Customer Reviews

Sennheiser HD428 Closed Circumaural Hi-Fi Headphone

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(62)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've been pretty displeased with the sounds coming out of my lower-range headphones and picked this up at the local big box store. Most people will recommend the Sennheiser 280's on Amazon, which are about the same price, and apparently do a better job.

Not having the other pair I can heartily recommend this set. Build quality seems quite good (all plastic construction), and it's extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time. There's a nice foam padding for the ear cups and a nice foam padding where it rests on your head. The cord should be long enough for most activities, and it includes a stereo adapter as well.

For sound quality, these are 'closed cans' and don't really suffer from the tin can effect of some other similar headphones. Additionally, because it's basically sealing out the outside world, there's very little 'leakage' both in and out of the headphones. This has the positive effect of not annoying your neighbors at the library, and of making the sounds reproduced that much crisper. For lack of a better term, you can 'hear' the silence in a good way - no hiss or blending of sounds from other instruments or vocals. Now, sound quality and range are quite subjective to the listener. But for my part, sounds are generally well represented and well reproduced throughout the entire range, and it is slightly tuned to the bass end of things, but not overpoweringly so. Simply put you will hear sounds on this that you did not hear on your $50 headphones.

Additionally, for portable players, I've found that, due to the impedance and ability to block outside sounds, you can basically listen at the same level from less volume or 'output' from your ipod or such.

I bought the used (refurbished at the factory) Sennheiser HD428 Around the Ear Headphones. It was my best buy of the year. For $19.00 I got what seems to be a new set of headphones. And they sound great. I put on a recording of an opera and almost started to cry, it sounded so good.

I am used to Audio Technica ATH-A700 headphones, which I like. But I have to say these sounded even better. They have a very smooth sound. The only thing I think they are a little weak in is comfort, as the Audio Technica cans are astoundingly comfortable. The Sennheiser HD428s are not quite as comfortable, so I don't wear them for countless hours like I do my other headphones.

If you are considering buying the used, refurbished model of Sennheisers which I found available on Amazon, don't hesitate.

Knowing nothing about headphones at first but wanting to learn through experience, I picked up a set of HD-428's and set of Sony MDR-NC60's costing about 3x what the Senn's cost. Went on vacation for a week and alternated between both to get an idea how they were (the audition).

At first, I was more impressed with the Sony's - they had noise cancellation which I didn't bother to use, but their tonality was softer and more balanced then the Senn's (using an Ipod and a Nintendo DS). When I got home however and plugged both into a decent receiver, I was shocked at how limp the Sony's were compared to the Senn's which really started to perform. The Sony's went back to the big box store after that.

As far as these go -

1) They need some time to break in. Out of the box they sound shrill and bass heavy, but proper break in smooths out the high end (maybe 20-50 hours, I don't remember... but these sound better the more you use them).

2) The over the ear approach is good, but the foam does sit right on my ears and they're not the *most* comfortable set that I own.

3) The cord is short - not an issue when you've got the Ipod or DS right in front of you, but it's hard to use these in conjunction with a TV / receiver / game console.

4) These are closed cans (headphones with closed backs - puts a bit more pressure on the ear than open backed headphones) and makes music sound a little more forward. This also means they dampen a lot of external noise which open headphones wouldn't. This can be a perk or a drawback depending on the situation.

5) Even after a decent break in period, they sound bass heavy. Again - perk or drawback.

Those are the gotchas, but these sound good for cans in this price range. I've got another set of headphones costing more than these which are much more comfortable and sound better (AKG headphones rock btw)... but the quality vs the price make this a good set of cans to take on a trip.

Out of the box, those sound horrible with muddy mid and screeching highs with artificial sounding bass. But things about to change real quick!

25 hours: The mid starts to come out and the bass actually goes pretty deep. As far as the overall sound goes, the vocal and high are still a little screeching.

50 hours: The mid is now comparable to my HD595, but not as pronounced or as forwarding which I like more. The bass sounds flat and is a millions times better out of the box. The high is also getting more crisp but still not 100% to my liking.

100 hours: at 75 hours pretty much the driver is set and done, but at 100 hours the treble sounds a little better and warmer.

Overall I would recommend those headphones to anyone who likes a truthful/flat sounding headphones. I am personally a big fan of sennheiser and have owned many of their top tier model I have to say they did a great job for a headphone that cost less than $80. Note: those headphones benefit a lot an amp, even the cheap fiio E5 made a huge difference from standard ipod jack.

Compare to the beats studio, its 100 times better.

Pros:The best $80 headphone you will find in the market and it sounds 90% like my much more expensive HD595.
Comfortable
Sennehiser name brand
Sennheiser put most of their resources on the driver itself. Unlike others ie bose and beats put most of their money on design and marketing.

Cons:Very thin cable
non removable like the HD438
might not have enough mid/thumpy bass for some user

I'm not a sound snob, but I appreciate good sound. I bought these based on the other reviews on here, and I couldn't be happier. I'm 17 years old, so by nature I have a bass fetish (you can hear my car from 2 or 3 blocks away, and I was looking pretty seriously at the Dr. Dre Beats. After doing some research, I decided to save myself $[...] and go with the 428's.

Do it. They don't have insane mind numbing bass, but the kick is still there. Vocals and midrange come through clear, and overall sound quality sounds really good. They're comfortable and do a good job blocking out most noise and almost no sound leaks unless you're cranking it.

These are far and above a great replacement for my similarly priced Skullcandy buds. Wish I found these sooner,

These cans are great for the price. They are a) comfortable b) have wonderful sound quality for all types of music c) the bass is strong but not too strong- this may be a negative to some but I did not want to have my eardrums beat to death. There are also a few detractors to these in my opinion as well though: a) the cord is entirely too long for use with an iPod, which is what these are marketed as. The cord is like 10 or 12 ft. and there is waaayyy too much there is you are trying to walk around with these. This is great when I'm sitting at my computer doing work and wanna grab something across the office but bad any time I am trying to walk around because even though I am 6'4 is still have the cord under my feet. b) if you like your music LOUD these do not get super loud with an Ipod or Iphone. You can still make it really loud but if your just wanting to rock out hardcore you cannot do it with these.

In all these are great headphones for the price and they blow anything sony, JVC, BOSE, ect makes as far as cans go. Also they are super comfortable over the long-term, which is why I quit wearing buds. I like high music quality but think that the human ear cannot tell a big enough diffrence to justify paying $300 on some headphones I will break. These are great and I recommend them to anyone. These cans also have a old school/new school style going on that is pretty rowdy. If your looking for your 1st pair of cans just buy these you will not regret it unless you re a TOTAL music snob, in which case you need to open your wallet and spend the $300 you are gonna have to spend to be happy.

After buying, and disliking the Sony MDR-V500DJ's, I exchanged them for the Sennheiser HD428. The difference is quite noticeable. The Sony's sounded decent, but were extremely uncomfortable. I was excited to change them out, and decided on something around the same price range. These Sennheisers fit the bill (pun intended). When I got them home, I opened them like a little boy on Christmas day, and threw them on...

Glorious! A beautiful thing happened when I bumped some tunes. My ears were in heaven. The comfort is unmatched as far as I am concerned, and the sound is quite good. I'm no audiophile, and am not overly knowledgeable on technical sound specifics, but I do appreciate great music... and these cans bring great sound.

The single cord plug in is a major plus as this greatly reduces tangling issues, completely eliminates that annoying feeling of two cords around the neck, and the length allows for ample space to be move around a bit. The cord is a little thinner than I would like, but that's just me being picky.

Typically I wear these in my house while on my computer just lounging or doing some work/research. Aesthetically, they look great and seem plenty durable, so there are no constraints on where I can take these and feel comfortable.

Keep in mind that there is some sound leakage with these cans... not much, but it should be mentioned that you should expect some at high volume.

All in all, If you are looking for a pair of headphones at this price point, look no further. Sennheiser 428's are the way to go!

I started looking into Sennheisers after I heard about my friend's HD-212 Pros. I wanted something that sounded awesome and looked awesome at the same time--HD 428s made the cut. This is relatively cheap for headphones of this quality. I was actually very surprised.

I listen to a variety of genres ranging from jazz to dubstep. I wasn't worried about the sound quality of soft songs through these headphones, but I was definitely worried about the bass. After reading some reviews, I expected weak bass from this pair of headphones. Wrong! Now, let me tell you this before I start writing more: I'm picky about my sound quality, and these headphones satisfy my pickiness. It seems to balance everything out nicely and evenly. The bass isn't overwhelming, but you can still hear it deeply and feel the rumble. The sound isn't PERFECT, but it should still satisfy the pickiest of listeners. For comparison, and in my opinion, the bass is clearer and deeper than other headphones in the same price range (i.e., Skullcandy Agents or Skull Crushers). The 428's can pull off ANY genre you play through your sound card or your iPod.

Another good thing about these headphones is the looks. You can wear this pair on your way to a lecture or just a random stroll around the park and it won't look ridiculous like some headphones do. Plus, it should blend in very well with whatever clothes you wear, so you won't have to worry about coordinating your fashion everyday (well, not many people worry about this anyway).

A few not-so-perfect things about this pair of headphones is that it may not fit your ears very well. I usually have to shuffle it around my head for about a minute before I find the perfect fitting position. The other thing is that it feels somewhat flimsy, but maybe I'm babying it since I've had it for less than a week.

So these headphones are great if you're looking for an awesome sounding pair of headphones for relatively cheap. If you're thinking of upgrading from standard iPod earphones for the sound quality, I definitely recommend these HD-428's. If you're looking to sell your overpriced Bose for some money in your pocket, the HD-428's will not disappoint you. Just give these babies a try; you won't regret it.

I bought these after reading other people's review, and I love these headphones. These things are so comfortable that I actually go to sleep wearing them. They don't do the best job blocking out outside noises, but they're not designed to. plus I listen to my music a little louder than most, and that works great for noise cancellation.

I did a lot of research before I purchased this headphone.. I am very happy with my purchase. The ear cup is very comfortable. Sound quality is smooth and full, decent amount of bass not overpowering the rest of the spectrum. Treble is clear. Definitely a great replacement for the crappy ear-piece that comes with iphone/ipod.

I have used it on my recent trip to Asia. It is not noise cancelling headphone, but the closed design blocks quite a bit of noise. With music playing at slightly elevated volume, I could barely hear the plane engine noise..

Only one bit complain, the wire is way too long for normal uses.. I guess it was designed for DJs? I wish it comes with shorter wire. I am constantly worrying that I would trip on the wire and either break myself or break the headphone.