Sennheiser HD-25-1 ii First impression

Uriel · 30 Dec 2011 at 20:48

Maybe he's got a super-duper pair of NS1000s with 'special plastic' like me. Mine are still looking very robust.

Marsman · 30 Dec 2011 at 21:21

hux said:
Raymond what is your sauce?

I doubt it's HP.

I'll get my coat.

Nelly · 30 Dec 2011 at 21:52

Shamrock said:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587813/sennheiser-hd25-1-ii-why-do-people-like-these-its-nasty

Fairly incediary and troll-like thread title lets be honest lol.

Cheers, it hasn't put me off contemplating buying some HD25's, I sold my HD595's earlier this year for around the same price I bought them for over 3 years ago, needed the cash at the time.

Not sure which cans to buy, will probally go for closed cans for monitoring as I am going to get some music production gear very soon.

Shamrock · 30 Dec 2011 at 22:58

Perhaps near-field monitors would be more suitable? Or just to add a few more studio cans into the equation...AKG K271, Sennheiser HD280 Pro, Shure SRH840, Beyer DT48/DT150/DT250

Raymond Lin · 30 Dec 2011 at 23:00

This isn't a troll lol

My source is a Marantz CD6000 KI sig. I also have a musical fidelity X-Can v2 headphone (tube) amp powered by the X-PSU.

I'm not listening MP3 on it and don't intend to. I'm not one of those people who buy headphones as a fashion accessory so i don't care if these were blue or black. I don't care for great sound quality on the move either because there's always train engine noise, other chatter etc that affect sound quality.

titaniumx3 · 30 Dec 2011 at 23:44

Maybe you just don't like a neutral sounding headphones, which the HD25 are.

Raymond Lin · 30 Dec 2011 at 23:47

titaniumx3 said:
Maybe you just don't like a neutral sounding headphones, which the HD25 are.

I do, which the Sony are too. And my HIFI amp doesn't even have tone controls and I prefer them that way.

Nelly · 30 Dec 2011 at 23:56

The HD25's can't be that bad anyway, loads of the top DJ's use them and I've read threads were people have had them over 10+ years and lots of use.

Shamrock said:
Perhaps near-field monitors would be more suitable? Or just to add a few more studio cans into the equation...AKG K271, Sennheiser HD280 Pro, Shure SRH840, Beyer DT48/DT150/DT250

Well I don't want to hijack this thread, but also looking to buy some monitors also for daytime use probally the MACKIE MR5 MK2's, will use cans if I'm experimenting late at night, don't want to give the neighbours any grief. lol

finga · 31 Dec 2011 at 14:42

Raymond Lin said:
They made be durable because there's not much there to go wrong. Basically 2 pieces of cheap plastic connected together so a very simple design. That still doesn't take away the fact that it is not a product that is worth £200. Look at £200 speakers and see what you can get. If your argument is the money goes into the drivers then I am skeptical as well, they should sound better for £200 if most of the money went on sound R&D.

When I spend £200 on a product, it should feels like it, this feels like something that is 1/10th of its price.

To somebody using them for what they are so obviously designed for, which is mixing, not sitting in your armchair hooked up to an ipod, they are well worth the money.
Most djs go through loads of cans that just break from picking up and putting down, holding it on with your head and shoulder etc, they are working cans for djs, they save you cash in broken phones

hux · 31 Dec 2011 at 15:09

Hah, you're very punny.

Marsman said:
I doubt it's HP.

I'll get my coat.

rogan · 31 Dec 2011 at 15:23

i tried these along with grado sr80i's on looking for an upgrade from my rp-htx7's

they werent much of an improvement over my panasonics.. but saying that my panasonics have had a lot of use and i really like them so it was a bit biased, much preferred the sr80i's testing out hd 598's next week before i make a final decision!

Gna order an E7 too

Raymond Lin · 31 Dec 2011 at 15:52

finga said:
To somebody using them for what they are so obviously designed for, which is mixing, not sitting in your armchair hooked up to an ipod, they are well worth the money.
Most djs go through loads of cans that just break from picking up and putting down, holding it on with your head and shoulder etc, they are working cans for djs, they save you cash in broken phones

Errh No....

People rave about these for their sound quality and built quality.

Both of which fails. Why?

1 - Built quality, sure, they will last and take abuse but so does a plastic toilet seat, because it is so basic in its design in the first place. For £140+ I expect something durable AND with the built quality that comes with it. They could keep the same design but use nicer materials at least.

2 - Sound quality, it might sound good to a working DJ, but think of the environment they are in? banging loud night club with screaming people, footsteps and 1,000 people. Hardly the place to judge how good these sounds. So the argument that DJ uses these because they sound good is utter rubbish. A lot of DJ have tinnitus anyway due to their nature of their work environment so that makes the argument hold even less water.

Take away the background noise, sit at home in an armchair, and play some source material with the best possible means which shows up any short comings of the mechanics. That's how you can tell if a product is good. Working DJ, lol, that's the funniest thing i've seen for an argument to say something sounds good! Why do you think i don't bother with a mobile headphone set up? I don't have a mobile amp or great headphones on the go because of the background noise from all around me. Any 5% improvement is completely annihilated when someone starts talking on the mobile next to me. Waste of money.

Basically these do not built like they are worth £140, nor do they sound like they are worth £140.

Mason- · 31 Dec 2011 at 16:03

Raymond Lin said:
I told a lie, I also got a pair of Goldring NS1000 to compare it to, and they retail for £60, and better built than the Sennheiser HD25, sound wise, it's close, its not as good as the Sony but I bought it for different purposes, its noise cancelling so I can't directly compare it to the others as I only ever use it on the plane.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/557/img8919lb.jpg[/IMRL][/QUOTE]

I'm sorry but that is completely wrong, HD25s are known for being built like tanks and being portable. Whereas the NS1000's are notorious for poor build quality and have the worst noise leakage ever. I own both.

I got hd25s which I use for out and about, they seal well on my ears and don't leak because I've had no complaints. And are much better than my IE7's which they replaced.
I use DT770s indoors because they need an amp.
And if I ever go on a plane, that's the only time I'd ever use my NS1000's again.

Mason- · 31 Dec 2011 at 16:04

Raymond Lin · 31 Dec 2011 at 17:28

It might be durable and can take a lot of abuse but they do not built like they are a £140 product. I feel they could at least use better material and finish the plastic off better. I mean I can actually see the glue that holds the cushion in the headband in place. That is shruddy workmanship, not a finish of a top of the line headphones. It is these kind of things that makes it feel cheap. The fact that it can be thrown around for 10 years and survive is a different argument.

daz · 31 Dec 2011 at 17:38

Are you sure the Senns you've bought aren't fakes?

Raymond Lin · 31 Dec 2011 at 18:00

daz said:
Are you sure the Senns you've bought aren't fakes?

I got them from the official Adidas store online. Shipped via UPS.

Mason- · 31 Dec 2011 at 18:00

Raymond Lin said:
It might be durable and can take a lot of abuse but they do not built like they are a £140 product. I feel they could at least use better material and finish the plastic off better. I mean I can actually see the glue that holds the cushion in the headband in place. That is shruddy workmanship, not a finish of a top of the line headphones. It is these kind of things that makes it feel cheap. The fact that it can be thrown around for 10 years and survive is a different argument.

That is almost contradictory.

At the end of the day I don't give a **** about what a headphone looks like.

Sure if its a car then yeah you buy an expensive one you don't want it made from plastic. But they're headphones, all I care about, apart from sound quality, is if they last. Not how they look or what materials they are made from.

At the end of the day, they are good headphones:
- They are portable
- Light
- Strong
- Sound quality is superb (disagree all you want buy you're in the minority)

and I love how they look.

Marsman · 31 Dec 2011 at 18:02

He bought them from Adidas website, so highly doubtful.

It would make me laugh if the Adidas ones were not as good. Again, not likely, as they've only just made cosmetic changes. £200 for inferior headphones! I'm sure Adidas would have been flamed by now, for charging an extra £50-£60, to make a headphone sound worse.

Raymond doesn't like them, plain and simple. It's his money, his choice.

danza · 31 Dec 2011 at 18:08

If it's any consolation I bought mine used for 30 notes with no earpads, bought some velour earpads and sold them for the ridiculous price of £110 on ebay. They cleaned up pretty well in the end (both monetarily and physically!).

Still, doesn't change the fact that they didin't suit my needs anywhere near as much as other headphones, hence the sale.

One interesting quirk of the HD 25s is that they use steel conductors in the cables instead of copper for increased durability.