Design & Construction

The Sennheiser HD4.50 BTNC is Sennheiser's acclaimed best headphone in its HD Series. The left earcup has no controls, while the right earcup has the (From Back-Front): the LED light, the power button, the rocker which allows: seek backward/forward, pause/play and picking up/ending calls. , Vol- & Vol+ buttons, the aux input for wired listening, Micro-USB port and mic. The LED light will light up when in wireless mode and when it is left to charge. Pairing via both NFC and bluetooth is simple and quick. Holding down both volume buttons will allow users to toggle the noise-cancelling on/off when necessary. Both earcups and headband bear the Sennheiser logo and the left earcup has the NFC. The headband is very light and will not cause discomfort to those who wear spectacles. However, the pressure will be felt on the crown of the head after an hour of usage. On the headband, there is also a silicone headrest which doesn not provides much comfort. The exterior of the earcups has a matte-like finish and the whole headphone is made of hard plastic. The earcups pivot left and right and folds up for easy storage.

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Sound Quality

The 40mm headphone drivers provide a very neutral experience. It has this clear audio signature that is rather balanced. Based on user experience, the noise isolation decent, I could not hear much of my surroundings when there was no music on. Highs, mids and lows are balanced but not emphasized. It isn't a plain, flat and boring sound signature though. If you desire more vocals, bass or treble, tuning the equalizer in your own music app does help. The noise-cancelling function was decent for its price tag, I could still hear muffled surrounding noise even when its on. The higher frequencies like voices are more apparent though. Call quality was fantastic, the caller could hear me clearly on the other end and didn't know I was using the headphone mic to communicate. During a call, the headphone allows you to hear your own voice so you don't need to talk too loudly to make sure you and the caller on the other end can hear you.

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Connectivity & Portability

The headphone operates both passively and wirelessly From my test, I doidn't notice any difference when using wired or wireless mode, the volume still the same. I wished the volume could be a little louder though as I need to listen to close to 90%. The 3.5mm cable is also special as it offers a locking mechanism, users will need to put the cable into the port and twists it until it locks. This helps to keep the cable for getting pulled out when getting hooked to something else. The mic and controls are disabled in wired mode as the cable doesn't have any mic or controls. Charging the headphone and listening via the Micro-USB cable is also unavailable. Users can put the headphone in Bluetooth pairing mode by holding down the power button when its switched off. The battery life peaks at 19 hours with  Bluetooth and Noise-Cancelling enabled and 25 hours with only Bluetooth on and Noise-Cancelling off. Sennheiser also has an app called the CapTune app which users can download in the Play Store and App Store. The App enables users to tune the amount of bass and treble they would like together with an equalizer which includes presets like Loudness, Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, Electro, Jazz, Classical, and Voice. The App do a great job at detecting the headphone every single time. The headphones folds up to fit in a soft carrying case which protects the headphone from scratches. A Micro-USB cable is included for charging the headphones as well.

 

PROS

• Balanced Sound Signature with Clarity

• Easy Controls For Music Play & Calls

• Light-weight

• Snug & Comfortable

• Long Battery Life

• NFC Enabled

• Good Call Quality

• Carry Case

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CONS​

• Narrow Soundstage

• Wearing Fatigue

• Too Snug Fit Causes Heating Up of Ears

• Only One Colour Available 

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The Bottom Line

The Sennheiser HD4.50 BTNC is a decent and inexpensive noise-cancelling headphone that houses thick ear cushions, 40mm balanced drivers and easy to use controls. It is highly recommended for daily commutes.