Sennheiser HD471i Review: A wide soundstage headset for everyone but the bass heads

Sennheiser recently launched their **HD 400 series** headsets and we were very keen to try one out. Today we have the HD 471i headset with us for review. Having positive experience with previous Sennheiser earphones like the **bass heavy CX 3.00** and the **sports-friendly PMX 686G** , we hope this headset would be good too. Let’s find out. Build and Design: 8/10 The headphones are quite traditional looking and the styling is sober. Personally, I liked it as the styling doesn’t shout, those wanting a loud looking pair (Skullcandy) would be disappointed. [caption id=“attachment_338048” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Plain simple sober styling[/caption] The headphones are super light and super comfortable. For a person with big ears like me, I loved the fact that the headphones can sit around the ear with the circumaural design rather than on it. Since there is hardly any weight to the headphones, you can easily forget that you have them on your ears. [caption id=“attachment_338045” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  These headphones are really comfortable to wear[/caption] The lightness comes from the design being all plasticky. I do wonder about durability as it doesn’t give the same kind of confidence other Sennheiser products do. Nevertheless, you still have a good 2-year warranty on it. [caption id=“attachment_338049” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The detachable cable with attachments[/caption] A new trend in headphone manufacturers driven by audiophiles is to change cables and Sennheiser follows this up in the HD 471 headsets. You can detach the cable to swap between the headset cable and the regular one. I and G variants As always, you have a difference between these variants. The difference being between controlling iOS “i” devices vs Android “G” devices. In the box In the package, 1.4m audio cable with integrated smart remote and microphone, 3.5mm straight plug (HD 471i); 3.5mm angled plug (HD 471G); 3.0m additional audio cable with 3.5mm straight plug, a 6.3 mm plug adaptor and a Storage pouch. Performance: 8/10 The Sennheiser HD 471i was tested with an Android phone, Windows 10 Desktop with FiiQ Q1 DAC and Audio Technica M50s Studio Monitoring headphones. Objectively, this headphone is suited for Jazz, blues, vocals and the like. This is because the headphone is aimed at those who don’t want a pronounced bass but would prefer detail and a wide open soundstage. Subjectively, most people will not like this sound. As most of us listen to music which consists of pop, rock, electronic music, etc. The HD 471i sound flat and boring, lacking complete impact in their sound. Almost every user I tested with, said, “Where’s the bass?” and they are quite right. These headphones have deliberately lesser bass to enhance other sounds such as mids and highs and of course soundstage in a closed cup headphone design. Does this make a bad headphone? Not at all, those wanting this kind of sound are typically audio enthusiasts or audiophiles that want clarity and wide soundstage at the cost of bass (Sennheiser HD 600’s come to mind). These headphones provide plenty of that while keeping the cost low. I, for one, needed to up the bass in almost every song that I played, as I felt there was clarity and superbly wide soundstage but the songs weren’t fun to listen to at all. Also, since Sennheiser has kept the sound signature of these headphones like this, means that the headphones aren’t clinically accurate either, they do modify the sound spectrum to give a different unique sound. In Loreena McKennitt - Dante’s Prayer track, the voice sounded superb, clear, all nuances of the voice represented very well and of course, the sound stage was brilliant, especially when comparing it with the extremely narrow soundstage of Audio Technica M50’s. The female voice sounded really nice, however, the violin lacked the body due to abysmal bass from these headphones. Of course, pumping up the bass helped immensely and the track felt balanced. Interestingly, one can get quite used to the natural sound that the headphones produce. It is a matter of how much you allow yourself to sync with the sound. Most tracks will have a reproduction of bass but on the lighter side. But tracks which already are light on bass such as Paul Simon - Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard sound hollow. What’s with the volume? For a headphone which is supposed to be for mobile use (32 Ohms), it has surprisingly low volume. You’d need to pump your volume level sufficiently higher (almost full volume) to get a good audible volume. While this means that your devices batteries would drain a bit more with higher volumes too. Call Quality: 7.5/10 The call quality is good. There were no complaints neither “oohs nor ahs” regarding mic clarity or quality. You get a decently capable headset mic and that’s it. Just make sure you go for the correct Android “G” version or the iOS “i” version for your devices. Verdict and Price in India These headphones are not for everyone. They are for users who want toned down bass, good clarity and a wide soundstage in a closed cup design. I can imagine it’s perfect for audiophiles/audio enthusiasts who want a cost effective headset around Rs 7,000 ( Amazon price) with sounds that are similar to what higher-end headphones produce. For those wanting bass, Sennheiser’s very own HD 461 and 451 in their latest HD 400 series headsets should fill this gap easily costing Rs 6,000 or lesser. Go for HD 471i for - Very light and comfortable design - Good clarity - Wide soundstage Don’t go for HD 471i - If you want bass, even normal bass level is low - If you like better “cool” styling - If you want louder headphones