I got these at a great price during Amazon’s freedom sale for Rs.6741/- Which is why I am willing to live with the shortfalls & there are a few to callout for this pair.
What’s good:
-The price. For under 6800, you cannot find something similar with features which match or exceed
-Overall built quality for the price is great
-Comfort is acceptable if you have small or average sized ears
-Comes with a soft carry case
-Works with a 3.5mm cable. If the battery dies, just use the cable & it will work like a traditional pair.
Features & how they fair:
ANC(active noise cancellation): Hit and miss. Compared to say a Bose QC series, to my ears, the noise isolation was about 60% in comparison. I say this upfront since this is the very feature for which Sennhieser is charging so much compared to 4.40 BT. I found the ANC to be average and did not make a lot of difference. But then to be fair - the Bose is 5-6 times more expensive. Toggling the ANC is tricky & takes getting used to.
Sound Quality: I’d say 7/10. Sennhiesers are known for tight clean sound signatures. And I am a bit disappointed since these are closed back headphones - I was expecting these to be a bit more punchy.
Soundstage - 6/10. Not impressive to me. Not vibrant or wide. Stereo separation is decent at best. Nothing great.
Comfort: 7/10. Ear padding is nice and cushy but tends to get warm and do not breath well. Leading to discomfort over prolonged usage. The clamping force is more since these are new - maybe with time, it will become comfier.
Loudness / Amplification: 7/10. I find myself usually playing these at 50% in office. On a flight, I crank these up to 70-80%. They are loud enough - but if the sound source was a bit dull, you wont be able to crank these up a whole lot.
The Sennheiser APP lets you tweak the EQ & FX a bit but it doesn’t help a lot. its kinda gimmicky at best.
Features & battery: The NFC is useful & works. Battery life is pretty good. I don’t get the claimed 19hrs with ANC on since I have to play at 80% volume to feel the music. But that is just me.
Majority of people will be impressed with these. I for one - am not. And I find these lackluster. I will keep these simply because Amazon won’t let me get a refund else I would have returned them. For 6741, there is little to complain. I wish the sound quality is a bit better.
These are just about adequate. Nothing to impress anyone(or yourself with).
Probably best if you commute and need to drown out the world around you every day. Might also help frequent travelers since this is a cheap alternative to have some peace.
Note:
I am also told that Headphones usually take a week or 10 days of usage for break-in. Allowing for drives to free up and produce a better sound signature. If that happens, I’d be sure to let you know by updating the review.
Bottomline:
For 15k, its not worth it. Its not even worth 10-12k. For that price, I’d probably get Sony XB950B1. But for 6741, these are about acceptable.