Sennheiser HD 25-1-II

The HD25-1-II is not necessarily an inexpensive headphone, but the excellent sound quality and nice headband versatility make it a superb choice for active types who want to move around while keeping their headphone securely affixed to the head. It's also a great candidate for serious DJ users, studio session pros, beatmakers, and producers working quality mixing desks and recording consoles. The HD25-1-II sonic signature: Well-defined lows with a tightly damped sound in the bass; very even-sounding mids, nicely present & quite punchy; and smoothly extended highs. The HD25-1-II likely squeezes into our top five or six choices in overall sound quality from a 'sealed/closed' headphone. Although it will definitely GREATLY benefit from a head-amp when used with any portable audio player, the HD25-1-II should still deliver fairly usable volume levels with most iPods, Mp3s, and PC/laptop sources even without a dedicated headphone amplifier -- although chances are it may sound a bit 'flat' & musically undynamic used directly from some portables. This is a highly worthwhile choice for those willing to invest a bit of loot in ultra-pleasurable, high-quality listening while on the move with a portable head-amp. Its also a killer headphone for airplane travelers, sonically demanding studio session work, for professional recording applications, for audiophilic "LossLess" file iPod listeners, or just for excellent sealed-back mobile headphone sound quality anywhere you want your tunes.

The most obvious feature of these cans is the unique headband that surrounds the head almost like a hat brim. You can actually wear it over a baseball hat or even over one of our neat-o HeadRoom employee beanies with the propeller on top! It’s an extremely effective and quite comfortable design. The HD25-1-II's rather unusual 'split-headband' comes from studio recording/engineering applications where a secure fit is critical; it’s easily the most stable headphone we've worn during serious head-banging or while pulling slick disco-fever B-Boy dance moves around the office. The mid-sized 'supra-aural' ("on-the-ear") earcups also swivel out of the way on the left ear so you can hear ambient sounds or perform fast-paced mono DJ mixing with one ear. The headphone construction is a high-quality plastic composite material throughout that feels extremely well-built and durable. The earcups are padded with a supple pleather-type material and offer respectable ambient noise attenuation. An extra set of 'soft' replacement earpads is provided in the HD25-1-II packaging along with a handy transport carry-pouch. The short detachable 4.5ft single-sided, straight Y-cable eliminates dreaded long-cord tangling when listening on the fly and it comes terminated to a 1/8" inch (3.5mm) mini-plug. A full-size 1/4" adaptor plug is handily included in the HD-25-1-II package. A 2-yr manufacturer's product warranty remains standard with all Sennheiser headphones.