Customer Reviews

Sennheiser MX-450 Headphone with Portable Carrying Case

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am currently a/b-ing Sennheiser's new MX-450's against last year's MX-500's, and am of the opinion that the MX-450's represent a uniform and decided step backward for Sennheiser.

The MX-450's are nowhere near as refined, open, transparent and detailed as the 500's. The 450's boast the new "Basswind" system, but this seems only to amount to bass that sounds artificially inflated, but which is neither as accurate nor as extended as the bass from the MX-500's. The lower capacitance of the 450's (16 ohms) lets them play louder at comparable volume levels than the 500's (32 ohms)--which may account for the marketing bullet "Powerful Stereo Sound." Not surprisingly, I found the 450's more fatiguing than the 500's. In addition, the cord on the 450's feels flimsier and tends to twist and gnarl more readily than the better-behaved cord on the MX-500's. Lastly, and to put it extremely politely, I think the cord rewinder that comes with the 500's is much more sensibly designed and user-friendly than the one with the MX-450's.

Actually, I wanted to get ahold of the MX-550's to do a strict comparison between lasts year's and this year's marketing equivalents from Sennheiser, but couldn't find the MX-550's stateside. Aside from the inline volume control (on the 550's), the specifications for the 450 and 550 are exactly the same, though.

As you've probably already guessed, I overwhelmingly preferred the MX-500's in every department. Sure, they cost a few dollars more than the 450's, but it is money well-spent, with the return in musical enjoyment far outweighing the minimal bump-up in price. Unfortunately, it seems that with the MX-450's Sennheiser spent more time and energy coming up with catchy advertizing jargon than they did formulating a functionally better product design.

So, if you truly value value and a faithfully delivered musical signal, bypass the MX-450's and go sraight for the MX-500's. The latter are destined to be a classic; the former perhaps no more than an iteration.

POSTSCRIPT:
After an extensive break-in period, the MX-450's sound a little less strident in the high frequencies. All-in-all, a midrange-forward and tonally/spatially confined presentation compared with the MX-500's. The MX-450's are at their best with pop and vocals, providing some nicely rounded midrange "nibble" on the ears. I'll therefore reliquish another half star: ***1/2 (still rounding down to 3).

Associated Equipment:

Panasonic DVD-S47 player
Gilmore V2-SE head amp
DakiOm feedback stabilizers
ErnieM PCK13 power cords
Fro-Zen interconnects
PAC digital (RCA line) filter
Marigo Labs Signature 3D (cd) mat
Powervar ABC-400 ac conditioner

Sound Quality:
These earbuds are very clean, clear, and crisp, especially on the high end. In the middle range, it still sounds pretty good. However, the bass response is somewhat pitiful. It makes the bass drum, and therefore the entire drumset, seem distant. If you listen to any kind of hip-hop or dance music exsessively, these aren't for you. I don't know what happened to that "Basswind" technology. The previous review mentioned the bass being inflated, but it's not even really there. If the bass is inflated compared to the 500s, then I don't really suggest getting them either. These are quite loud, though.

Fit:
This is a sensitive topic, since all people obviously have different sized ears. No one can really say that headphones are too big or small, but as far as these, I believe they are average sized. They are about the same size and fit similar to iPod earbuds, which also don't have any protruding parts that might end up hurting; they are perfectly round.

Durability:
I haven't had these for long, but they seem well-constructed and durable, from top to bottom.

Comparisons:
I have used a few popular earbuds, including the sony fontopias MDR-EX71, stock ipod earbuds, etymotic er6, and some Koss "plugs."
First of all, you have to realize what you are dealing with. These are cheap, light, portable earbuds, not full-sized headphones. Therefore, don't expect them to compare. They are reasonably good considering these factors.
Fontopias: These are quieter, but have a much better seal than the 450s. However, this can get annoying after some time, since you can hear yourself breathe and chew (especially crunchy food). The built is much more flimsy too, and I don't care what sony says; the "one wire is longer than the other" idea is plain stupid and agitating. However, they do sound a bit better, especially on the lower end of the spectrum. These earbuds are for the hip-hop heads that take anal care of their electronics.
iPod earbuds: eh, these sound alright, but they're a bit artificial sounding. They're not quite as loud as the 450s, but significantly louder than the fontopias. Bass response is slightly more noticeable, but not a good enough reason to settle for these.
Etymotics: Why is this even on this list, you ask? Don't know really... Anyways, these earbuds produce a more accurate sound, but outputs a pretty lousy bass. Don't bother getting earbuds like these unless you really know what you're doing and are REALLY meticulous about sound. These are much quieter than the 450s, and also seem a bit more flimsy. If you have the money, I recommend the 6i instead.
"The Plug": What a waste of time! Bad, fit, bad sound... stupid idea. I think I only mentioned these because I was in a bad mood.

Ups: Fairly good higs, mids, loud. Cool wind-up case.
Downs: Bad lows

Basically, if you're an obnoxious teenager who likes loud music, metal, punk, alternative, rock, whatever you know what I mean, these are for you. If you are an audiophile or like hip-hop, stay away.

I've tried a lot of headphones over the course of the last few years, trying to find the right one for my ipod. I've tried the Sony Fonotopias EX81, Sennheiser PX100, Grado SR60 and SR80, Koss Porta Pros, and the iPod headphones. I'd have to say that these sound just about as good as the full size Grado headphones, known by audiophiles to be one of the best sub $100 headphones.

The main strong point of these headphones is that the highs and midrange are amazingly all there: crisp, clean, loud and clear. The highs are better than any full-size can or earbud I've tried, except the Grados. The bass is good: clear, nice, and well-rounded, although it may not be the best for people who like lots of bass. Like all normal earbuds, I found the bass can be a little hard to hear if the earbuds are not well seated. I recommend using the foam padding to help seating.

Also, these headphones can crank out a LOT of volume, louder than both the Sony Fonotopias and iPod stock earbuds. This can be a good or bad thing. For example, iPods are known to get really loud and can damage your hearing, so be careful. You may consider getting the MX550 which are the same but have a volume control on the cord.

Overall, I love these headphones and use them everyday. For the price, ease of portability, size, and sound, I haven't found anything better.

Have purchased two sets of these over the past year. They are comfortable, have great sound (much better than default iPod earbuds), and a nice long cord. However, my first pair lost sound in one ear after a few months of use. I ordered a second pair hoping it was fluke because I like them so much, but as if on schedule, 3 months later the same exact problem occurred. I'm on to try a different brand now.

I bought the Sennheiser 450 headphones to replace the ones that came with my mp3 player. The headphones are highly rated by audiophiles for sound quaality and an outstanding value. Not only that, they fit my smallish ears much better than any other earbud headphone I have tried.

These headphones have poor isolation, meaning that you can still hear some outside sounds, and others can hear your music. This can be considered good or bad. It's good for safety while walking or cycling bacause you can hear cars. But it's not good if you are listening to music in a loud environment such as an airplane.

I bought these earphones firstly for the clamshell case and secondly because of Sennheiser's good name. What a mistake that was.

Although I'm not qualified to judge the sound reproduction, the clamshell case was a massive disappointment. The idea behind clamshell cases is that the earbuds sit in the middle and the cable is wound around it. How did Sennheiser get that simple concept so wrong?

The whole bottom half of the case rotates, including the cable slot. Gripping the case naturally on its edges touches both halves, so it's practically impossible to rotate and hold the case. Furthermore the cable slot rotates with the bottom half, so the cord has to flick around. There's a finger-size indent on the bottom half, but it's shallow and essentially impossible to use for winding. When the product packaging said "Winding Mechanism" I was expecting something spring-loaded, not a nuisance.

In other clamshell cases I have used, the winding spool and mechanism rotate inside the case, so the whole case can be gripped while winding. I'm able to wind and unwind in about 2 seconds flat.

Also the Sennheisers use an awful felt around the earpiece. I have Denon earbuds and they have much nicer rubber.

I am a musician and have very discriminating ears (both aurally and ergonomically speaking), my overall quality rating for these earbuds is great.

House no misconceptions: these are cheap earbuds, and aren't going to give you the sort of surprising sound Sennheiser's PX-100 headphones do. They are, however, a good bit crisper than standard-issue iEarbuds, and don't smother the signal with bass.

The cord is a bit shorter than a standalone cord should be, and slightly too long for most plug-in remotes, but it's not a grave design flaw.

These are workhorse headphones, best for travel or gym-ish activities. Along those lines, you could do plenty worse for $15.

I've tried Sony earbuds that are exactly like these Sennheisers. The sound quality is pretty similar between the two, the only difference being the Sony tips are not circular: they are crafted to provide a tighter fit in your ear. That little bit actually makes quite a large difference, as the bass and treble in the Sonys sounded better than the Sennheisers, whereas the real difference was how much tighter the seal you could make with the Sonys. I'd have to say either way though, if you're just looking for something small to boot around, you're definently getting your money's worth. I needed something with a little more presence and a better sound stage, so I upgraded to the Etymotic ER6i Isolator in ear monitors.

This isn't to say Sennheiser doesn't make good headphones: I own a pair of EH150s, and they are really nice with amp.

these are good earbud earphones. the high end is better than the low end, but if you have bass boost the sound is more like it should be. the fit is ok, smaller would be better for me. for the price I'm very happy with them.