Hi!
Welcome to Lachlan Likes A Thing, a show where I take a thing and see whether or not I like
it.
Now the thing we're looking at in this video is the Sennheiser HD25 Professional Monitoring
headphones.
Now firstly I want to give a big thank you to Sennheiser for loaning me a pair of these
headphones.
I actually haven't had a chance to have a good listen to the HD25s up until now and
for a headphone enthusiast like me that's a bit of a secret shame because the HD25 is
a bit of a legend in terms of portable headphones.
They are actually a professional headphone, you often see them used in broadcast environments
and in professional DJ environments.
But I guess that kind of street credibility has meant that the HD25 has become a really
popular option for portable casual use as well.
And actually, I often get asked how I think the HD25 compares to some of the newer portable
options on the market, and that's really remarkable considering that the HD25 is a 25 year old
design now.
So I guess there's something to be said for good engineering.
So, I've had the HD25's for about a month now and if you follow my Facebook page you'll
know that recently I went on a trip to Tasmania and the HD25's were the headphone that I decided
to take on that trip.
I originally didn't like the HD25's very much because I just found them a bit uncomfortable
but after using them in a variety of situations like on a plane our out and about in the city
I've actually come to see why the HD25's are such a popular headphone for portable use.
So first of all the HD25 was originally targeted towards professional users so it has a very
industrial, very practical, no nonsense feel to it.
And that kinda means that I have to say some of the plastic finishing on some of the HD25's
edges, some of the surfaces, is a bit rough and it definitely doesn't have the same kind
of premium feel to it that something like the Sennhesier Momentum or the Audio Technica
ES700 does.
At the same time though these plastics mean that the headphone has a really light weight
of 140g and at the same time as being lightweight the HD25 feels incredibly durable.
Even though this is a review unit I really feel like I, you know, you can really toss
this headphone around, kind of twist it and do anything you like to it and it will survive.
Recently at a headphone meet I was able to talk to a friend of a friend who is a DJ and
who actually owns a pair of the HD25's and he was able to tell me that the HD25's do
have a reputation in the DJ community for being an indestructible headphone and considering
how roughly DJ's have to treat their gear sometimes that's a really good sign.
Part of what adds to the kind of workhorse reputation of the HD25 is that every part
of the HD25 is replaceable.
There are parts available for the earcups, for the headband, and the cable itself is
detachable as well, and all of the parts can be replaced by a user, you don't have to bring
them in for servicing, you can just buy the parts online and replace them yourself.
Regarding the HD25 cable itself it's actually a steel cable so it feels extremely durable
but one thing to note is that it's a bit like a steel wire so it will develop kinks if you
bend it too far and it will kind of tangle if you scrunch it up so that's one thing to
watch out for.
On the other end of the cable you have a really chunky straight angle jack so that's one thing
to watch out for, because the jack is quite long, so if you're going to use it in your
pocket with a portable player it can get a bit inconvenient.
The HD25's have a split headband which means that you can kind of wear them like a normal
headphone or you can split the headband for maximum stability and comfort on the head.
When I got the HD25 a number of people asked me how it compared to a similar headphone,
the Beyerdynamic DT1350.
And so I managed to borrow a friend's pair of the DT1350's and although I haven't had
a chance really to have a good listen to these, I have to say I much prefer the split headband
system on the HD25 because on the DT1350 the headband is actually spring-loaded and so
it snaps back in place and it means that it kind of flops around, you have to readjust
it every single time you take it on and off and also it has a tendency to kind of grab
on to your hair and eat it.
In comparison the HD25 is much less fussy to put on and off and I much prefer this system.
So in terms of comfort the HD25 was originally made for environments where noise isolation
and stability of fit were top priorities so even though the earpads are quite soft and
cushy the clamping pressure on the HD25 is very high and so they exert quite a lot of
pressure on the ears.
The split headband does kind of take the pressure off a little and the whole headphone feels
very steady on the head, the noise isolation is incredibly good, which is something that
I really appreciated on the plane trip to Tasmania.
But I did find that I could wear these for about 2 hours before my ears would start to
get a bit sore.
They're definitely not as comfortable as other consumer headphones like the Sennehsier Momentum
or the Audio Technica ES700 but they are about as comfortable as the Beyerdynamic DT1350's
and they are definitely more comfortable than the Beats Mixr which was another DJ headphone
that Iooked at earlier.
So how do the HD25's sound?
Well for a headphone that's been kicking around for a quarter of a century I was really surprised
at how much I liked the sound of these.
Now these definitely have a very warm, quite aggressive tone to them.
They have a really robust, kind of chesty low-end with a kind of mid, mid-bass kind
of emphasis, and the top end, the kind of treble notes are quite aggressive.
Everything sounds very lively and very exciting and it really excels at Rock and Electronic
music.
One thing that I have to really mention is that the bass on the HD25's is some of the
cleanest bass that I have ever heard on any headphone, bar something like the LCD-2.
And that's kind of reflected in the very low distortion figures on the HD25, especially
at higher volumes.
Again these were made for DJ's where they have to be kind of be able to hear the beats
when they're mixing at very high volumes but what that translates to is that the sound
of the HD25's, even though it is not as wide or as spacious because of the bass emphasis
on the sound, it definitely is very clean, and very tight, very fast sounding, and I
think that this is a very lively and exciting headphone to listen to.
Compared to similar headphones, I think in terms of sound signature the HD25 lies somewhere
in between the DT1350 and the Beats Mixr.
The DT1350 on first impressions sounds like the far more balanced, more neutral sounding
of the headphones, so if you wanted a more neutral sound, I would look forward to the
review I'm going to do of these.
Otherwise compared to the Beats Mixr I think the HD25 definitely sounds a lot tighter,
a lot cleaner.
It's less bassy than the Beats Mixr, the soundstage is not quite as spacious, but overallI much
prefer the HD25.
Now on a final note a lot of people have asked me how the HD25 compares to the Sennheiser
Amperior, which is basically the same headphone as the HD25 except with aluminium earcups
and lower impedance drivers for portable devices.
Now I think that any modern music player can supply more than enough volume to the HD25
with the normal 70 ohm drivers but more importantly then that is to know that the HD - sorry,
the Sennheiser Amperior is a discontinued headphone, and it's being replaced by the
Sennheiser HD25 Aluminium Edition, which is the same headphone as the HD25 with the same
70 ohm drivers, except with aluminium earcups and different earpad materials and different
materials on the headband.
And so one of the first things I'm going to do after finishing this review is to try and
get my hands on an aluminium edition HD25 because I'm really interested to see how those
changes affect the sound.
So overall, I really like the HD25's.
They're not the most comfortable of headphones for longer listening sessions but I really
love the phenomenal bass response on these.
I really like the lightweight and stable fit and I really like the idea of a headphone
that you can just kind of toss around and not worry too much about breaking.
So if that sounds like a good idea to you then definitely check these out.
Anyway thanks for watching this review.
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Happy listening!