Sennheiser has introduced the HD 480 PRO, its top-of-the-line closed-back headphones for studio and live environments.
The HD 480 PRO headphones are designed to eliminate the two most-cited pain points of closed-back headphones by delivering a tight, accurate bass reproduction and ensuring supreme comfort for use in recording, tracking, or monitoring in the studio, in live audio environments or on the move.
With closed-back headphones, a good reproduction of the low-end is usually difficult to achieve. “This is where the HD 480 PRO excel. Compared to other closed-back headphones, they are a lot tighter on the bass, their low-end is super-accurate and realistic,” notes Jimmy R. Landry, Category Market Manager, Music Industry at Sennheiser.
“Comfort is of paramount importance when headphones are a work tool,” adds Gunnar Dirks, Senior Product Manager for professional headphones. “Engineers often spend hours on end in their sessions. They need a lightweight, ergonomically designed pair of headphones to keep focus and concentration up. The HD 480 PRO eliminate any pressure points and fit every head precisely and comfortably – even if you’re wearing glasses.”
Whether used in the studio by producers, mixers, musicians, recording engineers, and creators, in live environments by FoH engineers and monitor engineers, or again on the move, the HD 480 PRO are an ideal choice for monitoring, producing, and recording, but also for mixing, which makes them Sennheiser’s most versatile professional headphones to date. Their offer accurate, uncolored frequency response and honest low-end ensure that the audio translates reliably to any listening situation from home speakers to automobile use and PA systems.
To enable the user to fully concentrate on the audio and hear all detail, the HD 480 PRO feature multiple stages of passive sound shielding, while comfortable ear pads with soft grooves for the temples of glasses ensure the precise seal that is required for good audio reproduction. A series of design measures – subsumed under the term “Vibration Attenuation System” – eliminate unwanted vibration, reflections and distortion, preserving the clarity of the signal. The ultralight voice coils of the HD 480 PRO ensure a remarkably authentic and dynamic reproduction.
Like its open-back counterpart, the HD 490 PRO, the HD 480 PRO benefit from several Sennheiser-patented features.
Special Axes Geometry: The mechanical design makes sure that the headphones optimally adapt to the head and maintain an equal contact pressure no matter what the shape of the user’s head. The listening experience is consistent across users.
Comfort zone for glasses: The ear pads do not press on the temples of glasses but rather have a soft zone, which ensures good sealing and high comfort at the same time.
Blocking of cable-borne noise: Near the earcup, the connection cable features a coiled part, which effectively decouples the HD 480 PRO from any structure-borne or handling noise, such as that transmitted when the cable hits the desk, for example.
To adapt to different set-ups, the detachable cable can be worn on the left or right side of the HD 480 PRO. This flexible cable routing is ideal for solo recording of instruments, for example, as it keeps the cable out of the way. To ensure accessibility, the left and right earcups are braille-marked. Engineered by Sennheiser’s experienced professional development team, the HD 480 PRO have been designed to last and deliver consistent results over time.
The open-back HD 490 PRO and closed-back HD 480 PRO are at the top of the 400 series of purpose-built professional audio headphones. So which one is best for which application? “Which model is the better choice for you really depends on how you work,” explains Gunnar Dirks. “The open HD 490 PRO will be ideal for mixing in quiet environments, while I would recommend the closed HD 480 PRO for applications where you need isolation, for example when you’re tracking vocals in the room, when monitoring or using them as an FoH reference, or simply when you’re working in the same space as others.”
The HD 480 PRO carries a street price of $399 and features recording earpads and a 9-foot coiled cable and is delivered complete with a carrying bag. If you need more advanced storage/protection, the HD 480 PRO Plus carries a $439 street price and comes with a travel case. For more information visit Sennheiser.com.
