Sennheiser HD 418

Intro, Design And Features

The headphones that belong to Sennheiser’s HD 400 series come with stylish designs and different sound signatures. The new Sennheiser HD 418 is an entry level over-the-ear headphones that promises powerful bass-driven sound while providing extra comfort to users. After testing them for weeks, here is our impression.

Design and Features
The HD418 has a body with in-mold design which has a funky design molded into its plastic body and this flashy artwork would surely attract people looking for a distinctive look. Its build quality is good for constant daily usage though the hinges which hold both the earphones may need a little care as they feel weak.

The HD418 is a circum-aural full-size headphone with a close-back design which blocks out much of the outside noise and leaks less sound than headphones with open-back design. The single-sided cable (attached to the left earphone) makes cable less prone to tangle and clears away the clutter. The headphones are lightweight at 380g and the ear cups cover the ears well and feel comfortable. The head-band can be adjusted to fit different head sizes and it is padded well which made wearing these cans really comfortable. In terms of fitting and wearing the headphones, we had no complaints even after 8 hours of usage. However, due to the cushioned earpad and close-back design, our ears used to get a bit warm at normal room temperature after long use which can become an issue during summer.

The singe cable measures 1.4 meters which is good enough to use with your MP3 player or iPod, but quite limited for PC use unless you have front audio port. The non –detachable cable is an oxygen free copper type which is supposedly good for enhancing low frequency and the cable uses a gold plated 3.5mm straight connector.

Features The HD 418 is a standard dynamic headphone and employs two neodymium magnets on both the drivers. The rated frequency response is 20Hz – 20kHz which is in line with most headphones in this price range and its impedance is rated at 24 Ohms. It has l<0.1% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) and SPL is rated at 108dB. The overall feature-set is quite decent for headphones in this price range.