So a few days ago we checked out the new Sennheiser HD 350BT’s… but today we’re checking
out the upgraded Sennheiser HD 450BT’s.
Now obviously one of the main differences between these two headphones is that the 450BT’s
have active noise cancellation.
But the HD 450 BT’s are also replacing the 4.50BTNC’s…
So lets see if its worth upgrading whether cause you already have the 4.50BTNC’s or
if you just want save some money and go with the HD 350BT’s.
Now the HD 350BT’s retail for $120 where as the HD 450BT retail for $200…
$20 more than what the 4.50BTNC’s used to retail for when they first came out.
Now the HD 450BT’s aren’t for everyone but they are a good option to consider if
you like a neutral sound signature… so if you want to pick these headphones they’ll
be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about what comes included with these headphones… just like the 4.50BTNC’s
the HD 450BT’s come included with a soft shell carrying case.
Now this is something worth pointing cause the 350BT’s don’t come included with a
carrying case.
Now even though these headphones are very durable, I still recommend you invest in a
hard-shell case if you plan on commuting a lot with these headphones.
But more importantly the HD 450BT’s also come included with an audio cable cause unlike
the HD 350BT’s… the 450BT’s actually have an audio jack.
Now im fully aware that less and less phone these days have audio jacks… but I feel
that if you’re paying upwards of $100 for a pair of headphones then they should have
audio jack.
If you’re a content creator you still want to be able to plug in to monitor your audio
if you’re working on a project… and even still if youre just an average user you still
want to be able to plug in and watch an in flight.
But finally, the 450BT’s also come included with a USB C to USB A cable cause the 450BT’s
have been upgraded to a USB C port.
A major upgrade from the 4.50BTNC’s which these headphones are replacing.
But just a heads up, unlike the Momentum 3’s which also have a USB C port which you can
also use a wired connection… the USB C port on the HD 450BT’s is strictly used for charging.
So if you want to use a wired connection on these headphones you gotta use the audio jack.
Now when it comes to the over all build quality and design of these headphones… the 450BT’s
have the same design and build quality as the 4.50BTNC’s and the 350BT’s.
Which isn’t a bad thing at all cause all of these headphones have exceptional build
quality for their price point.
The only thing I miss on the 450BT from the 4.50BTNC are the silver accents.
Now even though these headphones are mostly made out of plastic its the hard dense type
of plastic that can really take a beating, whenever you extend their headband there’s
a very satisfying click to it, and the under side of the headband is lined with silicon
albeit with very little padding.
But more importantly these headphones stay relatively silent whenever you flex their
headband or rotate their ear cups… something that unfortunately can’t be said about their
current direct competitors the Sony WH-CH700N.
Now when it comes to fit, the HD 450BT’s have a snug fit just like the HD 350BT’s
and the 4.50 BTNC’s.
Now these headphones don’t squeeze your head like the Beats Solo Pro do… and I do
feel comfortable saying that these headphones are big head approved cause I can wear these
headphones for a few hours on end… but if you like a loser fit then I would maybe reconsider
to be on the safe side.
But if you have a smaller head you’ll be perfectly fine.
But something that I really wish Sennheiser did better on these headphones are their ear
pads.
Now the cut out on the ear pads on the HD 450BT’s are just slightly larger than the
out going 4.50BTNC.
But just by a tiny bit.
Literally if you blink you’ll miss it.
Now the slightly extra room on the HD 450BT’s does help when compared to the 4.50BTNC’s…
but the ear pads on the 450BT’s still rest on my earlobes.
So if I, someone who has average sized ears that don’t stick out a lot find the ear
pads on the HD 450BT’s to be cramped then I can’t recommend these headphones to someone
who has larger ears or ears that stick out a lot.
Sennheiser just really needs to redesign these ear pads to be more spacious so that they
can be more comfortable and they should also reduce the amount of padding that comes in
contact with your skin so that these ear pads don’t heat up as fast.
But when it comes to tech specs, the 450BT’s have been upgraded to a 30 hour battery life
from the 25 hours found on the 4.50BTNC.
And for me I’ve been able to go a solid a week in between charges with these headphones.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, these headphones are rocking bluetooth 5.0
but more importantly they can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you can easily
hot swap from your phone to you computer.
But just like the 350BT’s, the 450BT’s don’t have NFC like on the 4.50BTNC’s…
personally I don’t care but just thought I would point that out.
But when it comes to Audio codecs these headphones have APTX Low Latency, APTX, and AAC support.
And if you’re an android user you’re going to have zero latency across the board when
watching movies or videos with these headphones.
But if youre an iPhone user these headphones have a noticeable amount of latency when watching
YouTube videos.
Other Apps like Netflix and Disney Plus are fine, but I really hope the latency on these
headphones gets fixed somehow when watching Youtube videos cause this is the same issue
with the 350BT’s.
But when it comes to listening to music with these headphones… the HD 450BT’s sound
identical to the HD 350BT’s.
Like I mentioned earlier the HD 450BT’s are a good pair of neutral sounding headphones
to consider.
Mids and vocals on these headphones are front and center… and the bass on these headphones
only comes in when it has to.
But when it does come in the bass on the HD 450BT’s is purely the audible kind, so you’re
not actually going to feel the bass on these headphones thumping against your head like
lets say the Skullcandy Venue or the Sony WH-CH700N.
Personally I like how these headphones sound but I know some people actively look for headphones
that are going to physically rattle your head.
Now these headphones connect to Sennheiser’s app, and from there you can adjust the EQ
on these headphones.
But even if you we’re to the raise the bass on these headphones all the way up you’re
still not going to physically feel anything.
So if you like head thumping bass on your headphones then these aren’t for you.
And personally I really think these headphones sound best with their stock EQ.
Now with all that being said I did notice one crucial difference between the HD 450BT
and the out going 4.50BTNC… and thats the highs.
The highs on the new HD 450BT don’t distort at higher volumes like the highs on the out
going 4.50BTNC.
Now the distortion on the out going 4.50BTNC’s isn’t huge but I did notice the highs on
the HD 450BT’s managed to stay crisper.
But everything else like Bass, sound stage and instrument separation on the HD 450BT’s
is identical to the out going 4.50BTNC.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones, they’re basically identical
to the 4.50BTNC.
You’ve got a dedicated rocker that you use to adjust the volume on these headphones and
then there’s a switch that you use to skip through your music.
The only major difference here is that Sennheiser’s newer headphones now have a dedicated voice
assistant button so you can more quickly activate Siri or google assistant straight from your
headphones.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancellation on the these headphones cause there have been
some changes from the 4.50BTNC for better or worse depending on your point of view.
Over all yes, the out going 4.50BTNC’s block out a little more noise than the new HD 450BT.
But its not a huge performance difference and unless you were to use these headphones
back to back you wouldn’t notice a difference.
And besides the HD 450BT are still blocking out a sufficient amount of noise for a pair
of entry level ANC headphones.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into a sound test.
Now first off, I included the Sony 1000XM3’s in this ANC test merely as a reference point.
The HD 450BT and Sony 1000XM3’s are in two completely different leagues.
But like you may have just seen, the outgoing 4.50BTNC’s managed to block out a little
more noise across board than the HD 450BT’s.
But the major difference here is that the HD 450BT’s have basically zero cabin pressure
where as the 4.50BTNC’s do have some noticeable cabin pressure.
Whenever I wear the HD 450BT’s I don’t feel any nausea or slight discomfort like
I do with the 4.50BTNC.
And the fact that the HD 450BT manage to block out almost as much noise as the 4.50BTNC’s
with zero cabin pressure is a win in my book.
Cause zero cabin pressure on your ANC headphones means that they’re a little more comfortable
to wear.
So overall the HD 450BT do have improved Active Noise Cancellation over
the 4.50BTNC.
And another thing that has been improved on the HD 450BT’s is the microphone… cause
the microphone on the 4.50BTNC’s sounds very robotic.
Now no, the microphone on the HD 450BT isn’t the best but it also isn’t the worst.
There’s a little but of static in the background and my voice sounds a little shallow.
But it is usable in my opinion.
But overall the HD 450BT is an incremental upgrade over the 4.50BTNC.
You don’t have to rush out an upgrade… but I would recommend the HD 450BT’s over
the 4.50BTNC’s.
The new HD 450BT’s now charge via a USB C port which is a must here on out, they sound
slightly better mainly cause of the crisper highs, they have that dedicated voice assistant
button which I think is nice to have especially since voice assistants are really starting
to take off, their microphone sounds better… but more importantly the ANC on the these
headphones have essentially zero cabin pressure which is a huge deal.
Now even though the earpads on the HD 450BT are slightly more spacious than the ones found
on the 4.50BTNC’s I still wish they were more spacious and that they had less padding
coming into contact with your skin to help prevent these ear pads from heating up so
much.
But when it comes to choosing between the 350’s and 450’s im definitely going with
the 450’s not just cause of the active noise cancelation… but also cause of the audio
jack.