Sennheiser HD-480 PRO Plus

Summary:
These are excellent headphones, plain and simple. Well-built, practical and very comfortable, can be driven out of anything, and the sound is extremely balanced, and not just for a closed back headphone. Sennheiser have hit it out of the park with this one!

Details:
The build is what Sennheiser does best, i.e. very few parts, high quality plastics mostly with some metal where it makes sense (headband, backs of the earcups), making the entire thing very light, yet likely extremely durable. Earpads and headband padding are replaceable, as is the cable. The headband padding is relatively minimal, but the light weight together with firm clamp means this is not a comfort issue. The earpads are quite compliant and of reduced density where the arms of glasses go, enabling a good seal even then. The coiled cable ends in 4-pin miniXLR, sitting very secure. A small bit of extra coil near the plug gets rid of cable microphonics, which sounds like a small thing but makes them so much better in use. Overall this is a joy to wear and use!

The sound signature is not perfectly neutral, but works without anything sticking out negatively. Bass is boosted a bit, but never overpowering or overshadowing the mids. Mids are natural, with somewhat relaxed upper mids. The only thing I don't like is a small lower treble dip (4-5 kHz) which is great for avoiding listening fatigue, but robs the headphones of a bit of sparkle. Soundstage is precise and wide enough that I never feel I'm missing anything.