Sennheiser is a brand that I am most familiar with.

In a previous life as a working club and radio DJ, I regularly used the company's pro headphones as my weapon of choice.

And I was one of many in the game who, for years, chose Sennheiser above other brands generally for their audio quality.

If there was ever a criticism, it was that some of its cans were not as robustly made as those of competitors.

In recent years I've watched Sennheiser win universal acclaim for their in-ear wireless headphones such as Momentum which are regarded as one of the best true wireless earbuds on the market.

It has also entered the more competitive mid-priced earphones segment too. You can read my review of its CX True Wireless here.

For the last couple of months, I've been comparing the best over-ear ANC headphones for non-Apple users, Sony's WH1000x M4, to Sennheiser's more affordable HD 450SE.

The HD 450SE closed-back headphones are a Special Edition version of the company’s HD 450BT model.

These noise-cancelling headphones deliver high-quality wireless sound alongside seamless Amazon Alexa interaction.

While a lot of headphones and earphones on the market support Siri and Google Assistant, you don’t often see seamless integration with Amazon Alexa.

If Alexa is your constant companion, these could be the headphones for you.

HD 450SE are built exactly like the HD 450BT, with a slick and minimal black look and a neat folding design that adds to their portability.

I found them lightweight and comfortable to wear for extended periods.

Audio quality

Obviously, you will achieve better audio quality if using a wired set of Sennheiser headphones but that applies to all brands.

But, as you’d expect from Sennheiser, the signature sound quality provided by these wireless headphones is superb. (And there is the option to plug them in too.)

They have 32mm drivers and I’m a fan of the flat and nicely balanced tuning that delivers clear and precise audio across the musical spectrum.

There’s also stable connectivity thanks to Bluetooth 5.0 and support for the AAC, aptX and aptX Low Latency audio codecs.

The latter is ideal for watching movies and playing games without losing synchronisation between sound and vision.

A dedicated Smart Control app full of extra customisation options is useful too.

Battery life

With a 30-hour battery life, these headphones are among the best in terms of stamina, matching Sony’s market-leading ANC over-ears, the WH1000X M4.

Recharging is quick too: you will get from zero to 80 per cent in about half an hour.

Noise cancellation

The ANC is brilliant too, but there is no Transparency mode.

I recently took my first flights in more than 18 months which was a great opportunity to see how useful the ANC on these headphones is and I was super impressed.

They didn’t quite shut out the level of noise that my Sony WH1000X M4 did on the same flight, but they were not too far off.

HD 450SE also feature a dedicated Alexa button for firing up Amazon’s voice assistant that can also be used to trigger Siri or Google Assistant.

The built-in microphones had no trouble picking up my requests throughout my testing. The mics also result in pleasing call quality.

My main quibble would be how closely all of the physical buttons are housed on the right ear cup.

They take a bit of getting used to. And the lack of a ‘find my headphones’ feature is out of step with many other brands.