Sennheiser: what they publish

In this database28 headphones

Figures from their own material25 of 28

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This page does not review anything Sennheiser makes. It counts one thing: how much of what this database says about their products came out of their own documents, and how much had to be worked out or left blank.

Headphones

Where each sensitivity figure came from

Model	Impedance	Sensitivity	Source of the figure
HD 280 Pro	64 Ω	113.0 dB	Unit not stated
HD 400 PRO	120 Ω	100.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 480 PRO	130 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	Published per mW
HD 490 Pro	130 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	Published per mW
HD 505	120 Ω	98.7 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 550	150 Ω	98.5 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 560S	120 Ω	100.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 569	23 Ω	98.6 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 579	50 Ω	93.0 dB/mW	Not published
HD 58X Jubilee (Drop)	150 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	Not published
HD 599	50 Ω	93.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 600	300 Ω	91.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 620S	150 Ω	101.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 650	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 660S	150 Ω	95.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 660S2	300 Ω	98.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 6XX (Drop)	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 700	150 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 800	300 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 800S	300 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
HD 820	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 100 PRO	20 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 200	18 Ω	101.6 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 300	16 Ω	106.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 400 PRO	16 Ω	105.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 500 PRO	16 Ω	108.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 600	18 Ω	100.6 dB/mW	Converted from per volt
IE 900	16 Ω	105.0 dB/mW	Converted from per volt

Impedance is almost always printed. Sensitivity is the one that goes wrong, because a decibel figure means two very different things depending on whether it is per milliwatt or per volt — about five decibels apart at 300 Ω and eighteen at 16 Ω. The conversion is here.

Published per mW — 2: the maker prints a decibel figure per milliwatt, which is what the database stores
Converted from per volt — 23: the maker prints a figure per volt, converted here with dB/mW = dB/V − 10·log₁₀(1000/Z)
Unit not stated — 1: the maker prints a decibel figure with no reference unit, so it is shown as printed and flagged rather than quietly converted
Not published — 2: no sensitivity figure in anything the maker published

In short

What the paperwork adds up to

Most of what this site says about Sennheiser came from them, with the rest derived and labelled as derived.

The rule used here is the same for every maker and is described on the manufacturer index. Every figure behind it can be opened on the product page it came from, with the document it came from linked.

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