Sennheiser HD 490 PRO 700287

The Sennheiser HD 490 PRO is a wired, open-back studio headphone built for mixing and producing. It delivers an extremely wide soundstage and uncolored sound, but it's terrible for calls and has no ANC. Buy it if you need a reference tool, skip it if you want a fun everyday headphone.

The HD 490 PRO is all about clarity and soundstage. The open-back design gives it an extremely wide, dimensional presentation, and the frequency response is tuned to be uncolored. That means no hyped bass or sparkly treble to make things sound exciting. It's honest, which is exactly what you want when you're making EQ decisions. The dynamic driver handles detail retrieval well, and the two included pad sets let you shift the sound slightly depending on whether you're producing or mixing.

In our database, the sound score lands in the 21st percentile, which sounds rough until you remember this is compared against all headphones, including consumer models tuned for excitement. For critical listening, a flat response often scores lower on subjective enjoyment but higher on accuracy. The build quality is a different story, sitting at the 77th percentile, which is well above average. The comfort score is solid too, at the 69th percentile. The weakest area by far is calls, with a score of 18.9 out of 100. That's not surprising for an open-back studio headphone with no boom mic and no ANC to speak of. The mic performance is a weak spot, and the ANC score is near the bottom. This is not a headphone for taking Zoom calls in a noisy office.

Stacked against the Sony ULT WEAR WHULT900N/B, the HD 490 PRO is a completely different animal. The Sony is a wireless, ANC-equipped consumer headphone with a bass-forward sound. The Sennheiser is wired, open-back, and tuned for accuracy. If you want to block out the world on a commute, the Sony wins easily. If you want to hear every reverb tail and panning decision in your mix, the Sennheiser is the better tool.

The Technics EAH-A800 is another interesting comparison. It's a wireless over-ear with a more premium consumer focus and solid sound quality. The Technics will be more versatile for everyday listening, but it can't match the HD 490 PRO's soundstage or uncolored response. The JBL Tune 670NC and TOZO HT3 are budget options that undercut the Sennheiser by a wide margin. They're fine for casual listening, but they're not in the same league for critical work. The Bose QuietComfort 884367-1100 is the closest competitor in terms of brand reputation, but again, it's an ANC travel headphone, not a studio reference. The Sennheiser's build quality outranks most of these, but its sound score in our database is dragged down by the very neutrality that makes it good at its job.

At $499 in the US, the HD 490 PRO is a serious investment. In Europe, prices range from EUR 411 to EUR 479, so it's worth shopping around. The best deal in our data comes from the German store, where it's listed at EUR 411. That's a meaningful EUR 68 spread across vendors, so don't just grab the first listing you see. For that money, you're getting a handcrafted, German-engineered headphone with replaceable pads and a plugin that normally costs extra. But you're also paying for a very specific use case. If you're not mixing or producing music, there are cheaper ways to get great sound. The Sony ULT WEAR and Bose QuietComfort models in our comparison set offer ANC and wireless convenience for less money, though they won't give you this kind of uncolored reference tuning.

The Sennheiser HD 490 PRO sits in that sweet spot for studio headphones, a wired, open-back pair aimed at producers and mix engineers who need to hear everything without the fluff. It's not cheap, with US listings around $499 and European prices bouncing between EUR 411 and EUR 479 depending on the store. But this isn't a consumer headphone with a bass boost and a flashy app. It's a tool, and Sennheiser is pretty upfront about that.

People searching for the best open-back headphones for mixing will keep running into this one, and for good reason. The HD 490 PRO is built around a dynamic driver in an open-back shell that weighs just 200g. That's light enough to forget you're wearing them during a long session. Sennheiser also throws in two sets of ear pads, each with a slightly different sound signature, plus a Dear Reality dearVR MIX-SE plugin for virtual studio monitoring. It's a package aimed squarely at people who care about translation, meaning how a mix sounds on other systems.

Is the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO good for gaming? A few buyers say yes, and the wide soundstage helps with positional cues. But that's not really the point of this headphone. It's a reference tool first, and a gaming headset a distant second. If you want a fun, bass-heavy listen, this probably isn't your pick. If you want to hear what's actually in your mix, keep reading.

Skip the HD 490 PRO if you need a headphone for commuting, travel, or office use. The open-back design leaks sound and lets in everything around you, and there's no ANC to help. The mic is also a weak spot, so it's a poor choice for calls or online meetings. If you want a wireless, noise-cancelling headphone for everyday listening, the Sony ULT WEAR or Bose QuietComfort models are better fits. And if you're just looking for a fun, bass-heavy sound for casual music listening, this neutral tuning will probably feel boring. This is a precision tool, not a party speaker.

Should you buy the Sennheiser HD 490 PRO? If you're a producer, mix engineer, or serious hobbyist who needs an honest, open-back reference headphone, yes. The soundstage is genuinely impressive, the comfort is excellent for long sessions, and the included dearVR MIX-SE plugin adds real value. The two pad sets are a nice touch, letting you tweak the sound slightly without buying a second pair of headphones.

But if you're looking for a do-everything headphone for music, gaming, and calls, this isn't it. The mic is bad, there's no ANC, and the open-back design means everyone around you hears what you're listening to. The sound score in our database is low compared to consumer headphones, but that's because it's tuned for accuracy, not excitement. For the right person, this is a fantastic tool. For everyone else, it's an expensive niche product.