Sennheiser HD 25 Headphones

Very easy to pick out individual instruments, excellent for cuing, excellent for multi-channel mixing. Sometimes it sounds better than it comes out of the speakers!

When I first got these, they sounded like rubbish, now two weeks later, every other pair of headphones sounds like rubbish. Not a single person who has heard my headphones has said anything bad about them. There is a phenomenon called “Headphone Burn-in”; you’ll hear this A LOT about this headset, but it’s true, the first song you throw through these (in my case Simple Plan - Jet Lag) will sound HORRIBLE! Murkier than if you were listening underwater, but give it 5-6 minutes of music (on my pair, results may vary) and they suddenly became the best headphones I’d ever worn, my phone hit Alesso - Years and the sweep at about 7 seconds in, it put the gasm in ear-gasm. The accuracy of sound reproduction makes these the idea headphones for live audio mixing as: Theres no interface that causes delay, what you hear out of the headphones is what comes out of the speakers - sometimes before. The velour earpads (expectantly) leak out more than the pleather ones; the drivers themselves leak out the back somewhere near the mounting hinges though.

The headphones are constructed entirely out of plastic, save for hinge pegs, side screws and connector. That in mind, don’t take these “Made in Ireland” headphones for fragile or cheap. I’ve had them crushed in my laptop bag under a G750JX laptop (4.5KG + whatever else was in the bag) because my mom put it in the car the wrong way. In fact the first day of use they were outside in a damp field for an outdoor concert experience. Not one of the 3 people on the soundboard other than me complained about them at all. In fact, their “Cheap-looking” nature allowed me to just leave them out in the middle of an open desk and no-one taking them. In the future I might add a AntLion ModMic 4.0 to make up for the lack of a microphone.

The HD25-1 comes from a huge audio equipment manufacturing company known as Sennheiser. These on-ear DJ headphones are fairly standard in both price range and quality. However, Sennheiser is known for bringing customers very high quality products compared to their competitors, so it’s always worth checking out their stuff. These headphones are clearly designed for DJs in dance clubs, but do not perform as well in a more casual environment. 

Like many headphones being released these days, the structure of the HD25 is very simple and straightforward. Unfortunately, they are neither flat-folding nor collapsible, but instead have very simple rotating joints and removable metal hardware. The rough black plastic is resistant to cracks and scratches and the headphones are also very light and not likely to get damaged from falls. One of the best features of the HD25s is that every single part of the headphones is user-replaceable. Sennheiser prides itself on producing quality gear and allowing users to replace literally every single piece of the headphones insures better longevity and overall user satisfaction.

For the most part, the HD25s have fairly good comfort. Since they are meant to be DJ headphones, it seems like they were designed with the notion that the user wouldn’t need to be keeping them in one place for a long period of time. However, if you try to use them outside of a live environment, the clamping strength of the top section ends up being pretty strong and causes some discomfort. The ear cups do have good motion, as they should, and make listening to cued tracks a breeze.

As is typical of on-ear headphones, the HD25s have a bit of trouble when it comes to isolation of sound. However, I think this is a trade-off for the fact that they are meant to be mobile, in a sense, so that you can quickly transition between a cued track and the currently playing live track. Sennheiser, as always, delivers a high sound quality in each HD25. Although sound quality may not be as important in a live setting, the HD25s do a great job in the mid and low spectrums. The high end, unfortunately, seems to have been boosted a little bit too much and cause sounds to seem brighter than they normally would.

Personally, I prefer over-ear headphones, so the HD25s aren’t so much my cup of tea. I’ve been a big fan of Sennheiser over the years, but for a pair of $250 headphones I think they could’ve done a little bit better. Granted, these aren’t made for the studio so I think they decided to skimp in some areas of the product that would take them to the next level overall.

Just picked these up today. I was surprised at how toyish they look but the sound is great. I read a lot of reviews saying they were uncomfortable but they are much more comfortable than most headphones I've had. I've been using them for DJing and producing. It brought out a lot of mistakes in my mix!

My old headphones,i still like them,used to DJ with them.

best Dj headphone

Amazing stereo image, I don't know If I'll ever want to buy another pair of headphones for DJing.

The best headphones I ever had. Very good balanced output and great for live performance and studio sessions. It's material is unbreakable, just like a Nokia!

Awesome! Best headphone I've ever seen. Aggressive basses, clear mids. Just awesome, must have one for every DJs!

I use these to DJ with but also when producing away from the studio. Easy to pack due to their size. I also use these to check mixes on along side the Beyers and the Sennheisers. Had these for years and can't see myself trading them up anytime soon.

Amazing performance capabilities, and you can actually hear your DJ mix perfectly with these noise-canceling cans. These are the token DJ headphones for a reason. Completely replaceable and they travel easy. Super comfortable for those epic 12 hour sessions.