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Updated April 11, 2024·
If you prioritize comfort and overall sound quality for music, calls, and gaming, choose Sennheiser HD 400S; they offer better build quality and mic performance. If budget is a key concern and you need something more affordable, go for Sony MDR-ZX110, though these are less comfortable with lower sound and build quality. Sennheisers have a detachable cable and are foldable for easier transport. However, both lack wireless capabilities, active noise cancelling, and are not optimized for exercise. Neither is sweat or dustproof, but Sennheisers are better for TV and video due to their better soundstage. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Sennheiser HD 400S
Very good for phone calls
Very good for gaming
Good for TV and video
Good for air travel
Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Sony MDR-ZX110
The Sony MDR-ZX110 has no clear advantages over the Sennheiser HD 400S.
Key differences
Music
7.1/10
7.6/10
The Sony MDR-ZX110 and Sennheiser HD 400S are both good for music, though the Sony MDR-ZX110 is somewhat better.
Gaming
8.6/10
5.9/10
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for gaming, while the Sony MDR-ZX110 is poor.
Phone Calls
8.2/10
3.0/10
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for phone calls, while the Sony MDR-ZX110 is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
7.6/10
4.3/10
The Sennheiser HD 400S is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Sony MDR-ZX110 is poor.
TV and Video
7.6/10
6.9/10
The Sennheiser HD 400S is good for TV and video, while the Sony MDR-ZX110 is only fair.
Cost
$50
$10
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
The Sennheiser HD 400S has a price of $50 and the Sony MDR-ZX110 costs $10.
Build Quality
8.5/10
6.0/10
The Sennheiser HD 400S has very good build quality, while the Sony MDR-ZX110 has only fair build quality.
"Sennheiser has done it again. The HD 400S performs well beyond its price range and is one of the better budget model headphones I’ve tried. It has very few bells and whistles and offers a simple means of listening that still delivers amazing clarity and quality. If you need a good first pair of headphones or need something that you can take out of the house, then the HD 400S is definitely for you."
"My opinion about Sony MDR ZX110 is they are the best budget headphones of Sony with top-class sound. Clear vocals, great bass, and balanced sound with low sound distortion. The treble could be sharper, but it's ok. 30 mm neodymium dynamic drivers give clear and precise audio, and an inline remote with a mic give decent call quality. Closed-Back Design also helps to improve sound performance."
Get a great deal on the Sennheiser HD 400S or the Sony MDR-ZX110
About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
About Sony
Sony is a multinational corporation, based out of Japan, with over 75 years of experience in the consumer electronics industry. In the audio market, Sony has been a trendsetter several times throughout its history. In 1979 they released the first-ever portable music player, the Sony Walkman, followed by the Discman 20 years later. Today, Sony is one of the leaders in the wireless headphone and earbud market, especially in terms of Active Noise Cancellation technology.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the Earbuds or Headphones team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Luis Torres
Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.