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Sennheiser HD 435 Headphones
Introduction
Sennheiser is a name most are familiar with even if you don't own any of their products. I know I've seen more than my fair share of people recommending their headphones on various forums as well as countless positive reviews of Sennheiser products as well. Since I'm apparently one of the few people who doesn't own a pair of Sennheiser headphones of my own, I was eager to take a look at their HD 435s which are up for review today. The HD 435s are in the "Home Entertainment" section on Sennheiser's website and seem to be directed towards the value conscious consumer as the MSRP is $69.95. Although Sennheiser has made a name for themselves with their high-end headphones, the $50-$100 market is filled with some pretty stiff competition, so let's see what the HD 435s have to offer. First Impressions While I'm not very style conscious myself, I'm sure there are some who actually care how they look while wearing a pair of headphones. If you are that type of person, then I think you'll at least be able to wear the HD 435s out of the house. The HD 435s are of medium size and weight, and have a fairly modern look to them. They aren't overly gaudy or retro, so you should be able to "fit in' just about anywhere with these cans on your head.     Sennheiser was very generous with the cord length on these headphones, as it extends approximately 10 feet from the left ear cup. The cord can also be detached from the headphones themselves, and although I only used them for a week, I never once had a problem with the cord becoming detached inadvertently. There is also a volume control dial on the cord, about 2 feet from the end that plugs into the headphones themselves. Volume controls are usually convenient and this one was no exception. I've had issues with poorly designed volume controls in the past so I'm always a little skeptical of the durability of them, but I didn't run into any problems during testing.   As far as comfort is concerned, the HD 435s are middle of the road. As with most supra-aural (over the ears) headphones, they are never going to be as comfortable as circum-aural (around the ears) designs since they rest directly on your ear. With that said, I've had supra-aural headphones that literally could not be worn for more than 15 minutes at a time without experiencing some severe pain, and the HD 435s are nowhere near that bad. If you wear them for an hour or more, however, you'll definitely experience some minor discomfort which will increase slightly as you continue to wear them. The longest stretch I had them on was about 4 hours while I was playing World of Warcraft and at the end of that time my ears were quite happy to have the HD 435s removed from them. The ear cups on these headphones press down snugly on your entire ear, so at least the pressure is spread out relatively well. There is a soft material on the headband and both ear cups which helps cushion your head and ears. While the ear cups both swivel about 5 degrees in all directions, the only adjustments that can be made to have a custom fit come from the expandable headband. The headband is made of plastic and the extensions have little notches that click into place as you expand or contract them. The range of adjustability on the headband was very good so head-size shouldn't be much of a concern with these headphones.   The HD 435s come packaged with a .25" adaptor as well as a carrying bag. While the .25" adaptor is quite handy for some people, I don't see much of a use for the carrying bag. It offers no real protection for the headphones since it's just a cloth drawstring bag. But hey, if you think you can get some use out of it, at least it's there. (I could see it coming in handy for people that put the headphones in their backpack/purse/man-purse, since it will keep the cord from getting tangled up with other stuff. - Ed)     Before we get to the listening tests I want to point out that the HD 435s have an open design so they will not be canceling out or reducing background noise in any significant way. Considering the fact that Sennheiser is marketing these headphones for "home entertainment," this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The point here is that you don't want to buy these headphones if you're looking for aural isolation in a noisy atmosphere.
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Add Comment
1 User Comment 1 - Posted by
anon
on March 14, 2008 - 9:40 am A thorough and fair review. I bought these headphones (prior to reading your review unfortunately) and have to agree that the sound quality was not what I would expect from Sennheiser. I also find that they become uncomfortable after a while too....
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