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  1. Home
  2. Headphones
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC vs Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Oct 27, 2023 06:42 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Feb 25, 2022 03:54 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Picture
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingYes
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingYes
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes

Variants

  • HD 4.50
  • MDR-XB950N1 (Black)
  • MDR-XB950N1 (Green)

Review

See Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Review
See Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Review
0 
0 

Our Verdict

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC

Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless

The Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC are better headphones than the Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless. The Sonys have a very dark sound profile and their ANC feature is quite disappointing. On the upside, they have slightly longer battery life, but they take twice as much time to charge as the HD 4.50. The HD 4.50 can also connect to two devices simultaneously.

0 

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Standard
HD 4.50
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Black
MDR-XB950N1
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Standard
HD 4.50
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Green
MDR-XB950N1
Searching
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Standard
HD 4.50
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Standard
HD 4.50
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HD 4.50
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Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

6.9
6.3

Noise Isolation 
 

7.2
5.9

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.8
5.5

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.9
2.7

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Design Picture 2
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.0
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Comfort Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.5 lbs
0.65 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.1 lbs
1 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.4
7.0

Controls Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Controls Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Mediocre
Decent

Feedback  

Subpar
Okay

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
N/A

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
Yes

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Multi function
N/A
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

6.5
6.4

Breathability After Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Breathability After Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.8 °C
6.1 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

6.2
6.0

Portability Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Portability Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Portability Picture

L  

4.5"
7.4"

W  

6"
7.1"

H  

3.2"
1.9"

Volume  

86 in³
102 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
N/A
Show Text 

Case 
 

6.5
5.5

Case Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Case Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
Pouch

L  

4.8"
N/A

W  

7"
N/A

H  

3.5"
N/A

Volume  

118 in³
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Build Quality Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.5
6.0

Stability Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Stability Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Angled Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Side Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Front Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Rear Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Top Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC In The Box Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-0.71 dB
5.39 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.85 dB
-6.59 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.4
5.9

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.52 dB
0.96 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.8
5.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.79 dB
6.27 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

13.16 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

1.93 dB
7.78 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

1.99 dB
7.36 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.71 dB
5.64 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.5
9.4

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.38 dB
0.75 dB

Low-Mid 
 

-0.02 dB
-0.19 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

2.18 dB
0.59 dB

High-Mid 
 

5.26 dB
0.36 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.9
2.7

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

5.47 dB
8.62 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.31 dB
-8.14 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.69 dB
-8.51 dB

High-Treble 
 

-8 dB
-7.13 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.7
6.5

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

2 dB
2.03 dB

Dips 
 

2.19 dB
2.71 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.9
8.4

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.26
0.24

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.3
0.38

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.5
2.31

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

3.72
8.71
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.3
4.1

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.99 dB
4.21 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

3.54 dB
1.24 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

10.78 dB
7.81 dB

Openness 
 

2.8
3.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.8
3.1
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.3
6.9

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.250
0.686

WHD @ 100 
 

0.313
0.239
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown

Power 
 

On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.0

Codec 
 

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Default

ANC 
 

On

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

7.2
5.9

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-19.38 dB
-14.15 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Bass 
 

-9.11 dB
-4.97 dB

Mid 
 

-15.78 dB
-13.42 dB

Treble 
 

-33.72 dB
-24.84 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

8.5
7.5

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

30.71 dB
36.57 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
N/A

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

6.0
6.6

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

329.38 Hz
71.27 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

5.02 dB
5.45 dB

HFE 
 

3,368.2 Hz
3,225.4 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

8.924
6.395

Gain 
 

38.48 dB
42.95 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

7.1
5.7

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Speech + Pink Noise  

Speech + Subway Noise  

SpNR 
 

21.02 dB
8.14 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

7.5
7.3

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

22.3 hrs
24 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0

Total Battery Life 
 

22.3 hrs
24 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.2 hrs
3.9 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB
Show Text 

App Support 
 

0.0
7.0

App Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC App Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

No App
Sony| Headphones Connect

iOS  

No
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

No
N/A

Windows  

No
N/A

Equalizer 
 

No
Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
Yes

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
Yes

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
N/A

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.6
7.6

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.0
4.1

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

NFC Pairing 
 

Yes
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

120 ft
175 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

161 ms
173 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

140 ms
151 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

137 ms

Android Latency 
 

61 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Cable Picture
Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.5 ft
4.1 ft

Connection  

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
Show Text 

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

USB Input 
 

No
N/A

Line In 
 

No
N/A

Line Out 
 

No
N/A

Optical Input 
 

No
N/A

RCA Input 
 

No
N/A

Dock Charging 
 

No
N/A

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

Standard
HD 4.50
Searching
Finding store
Black
MDR-XB950N1
Searching
Finding store
Standard
HD 4.50
Searching
Finding store
Green
MDR-XB950N1
Searching
Finding store
Standard
HD 4.50
Searching
Finding store
 
Standard
HD 4.50
Searching
Finding store
 
Standard
HD 4.50
Searching
Finding store
 
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Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC

Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 2 years ago

Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC vs Sony MDR-XB950N1 Wireless: Main Discussion

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