HD 25's. My failure to enjoy them... after a decade... I am a dork...

Submitted by 5YNTH3T1K t3_11buo5s in headphones

Hi.

I have a pair of HD 25's and the total lack of bass killed me, I have used them for way too long and frankly I think they ruined my hearing. ( say what ? )

To me they sound like a three way monitor that has had the bass driver disconnected.

Sure they maybe flat, but damn, the bottom end just falls off a cliff. and no that is not "flat" in my book.

I now have raging tinnitus... I am not kidding. It's bad. and I blame the HD 25's. Bite me.

but wait, I am no headphone genius and I can't afford to spend money on gear to test them out and decided if they are good. So I went for the industry standard.. and damn... to be honest I reckon they are great for sports broadcast where vocs are important. but... yeah damn...

So... many years late, I bought a pair of cheap B&W on ear head phones and wow... actual bottom end. I got them for a fifth of the price of the Sennhieisers and I do like them a lot. and they are really well made.

Best thing about the HD 25's ... loud ( is that good ? ) and unbreakable.

Worst things... the really really stupid driver shell that comes lose and resonates, the stupid plugs that disconnect... and the total lack of bass. ( yes you can pump the bass but .. omfg... )

I would have to say I totally regret paying the small fortune I did for them . My older sennheiser cheapies had way more natural bass. I stopped using them when a driver popped. Darn.

I would definitely spend good money on decent phones that have bottom end and clarity. So if you have any recommendations... I would like to get some non on ear for the sake of extended listening comfort.

Have a nice day!

Cheers.

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[deleted] t1_j9zz902 wrote

>I now have raging tinnitus... I am not kidding. It's bad. and I blame the HD 25's

Blame yourself, for not being able to let go of that volume knob...

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja12xrn wrote

Actually thanks for that. The fact that the HD 25's do have a fucking GNARLY sound had nothing to do with it.

How many DJ's got holes punched in their hearing from these ? Jeeez.

But hey whatever, trevor.

−27

[deleted] t1_ja1w437 wrote

You blame your gun, after shooting yourself in the foot.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja203jm wrote

I am going to have to temper that with your user name to a degree. What ever shakes your float. I guess.

I love the hyperbolic arguers. They are so RIGHT. all the time. ooh yeah. Bite me.

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[deleted] t1_ja21ajb wrote

Taking responsibility for your own actions is part of growing up.

I see that you are not quite there yet...

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja23vts wrote

uh huh. Don't fall off your soap box.

−11

StanGenchev t1_ja00lie wrote

Tinnitus is caused by loud sounds (aka increasing the volume to unsafe levels), not from the headphone itself. It doesn't matter what headphone you have, if you go over ~85 db, you are going to get permanent hearing damage. Search "safe sound levels" on Google.

Also, tinnitus is not a problem in and of itself, it's a symptom of a problem and it's not always caused by hearing damage. It can be a symptom of nerve damage, cervical issues, prostate cancer, etc. I suggest going to a few different doctors (audiologist and neurologist at least) to have it checked.

As far as a headphone recommendation, if you like absurd levels of bass, then try the Meze 99 Classics.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja137dc wrote

Whoah "Absurd" levels of bass? Jeez that is some entitled shit right there.

The HD 25's have fuck all bass. you can drive the fuck out of them if you wish but yeah you are going to have to EQ that shit which then makes them being FLAT a fucking moot point. Ay.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja1lha3 wrote

> The HD 25's have fuck all bass

That's objectively not true - they do, but it's not over-emphasized. Here's the HD25 versus an actual bass-light headphone:

https://i.postimg.cc/hGFk8t0t/hd25-vs-K701.jpg

What you mean to say is that there isn't enough bass for your liking.

Seeing as you like the B&W, you must like more of a v-shape/bassy sound signature.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja1r5l6 wrote

Oh yeah the "charts" awesome. I love it. This just gets better.

Gosh, that mid range bump.. yeah that FUCKER right there. If that was not so fucking pronounced I might ENJOY what bass there is... and yeah go figure.

ok so I will do a test tone test and A/B both sets of fones. See how both sets compare. Best I can do.

and I may be barking up the wrong tree but those are HD-25 PLUS ( new ones ), I have HD-25-1 ( made in Ireland ) which are, heck, maybe 15 - 20 years old. I bet you $100 they do not have the same response as the HD 25 Plus.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja1zb3w wrote

The different HD25 versions haven't changed that much over the years, though. The older HD25-1 did have a slightly more pronounced midbass hump than seen in the graph above, by not by a huge amount.

Here are some older plots done by Tyll Herstens some years ago that feature the version you have against the K701 again.

https://i.postimg.cc/69cdk1DM/FR-HD25-1-vs-K701.jpg

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja20to7 wrote

Has it ever occurred to you that I might not like the fracking K 701 either ?

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja217oj wrote

I'm showing you what the HD25 look like versus a headphone that actually has no bass, you turnip.

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dimesian t1_ja0p1t0 wrote

The hd25 is extremely loud, its for DJs and engineers to hear audio in very loud places. You choose poorly and appear to be on a mission to deafen yourself. Also, where are you in the world where the hd25 costs a "small fortune" and you paid far less for Bowers & Wilkins headphones?

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja14moi wrote

The HD's ( new ) cost $450 Galactic Bucks and the B&W ( used ) were $70. There were two pairs for $70 GB and I should have bought the second pair.. I am dork x2

The B&W have clear definite bottom end. The HD's do not. They just simply don't.

If I boosted a mix to get the same bottom end sound with the HD's the B&W's would be puking on the same mix and the mix will sound like SHIT on monitors.

Sometimes I have the B&W's on AND the monitors and I can get a really nice surround sound. Like I am swimming in sound.

Since I migrated to the B&W's my mixes are way better, I can enjoy low keys and kicks etc. I might use the HD's for Isolation and maybe a quick scan of the upper ranges... but yeah they are poison to me now.

The driver plugs and the resonating shells are pretty dumb...

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StatisticianMurky518 t1_ja177dn wrote

What is “Galactic Bucks”?

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja17q5z wrote

A Galactic Buck is a non Earth based credit unit, but feel free to use NZD in it's place.

so that's $450 NZD for the HD-25's and $70 NZD for the B&W.

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StatisticianMurky518 t1_ja35uax wrote

Thank you for the explanation. But I googled the prices and the hd25’s in New Zealand is 190-350 NZD on NZ websites. Something doesn’t really add up here.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja4pwlv wrote

That's what they are now, not back then. I bought them from the only importer at the time and guess what ? They gouged me. The film industry was full swing and people over charged.

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huemac5810 t1_ja5chbh wrote

They probably gouged you harder with a defective unit. HD25 has a bad reputation for big boomy bass that intrudes into the midrange. I personally don't mind it on-the-go. I reduce midbass if I want to use it at home with certain genres. It is the bassiest Sennheiser after the Momentum On-Ear 1st gen.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja5wwu0 wrote

huh... bad boomy bass sounds actually good right now... flat as a fracking pancake did my head in. too flat. I wonder if my fones are funked ? I wonder...

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LyKosa91 t1_ja01z9i wrote

Not sure that I agree on the total lack of bass part, it's definitely there... But I really don't rate the HD25 as a headphone for enjoying music. As a robust, lightweight tool for DJs? Sure. For actually sitting and listening to music, no, on so many levels, just no.

The people who daily drive these things are insane. There, I said it.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_ja1kr0g wrote

Lol I wouldn't go that far myself, but I agree that they're very content-dependent.

They're great as a pair of lightweight monitors and for listening to certain genres of music. I can happily listen to electronic music and metal all day on these things, but they are my last pick for classical/jazz due to the complete lack of soundstage.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja13evz wrote

"There" is a very subjective observation. It's response to bass might be very low , but it's still there... uh, sure, you can drive the things if you want, EQ to " increase" the bass volume... but is it "there" well I say only just and they sound like the 1970's... with radio mixes for 3 inch mid range open back speakers...

For mid to high detail yep they will show you the truth... but that's all.

Or turn up the bass... right ?

Do we have to do a response test here?

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meaculpa303 t1_ja224m5 wrote

I’ve used those to DJ for 20ish years, and I’d say they have just the right amount of bass. Sure they don’t cover the lower frequencies as well as HPs with larger drivers, but the sound signature on the 25’s work perfectly in the dj booth where I prefer to hear tighter kick drums.

The problem, if you’re not careful, is that you crank them up quite loud and not experience any distortion or immediate discomfort … which could lead to hearing issues down the road. I’m guessing this is what happened to you? You can’t blame the headphones though, honestly.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja24abn wrote

I guess so. Let me guess you never turned the bass up in your phones mix. ? you ran then stock. you never put any EQ on your mix. I find that hard to believe. Cut the mids at all ?

That mid bump in the chart that was posted before would get pretty angry at High dbSPL, right ? which is part of the problem as I see it. and hear it. Go figure.

Nice. : - )

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BEASTERBUNNY0 t1_ja3cl7o wrote

You kept listening to louder and louder music and never stopped. Now you gotta live with those choices. Pretty damn simple. It’s not your equipment, it’s not purely on your lack of headphone knowledge, it’s all on your self control to turn down the volume. Change headphones all you want, but tinnitus doesn’t go away and it’s completely in your control to mitigate further damage to your ears.

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5YNTH3T1K OP t1_ja4sin3 wrote

Yep and that mid range bump had nothing to do with it. Right ? The way the bass end rolls off etc.

We all know that there are horse for courses. I was stupidly sucked into thinking that "this was the way" when really it was not the way at all. Do you use a scalpel for cutting a tree down? A chainsaw to shave with ? If I gave you a tea spoon and asked you to dig a well would you blame the tool? I bet you would.

The HD's are probably getting EQ'd by DJ's and their power rating is such that they can punch through the PA bleed... but everyday driving... yeah na.

If I had know what I was getting myself into... I would have def gone for a Music Lovers headphone not this dry and flat as all fuck "monitor" shite.

You may not like my opinion, I have a few, but damn the HD's are dry, midrangy, gnarly, lifeless phones. Oh god you mean I need a 20 watt headphone amp to make them shine ? Really ?

When I play a bass pad I know it's low. The HD's can kind of get the upper ranges of the sound but the guts... nope.

I Just tested the B&W against the HD and there is no contest at all. The HD's just roll off and wow is it GONE. the B&W's faithfully relay the low lows very well.

there is NO way that the HD's are "flat" down there... they are just not there !

Like I said: they sound like the 1970's "no challange to a 3 watt radio..." frequency bounding. I mean shit if I mixed my tracks like the HD's sound... you may as well through out your bass and sub bass 'cos you won't need them!

Back when BASS was a dirty word... oh no ! not BASS !!!! How lower class...

This is ridiculous. The HD's have no ass. They flat ass.

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