I have a dream, actually a lot of dreams. After World Peace and abolition of hunger I dream of a World without cords. I have had my hopes up for this ever since I unpacked my Commodore 64 back in the early 90s. Since then I have tried both infrared and radio wave wireless headphones. Neither worked out too well, and both felt like large grandpa headphones. A couple of years ago I came across my first Bluetooth stereo headset, but then my Sony Ericsson W810i phone couldn’t handle wireless stereo. With no applications or firmware to help remedy the situation I had to put the dream on hold. With the Sennheiser MM400 I finally get to test out Bluetooth as a solution for the cord problem. My results are mixed to say the least.
The Sennheiser MM400 is a light semi-closed headset with a chargeable battery in the left ear cup. This battery is either charged by means of USB or by using an electrical socket. Battery life is a bit over 10 hours per 3-hour charge. Sennheiser claims that there is also 20 hour talk time using the built in microphone. I wouldn’t know, as the microphone is so poor that I doubt anyone will ever need to use it for 20 hours. The few calls I have made using the microphone have all ended with me having to disconnect the MM400. The invisible microphone located in the right ear cup picks up all ambient noises, and has real trouble picking up my voice in the process. It is called an invisible microphone, and that is what I consider it to be. Don’t even consider buying the MM400 as a communications solution, it doesn’t work.
The MM400 is really comfortable to wear for long sessions. I can easily use them for eight hours straight without any discomfort. The only time I realize I am actually wearing them is when I walk out of range of the iPhone. The sound starts to break up, and becomes a choppy mess. After further steps outside the 10-meter range the transmission stops completely. Returning to the covered area the MM400 picks right up, and my music continues. There are a lot of buttons to be found on the right ear cup. The ones working for the iPhone are volume up and down, play/pause/turn off and Blutetooth button. There is no way to change track using the controls. You can use Voice Control if you dare to try it pressing the Bluetooth button. To me Voice Control with the MM400 works in about 20% of attempts. Telling it to play music by Metallica can end up in the headset calling my bank. The Voice Control is random to say the least.
The sound quality of the MM400 is crystal clear with a good representation of audio across the spectra. Bass is kind of weak, and if you listen to hip-hop and other beat heavy types of music the MM400 needs to have bass boost turned on in the iPhone equalizer. I found listening to the MM400 without any boost to be best in the long run as I listen to a wide range of music, and the odd podcast. To me it is baffling that sound of this quality can travel without any cord at all. Compared to my Sennheiser HD212Pro Studio headphones there is not any audible difference in the sound except the bass. The noise isolation is quite ok for a set of semi-open headphones. Walking next to traffic is not ideal, but they do work in an office environment. If you are looking for a great wireless solution for music definitely consider the MM400.
The Bluetooth technology comes with a slight delay built in. This is not noticeable when you listen to music, but watching video and playing games become more or less impossible. I tried playing Street Fighter IV, and having the sounds occurring after my actions broke the experience completely. It felt like a bad kung fu movie. Watching movies means that you will always have an unsynched experience. To me that is really annoying as a lot of information is conveyed by body language, and having the image unsynched to the sound creates discrepancy in the viewing. Thankfully Sennheiser ships the MM400 with a cord letting me use them wired. Having the cord plugged into right ear cup voids usage of the Bluetooth completely, and you have no controls for volume or play/pause. Of course you are now wired, and can use the iPhone controls. For gaming, and watching movies on your iPhone the MM400 is not a good solution at all. I like that Sennheiser themselves have seen the problem, and acknowledges it by the complimentary cord. I tried using the MM400 with my new iMac that already has got Blutooth keyboard and mouse. Needless to say it didn’t work out too well. Whenever I used the keyboard or mouse the sound broke up. That is not the fault of the MM400 but rather the already quite limited Bluetooth technology. And why the heck would I need cordless headphones for my computer anyway? Right, my dream, never forget the dream.
Portability is definitely a word that goes well with the MM400. It weighs in at 105 grams, and has excellent padding on the inside of the headband. It can be easily folded up, and goes inside a normal sized jacket pocket. If you want to keep a conversation going while listening the MM400 is easy to twist to listen with one ear cup. Being able to put the iPhone somewhere when doing some heavy workout is great. Here in Sweden we have a lot of snow to shift this year, and not having to worry about getting the iPhone wet has been great.
The Sennheiser MM400 comes with the mentioned 3,5 mm cord, an in flight adapter, an USB wall charger and a soft carry case where it all fit. The battery can be extracted when you are out of use. This means that it can be charged while you can still use the headphones using the cord. To me this is a great as you always have access to a great sounding pair of headphones.
Summary
Pros
A great wireless solution for music.
Light, portable and comfortable.
Good battery life per charge.
Crystal clear audio.
The included 3.5 mm cord can remedy the limitations of Bluetooth.
Cons
The Bluetooth technology has delays, which makes playing games and watching video annoying.
The invisible microphone could just as well be gone completely. So far the worst microphone I have ever encountered as it picks up all ambient noise.
Not all controls found on the headset works with the iPhone.
Expensive considering you are paying for a headset that in reality only functions as a pair of headphones.
The Sennheiser MM400 is a mixed bag. It is an excellent solution to those looking for wireless headphones with great sound quality. For usage in a gym these are perfect. For those looking for a headset to make calls with, please don’t get these as the microphone is really poor. And to the gamer the Bluetooth technology isn’t good enough with annoying game breaking delay. I actually feel a need to divide the scores to make it clear where the final rating comes from. To some users these are great, and to others they are poor. It depends on what you are looking for as a consumer. I see these as a great wireless solution for music, and this shines through in my final rating.
Final Rating
Rating for listening to wireless music.
Rating for using the MM400 as a communications solution.
Rating for playing games using the MM400. Included 3.5 mm cord taken into consideration.
Sennheiser MM400 Bluetooth Headset at the US Apple Store $269.95
