Sennheiser HD25 Studio Monitor Sealed Headphone | List Price: $269.95
Discount Price: $188.50
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Brand: Sennheiser
Binding: Electronics
Features: - High sensitivity.
- Very good attenuation of background noise.
- Low weight.
- Comfortably fitting adjustable headband.
- Detachable single-sided connection cable.
Great for Open Office Survival [Posted on 2006-12-02]
I purchased these to drown out office noise without damageing my hearing.
I can hear the music at a low volume and focus on my task. The down side-my cube mates have to visually get my attention.
Only Headphones I Know That Do This [Posted on 2006-12-17]
These are the only headphones I know that offer decent sound quality and audio isolation. I use them with an MP3 player (Cowon iAudio T2) both for travel and for pleasure.
For some reason, my left ear is a funny shape. I mean, it looks just fine (as far as I can see in a mirror!), but "simple" earphones (like you get for free with electronics these days) fall out and expensive "in ear" phones don't fit. My right ear is fine, so it's not simple user error, I hope.
So I'm left with closed-back headphones. After reading around, these had the best reputation (for sound quality) in my price range. And they're pretty good. Not, in my opinion, a match for a good pair of open headphones (they sound nowhere near as involving as the much cheaper Grado SR60s, and much less "natural" than the open Sennhesiers at the same price), but good enough to make them a pleasure.
They have a slightly metallic tone and an emphasis in the upper-mids, but then become quite "shut in" at higher frequencies. So cymbals don't shimmer as much as you'd expect, but the result feels very "detailed". It's hard to describe, but different instruments are easily distinguished - sometimes I wear them in a quiet room just to focus in on one player in an ensemble, for example. The bass is there, but not particularly powerful, and is soon overwhelmed by ambient noise - the isolation is better at the higher frequencies.
Isolation is not as good as an in-ear phone (for my right ear!), but it's "good enough" for general use (I work shifts that involve an overnight bus (coach) ride every week and can listen to music while travelling - I suspect they would be good on planes, but haven't tried yet). I haven't done a direct comparison, but my impression from occasional sampling is that they isolate better than active phones. And, as I said, the isolation is best at mid and high frequencies - if you listen to Jazz, for example, you're not going to hear a typical bass line in a noisy environment, even though the rest of the music is enjoyable.
[Correction, added later: I was wrong above, about the comparison with active headphones. I did a direct comparison with some Bose noise-canceling headphones, and the Bose provided much more isolation.]
Since I wear these in the street, appearance was a factor. I've taped over the logo/name and they look pretty "cheap" when hung around my neck. This is a good thing. However, when worn on the ears, they are very obvious - you look to be wearing bigger phones than anyone else. this isn't so much down to the size (they're on-ear, not over-ear), but the fact that headband goes "outside" the earpieces, making them look very wide. In the end the decent sound is worth the occasional odd glance.
While they don't look that great - black and plasticky - they are very light and seem pretty tough. Way better than Grados. Also, they're pretty efficient - no problems driving them from my tiny MP3.
It's a pity they don't sound "perfect", but I do like the sound they have. It's a pity the isolation doesn't block the lowest frequencies so well, but they're still good enough to listen to in noisy environments. For what they do, I don't know of anything better, and I'm glad I bought mine.
Great! [Posted on 2007-01-19]
I used to have a Pioneer DJ5000 headphone and I loved it. But I purchased a Sennheiser HD 25 and now I think that Pioneer is just too heavy! Sennheiser HD 25 is so lighter and the sound quality is superior.
A great closed set of headphones. [Posted on 2007-04-23]
First of all I should say that I love these. They're lightweight, innocuous, and do a good job with muffling sounds outside. I say muffle, as coming from IEMs they do not isolate yourself completely from people talking to you (though they do have to speak much louder than they normally would), but they do isolate yourself from sounds of a city or an airplane. I've taken these on a flight and they are quite lovely. Instead of that awful humming from active NC (think Bose QCs), they merely attenuate all sound around me. I can still hear the flight attendents, yet for some reason can't hear the baby three seats behind me.
As for sound quality, these are quite lovely. While certainly not the best headphones I've ever heard (I reserve that distinction for the HD650s and Grado HF-1s), they have a nice, deep and accurate bass that helps distract from the din of the outside world. Vocals are presented quite well, and as everyone else has said here... treble could use some work. I've only noticed the annoyance in classical pieces, more specifically with strings.
These headphones are built well. Despite being mostly plastic, they do look like they could survive a beating. I've already dropped them a couple of times, and they haven't had a scratch. Plus even if you do manage to break them outside of warranty or are at fault for breaking them Sennheiser has a parts shop to replace most any part. While I have not yet had to deal with them for this headphone, I have had to get replacement pads for another of their headphones and they were quite courteous in sending them and even emailed me instructions on how to properly replace them. I suspect that despite this headphone's high price, it'll in the end prove its own value by outliving me.
Sadly besides the treble they do have a slight problem in their comfort. They initially have a vicegrip on your head. While this helps with isolation it certainly isn't comfortable for the first couple of weeks. Fortunately it does stretch out slightly with regular use, and now I can wear it comfortably even with glasses. If I wanted more grip (for better isolation or if I'm being shaken about for whatever reason), I could just split the headband a bit.
In short this headphone is a great one. Perhaps the best I've ever encountered for a closed headphone, and my new favorite for portable use. Sure they're a bit uncomfortable, bad for classical strings, and look butt ugly... but that just means that they're great at isolation, good at just about every other kind of music, and have little appeal to a mugger.
What do you need these headphones for? [Posted on 2007-05-24]
Despite their size these headphones are intended for professional use. DJ Mag voted this product No 1 last year, and I've noticed a few influential Dj's using it in live shows (eg Paolo Mojo). Personally I don't like to use them while dj-ing because I find them a bit uncomfortable. They are very well built though, with all the components replaceable and providing a good noise cancellation but not near any bigger size headphones. The base is a kind of disappointing for this price. Also, beacause of their light weight, they were built with a tough plastic headband (adjustable in length but not in pressure) which makes them uncomfortable especially if you wear glasses (the soft sponge headband reenforcement doesn't help here). These headphones will last and I'm sure they will be able to provide an ok sound for a long time adding the coolness of a minimalist design but I strongly recommend that you try them on for a couple of weeks before you buy them.
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