/PRCWT/Wedemark/Anaheim, January 23, 2024 - Sennheiser today unveiled a new open-ended HD 490 PRO reference studio monitor headset designed for music production, mixing and mastering. This in-ear dynamic headset features highly accurate sound reproduction, as well as a wide and realistic sound field. Exceptional precision and sound field gives producers, mixing and mastering engineers and musicians the transparency they need when making critical mixing decisions, and enables them to resolve any questions regarding phase adjustments with confidence. The HD 490 PRO and HD 490 PRO Plus packages (with additional accessories) will be available at the end of January. During the NAMM exhibition in Anaheim, California, the Sennheiser Group booth (No. 18806) will feature the HD 490 PRO, which attendees can experience live.
"If you compare music production today to what it was 10 or 20 years ago, you will notice that the huge increase in computer power and automation of complex parameters have changed the way music is made," says Jimmy Landry, product category marketing manager for the music industry at Sennheiser. "In every genre of music, engineers and music creators are constantly pushing the boundaries to create extremely complex mixes that are prone to what the industry calls'audio blind spots'. Because too many instruments are in the same position and the frequencies interfere with each other, the mix becomes crowded and cloudy. As a result, it is difficult for engineers or musicians to clearly distinguish the sound of each instrument or individual. This highlights the importance of a good studio monitor headset."
Full spectrum audio precision
To cope with this complexity, Sennheiser engineers created a very wide, three-dimensional sound field for the HD 490 PRO, which was used to pinpoint the individual components of the mix. The ultralight voice coil ensures fast, authentic sound reproduction. The frequency response across the entire audio spectrum is tone-free, giving a true tone, and thanks to a special low-frequency cylindrical structure, the low frequencies are full, precise and clearly positioned. Through the open mesh earmuffs, Sennheiser's open frame architecture can be seen, which minimizes resonance and distortion. To provide a better listening experience, the transducers are placed at a slight angle, mimicking the typical monitor setup.
"All of these features complement each other, allowing professional musicians to identify and solve all kinds of phase adjustment and low frequency issues, creating clear mixes and mastering masterpieces," explains Gunnar Dirks, product manager at Sennheiser. "The HD 490 PRO studio monitor headphones give you total control over every detail."
Pleasant and comfortable wearing experience
For a pair of high-quality studio monitor headphones, if it doesn't feel good to wear, the effect will be greatly reduced. Therefore, Sennheiser engineers have invested decades of professional headphone design experience into the HD 490 PRO. The HD 490 PRO's lightweight and ergonomic design eliminates pressure points, so that the headphone's headbeam part does not cause pressure on the sensitive areas of the head. In addition, the ear-pack earmuffs use Sennheiser's patented soft comfort zone design, which also maintains a good seal when the user wears glasses.
In addition, the HD 490 PRO's special headphone shaft geometry design has also been patented. When the user wears the headset, this design ensures that the headset can fully adapt to the user's head shape and maintain the same contact pressure for different head shapes.
"The last thing people want to be distracted by when creating music is the fit of the headphones. The HD 490 PRO allows you to forget about the headphones and immerse yourself in the music," says Landry.
Two earmuffs designed to meet different task requirements
"Before developing the HD 490 PRO, we conducted a much larger survey of professional headphones, and the most important headphone parameters selected by the users surveyed were neutral and flat reference audio," explains Dirks. "However, when we analyzed the market data, we found that people preferred slightly warmer sounds to 100% neutral responses. Therefore, we decided to present users with two different tones in one headset by providing two pairs of carefully designed earmuffs."
The HD 490 PRO's production earmuffs (velvet) are slightly warmer in response, providing an overall effect and helping users make an overall judgment about the sound. The mixing earmuffs (fabric), on the other hand, can present a very straight, neutral sound, which helps to delve into the details and gain sound reference during the final mixing process. Both earmuffs are washable, providing a hygienic and sustainable solution.
The type of earmuffs has a huge impact on sound reproduction, and the HD 490 PRO offers users the best of both worlds. Production earmuffs have a slightly warmer reproduction tone, while mixing earmuffs help to delve deeper into individual frequencies
Comes with dearVR MIX-SE license
The HD 490 PRO includes a free license to dearVR MIX-SE, an innovative plug-in for Dear Reality that transforms DAWs into extraordinary virtual mixing environments, emulating the well-designed acoustics of the ideal mixing studio. Not only does dearVR MIX-SE put engineers or musicians in the sweet spot, it also helps them achieve balanced, consistent mixes across different systems.
Attention to detail
The design ingenuity of this flagship studio monitor headset goes far beyond accessories. For example, the left and right sides of the HD 490 PRO headset can be plugged into headphone cables to suit different studio settings and personal preferences. The patented coil structure of the headphone cable ensures that the cable does not transmit any noise as it hits the table or rubs against clothing. The internal dust cover of the left and right transducers can be clearly seen indicating "left"/"right" logo, and the unit frame is also printed with Braille information for the convenience of the visually impaired.
Each HD 490 PRO comes with two different sets of earmuffs (for mixing and production), a 1.8-meter headphone cable, and a dearVR MIX-SE license. The HD 490 PRO Plus package includes an additional 3-meter cable, a portable storage bag, and an additional fabric headbeam pad (the standard version is a velvet headbeam pad). All additional accessories for the Plus package can be purchased separately. Balanced headphone cable is optional.
"If you're looking for a studio monitor headset that offers great transparency and positioning to help you produce great mixes, the HD 490 PRO is the place to be," says Jimmy Landry.
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HD 490 PRO Technical Data
Acoustic principle: open-ended
Ear cover form: ear wrap
Transducer principle: dynamic coil
Transducer diameter: 38 mm
Frequency response: 5 to 36,000 Hz, 100 Hz (-10 dB)
Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL (1 kHz/1 Vrms); 96 dB SPL (1 kHz/1 mW)
Maximum sound pressure level: 128 dB SPL (1 kHz, 5% THD)
THD: < 0.2% (1 kHz, 100 dB SPL)
Impedance: 130 ohms (1 kHz)
Rated power: 300 mW (100 h, noise IEC 60268)
Temperature range: Operating temperature: 0 ° C to + 50 ° C; Storage temperature: -25 ° C to + 70 ° C
Relative humidity: working humidity: 10 - 80% (non-condensing); storage humidity: 10% to 90%
Weight (excluding cable): 260 grams
About the Sennheiser brand
Audio is our lifeblood. We are committed to creating audio solutions that make a difference. Building the future of audio and providing our customers with exceptional sound experiences - this is the spirit of the Sennheiser brand for nearly 80 years. Professional audio solutions such as professional microphones and monitoring systems, conference systems, streaming technology and wireless transmission systems belong to Sennheiser (Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG); while the consumer electronics business including headphones, soundbars and voice-enhanced headphones is operated by Sonova Holding AG under the license of Sennheiser.
