Quick take
For home listeners, Sennheiser HD 490 Pro makes the strongest case on Reddit. Buyers keep coming back to soundstage and detail, especially for home listening. The main drawback is limited upgrade flexibility, so it makes less sense for commuters who need isolation. That leaves it looking like a strong buy.
Open-back studio headphones designed for mixing, mastering, and critical listening with a neutral reference sound.
Professional open-back headphones for critical listening
Key metrics extracted from 37 community discussions.
Reddit users are repeating a similar read across 12 separate discussion sources, not just one isolated thread. Buyers repeatedly like soundstage and detail, but the recurring hesitation is still limited upgrade flexibility. That keeps the recommendation clearest for home listeners, rather than for everyone shopping this category. In buyer terms, it acts more like a home-listening audio pick than a category leader.
Total evidence snippets analyzed: 37
Reddit user impression summarizes the public discussion patterns gathered on this page.
The repeated takeaways that show up most in the discussion, with the raw proof kept below. • Total evidence snippets: 37 • Updated Apr 12, 2026
Expand each container to inspect original snippets and source attribution from public Reddit discussions • Updated Apr 12, 2026
Can’t comment on the Meze but I just got the 490 Pro’s this week and they sound fantastic. Nice deep tight bass, excellent layering and details and non sibilance in the treble. The soundstage is really open too, not HD800 levels but definitely more open than my HD6XX’s. I’d recommend the HD660S2’s over the 490 Pro’s personally but for gaming and more bass impact, the 490’s are better.
My vote is easily for the hd660s2. Own and game/listen to music for way too long everyday, I find myself reaching for the HD 660s2 no matter what. The 490 pros are a stellar can, and proof that Sennheiser can provide the perfect balance of consumer and mainstream in one cans tuning, with a great sound stage, but they lack that honey svelte experience that the more musical 660s2s effortlessly provide. I find the hd660s2 simply a dream as an all around headphones. My favorite out of all the sennheisers by far.
Should I get HD490 PRO or HD660S2 after Audeze Maxwell I've had the Audeze Maxwell for the past year and I was just wondering which open back headphone I should get next, hopefully to celebrate an acceptance to a university. Currently I'm thinking of HD490 Pro ($540 CAD) or HD660S2 ($450 CAD on sale) from what I have seen it seems like HD490 PRO has better soundstage and sub-bass while the HD660S2 have audio that consumers will like more with better mids (overall more consumer friendly) My Use Case: While I do
I have Hd490 pro’s. Highly recommend.
Hd 490 pro if you ask me. It’s what I got three weeks ago and they are mad comfy and insanely good for fps games (can’t say anything about other games because this is all I play). Also can’t really compare to others, but I know a lot of people vouch these as well for gaming
The 490 Pro is good for what it is.
i just got Sennheiser HD490 Pro and they are the best headphones i have tested. I also had arctis 7, superlux and Beyerdynamic DT990 and they are all fall behind in terms of quality, spatiality and immersion. If you want premium headphones go for Sennheiser.
Sennheiser HD490 Pro. They'll handily beat anything gaming-branded and give you good music to boot, and Sennheiser got a great reputation for comfort - they're among the few that really let me forget my glasses too.
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro! My favorite headphones of all time, and I used to own the 800 S, Arya Stealth and Focal Clear MG. Especially good with EQ. Some of the best quality bass I’ve ever heard in open, dynamic headphones. They come with two sets of pads for different sound signature/comfort.
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro. Super comfortable, decently wide soundstage.
A dac and an amp. I personally wouldn’t get the 660S2 for gaming. It’s pretty expensive for what it is and it has a pretty narrow stage. I would recommend the 490 Pro instead + the JCally JM6 Pro
I’ve been looking for open back headphones to upgrade from my airpods for quite a while. I’m looking for something for at most $900. What I’m looking for is probably a slightly v shaped signature, I don’t think i want something totally neutral. So far i’ve tried the Sennheiser hd490 pro and i found them to be underwhelming and lacking detail, but their sound signature was somewhat what I’d like, just with more clarity and a much better soundstage. And just with more of a wow effect. I also had the chance to try
Can’t comment on the Meze but I just got the 490 Pro’s this week and they sound fantastic. Nice deep tight bass, excellent layering and details and non sibilance in the treble. The soundstage is really open too, not HD800 levels but definitely more open than my HD6XX’s. I’d recommend the HD660S2’s over the 490 Pro’s personally but for gaming and more bass impact, the 490’s are better.
My vote is easily for the hd660s2. Own and game/listen to music for way too long everyday, I find myself reaching for the HD 660s2 no matter what. The 490 pros are a stellar can, and proof that Sennheiser can provide the perfect balance of consumer and mainstream in one cans tuning, with a great sound stage, but they lack that honey svelte experience that the more musical 660s2s effortlessly provide. I find the hd660s2 simply a dream as an all around headphones. My favorite out of all the sennheisers by far.
Should I get HD490 PRO or HD660S2 after Audeze Maxwell I've had the Audeze Maxwell for the past year and I was just wondering which open back headphone I should get next, hopefully to celebrate an acceptance to a university. Currently I'm thinking of HD490 Pro ($540 CAD) or HD660S2 ($450 CAD on sale) from what I have seen it seems like HD490 PRO has better soundstage and sub-bass while the HD660S2 have audio that consumers will like more with better mids (overall more consumer friendly) My Use Case: While I do
A dac and an amp. I personally wouldn’t get the 660S2 for gaming. It’s pretty expensive for what it is and it has a pretty narrow stage. I would recommend the 490 Pro instead + the JCally JM6 Pro
I have Hd490 pro’s. Highly recommend.
Hd 490 pro if you ask me. It’s what I got three weeks ago and they are mad comfy and insanely good for fps games (can’t say anything about other games because this is all I play). Also can’t really compare to others, but I know a lot of people vouch these as well for gaming
The 490 Pro is good for what it is.
I’ve been looking for open back headphones to upgrade from my airpods for quite a while. I’m looking for something for at most $900. What I’m looking for is probably a slightly v shaped signature, I don’t think i want something totally neutral. So far i’ve tried the Sennheiser hd490 pro and i found them to be underwhelming and lacking detail, but their sound signature was somewhat what I’d like, just with more clarity and a much better soundstage. And just with more of a wow effect. I also had the chance to try
i just got Sennheiser HD490 Pro and they are the best headphones i have tested. I also had arctis 7, superlux and Beyerdynamic DT990 and they are all fall behind in terms of quality, spatiality and immersion. If you want premium headphones go for Sennheiser.
Sennheiser HD490 Pro. They'll handily beat anything gaming-branded and give you good music to boot, and Sennheiser got a great reputation for comfort - they're among the few that really let me forget my glasses too.
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro! My favorite headphones of all time, and I used to own the 800 S, Arya Stealth and Focal Clear MG. Especially good with EQ. Some of the best quality bass I’ve ever heard in open, dynamic headphones. They come with two sets of pads for different sound signature/comfort.
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro. Super comfortable, decently wide soundstage.
Check live pricing and availability — this link helps keep the research running.
View on Amazon Affiliate link — supports the site at no extra cost.
What this shows How positive, neutral, and negative opinions about this product are distributed across Reddit discussions.
How to read it Larger areas or segments indicate a bigger share of discussion; green is positive, yellow is mixed, red is negative.
What it suggests here Mostly positive overall (Very Positive +67%).
Sentiment counts
What this shows How often this product is discussed compared to other products in the same category.
How to read it Longer bars indicate more frequent mentions in public discussions.
What it suggests here Above-average discussion volume vs category peers (rank #10).
What this shows How quickly discussion interest is changing, and whether that change is accelerating or slowing down.
How to read it Points further to the right indicate faster velocity; higher points indicate accelerating interest.
What it suggests here Trending quickly right now, and momentum is stable.
For home listeners, Sennheiser HD 490 Pro makes the strongest case on Reddit. Buyers keep coming back to soundstage and detail, especially for home listening. The main drawback is limited upgrade flexibility, so it makes less sense for commuters who need isolation. That leaves it looking like a strong buy.
People most often highlight Deep bass and open soundstage, Best in class comfort, and Stellar can.
Common complaints include Narrow stage and Underwhelming and lacking detail.
Sennheiser HD 490 Pro looks most useful for buyers who care most about sound, comfort, and daily usability. The biggest caveat is narrow stage, so it is less convincing for buyers who are especially sensitive to narrow stage.
These insights are generated from public Reddit posts and comments, then grouped into recurring praise, complaints, and buying patterns to make the page easier to scan.
Evidence snippets are selected from public discussions and grouped into themes. Counts represent how often a theme appears in the available evidence, not a survey or rating.