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"phenomenal." on by dnorm00
Pros: amazing range, never left needing more volume
Cons: cable is a bit long (but necessary for many uses)
Summary: I actually picked the HD 485's up after reading the initial review on CNET. They were simply a fantastic purchase. You are never left needing more volume, treble, midrange, and BASS is awesome! These headphones will not disappoint any listener - amateur to audiophile.
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"An ode to Sennheiser" on by nycxkilla
Pros: Holder (huge plus), Bass, makes music sound a LOT better (will explain later)
Cons: It's only for home use, opposed to it being advertised as portable. it looks kind of weird if you were to wear these outside because of its full size.
Summary: History with Sennheiser Customer Service:
Me: My hobby is an amateur music producer (psychedelic trance and hip hop tracks). I used to use speakers when I started, but then as I advanced in skill, I required better hearing equipment to really feel the music. I first bought the HD465 and returned them because of a mistake on my part, but then the Service Department was so nice to upgrade me to 485s because of my complaints of the 465s. I don't even think they found a problem with the headphones; I think it was my fault (set up the preamps wrong). I have to claim and let it be known that Sennheiser's Customer Service is awesome; I'm a loyal customer for life now.
Now to the product:
Problem: The problem I noticed is that these HD485s make the music I create sound so much better than on regular speakers that I can’t trust them to sound as they would for other systems (a person with a regular sound system won’t hear the music as I do). I’m not sure if this is a problem with the creation of all music.
Praise: These headphones give music LIFE. If you listen to psychedelic trance, try it with these headphones… you will lose your mind. The extra-low frequency response (16 hz – 24.5khz) really helps. These HD 485s KICK bass and have a great sound stage. Sometimes, when I’m watching a movie, I look behind to my right to see if someone came into my room because it sounds so real. The HD485s make songs sound better, bring movies into your tangible world (if it has surround sound), and make the nastiest music, sound great. I tried to listen to the songs I created on regular 4.1 computer speakers (Altec Lansing ATP5 where the sub reaches down to 47Hz) and it sounded flat; however, when I put these on and listen, they sound like pure heaven!
The holder that is included is the best thing since perforated toilet paper. This smooth, leather-like covered, foam-stuffed holder makes my life so much easier. When I had the 465s (holder not included), I never knew where to put my headphones because I wanted to keep them in good condition; but this holder provides a nice, safe, comfortable home for my 485s.
I’ve given up on speakers, I only use my HD485s now… They’re way too good.
(PS. i just clicked the slider for the ratings and the sound that it was producing sounded great. Those are headphones for you) -
"sennheiser" on by Ulaenyth
Pros: hd sennheiser headphone
Cons: 485 headphone
Summary: i have this headphone, and the soundquality is outstanding, the trebble is great and the sound is very high so no muffles sound. the bass is exelent, looking at that this headphone is at it's cheapest in the netherland for 79 euro's. it is really worth it's price, the comfort when you have it on your head, the material forms itself to the form of your ears. great
. and the wire that is attached to the headphone is just a jack plugin so if the cable breaks of teares of whatever your can just replace it and you don't have to buy an entire new headphone. i really love it, it is really flexible to so if you wanna use it for when your a DJ this one is perfect, but when your addicted to good soundquality i can recommend this one. 
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"Fantastic Headphones for the price" on by kschles
Pros: Bass is a standout, but the mid-range and high-range sounds are pretty goo too.
Cons: Nothing really
Summary: I have a number of headphones (it's kind of a sickness, although I tell myself it's a hobby), including the Sennheiser 595, 497; Grado SR80, and Sennheiser hd 25-1. What I was looking for was a good "open" full size pair of headphones with an 1/8" plug that I could use at my desk at work. The Grado's sound very good, but I just can't get past the comfort issue. The 595's are great, but the plug is 1/4", and too cumbersome to use at work with my Ipod. The HD 25-1 are very good closed headphones that sometimes get a little warm and over-heated with extended use.
The reviews for the HD485 almost seemed too good to be true, but after trying them out for several days, I'm a believer. For $70.00 (plus S&H), these are incredible. I'd say the sound is about 90% of my much more expensive Senn HD 595's. I prefer the 485 sound way over the Grado's (warm and smooth vs. detailed but sometimes harsh), not to mention these are incredibly comfortable to wear. I still need to burn these in some, and I expect the sound to get better (that's been my experience with full-size headphones). These are incredible, and you don't have to spend a small fortune for quality sound. -
"Absolutely oustandind all round" on by Haydz-n91
Pros: very good sound quality all round. outstanding comfort
Cons: not very portable and the open back design lets some ambient noise in
Summary: A couple of months ago i bought myself a new creative zen 20gb mp3 player. at the time i thought the sound quality produced from the standard headphones was extremely good. id always wondered why the sound quality of the large 'big buffers' at the cd stores sounded so good and i always thought it was purely because they had them turned up so loud........ think again. i did some reasearch on cnet and audio review.com and found that the hd485's were the best sound quality for price, more so than the 515's and 555's. when i first tried them on i thought the sound was fantastic but after an hour or so of listening i began to pick holes in their performance. - the bass was to strong and overpowering and the mids were a bit mucky and the vocals sounded quite distant and weak; yet they still sounded better than my old standard creative set. however i stayed optimitic especially after reading the 'take time to break them in review' and that guy is totally right; after about 35 hours of listening the sound spectrum even out a lot. the bass toned down and became full and solid, the mids became rich and the vocals especially the high notes became crisp and clean, this happens very gradually over the break in period. i had ago on my frinds i-pod nano yesterday and almost laughed at the tinny scraping noise it made. what a difference awesome headphones do make after all. the comfort is also superb after 15 minutes you forget you are wearing them. one improvement to be made would definitely be making them closed back to help with ambient noise reduction. and lastly the 3m cord is a bit of a pain i would have liked to see a 1.5m cord with another 3m extension they have tried to account for tv listening as well as portable short range all in 1 which hasnt worked that well, the 3m cord doesnt reach my tv from my couch, but ill just buy another 3 m extension. all in all sound quality and comfort far out way all the tiny faults but still not perfect. SUPERB
Updated
sorry every one for all the spelling errors, i wrote it in a hurry
Sennheiser HD 485 user reviews (headphones)
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