Introduction
Sennheiser is no stranger to the world of headphones, having produced classics such as the Sennheiser PXC 550 wireless.
This review will cover the Sennheiser HD 25.
Sennheiser themselves describe these as the industry standard for DJ headphones and I do not consider that to be an overstatement.
The Sennheiser HD 25 is a set of headphones exhibited in some of the world’s greatest DJ Booths.
These are also portable headphones for those of you looking to travel to places with your headphones.
Just throw the headphones in your backpack or luggage bag and you are ready to go.
These headphones are essentially an upgrade from the original HD 25-1 headphones.
There are but a minor number of differences between the HD 25 and their predecessors, which mostly include the accessories and some aesthetic differences.
The newer HD 25 has been produced with two totally new dies. This is one of the features that distinguish them from the older version.
When observed very closely with an eye for detail, you can see that the detail of the plastic and the finishing of the edges is different.
From a performance perspective, there have been some improvements made which I will go into in more detail below.
In fact, these would be perfect in environments such as ENG, sound reinforcement, studio monitoring, and audio equipment testing.
Ear Cups
To show that they are made for DJs the left side of the headphones lifts up.
The ear cups through in some cases can press against the ears a little hard due to the extra clamping force in these headphones.
It seems that only the left ear cup is rotatable and the right is unfortunately fixed in position, which is one other drawback of these headphones.
The ear cups are nice and cushioned so that your head can rest comfortably.
At first glance, I felt that the padding was a little deceptive in that it seemed as if they would do a lot to protect the ears, but after a while, you find that they are not that spectacular.
Having said that if you are someone that needs to use these for an hour a day, like say at the gym or a DJ set where you can take them off for a few minutes an hour, then they are perfect.
Build Quality
These are not the aluminum version of the headphones, they are in fact made of a flexible plastic like material.
When you first hold the headphones you may believe that they are made of cheap plastic, but when you do the stretch test you understand that they are incredibly durable and they do not exhibit any funny sounds.
So with regard to build quality, I even tossed them across the living room, they hit the couch, and then fell on the floor and they did not break- proving how resilient they are.
These are almost indestructible.
Before I purchased them, I went through a few reviews and almost all the reviews went on about how unbreakable and indestructible these cans were.
I don’t know if I believed them at the time because unbreakable is a pretty significant word that implies they can not break.
But then I also realized they can not afford to get damaged, given that their intended for DJ’s.
As some of you may be aware the DJ’s experience whilst on the set can be challenging. DJ’s endure a lot , and the headphones really need to stand up to some abuse.
The Sennheiser HD 25 is the master when it comes to the ability to handle very high pressure levels.
The construction is so robust you would swear they were designed by caterpillar. If you are one to use these headphones in loud environments then they are for you.
Sound Quality
The base that comes out of these bad boys is nice and detailed.
The Sennheiser HD 25 headphones have been clearly designed for the base lovers out there.
I have heard criticisms of the mid bass hump, which I personally do not mind.
For those of you wondering if it does not have the thump of the beat’s studio 2 (or 3) wireless, it does not, but, it still does pack a heavy punch.
To produce this much level of clear and detailed bass for under $200 is pretty amazing in my view.
I would define the mid range as expressive and articulate.
I really enjoyed listening to these headphones as you could definitely hear a lot of things in songs that other headphones, especially at this price point do not express.
The mid range can also come across as a little forward in my view, and therefore can seem extreme.
These cans really do have awesome sound. I like the fact that I can listen to my favorite song and they do not disturb my spouse.
HD 25 is great for high quality audio with mp3 players, phones, and live DJ mixing and performing.
No amplifiers needed, the sound produced is top-notch and needs no help in giving you a wonderful audio experience.
Comfort
They take me down memory lane, reminding me of older headphones, which would press down against your ears, and these headphones are pretty identical to those.
So comfort wise they are definitely mediocre.
The headband is pretty cool, it spreads out into two. That is pretty impressive.
So for me the other disappointing feature of the headphones is that they are not suitable for wearing for extended periods of time.
Given that I have had experience with the Bose QC35 II and Sony 1000MX3, which I can wear for hours on end,
I find that I can only wear the Sennheiser HD 25 for a maximum of 90 minutes before my ears need a break.
Headband
I don’t think you’ll have many complaints as far as the headband padding is concerned, as extra padding has been placed at the top of the headband to ensure that the top of your head does not experience any damage.
Compatibility
The headphones are IOS compatible and android device compatible. The headphones worked extremely very well with my IPhone nano.
By plugging in the 3.5 inch cord into my apple devices, I am able to make use of the headphones on the daily.
As mentioned previously, these are actually very good headphones for the DJ. Being a good set of DJ cans they also come with detachable Jacks.
These are the go to cans for so many DJ’s at gigs.
The headphones are also android compatible and can connect to any Android device.
Do note that the cable connection is on the top of the ear cup and not on the bottom.
Cable
With the HD 25 you get a coiled cable.
The coiled cable has a straight plug. The 1.5m cable has an angled plug.
The cable itself is around 3ft when coiled and stretches to about 10ft or roughly 30 meters.
The adapter is roughly one quarter inch.
What’s in the box
The HD 25 are on ear headphones which have a frequency response of 16 – 22000 Hz, an impedance of 70 Ohm, and come with the following accessories-
A screw jack adapter, a Pouch, an additional pair of soft ear pads and 1 additional (1.5m-3m) straight cable.
Comparison to other headphones.
The first time that I tried my hand at DJaying, I made use of the HD 8 DJ headphones by Sennheiser.
Personally I think that the HD 25’s are much better.
For those of you that are interested in a comparison.
The HD8 DJ on the other hand, has a frequency response of 8-30,000Hz., an impedance of 95 Ohm, and comes with the following accessories-
1 coiled cable;
a 1.5m stretchable to 3.0m / 3.5mm straight plug,1:
Straight cable ; between 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm straight plug,
a 6.3mm adapter plug, Additional velour ear pads, a Premium carry case, and of course the instruction Manuals.
When compared to say the HD 26 you find that the HD 25 headphones are more responsive headset for monitoring purposes.
The HD 26 themselves have the following features. A frequency response of 20-18,000 Hz, a max SPL of 115 dB, and an impedance of 100 Ohm.
Noise cancellation
The HD 25’s are not the typical active noise canceling headphones as they are not designed to block out ambient sounds.
If you are looking for a list of the best noise canceling headphones then click on the following link.
The headphones do however offer some decent level of noise isolation.
Phone Calls
These headphones are designed primarily for the purpose of monitoring audio.
They are not designed with microphones that support phone calls.
With that being said however, I have personally never had any issues with the call quality of the headphones.
The headphones are closed back and super aural. Being closed back means that the sound is trapped inside and your music or entertainment will not be a disturbance to others.
Being Super Aural means that they rest on the ear and do not cover the whole ear.
Weight
The headphones are super lightweight at 140grams, those are some of the lightest cans that I own.
Mobile monitoring
The HD 25 is expertly designed for mobile monitoring, with the lightweight (almost featherweight ) design and of course the ability to listen with one ear.
The closed-back HD 25 are purpose-designed, professional monitoring headphones offering high attenuation of background noise.
Summary
These are the perfect monitoring headphones for the DJ and the cameraman.
- The HD 25 is highly sensitive due to the lightweight nature thereof and the lightweight aluminum voice coils.
- The headphones are incredibly lightweight and comfortable even after long periods of use.
- The single sided detachable cable is pretty stern and tough.
- The headphones include a rotatable capsule for single-ear listening.
So should you buy these bad boys, In my view absolutely.
At sub $200 I believe that you are getting superb value.
Well engineered sound and a quality build all coming together to provide you with an amazing audio experience.
