Review: Sennheiser HD414 50th Anniversary Edition
Sennheiser HD414 50th Anniversary Edition
Ok so they are not noise-cancelling, but I just found the pair I placed in my office for days which I will be working late. Now with the cans connected to my iPhone 4, the work pile on my desk looks a lot less scary and the envisaged hours of work ahead are simply an excuse for me to enjoy the cans.
For those not familar with them, the Sennheiser HD414 50th Anniversary Edition were released in 1995 a long time after the original ones in 1967.
Released in 1995 to the 50th anniversary of Sennheiser GmbH & Co
Technical specifications
Frequency Response: 18-21000 Hz
Type: Dynamic, open
Impedance (Nominal): 52 Ohms
Sound pressure level at 1 kHz: 94 dB +/- 2 dB
THD as per DIN 45500: < 0.9 %
Contact Pressure: ~2.8 N
Weight (without cable): ~80g
Connector: 3.5 or 6.3 mm (1/8" or 1/4") stereo jack plug
Connection cable: Oxygen Free Copper cable, 3m
They were a "open" design which was a radical departure from the closed cans of those days. Light and relatively cheap, they took the audiophile world by storm, and sold by the millions.
"In 1968, Sennheiser entered the headset market with the HD414, the first dynamic stereo headphones with an "open" design. Patented in 1967, the HD414 was the result of experiments at Sennheiser that led to a completely new headset design. Until then, headsets had a closed capsule to insulate the listener's ear from outside noise. The experiments showed that an open design that allowed that kind of noise created a more natural sound impression. However, with portable audio devices such as Walkman cassette players merely in the research pipeline of the world's consumer electronics giants, the market for such headsets seemed very limited. A conservative market prognosis predicted a world market of under 1,000 such headsets. Sennheiser was optimistic and produced 5,000. Yet the market success of the HD414 was so overwhelming that the company struggled to catch up with demand for many years.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/sennheiser-electronic-gmbh-co-kg#ixzz1JrhqQVyb"
Now taking them out of the cupboard, I was remind of their peculiar sonic signature...
It was a delicate "airy" kind of sound, with not a lot of bass, but a wide open mid and delicate treble, which suited the kind of music I listened to right down to a tee...
Guitar strings, flute, piano instruments sounded divine out of them, and vocals seemed be massaging my ears, and the fit was comfortable, and lent themselves to long use. Head-bangers will have to look elsewhere for their cans, and larger orchestral pieces will benefit from higher end cans.
I was fortunate to have three pairs, including one still in the box. I have bought up as many spare ear covers as I could, even a whole bunch from a shop in Akihabara, and I look forward to many more ears with these cans.
I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.
Ok so they are not noise-cancelling, but I just found the pair I placed in my office for days which I will be working late. Now with the cans connected to my iPhone 4, the work pile on my desk looks a lot less scary and the envisaged hours of work ahead are simply an excuse for me to enjoy the cans.
For those not familar with them, the Sennheiser HD414 50th Anniversary Edition were released in 1995 a long time after the original ones in 1967.
Released in 1995 to the 50th anniversary of Sennheiser GmbH & Co
Technical specifications
Frequency Response: 18-21000 Hz
Type: Dynamic, open
Impedance (Nominal): 52 Ohms
Sound pressure level at 1 kHz: 94 dB +/- 2 dB
THD as per DIN 45500: < 0.9 %
Contact Pressure: ~2.8 N
Weight (without cable): ~80g
Connector: 3.5 or 6.3 mm (1/8" or 1/4") stereo jack plug
Connection cable: Oxygen Free Copper cable, 3m
They were a "open" design which was a radical departure from the closed cans of those days. Light and relatively cheap, they took the audiophile world by storm, and sold by the millions.
"In 1968, Sennheiser entered the headset market with the HD414, the first dynamic stereo headphones with an "open" design. Patented in 1967, the HD414 was the result of experiments at Sennheiser that led to a completely new headset design. Until then, headsets had a closed capsule to insulate the listener's ear from outside noise. The experiments showed that an open design that allowed that kind of noise created a more natural sound impression. However, with portable audio devices such as Walkman cassette players merely in the research pipeline of the world's consumer electronics giants, the market for such headsets seemed very limited. A conservative market prognosis predicted a world market of under 1,000 such headsets. Sennheiser was optimistic and produced 5,000. Yet the market success of the HD414 was so overwhelming that the company struggled to catch up with demand for many years.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/sennheiser-electronic-gmbh-co-kg#ixzz1JrhqQVyb"
Now taking them out of the cupboard, I was remind of their peculiar sonic signature...
It was a delicate "airy" kind of sound, with not a lot of bass, but a wide open mid and delicate treble, which suited the kind of music I listened to right down to a tee...
Guitar strings, flute, piano instruments sounded divine out of them, and vocals seemed be massaging my ears, and the fit was comfortable, and lent themselves to long use. Head-bangers will have to look elsewhere for their cans, and larger orchestral pieces will benefit from higher end cans.
I was fortunate to have three pairs, including one still in the box. I have bought up as many spare ear covers as I could, even a whole bunch from a shop in Akihabara, and I look forward to many more ears with these cans.
I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.
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