Headphones

Headphone pricing has gone bananas in recent years, so we’re delighted to find a high-quality Sennheiser model ripe for recommendation at just $179. There are two versions, the HD 471i with an inline remote+mic on the 1.4-metre cable for Apple devices, while a ‘G’ version caters to Android users (that’s G for Galaxy). Both are over-ear closed designs, so they keep their sound in, and deliver a certain amount of passive isolation, though there’s no Bluetooth or noise-cancellation — instead Sennheiser simply delivers the highest possible quality sound at the price. We literally sighed with relief as we spent our first hours under the earcups of the HD 471i. Their sound is instantly ‘right’ — no bonkers bass emphasis to shake your skull, rather a solid lift of support in the lower frequencies, a natural midrange with no hint of peakiness or distortion, and a clean if not overly bright treble which delivers plenty of high frequency detail. The cable is detachable, cleverly separated with a right-angled moulded plug at the earcup, and a longer three-metre cable is also provided (without the inline remote), more suitable for using at home into a hi-fi headphone socket. There’s no folding for storage here, but they’re not monster-size things, and we just shoved them in a pocket of our day bag with no ill effects to show after three weeks of daily grind.

Perfect for office and commute, here is a reasonably-priced headphone to which we can give our full recommendation.

More info: www.sennheiser.com.au