Every once in a while a game changer is born in the world of technology. It redefines what is possible,takes what has been done before. and morphs it into something new and lasting. It upsets the standards of today in light of the image if tomorrow. And because of this it creates hatred and fear of those stuck in the past or devoted to tradition because they fear of being forgotten or being run over by the wave of change. Sennheiser has been destroying things for my audio needs in the last few weeks with its MTW 4’s, the Momentum 4 headphones, and now with the HD 490 Pro’s. Just when I thought I was going to settle with the 6xx, which was amazing by the way, something like this comes and completely changes everything I thought possible.
Don’t get me wrong the 6xx is a Legend. It flat out blew me away and I loved it. Until, the 590’s changed the game on me today. First off, I have never in my whole life of sound and headphones ever felt a single headphone that felt as good as these. They literally feel like Angel Pillows. Everytime I put them on my body got so relaxed that I fell asleep multiple times. I can not stress enough how serious I am and not exaggerating about this at all. The flat out level of quality felt just holding this Headphone is basically the most pleasing thing I have ever felt that didn’t exist on a woman’s body. It is that serious people. The weight, the sure smoothness of the swivel of the cups, the details placed in the R and L lettering inside the cups and even the 3 dots on the left hinge just in case you’re in the dark and need to quickly ID the left earcup. All of this is just levels above anything seen at this price point and basely anything I have ever seen from Sennheiser.
Even the headband was designed to avoid hotspots and they even added glass cut in the cushions to help kill any hotspots on the side of your face too. Things like only having one swappable side for the xlr mini connection for sound was genius and I had no idea how useful that is and how great it felt not having two wiring stretched across my body to my amp and dac. These things you appreciate as you use the headphone and all of that happens before you even get the amazing sound. This unit is so well thought through that for the first time I have no reason to adjust a single thing about the sound signature. This is the very first headphone that out of the box was everything I needed and wanted it to be from the moment I plugged into my system. Never in all my years of Audio have I ever been this happen with a sound signature right out of the box until this day and I am truly blessed by God and happy to be able to experience this. The key to all my sound joy was met by this headphone frequency below.
Both graphs show two sets of response based on your choice of pads that come with the unit. Something again, most headphone don’t do for the buyers. The 100-1k regions have always served as my sweet spot for what is pleasing vs what is not. And they delivered on this area without killing the treble or making it too hot. And more importantly they did without killing off the bass and sub-bass without stupid early roll offs. Again, this is something others don’t accomplish. And if you wanted to you can pick up the Pro Plus version which gives you an amazing case as well.
So without a doubt, this is greatest Audiophile headphone. It has dethroned the Edition XS, the 660s, and even the 6xx’s. And I’m sure there will be plenty of people who think differently. You all have the right to your subjective opinions. But every now and again, something comes along so definite in it’s connection with you that you frankly could care less about any other person’s opinions in the world about the product. I don’t need validation from others or other reviews to say what I am saying to feel better about my choice. I make this stance and choice because there is nothing like this headphone on this planet. Its soundstage, mids, bass, treble, Vocals like only Sennheiser can do them and timbre results that gives me real life results on top of comfort unmatched by a single headphone in this world, is far and away the greatest thing I’ve ever picked up in Audio to date and I’m not wasting anymore time discussing it after this review.
MY SCORE: Absolute PERFECTION SCORE OF 5 out of 5 Diamonds.
Tech-N-Things 