Sennheiser HD 480 PRO headphones

Review

The most versatile studio headphone right now?

When it comes to closed-back headphones, like the ones we’re talking about here, it is precisely these two areas that users have often had the most difficulty in coming to terms with. Open headphones tend to have an easier time producing a clean and nice bass, while comfort, or the lack of a really high one, seems to be a more or less universal problem for headphone manufacturers to overcome. Comfort is of course also an enormously important aspect for those who have headphones as work tools, and who use them during long and heavy work shifts.

Monitoring

It is obvious that it can be very helpful to have five different speaker sets at hand when you want to listen to or make a mix. Yes, I own that number, but despite this I have discovered that I usually trust what I hear in my headphones more. In addition, I often play all the instruments myself when it comes to composing and recording, and there of course a pair of really good headphones is an unyielding requirement. Then it just so happens that these headphones most often follow me in all the different listening situations I find myself in. This is a situation that I think many who work with sound in its various forms can identify with.

Over the years, my favorite headphones have varied, both for me and for most others. The AKG 240, Sony MDR-7506, MDR-M1 and MV1, and several different models from Sennheiser are among the headphones that have helped me in my listening over the years.

A couple of years ago I reviewed the Sennheiser HD 400 PRO, which were the first open headphones in the PRO series, and which were intended to be used for both mixing, editing and mastering. They were supplemented in early 2024 by the HD 490 PRO, an open reference top-class studio headphone. Even at that stage, a great focus had been placed on creating a pair of really comfortable headphones. They were light and ergonomically designed to eliminate any unpleasant pressure over the headphone headband. In addition, patents had been applied for for several different design aspects of the headphones.

Those headphones can adjust to fit most head shapes, and they also take into account us elderly people who need to both see and hear well. With the new headphones in place, you don’t feel like the frames of your glasses are rubbing against your temples, even though the ear cups still fit perfectly around your ears.

Sennheiser HD 480 PRO

This concept of comfort is also reflected in the design of the new closed headphones, the HD 480 PRO, and which one to choose if you are faced with the choice between the 480 and 490 PRO is entirely upt to what, and how, you plan to use them. The developers have worked intensively to give the HD 480 PRO the same sound character as the open-backed HD 490 PRO. Instead, the choice is whether you need a closed headphone to isolate yourself and exclude leakage in situations where you make various critical sound overdubs, or whether you mostly do mixing or mastering or other forms of more passive listening where you can work with an open headphone without having to worry about leakage.

My, and many others’, previous experience with closed headphones has been quite mixed. One problem has often been that the bass has rarely felt as tight and accurate as with a pair of open headphones. Sometimes you have overcorrected this problem and as a result you end up with a pair of headphones that have too much, and often quite fuzzy, bass. At the other end the lower register has often lacked weight and definition. Too weak a bass does not make any audiophile particularly happy.

Here, however, we can forget all such shortcomings. The Sennheiser HD 480 PRO is incredibly easy to drive, it can deliver a lot of sound pressure before it distorts, and it has a frequency range that is truly impressive; or how about 3 to 28,700 Hz (-10 dB)? You might need a hearing that was a combination of that of a whale and a bat to really verify those numbers, but let’s put it this way: nothing I hear when listening through the HD 480 Pro contradicts those frequency figures. And in direct comparison with their open-back sibling models, these headphones exhibit an almost identical sound character.

Sound image and comfort

When it comes to the sound image, we have a headphone that feels extremely neutral in character. The HD 480 exhibits an airy and crystal-clear treble – completely without edgy side effects – the midrange feels warm but at the same time open, and the critical bass is reproduced with the same steady accuracy, without a tendency to boominess, just like with Sennheiser’s open sibling models. Like these, the HD 480 provides a wide and airy stereo image, with excellent resolution and clear placement of all instruments. In fact, in a direct comparison between these closed and the corresponding open model, I would have an extremely difficult time saying in a blind test which is which.

But to return to the Sennheiser HD 480 PRO’s more tangible physical advantages, thanks to a number of different patent-pending designs, comfort has really been put in the spotlight. We have mentioned the low weight and the wonderfully soft ear cushions that even swallow glasses without disturbing us. The metal headband has just the right amount of padding so that the headphones don’t press on sensitive areas on the top of your head. Among other things, the headband has a chamfer that prevents the headphones from pinching the top of the head, which many other headphones tend to do.

A spiral cord of a particularly exciting model is what is supplied for connection to an amplifier, sound card or mixer. At one end is a classic small phone plug with a unscrewable adapter for normal-sized phone plugs (quarter-inch). At the other end is a special plug that is reminiscent of the one that could be found on old German microphones, although this one is in mini format. It also has a locking button so that you can easily detach it. The handset is also so cleverly designed that you can choose whether you want the cord connected on the left or right side. The default is the right side, but a small plastic plug on the left side is all that prevents you from choosing that side instead. Almost ingenious, in my mind.

The cord itself is “spiralized” (can you say that?) for about half its length, and the rest is plain straight, except for a small piece (a few centimeters) of the part that is closest to the earpiece. There, it has once again been made as a spiral cord. This is intended to minimize the transmission of physical vibrations and sounds that can otherwise propagate via the cord up to the earpiece. Apparently, this cord has also been patented. As a curiosity (although practical for many), it can be mentioned that they have even marked which earpiece is the right and left in Braille. For us sighted people, a large L and R inside the earcup indicate that we are on the right track.

Conclusion

Sennheiser is launching the HD 480 PRO as the ideal headphone for listening, production, and recording, but also for mixing, which according to the manufacturer makes them the most versatile headphones in the range. And I’m actually inclined to agree. The headphones are designed with comfort and uncolored, accurate sound reproduction as the main focus, and they feel incredibly comfortable to wear even during several hours of audio mixing.

At the same time, Sennheiser have developed effective internal damping in the headphones and also an internal system that will eliminate unwanted vibrations, reflections and distortion in the sound path.

All of this combined means that I can without a doubt, and without reservation, recommend the Sennheiser HD 480 PRO for all forms of audio work. During the time I have had them for testing, I have increasingly come to realize that these are certainly the headphones that I would enjoy working with the most for a long time to come. They are definitely the best Sennheiser headphones I have tested and probably also the most comfortable – regardless of brand. Even when it comes to sound reproduction, they are in the absolute top tier of all the different headphones I have tested in recent years.

I usually always try to find some small cons in the tests I do. Thirty years of filing test texts have taught me that a test feels more credible this way. In my test of the open HD 400 PRO I found that they do not isolate very well from ambient noise, but this definitely does not apply to the closed HD 480 Pro. So today I have to admit that this is where I fail. I simply cannot think of anything that I can criticize. I have to give the Sennheiser HD 480 Pro full marks on all counts!

HD 480 PRO Technical Data

ACOUSTIC PRINCIPLE Dynamic, closed headphones

EAR COUPLING Circumaural

FREQUENCY RESPONS 3 Hz – 28.7 kHz (-10 dB)

IMPEDANCE 130 Ω

THD <0.5% (at 1 kHz, 100 dB SPL)

SENSITIVITY 107 dB SPL (at 1 kHz/1 Vrms); 98 dB (at 1 kHz, 1 mW)

MAX SPL 130 dB (1 kHz, 5% THD)

CABLE detachable 3 m spiral cable with 3.5 mm (mini) jack plug and 6.3 mm (1/4 inch) adapter

WEIGHT 272 g

IN THE BOX The HD 480 PRO comes with ear cushions, a spiral cable, and a soft storage bag; the bag is replaced by a sturdy travel case on the HD 480 PRO Plus. As additional accessories, you can purchase several different lengths of cables – both straight and spiral – extra ear cushions, plus the various storage bags

PRICE HD 480 Pro: SEK 4,400; HD 480 Pro Plus: SEK 4,825

MANUFACTURER AND DISTRIBUTOR Sennheiser electronic SE & Co. KG, www.sennheiser.com

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