point, the output starts to drop quickly losing half or more of its energy at 20Hz. I could not detect any midbass bloat and the bass response seems to be produced evenly across the bass region.
I prefer a bit more hard-hitting impactfulness in the bass but the HD 490 PRO Plus produces ample amounts, especially with the Velvet pads.
A proper break-in is required and very important with these headphones. When I first got them, the bass was raw-sounding, lifeless, and could not take an inch of boosting without major distortion but within 20 hours of use, the bass tightened up considerably.
Midrange
The HD 490 PRO Plus can produce an accurate reproduction of the male and female vocals in pitch. Sennheiser headphones usually do well in the midrange spectrum and on average produce a true tone character that produces a realistic tonality.
I ran a tone generator to see if there were any anomalies or peaky areas and I could not find any within the midrange area.
This headphone has a balanced midrange and is one of the few headphones that I can run a sweep on with a tone generator and not notice any anomalies, peaks, or dips.
Treble
The HD 490 PRO Plus tends to dip when it hits above the 14kHz point of the high-frequency spectrum. There is a good amount of high-frequency extension below that frequency and high notes are produced with lots of weight.
The midrange characteristic that has been softened also gave way to the high frequencies and that promotes a forwardness typical of most Sennheiser headphones but comparatively this set has a small amount of refinement in intonation.
Staging & Dynamics
The overall size of the HD 490 PRO Plus soundstage is rather large and has ample depth and height, but the tuning seems to focus on the center stage more so compared to the left and right positions, turning the soundstage into one that is quite intimate.
These do well with live recordings as far as placement since they project a soundstage size that attempts to assimilate an assembly in a large area or room. Proper placement is one of the key features of this set and it does it well.
Click on page 2 below for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
