Sennheiser HD 429 Headphones Black

Sennheiser HD 429 slightly better than Shure SRH 440
If you are in the market for headphones at this price point, you are likely looking at both of these models. I ordered both, tried them out side-by-side, and returned one. I kept the Sennheisers.

Let me start by saying that I am NOT an audiophile. I was looking for headphones to use with my iphone, that I could use at work at a reasonable volume without disturbing, or being disturbed by, my neighbors with sound leakage. My previous headphones were the inner-ear style, and I found those to be extremely uncomfortable.

Second, I'll say that both the Sennheisers and the Shures are excellent, from a layman's perspective, and that you really can't go wrong with either. Again, a true audiophile would probably tell you something different, and be able to explain the technical side of why one is clearly superior, but I am not that guy.

So, why did I prefer the Sennheisers? The 2 main reasons are:

1. Better sound isolation. Not just a little...

Battle of the Sennheiser!
A few months ago my son purchased a pair of Sennheiser headphones (Sennheiser HD201 Lightweight Over-Ear Binaural Headphones) to replace those that the dog had chewed. Since I have been somewhat skeptical of the true value of higher priced headphones, I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast these headphones with those.

Sound Quality:

HD 201 - Sound quality is decent, without distortion, but the bass quality is not very strong.
HD 429 - Sound is excellent and there is a notable improvement in bass over the lower priced headphones.

Noise blocking:

HD 201 - These headphones slightly muffle external noise but in no way block it.
HD 429 - Another huge improvement over the lower priced headphones. These puppies really block out external noise. (I am the primary source of external noise to be blocked naturally.)

Comfort:

HD 201...

Mostly Solid Low-Budget Sennheisers W/One Glaring Flaw
I needed a new pair of 'cheapo' headphones for commuting, etc, and replaced my broken HD 515s with the HD 429. First off, I'm no audiophile, though I do love my at-home pair of Sennheiser HD 598s. Sennheiser has been good to me in always having excellent headphones, ever since I bought my first pair some twenty years ago, and I've bought one pair after another ever since.

For the most part, the HD 429 delivers what you expect from a low budget pair of headphones (though I wouldn't read too much into the promotional blurb's comment about bass; you'll still need an amp of some kind). I won't go into detail, as there are several great reviews already that do. All I'll say further about the sound is that I think the headphones could have been greatly improved if the headband had a teensy bit more stiffness to them.

However, what compelled me to write a review, is to highlight the cord Sennheiser decided to use with these headphones. It's very thin, and basically the...

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