Sennheiser MM 450 Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset

I bought these after looking at some of the reviews online - and looking for a good set of portable over the ear headphones which could be used as a handsfree.
I have some experience with good quality headphones - having extensively used Shure 530PTH in ear headphones, Dr Dre Studios and others over the years. My experience with these is without the optional USB dongle.

Sound Quality - Good bass and Treble response. Not as punchy as Shures or Dr Dre monster Beats - but good travel set. Comes with a minijack lead if you want to use wires - the sound quality to my ear is identical. There is a USB dongle optional extra that may improve sound quality when paired with an iphone/ipod dongle.

Construction - Sturdy - Durable - Much more so than the Dr Dre Monster Beats. Excellent build

Bluetooth - Easy pairing. iPhone 3GS and 3G users note - without the optional USB dongle you cant control tracks with the headphones. But can control volume. I believe that this is a limitation of Apple's implementation of bluetooth but it does make it frustrating to use them in that to change tracks, playlists you have to still use the iPhone.

Call-handling - no complaints at either end - the microphone seems to work fine.

Noise Cancelling - Uses the second generation of Sennheiser's noise cancelling technology - Noiseguard 2. Also seen in the PXC450s over hear Sennheisers (which I find too bulky and unwieldy). Noise cancelling is frankly not as good as the Bose QC 15 phones nor the QC 3s which are similarly on-ear. Nor is it on a par with the Sony 500NCDs. Its ok. It does limit the ambient noise of say a jet engine or airconditioner at work. It doesnt handle noise like that of a metro/tube station. Its better than the Dres.

Power use - It uses the replaceable Sennheiser BA 310 PX battery - its just that you cant actually buy one yet - which is kind of stupid. With bluetooth on and noise-cancelling it'll last 8 hours. I haven't tried it without because frankly - why would you bother?? There is an optional USB dongle that supposedly improves sound quality and improves power.

Overall - Excellent. If your use is for lots of travelling - its an excellent compromise of sound quality, bluetooth, noise cancelling and voice call handling. But - it is a compromise - and get a spare battery if you can locate one...

I was recently in a large electronics store and was struck by the number of different parts of it that were selling headphonse: they were there in the "traditional" location of the HiFi department - but they could also be found with the MP3 players, with the mobile phones, in the "travel" department, as 'headsets' in the computer department and - in ruggedised form - with sports equipment. However, it's surprisingly difficult to find one set of headphones which come close to doing everything we would like them to do and do it well. I'd like to recommend these as a candidate.

Before we do anything we have to do some charging up. We can use the USB connection provided either your computer or the supplied USB mains adaptor can give us the power from the mains. A full charge will give you enough juice to last for at least 8 hours and up to 20 - depending on the mode you are using. The mains adaptor has all the attachments to work with sockets around the world.

In their least remarkable mode you can connect up these headphones with their supplied wire and connect them to an ipod, a stereo system, an in-flight entertainment system or whatever else you have lying about. Adaptors to make this easier are supplied. Sound quality is good from a firm bass right up to the high end - my definition of a good set of headphones is that they should frequently surprise you at some new detail of music you thought you already knew; these do.The fit is comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time and they don't leak excessive amounts of music out or outside noise in. These are not subtle little devices which nobody will notice you are wearing - but equally they are not giants that make you look like an audiophile from 1975: you look like somebody who loves music but still cares about looks. So far so good.

But I suspect this is not what made you interested in these headphones so we will move to the next stage and remove the wire. We need to assume that you are working with a device which supports Bluetooth of course. And it has to have been paired up with the headphones. Working with an I-touch, a Nokia E63 mobile and a couple of laptops running Windows 7 and XP I found this to be no problem (the iTouch or an iPhone will, I believe, need to be running version 3.1 of its OS or later however). The first thing that impressed me at this point is the wireless sound quality. It sounded every bit as good as it did with the wired connection and I was able to wander several metres from the source device without running into any problems. I could use the controls on the right earpiece - usually - to adjust the volume, or change the track. Technically you need to have a device, and playing software, which supports something called the "AVRCP profile" to do this. If you are used to walking about with headphone wires which catch on your jacket, tangle in your pocket and pull on your ears then this is a wonderful liberation - do take a moment to dance around the room. In the future all headphone will be like this, no? If you have multiple paired bluetooth devices around you then the MM450s will play music from only one of them at a time. Getting the right one to play the music may involve a little juggling but this all seemed to work in a fairly intuitive way.

But we can go further with the MM450s. Try activating the "Noise Guard" and ambient noise around your recedes while you get to hear the music even clearer than before. This does use a little more power and it can leave you feeling a little isolated - but it is a great feature if you like to create a bit of personal listening space in a noisy environment like a plane or train. What is particularly great is to activate the noise guard and then turn the listening volume *down*. Instead of hearing more noise from outside you just hear the music less loud. Finally you can turn the music off altogether and just use the noise cancelling.

A final step is to try making a phone call. The headphones gracefully handle the sound of incoming calls or texts and the buttons on the earpiece allow you to accept, end or reject calls. You have a microphone built in somewhere which will pick up your voice and, I am told, people at the other end can hear you clearly - even in a noisy environment. As you hold a conversation with thin air people will look at you strangely. That is because you are a technological trail-blazer of course - one day they will all be doing it. The other type of conversation you might want to have is with people around you - and here the headphones can be switched to "talk-through" mode so that you can hear your interlocutor rather than the music.

The headphones can fold down to fit in the supplied case and they seem to be built pretty robustly. I have not yet had a chance to try them while out running and there is a possibility that they may not play well with moisture or sweat - so you might want to consider alternatives if this is important to you. For all other others: if music quality AND convenience of use if important to you then I would recommend these as a wonderful treat.

I read about these in the Telegraph magazine, along with I am sure, a lot of other people BUT all what was said is true! I have owned many headphones,from the player provided earbuds to Ultratone,Bose and Sure. They are presented in typical Sennheiser style, well packed and well equipped....they have covered all angles...these are serious Bluetooth,Sound cancelling headphones...and...then I charged them up and turned them on via my I phone..WOW!.....a serious base sound and extreme clarity across the spectrum that any music buff would like....from classical to pop they sounded fantastic. Save up your pennies for the most lightweight, versatile travel headphones yet!