Sennheiser HD 25 Review

Overall Rating

Replacable parts, great sound, versatile.

On the expensive side.

Sennheiser's HD-25 headphones are a legend in the pro audio world and became the industry standard almost as soon as they were released.

The first truly lightweight headphone, comfortable enough for prolonged use and delivering a sound quality that enables critical listening. Having used AKG, Beyer and many other headphones these are my favourite.

Why? First the build quality is superb almost every part of the unit can be replace if damaged, so if you snap a cable or tear off an ear pad you just buy another and they are as good as new.

Second the comfort factor. When clambering around recording sound FX or sitting for a couple of hours in a cold church recording choral music these phones still feel good and don't leave you with a migraine because your head has been crushed. The more energetic will find that the ability to split the headband is a real boon as this keeps the headphones firmly on your head even when leaning out of a boat or climbing a mountain.

Another useful feature for serious users is the provision of an earpiece that can be swivelled backwards or forwards. So a DJ for example, can flip one earphone back to hear what is going on around them whilst preparing the next disc. (Not visible in the illustration accompanying the review that picture is in fact of the budget HD 25-SP model)

Finally, and probably most important the sound quality is super. A natural balanced sound with extended bass and high frequencies mean that these are perfect for monitoring or listening purposes. You will hear things you didn?t hear before. Positional information is also rendered very well offering the listener a clear image of the sound stage. The overall balanced sound making these a lot less fatiguing to wear than some makes.

Being closed back the HD 25?s give good attenuation of surrounding noises and can deliver very high levels of sound if required. Remember however, listening for extended periods to hig
h levels of audio can damage your hearing.

Niggles, the cable could be a tad longer 1.5 meters is provided. A single cable comes out of the right hand earpiece to plug into the amplifier. I would prefer that to have come from the left hand side.

In conclusion these are the best headphones that I have heard though I am always willing to be introduced to better products. Mine have been stood on, run over by a Land Rover, dropped in mud yet still work perfectly. They have had new pads and a cable to be fair but they are 3 years old. A best buy in my book even at between £125-£145 a pair, they will go on forever and serious users shouldn't consider anything else.

For those who are more budget conscious try the HD 25-SP version. They have a less versatile and slightly less robust headband and slightly lower specified transducers in the earpiece. I suspect these are the headphones reviewed earlier by those who found the build and sound quality less than satisfactory. The HD 25 proper looks like the illustration above.