Digital Trends

Sennheiser HD435 May 17th, 2006 | by Brandon King

Features and Design

The design of the HD435 seems to imply that they are intended for desktop, non-portable use. There are no collapsing parts, aside from the expanding fit bands by each earpiece, and the earpieces themselves are on the large side. The open air design allows the wearer to hear the outside environment surprisingly well. On the downside, this also means more leakage of sound, annoying those around you.

The ear pads are flat, which seems unusual at first. There is no indentation your ears fit into, and the size is large enough that the pads cover the entire ear. It seems like this might mean they are conducive to slipping off, but we had no such problems. A decorative red ring adorns each earpiece, looking slightly awkward but adding a little color to a peripheral that is generally relegated to a black/gray color scheme.

The three-meter cord plugs into the left earpiece only, and features an in-line volume control. The cord can easily be swapped out or unplugged for easy storage. A 1/4-inch adapter is included as a convenience. The materials are on the cheap side for Sennheiser, but better than most similarly priced options. Don't expect a metal and real wood enclosure here, though—just be happy the plastic is relatively sturdy.

The general fit of the HD435 is a little loose, owing to the flat-surfaced earpieces. The adjustability is identical to your run-of-the-mill headphones, and the material doesn't irritate the skin or feel abrasive with prolonged wearing. We had no problems wearing these headphones for a few hours at a time. The single connection design makes the left side feel slightly heavier from the weight of the cord pulling down, but the perception is transient, and after a few minutes we no longer noticed it. The tugging was not hard enough to require any regular readjusting.

Image Courtesy of Sennheiser