Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT, Over-Ear Wireless Bluetooth Headphones - Black

Bought with my own cash money.In a world where every headphone manufacturer and his dog is sticking noise cancelling on their wireless headphones it's refreshing to have a headphone that just offers the basics.This new line from Sennheiser is no exception to the bells and whistles approach as for a little more money you can pick up the HD4.50 which is essentially the same headset as the 4.40 but it adds ANC to the mix.So it's nice at least to have the choice of a 'basic' wireless headset for those who don't really need/want the extras.Now (digression alert!) - I'll admit - I have a love/hate relationship with ANC. I love the silence I get from my Bose QC35 as the ANC is second to none. Take them into the outside world however and it's pointless as the active mics on the outside of any ANC headset (which enable it to process the external ambient noise to counteract it) produce varying degrees of wind noise which negate the benefits of ANC - In my opinion/experience at least. YMMV of course.Now I still use my QC35 but indoors and as a wired headset (as the Bluetooth connection is shockingly unstable - see my review for more info). Mainly for watching TV etc and for reading in silence and the ANC is the best there is. Bar none.Other manufacturers offer slightly worse (i.e. Cheaper) levels of NC which have less external mics and I've found that some of these work pretty well for real world portable use.Beats Studio Wireless is one example. Whilst it's not cheaper (that's Beats for you) the NC is nowhere near as good as the QC35 but conversely it creates a better listening experience as there are hardly any external mics resulting in an exceptionally reduced wind noise factor. But again because of all the bells and whistles you're looking at a 300 quid shell out.So I digress - and it seems this has been a rather long winded way of saying that I've been through virtually every wireless NC headset out there and found 99.9 percent of them lacking so it's nice to have the option of a stripped down wireless headset sans bells and whistles!Phew - Digression over!OK back to it - the 4.40? Right - What Sennheiser have achieved with this headset is quite simply the best combination of great sound, great Bluetooth, great materials, great build quality that I've experienced in a wireless headset. And all of this in a moderately priced confection to boot.I say 'moderately priced' as some (i.e. My long suffering wife) quite rightly see a £130 headset as expensive but we all know that this can be an insane hobby for your wallet.And more expensive doesn't always mean 'better'. An example - I've spent £420 on a wireless pair before (Master & Dynamic MW60) and yet I prefer the HD4.40 at nearly £300 cheaper.But it's all subjective and everyone has their own taste so don't judge me too harshly!So build quality wise - it's plastic buuuuut it's Sennheiser plastic. Which believe me does mean something as they always do a fabulous job with materials and their build quality and QC is generally up there with the best.The 4.40 is no exception in this regard and because of its pared back offering it's also the lightest headset I've ever used and in my eyes this makes it ever more truly Wireless.Battery life is up there with the best and though it may not be the 40 hour behemoth of the Beats Solo 3, 25 hours ish is certainly at the top end of what's out there at the moment.And whilst I like the Solo 3 (also reviewed) I much prefer the build quality and sound signature of the 4.40. For one the plastic folding mechanism of the 4.40 inspires more confidence than the metal of the Beats. Strange I know but in my eyes true nonetheless.Sound wise - well It's a very Sennheiser sound and combines the best of the mid centric focus they have always been known for with the added elements of the new house sound evident in their more recent forays into the world of the modern Audiophile.So for that read an extra serving of low end oomph and a bit of extra sparkle up top from neutral. No sibilance at all and for Bluetooth the bass is tight and well formed. Soundstage is just average but that's to be expected for a wireless BT headset although the imaging is pretty good with good instrument placement. Its a sound signature that I really like (and I'm a neutral lover) and it works great when out and about as the extra oomph and sparkle really give it a lively dynamic sound that isn't drowned out by the sound of the outside world.So cons? Not many for me. Some may bemoan the lack of a case but I certainly wasn't expecting accessories at this price point.Some may bemoan the plastic and the lack of refinement and luxury offered by the B&W P7 Wireless (also reviewed)? But the HD4.40 is just shy of £200 cheaper so it's horses for courses. Besides I found the Bass a little overdone when using the P7 in wireless mode something which I haven't found in the 4.40 which is fantastic given the price.The ear cushions are small - about on par size-wise with the Momentum 2.0 (& Wireless) and whilst I have no idea why Sennheiser have such a strict penchant for tiny ear holes, given that I found those models incredibly uncomfortable, fortunately the pads on the 4.40 are thicker and softer and as a result I've not experienced these same levels of discomfort. So result! But I only use mine for commuting do can't comment on longer listening sessions as I didn't buy these for that purpose.So all in all the HD4.40 is a phenomenal headset with great sound, fantastic build quality, rock solid Bluetooth connection (zero drop outs so far) and all this at the same price point as some lesser creaky Sony models and 120 quid cheaper than the slightly less creaky Beats Solo 3. What's not to love?Hope some of this helps.Stew

A terrible and traumatic thing happened to me on Friday. While unfolding my previous pair of over-the-head Bluetooth headphones in preparation to putting them on my head, the right earcup parted ways with the headband and I was left on public transport with no choice but to listen to children screaming, people arguing on the phones and posh toffs talking to each other about how they were arranging a dinner party for twelve guests. I was not happy. The plastic pin holding the right earcup to the headband had snapped completely and there was no chance that I’d ever be able to reliably repair it. This was really quite upsetting - I’d grown fond of those headphones because they were comfortable, looked cool and sounded great and, rather typically, they were just outside of their one year warranty period. All I could do was sigh, hold a minute’s silence for them and then, as per my usual routine, set about the task of rummaging through the internet for ‘top ten’ lists, reviews and recommendations for a new set of cans.Assuming that you’re on a similar journey yourself at the moment, you’ll have no doubt discovered that there’s a simply bamboozling amount of headphones available to buy here on Amazon - and half of them are from manufacturers you’ve probably never even heard of, right? That was the predicament I found myself in too, but fear not - I have done the research so you don’t have to.After reading a heap of reviews on headphones, and with a maximum budget of £80, I narrowed my search down to the AKG Y50BT, Marshall Major II, Plantronics Backbeat 500, Lindy BNX-60, Skullcandy Hesh 3 and the Sennheiser HD440BT. From there, things got very tricky as they were all very well reviewed, but I managed to narrow it down further to a head-to-head between the Skullcandy and Sennheiser ones.As you might have guessed, I ended up plumping for the Sennheiser HD400BT’s in the end as they got glowing reviews from just about everywhere, so I clicked on the ‘Buy’ button and, as ever, they arrived the very next day thanks to Amazon Prime.>>>WHAT’S IN THE BOX?As you’d expect for an £80 set of cans, they come in a very nice box. It opens from a clip on the bottom and the headphones themselves slide of it on a plastic tray, along with a 3.5mm traditional audio-jacked cable, a USB to micro-USB charging cable (but no charger), a soft carrying pouch and a set of three instruction books.I’m always dismayed when I see plastic bags, trays and unnecessary packaging when I’m unboxing things. If you’re reading this, Sennheiser boffins, couldn’t you have made the tray out of cardboard or, even better, provided the headphones in an actual carrying case rather than provide a soft carrying pouch which feels like a bit of an afterthought? We need to paying attention to these things these days!>>>FIRST IMPRESSIONS?When I removed my HD440BT’s from their box, the first thing that struck me was just how robust they felt. Sennheiser are renowned for the quality of materials and attention to detail on their products, and it really, really shows in these - there's a nice weight to them (they're not heavy though) and they just feel really solid and dependable. The folding mechanism they have is also worthy of praise because it doesn't in any way feel flimsy; it just feels smooth and well engineered.I love how they look, too. I’m really not one for the glossy, brightly coloured shiny headphones that some people seem to favour and I felt drawn to these because they’re very understated, with no shiny chrome bits, big logos or flashing lights; they’re all about the matte black and the only thing that gives any clue to their pedigree is the subtle Sennheiser logo above each of the earpieces. Very classy. I also like the fact that they’re compact and don’t protrude too far out from the ears and make you look a bit gonky like some headphones do.The minimalistic approach continues with the controls and ports at the bottom of the right earpiece, where you’ll find the power button, a multi-function slider button, the volume controls, a 3.5mm audio jack port and a Micro-USB port. None of these have any writing on them, which I think is pretty cool.In terms of comfort, upon my first inspection of the headphones, I thought the padding on the earpieces looked very sumptuous and soft, with the pads themselves being made out of memory foam and protein leather. The bottom of the headband was a cause of concern to me, however. Although it has some padding on it, it wasn’t as sumptuous as I’d expect to find on headphones at this price point, so I initially had a worry over how comfortable these would be to wear.>>>ARE THEY EASY TO CHARGE?Yup. These headphones can be charged using any old Micro-USB cable. In fact, once I’d unboxed and examined them, the first thing I did was plug them in and charge them up. An orange LED illuminated on the right earpiece to let me know that they were charging and it took a couple of hours for this to go out, indicating that they were good to go. Easy peasy.>>>ARE THEY EASY TO PAIR?As with any new Bluetooth device, you’ll need to pair these headphones with your audio device before you can listen to music through them. Since the majority of people will no doubt be connecting these to their smartphones, Sennheiser has made this task incredibly simple. If you take the look at the side of the left earpiece, you’ll see an NFC logo. Yep, that’s right - if your phone has got NFC capabilities, you can pair it to these headphones by simply tapping it against them, which is super cool, really convenient and works a treat. Of course, if your phone does not have NFC, you can pair them together using the traditional Bluetooth way, which is very simple to do.>>>HOW DO THEY SOUND?Ah, yes - without doubt the most important thing when it comes to headphones is how they sound, innit?! I’d read some good things about how the HD440BT’s sounded, so I excitedly popped them onto my ears once they had charged fully and cued up some music via the Amazon Music Unlimited app.DISCLAIMER: I should probably mention at this point that I’m not a audiophile and don’t have a set of £500 headphones to compare these to, but I do have a good ear for quality sound. I’ve got a pretty eclectic taste in music too, so I tried to listen to a few different genres to see how they sounded. First of all, I had a listen to the pop track (or as poppy as my tastes dare to venture) ‘Break it to me’ from Muse’s new album ‘Simulation Theory’. It opens up with a nice guitar riff and I was very impressed when the drums started - it was immediately apparent that the HD440BT’s were capable of pumping out some seriously powerful bass as the drums and bass synth in the song sounded simply fantastic; really deep, punchy, dynamic and engaging - but not to the point where it swamped everything else. Once the vocals began, they cut right through the bass with strong mids and impressive clarity and everything in the song sounded incredibly tight. Impressive… Most impressive!Next up, I had a listen to the track ‘Spider/Waves’ from the brand new album ‘Bi/Mental’ from Le Butcherettes and was actually blown away by how good it sounded. The clarity and control over the audio from these - particularly when listening to something that’s well mixed and mastered - is quite breathtaking and I listened, grinning and somewhat slack-jawed, as the beautiful bass, drums and moog in the song punched my ears with meaty slabs of bass while the ethereal guitar echoed resonantly - and Terri’s crystal-clear vocals cut right through everything, totally unimpeded. I was definitely coming to agreement with the reviews that I’d read about these headphones sounding great.Now for something a little more challenging - I fired up the track 'Eldrich’, the title track from Parius's album ‘The Eldrich Realm’, which is a very loud and fast paced metal track with some surprising depth and orchestration. It's also a very well mixed track and again I found myself pleased to hear how well these headphones dealt with the sonic assault that this track imposed on them - they didn’t get muddled or swamped and were able to keep a tight rein over things. I’ve heard some headphones really struggle with tracks like this and these just breezed through it perfectly.Finally, something far more relaxed and delicate - ‘Scheherazade: The young prince and the young Princess’ by Rimsky Korsakov. This is a beautiful classical piece and I was super impressed by how these headphones dealt with it. They’ve got a beautifully rich tone to them when listening to classical, with that added bass kick really adding power to the low end, and the mids and highs dealing perfectly with the nuanced elements in it.I’d read that these headphones worked best with rock, pop and metal, but upon listening to a few more tracks through them, I’m pretty certain that the majority of people (or at least the ones who are not complete audio snobs) will agree that pretty much everything sounds good coming through them. I love the powerful bass that they’re capable of, but what impresses me even more is the fact that it’s balanced so well that it doesn’t interfere with the mids and highs and makes just about anything you play through them sound great.>>>ARE THEY COMFORTABLE?So far, yes. There’s a good deal of adjustment in the headband and the earpieces rotate, so it’s pretty easy to adjust them until they feel right.Unlike my last headphones, which sat on the top of my head and used it as a support for the soft headband they had, these Sennheiser ones are designed differently and actually clamp onto the ears so they don’t really rely on the headband that much for support, which probably explains why it’s not as padded as some are.When it comes to the earpieces themselves, I was surprised to see how small the aperture in them was. Although they appear to sit on the ears, they’re actually designed so that your ears fit into the aperture, which works very well for my ears, but I would imagine that it could be bothersome and possibly uncomfortable for those who have larger ears. I use my headphones mostly for when I’m on public transport, which means that I’ll wear them for an hour at the most going to and coming from work, and during those periods I’ve found them to be very comfortable. I do suspect that they’ll make my ears toasty warm during the warmer months, though - so I might report back here as to whether I find that a problem or not.>>>ARE THEY NOISE CANCELLING?Well… No. If you’re after proper noise cancellation, you’ll need to go for the Sennheiser HD450BT’s which have got ‘NoiseGard’ active noise cancelling and are about double the price. Thankfully, because the HD440BT’s sit quite tightly on the ears and have wonderfully soft earpieces, they do a very good job of isolating the sound from the outside world anyway. When I’m sitting on a packed Edinburgh tram and there’s lots of people chatting and there’s generally a lot of noise, I have to say that I’m completely oblivious to it with these on my ears.>>>ARE THERE ANY DROP OUTS?Not so far, no. The Bluetooth/ApTX connection to these from my phone (a Huawei Mate 10 Pro) has been really strong and stable and I’ve been able to roam around Edinburgh city centre without experiencing any issues with these dropping the connection or stuttering - which is something that absolutely plagues lesser headphones.>>>IS THE BATTERY LIFE GOOD?Actually, I can’t answer that yet - I’ve been using them for a week so far and after charging them when I first got them, they’re showing absolutely no sign of needing charged yet. According to Sennheiser, they should be good for 25 hours of battery life, which is very impressive and means that I should only need to charge them every couple of weeks. I’ll come back here with an update to let you know if that’s the case.UPDATE 09/03/19 - I've now had my Sennheiser HD4.40's for a month and after using them every day for approximately two hours and the odd listen when at home (and also having a week's holiday where I didn't use them at all), I finally had to charge the, for the first time yesterday - so it's fair to say that the Battery life on these is nothing short of INCREDIBLE. In fact, by my calculations it's actually better than expected, which is a pleasant surprise.>>>SUMMING UPAlthough I was upset when my old set of headphones kicked the bucket, I’m sort of reaping the benefits now because these Sennheisers are superior in pretty much every single way. They look great, feel very well designed and constructed, sound FANTASTIC and tick pretty much all of the boxes for me, so I would have no hesitation in recommending these if you’re looking for a good set of cans that won’t break the bank.