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To put these babies to the test I listened to a variety of classical and rock music. The 4th movement of Brahm's Piano Quartet in G-Minor, Op. 25 is a spectacular 8 minute piece done at Presto tempo. While in the local music store I compared the sound of the HD 490's with some Koss and AKG headphones in the same or higher price range and was absolutely floored by the sound difference. From the very highest violin staccatos to the incredibly rich cello, the HD 490s performed like stars. My only complaint would be that the bass is a little on the "boomy" side, although very powerful. If you intend to listen to a lot of classical music make sure you have an equalizer to try and tone down the bass a bit. This might detract some classical listeners but personally I really enjoy the sound that the HD 490s produce.

A string quartet may be fine but I wanted to really push these headphones to their limit classically. So I grabbed the soundtrack of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition) written by the academy award winning John Williams. One word: WOW! The power of the brass and percussion sections in The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) was absolutely astonishing. I cranked the volume on my Pioneer amplifier as high as I could bear, even taking the earphones slightly off my head. The result: sound as clear as a bell with no distortion. I was thoroughly impressed. Two of my other favorites, The Battle of Hoth and The Asteroid Field sounded equally amazing. The strings and woodwinds were subdued and cheery. The brass and percussion was bright and clear. Aside from the possibility of some people not liking the "boomy" bass I think that the headphones sounded simply astounding.

Not to detract from popular music fans I tried a number of CDs. With their "boomy" bass and crisp response throughout the entire frequency range, these headphones really found their element. From the crisp twelve sting guitar opening of the Eagles' Hotel California to the massive industrial sounding might of Nine Inch Nails' Happiness is Slavery, these headphones delivered. My portable CD walkman and my Soundblaster Live! Value card had absolutely no problem driving these headphones, even the deepest bass. However, it is still best to listen to them on an amplifier if at all possible if you really intend to get the full experience.