Others say...

"Nice solid headphones"
Have had them for about six months now and I love them. Good quality and pretty durable.

"Excellent headphone"
I own a Sennheiser HD477 and a HD202 for 3 years. Recently I wanted to buy another Sennheiser, tried HD280 and returned it. Finally got HD457 and am very satisfied.
I will review each one of them below.

(1) HD 202
The sound is very dull, lacking details. Not worth the money even it is cheap.

(2) HD477
I like its sound very much. Its spectrum is well balanced, rich low and high sounds. Very comfortable to wear. This one is discontinued though.

(3) HD280
Very dispointed at this one given all those good reviews. Maybe the one I tried is a defective product, the two ear pieces are not matched, sound image is a little bit biased towards one side, which is annoying. Because of this mismatch, the positioning of instruments, vocals are not desirable. Many complained about the wearing, which I agree. It is a bit tight, keeps drawing your attention when you listening to music.

(4)HD457
It is similar to HD477 in design, as well as in sound, rich in low and high freq. HD457 has stronger low freq output. I totally understand why some users saying the sound is 'muddy'. I have a old cd player that has a bass boost, when I turn it on, the bass sound is just too much. Drums sound is a bit distored. But nowadays, music players almost all have multi-band EQ, so it is easy to get a balanced bass sound after some tuning. I managed to get very good sound from another CD player with such EQ. I tried this headphone with other music sources, all sound good.
The wearing is also quite comfortable.

Lastly, I want to say the sound of HD457 may be a little bit colored. But to me it is clored in a desirable way. In the end, I am looking for the sound I like, it is a subjective thing. So try a few pairs of headphones, judge by your own ears.

"Excellent, but not really for bass-heavy music"
I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile, and I'm very particular about the quality and such coming from my headphones. I've gone through quite a few pair over the years trying to find the perfect pair of headphones for my taste. That said, this pair is, so far anyway, my favorite.

Firstly, I consider these *desktop* headphones - they're kinda big and not very portable.

In terms of the sound quality, there seems to be an excellent balance between treble and bass-level frequencies, meaning you can hear the high notes just as clearly as the low notes. And the quality is very crisp and accurate.

In my opinion the bass is great. However it really depends on your own taste. If your music of choice has a heavy bass line, or even if it doesn't and you still prefer to turn your bass up really high anyway, you'll most likely be disappointed with the amount of distortion.

But the balance between bass and treble is perfect for pretty much everything else - rock, jazz, classical, you name it. The bass is prominent and clear, but it's in perfect harmony with the higher frequencies. I personally like my bass to be *there* and clear, but not overbearing, so this is one of the essential things I look for in a pair of headphones.

This also makes these headphones an outstanding choice for watching DVDs on your computer - high definition sound, and all.

Comfortability is another area where these headphoens excel. The fabric ear pads are a tremendous plus for those who tend to wear headphones for hours on end - they simply don't get uncomfortable, ever. Past experience tells me that these are much better than the more common rubber ear pads, which can sometimes get painful after just half an hour or so. And not only that, but fabric ear pads actually react better with speakers, and help to produce a better sound. The strip of padding across the top is also really comfortable.

Finally, there's the lifespan. I've had these things for almost two years, I use them for hours at a time almost every day, and they're not even showing any signs of dying yet. I've never had a pair that's lasted so long.

In short, not for bass-heavy sounds, but for everything else I can't recommend anything better. Good price, too. Highly recommended for anyone who lives on their computer.

"Great Headphones"
These are really great headphones. Excellent for anything with a good strong beat (such as HipHop songs). The only reason it didnt get a 5 stars was because the cable length (even though it has the cable thing for it) is a bit too long, and feels useless.

"Sennheuser HD 457 headphones (silver)"
I liked the Sennheuser HD 457 headphone when I first started using them. After using them for awhile they would fall off every time I put my head down to pick something up from the floor. I later bought the Sennheuser HD202. The HD202 fits my head and ears much better! I have a small head. J. Hall