Review: Sennheiser HD25 mastering headphone

Ask any tech reviewer and they’ll tell you the most boring thing on the planet to review is a printer. Thankfully I don’t have that issue, as printers are not that often used in the video / filmmaking biz these days.

But they may also say the 2^nd most boring is headphones. And I’d disagree.

Whilst I admit they are maybe not as sexy as say, a new cine camera or even an FX plugin, for those who ‘get’ audio, like me, they are very interesting.

Just to recap here for those late to the party, NEVER underestimate the power and importance of your audio. It is at least 50% of your production, and in production value, often a lot more.

This is why a good set of mastering headphones, such as the ones that landed on my doorstep yesterday from Mr Sennheiser are so vital in your kit.

And this set, the HD 25 model, is as the box says, “a legend among DJs and sound engineers”.

They are actually available in three variants; the HD 25 LIGHT with a single headband, HD 25 with a dual split headband and HD25 PLUS with extra earpads and cabling.

I have the HD25 with the dual split headband and very comfortable they are too. I did a 2 hour or so session last night and at the end had no aftereffects despite having the music turned up LOUD (I have discovered ‘Almost Autumn’)

The plug is typical Sennheiser with a combination 3.5mm / 6.35mm setup with the larger unscrewing from the former as an adaptor. The cable length is quite generous at around 1.5 metres.

The headphones are very light, but don’t let that fool you. The sound quality is exceptional in my opinion without any notable boosting of any frequencies or falsifying anything. Using my normal test music (Jeff Wayne “War of the Worlds”, Pink Floyd “Animals” and Yes “Talk”) along with the Almost Autumn tracks, everything sounded just brilliant with no added colour, which is necessary for mastering of course.

The recommended retail for the set I have is AUD$349 and the LIGHT variant is AUD$249.

For more information including technical specs see https://en-au.sennheiser.com/on-ear-dj-headphone-hd25