Sennheiser HD 450BT

Sweets turn sour – I have had these headphones for 12 months and they never missed a beat until a week ago when I noticed a low level buzzing static noise and they started to then behave strangely and switch off after onlu a few minutes of use or randomly do other things, like change tracks. I initially thought I was touching a button or had forgotten to charge the… Read more

them but that wasn't the case. It appears that it is a know issue and common occurance which some users online are attributing to using quick chargers or smart chargers with the headphones.

This ofcourse is not something covered anywhere I have found in Sennheisers documentation and most of us would just use what ever USB charger is available with a free port. Also Smart / quick chargers negotiate with the device before changing the voltage level so it is a strange that this could be the issue.

But as I have been reading the forums and discussions on the internet around this issue I see many users are reporting that even the replacement units fail the same way and getting support is not made easy.

So I am going to avoid Sennheiser headphones moving forward due to this. I would recommend also before any purchase of devices near or in this price bracket that you Google for "issues" or "common faults" or "failures" and spend 30 minutes to an hour reviewing what other users are reporting. If you see a trend across multiple forums and discussions describing the same issue / failure then look for alternative product options and search what they have issues with.

If the warranty process was easier and if the other users hadn't reported all the issues they had with the replacement units I would of been going down the warranty support process but at this stage it appears that I have a lemon 10 days after 1year of use.

Senheiser hb450BT – Have had these since they first came out, i wear them everyday for work and gym over normal ear muffs as they are noise cancelling and i tend to not lose them! They have never let me down. 10/10 recommend. Show details

NO Do Not Buy – Unless you have the head the size of a small child DO NOT BUY. The ear cups are pathetic small, not suitable for an adult or teenagers head. The fit is way to tight, not comfortable and impossible to wear with sunnies or glasses with these headsets. Great for small child, NOT FOR TEENAGERS OR ADULTS. Show details

Decent headphones but uncomfortable – These are my first pair of headphones and have been decent value for money. Music sounds exceptional and they look nice. As the other reviews state there is an issue with the bluetooth. You can't take calls as it swaps out of noise cancellation mode (maybe there is a way to change it but I haven't found that yet). My main issue, which I seem to… Read more

have not read elsewhere but that I cannot deal with is that they are extremely uncomfortable. I can't wear for longer than an hour which is frustrating as a student that studies for multiple hours or needs to watch long lectures. My ears hurt as they become folded in the small muff space and the top of my head hurts where the bar digs in. Disappointing as most reviews said they were comfortable but they certainly are not. Would be fine though if you're just using for music and they work well at the gym.

Product has a major design flaw – The audio on these is pretty good, as is the ANC. Unlike others, I have no issues with the ear fitment on these, and they fit comfortably over glasses. However, there is a major design flaw: when you're taking a call or in a meeting, the headphones revert to "pass through" mode, _enhancing_ the level of background audio! This makes calls/meetings… Read more

untenable under any circumstances apart from being in a completely silent room.

For example: - Walking next to a busy highway, listening to loud-ish music, with ANC on. All good, the traffic is reduced to a background hum, and I'm enjoying my tunes and stroll. Wife calls, "pass through" mode is activated, the traffic noise is louder than thunder, and I can't hear anything. Headphones off, call taken in the old style, phone to ear. Very annoying. - Listening to music in a reasonably busy office. ANC is on, the background chatter is reduced to a low hum. This is great. Call comes in, "pass through" mode is activated, the background chatter becomes very much foreground, and I can't hear the call. Headphones off, call taken in the old style, phone to ear. Very annoying.

Contempt for customer service – The noise cancelling on these earphones drops out and so I returned to Sennheiser for a warranty repair. After two months and two follow-ups which Sennheiser refuses to respond to, the earphones have not been returned to me. Two months. They cannot repair and return a faulty product in TWO MONTHS and will not respond to enquiries. Sennheiser… Read more

have until now been my 'goto' brand when purchasing earphones but not after this. To compound a truly appalling attitude toward customer service, Sennheiser makes it impossible to contact them via any other method than their webform, which only results in contact to the very same department which ignores contact. Why is there no way of escalating complaints? I'm done with this company. The sound quality of the headphones is good - when the noise cancelling isn't dropping out - but dealing with Sennheiser is too much like hard work.

Update 18/03/22. Finally Sennheiser got back to me, stating that the headphones were not covered by warranty because they had been purchased from an unauthorised reseller: Xtreme Communications (through eBay.) To be perfectly clear: Sennheiser confirmed that the product I purchased and subsequently returned to them was indeed genuine, not counterfeit. Before purchasing from Xtreme Communications, I had also established that they were a legitimate business, with several bricks and mortar stores.

If manufacturers such as Bose and Sennheiser are going to refuse to honour warranties of genuine products not purchased through "authorised resellers" - and both of these companies state on their websites that they will not - then it falls to them to ensure that "authorised resellers" adequately identify themselves as such. Peruse major resellers like JB Hifi, Myer, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys. None of these state they are "authorised resellers." What consumer looks out the manufacturer's website to make sure they are buying from an "authorised reseller?" There is nothing to prompt them to do so, or alert them their warranty will be voided by not doing so. I was so disheartened by my dealings with Sennheiser that I investigated buying a pair of Bose headphones as a replacement, but then I was so disgusted by the weak statement on Bose's website: "please note, not all authorised resellers display that badge at this time" that I ruled them out.

It takes a special kind of arrogance to penalise customers who have purchased genuine products from legitimate businesses in this way. Such manufacturers can search out retailers offering their products - just as I did in order to buy them - and if they are not entitled to sell them, address the matter directly with the business rather than punishing buyers.

I note that Sony, in contrast, is at pains to detail consumer legal rights, so my next headphones will be Sony. I am genuinely saddened by this, because I loved Sennheiser.

It has taken me six months since returning the headphones to secure a refund from the reseller.

Connectivity issues – Purchased these headphones in May 2021 and have had ongoing issues with connectivity. I listen to music/TV/youtube as well as for phone calls. I have constant issues when I connect them to my Surface Pro X (brand new) and my Samsung Galaxy Note 9 simultaneously. The audio drops out or becomes very distorted if I use the Note or Surface pen or send… Read more

or receive a message on my Note. Despite updating and restarting/unpairing and then repairing etc all my devices multiple times this issue is not fixed. When the audio works the sound quality is quite good and I find them to be very comfortable. Overall they are disappointing and annoying