We all love our premium headphones to wear at home, but, these days, half of most people’s listening time is done on the go. Whether it be a plane or train ride, a jog, or simple everyday use, most everyone needs a pair of headphones for when they’re out and about. Sure, you could go premium in this route with a pair of high-valued bluetooth headphones or IEMs, but those could get lost or damaged and aren’t great in every scenario. Sometimes, you just need a pair of plug-in-play headphones that you don’t care too much about damaging. The Sennheiser HD 400U is a great option to fulfill this need.
What you get
For a $99 price tag, you get a box with the headphone and a carrying bag. The headphones have a connected USB C cable that cannot be changed. Considering that the 400U is designed to listen to music and make phone calls on a phone, that’s not much of an issue. The headphones are easily foldable and can fit in even a small bag with ease. They also have a microphone to make phone calls on. Overall, the 400U’s contents are simple but effective.
Build, Design & Comfort
The 400U is incredibly light and comfortable. They have nice padding and effective clamping to ensure they don’t fall off even with rapid head movement. However, they do feel pretty cheap. It’s not as if that’s a surprise, it is a cheap headphone and that’s not a dirty word. They are almost entirely made of plastic and generally feel pretty fragile. These are not intended to be forever headphones by any means, and will likely experience wear and tear with continually use. For the price, however, the build is actually quite nice and looks good with its all-black design.
Technical Specifications
- Frequency response: 18 Hz – 20,000 Hz
- Impedance: 18 Ω
- Maximum sound pressure level (SPL): 120 dB @ 1 kHz
- Total harmonic distortion (THD): < 0.5% (1 kHz, 100 dB SPL)
- Stereo sound field
Sound Review
Rather than pick apart each aspect of the HD 400U’s sound, I believe that, for a headphone of this caliber, giving a general overview would be a better option.
The HD 400U does the two things it needs to do reasonably well: play music and make phone calls. Playing music is easy and sounds reasonably detailed for this price point. The stereo imaging is actually quite good, and the soundstage is wider than I expected. Phone calls are clear both for the user and for the caller; the mic is solid and makes understanding one another easy in most circumstances.
I will say that they do sound a bit flat, and I don’t mean that as if I’m describing a reference-oriented sound. I mean that, when listening to music on these, the frequency spectrum packs a similar punch between the bass, mids, and treble. A lot of the time, nothing really sticks out from the crowd. It can be hard to parse details out of more layered tracks.
While I wouldn’t recommend using these for things like mixing or having them as your primary headphone, that’s not what they were designed for and that’s okay. Their sound quality is good for the price and that’s all they needed to do.
Comparisons to Other Headphones
At the ~$100 price point, the 400Us fairs well. It’s a definitive step up from headphones around this range from the likes of JBL, Skull Candy, or Beats. There is harsher competition between the classic Sony MDR-7506 and Sennheiser’s own HD280, both of which sit at roughly the same price. However, those are both for the studio space, both supporting 3.5 and ¼ inch connection. The HD 400U fulfills a different need for a different crowd. If you want something for at home on a budget, I would recommend the MDR-7506 or HD280. If you want something on-the-go that doesn’t break the bank, I would recommend the HD 400U.
Final Thoughts
The HD400U is a great option for a wired, budget, on-the-go headphone. Whether you just need a pair of headphones to get through a trip, or want a spare set of headphones that you won’t mind losing, the HD400U offers a reasonably quality package at a solid price point.
You can buy the Sennheiser HD 400U at Audio 46.
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