Sennheiser focuses on sonic precision and absolute comfort in professional environments

With the HD 480 PRO, Sennheiser launches its high-end closed-back headphones for studio and live environments.

Designed with the utmost care and precision, they eliminate the two most common drawbacks of closed-back headphones by delivering tight, accurate bass reproduction and ensuring superior comfort for audio professionals tasked with recording, tracking or monitoring in the studio, in live sound environments or on the move.

Delivering where other closed-back headphones fail

With closed-back headphones, achieving good low-frequency reproduction is usually difficult. “This is where the HD 480 PRO excel. Compared to other closed-back headphones, they offer much tighter bass; their low-end response is extremely accurate and realistic”, notes Jimmy R. Landry, Category Market Manager, Music Industry at Sennheiser.

Comfort is of paramount importance when headphones are a working tool. Engineers often spend hours in their sessions. They need lightweight, ergonomically designed headphones to maintain focus. The HD 480 PRO eliminate any pressure points and adapt precisely and comfortably to any head, even if you wear glasses, adds Gunnar Dirks, Senior Product Manager for professional headphones. 

Designed for professional audio work

Whether used in the studio by producers, mixers, musicians, recording engineers and creators; in live environments by FoH and monitor engineers; or on the move, the HD 480 PRO are an ideal choice for monitoring, producing and recording, as well as mixing, making them Sennheiser’s most versatile professional headphones to date.

Their absolute accuracy, uncoloured frequency response and honest low-end ensure that audio translates reliably to any listening system, from home speakers to car audio or PA systems.

• - “Being able to trust what you hear is everything; that’s what you get with the HD 480 PRO”, Jim Kaufman, producer.
• - “When I’m mixing on headphones outside my studio, it’s essential to have a pair I can trust. Having this level of quality and accuracy in closed-back headphones like the HD 480 PRO is amazing”, Will Brierre, mix engineer.
• - “As producers, we need to get the best possible sound into our ears. Every detail matters. When you wear the 480s, you’re immersed in the sound, completely isolated from the outside world”, Young Chencs, artist and producer.
• - “The ear cushions. Incredibly soft right away. And then the dimensionality of the sound. I felt like the music had depth and space around it. Two things stood out immediately. The spatial quality of the sound makes it much easier to understand where everything sits in a mix. And while recording, I could hear my own voice with real clarity and dimension. It actually made singing feel more natural and easier”, Nao Yoshioka, singer and songwriter.

Uncompromising sound

To allow users to focus on the audio and perceive every detail, the HD 480 PRO feature multiple stages of passive sound isolation, while the comfortable ear pads with soft grooves for glasses temples ensure the precise seal required for accurate reproduction. A series of design measures — grouped under the term “Vibration Attenuation System” — eliminate unwanted vibrations, reflections and distortion, preserving signal clarity. The ultralight voice coils of the HD 480 PRO ensure authentic and dynamic reproduction.

Patents for comfort, precise fit and noise decoupling

Like its open-back counterpart, the HD 490 PRO, the HD 480 PRO incorporate several Sennheiser-patented technologies:

• - Special Axes Geometry: the mechanical design ensures the headphones optimally adapt to the head and maintain uniform contact pressure regardless of shape. The listening experience is consistent across users.
• - Comfort zone for glasses: the ear pads do not press on the temples but instead feature a soft zone that ensures both proper sealing and high comfort.
• - Cable-borne noise blocking: near the earcup, the cable includes a coiled section that effectively decouples the headphones from structure-borne or handling noise, such as when the cable hits a desk.

For daily professional use

To adapt to different setups, the detachable cable can be worn on the left or right side. This flexibility is ideal, for example, for solo instrument recording, keeping the cable out of the way. To improve accessibility, the left and right earcups are marked in braille. Engineered by Sennheiser’s professional development team, the HD 480 PRO are built to last and deliver consistent results over time.

HD 490 PRO or HD 480 PRO: which one to choose?

The open-back HD 490 PRO and the closed-back HD 480 PRO sit at the top of the 400 series of purpose-built professional headphones. Which is the best choice?

Our developers have worked to bring the sound of the closed HD 480 PRO as close as possible to that of the open HD 490 PRO. The choice depends on how you work. The open HD 490 PRO are ideal for mixing in quiet environments, while I recommend the closed HD 480 PRO when isolation is required, for example when tracking vocals in the room, for monitoring, as an FoH reference or when working in the same space as others, explains Gunnar Dirks.

The HD 480 PRO are priced at EUR 399 (MSRP). They include recording ear pads and a 3-metre coiled cable and come with a carrying pouch. The HD 480 PRO Plus version replaces the pouch with a hard travel case and is priced at EUR 439 (MSRP).

HD 480 PRO technical data

• - Acoustic principle: closed
• - Ear coupling: circumaural
• - Transducer principle: dynamic
• - Transducer diameter: 38 mm
• - Frequency response: 3 to 28,700 Hz (-10 dB)
• - Sensitivity: 107 dB SPL (at 1 kHz/1 Vrms); 98 dB (at 1 kHz, 1 mW)
• - Max. SPL: 130 dB (1 kHz, 5% THD)
• - THD: <0.5% (at 1 kHz, 100 dB SPL)
• - Impedance: 130 ohms (1 kHz)
• - Power rating: 300 mW (100 h, noise as per IEC 60268)
• - Temperature range: 0 °C to +50 °C for operation; -25 °C to +70 °C for storage
• - Relative humidity: 10–80% non-condensing for operation; 10–90% for storage
• - Weight: 272 g (without cable)

Available accessories

Replacement recording ear pads, replacement coiled cable (3 m), 1.8 m straight cable, 3 m straight cable, balanced cable, replacement travel case, storage case, replacement pouch.