Australian HiFi - March-April 2016_

40 Australian

ON TEST

need a second mortgage to enjoy a good pair

of headphones.

THE EQUIPMENT

Sennheiser’s HD 471i is a full-sized circumau-

ral (circumaural being the correct techni-

cal term to describe a headphone cup that

completely encloses the external ear) design,

with the ‘i’ indicating that the in-line remote

control with integrated microphone on the

1.4-metre cable is made for connection with

Apple devices (a ‘G’ version is available for

H

eadphone pricing has sky-rock-

eted over the last few years. Not

so long ago $300 would have

been considered quite a price for

headphones, but new price plateaux have

been created and surpassed since then, past

$299, then $499... The demand for higher-

priced (and hopefully higher-quality) designs

has grown so fast that $799 is fast becom-

ing the mid-point of the pricing range for

audiophile headgear. What a delight, then,

for Sennheiser to remind us that you don’t

Android users—that’s G for Galaxy). Because

these are circumaural designs, they keep their

sound in as well as deliver a certain amount

of passive isolation to help keep surrounding

environmental noise out. The non-tangle

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 in-line remote), that’s more suit-

able for using at home into a hi-fi headphone

socket. The usual minijack-to-quarter-inch

adaptor is provided.

HEADPHONES

Sennheiser

HD 471i