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Sennheiser HD-25 II new, very shrill? - Page 2

post #16 of 27
9/28/11 at 8:20pm

 


The sibilance on the HD25-1 II will certainly be less noticeable with a good 50 hours burn-in, at least from my experience.

Shure's headphones usually have very good detail, so expect no less from the SRH750DJ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iceshark View Post


Really? I was always under the impression that the Senn's were at heart a bass colored headphone. Also they sound distinctly darker and possibly more muffled in the vocals and mid ranges than the Shure's. Perhaps you are confusing the shure's sound signature?
Also, I changed out the PU leather with the velour pads immediately after I got the headphones. Much better. (I wish they had those for my Shure's frown.gif )


 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SRH750 DJ Headphones (Black)
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Sennheiser HD 25-1 II Professional Headphone
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Sennheiser HD 25 Studio Monitor Headphones
post #17 of 27
9/28/11 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcasey25raptor View Post

Hey how are your shures? Any issues yet? Ironically the issue your having with the seenheiser hd 25 1 ii is the same issue i had with the shure srh750dj.


That's funny. I noticed that when I tried on a pair of the Ath-M50's for the first time they seemed to have this "shine" to vocals and mids that the Shures could never replicate, or maybe that was just me really liking them. To me, there is more bass abundance in the Shure's, the impact is more of a "feel" in the Shure's than a "hear" in the Sennheisers. I'm not too good at describing headphones, so I try my best. I honestly have found the Sennheiser's soundstage a little cramped, but since they're more for iPod listening it doesn't matter a lot. So far the Sennheisers haven't let me down entirely, but being nearly twice the price of the Shure's I'm not sure if it was fully worth it or not. I am being very patient with them, however, and giving them time to open up to me. I think I'm just having trouble understanding the headphone, and need time to adjust to it like a new acquaintance.

I have been using my Shure's almost daily since I bought them, and I still do, but after going through one Floridian 90+ F summer trying to wear them out in that heat, I decided I might need something slightly more portable. Which led me to purchase these Sennheiser's. Not really because they are much better for that heat, but the around-the-ear thing can be like wearing earmuffs. But the Sennheiser's listening time is, as I pointed out, much more limited than the over-the-ear Shure design.
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post #18 of 27
9/28/11 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iceshark View Post


Really? I was always under the impression that the Senn's were at heart a bass colored headphone. Also they sound distinctly darker and possibly more muffled in the vocals and mid ranges than the Shure's. Perhaps you are confusing the shure's sound signature?
Also, I changed out the PU leather with the velour pads immediately after I got the headphones. Much better. (I wish they had those for my Shure's frown.gif )


graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2191&graphID[]=513&graphID[]=393

See for yourself. I included the Grado SR60 as reference.

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post #19 of 27
9/29/11 at 1:08am

That graph would suggest both the SR60 and the 750DJ are more prone to sibilance than the HD 25.

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post #20 of 27
9/29/11 at 4:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric_C View Post

That graph would suggest both the SR60 and the 750DJ are more prone to sibilance than the HD 25.


I guess the 750's could be sibilant, there are s's and such too, but with the Sennheiser's its much harsher and more noticeable. I don't notice the sibilance of the 750's, it seems like I can't take away my attention from the Sennheiser's.
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post #21 of 27
9/29/11 at 2:40pm

I almost returned my HD25-1 II when I bought mine new because the sibilance was making me sick, I also felt the mids were cold sounding and even a bit recessed. Upgrading to an HD600 cable seemed to help a little bit, but thorough burn in really opened them up. I would actually describe them as smooth in the treble right now.

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post #22 of 27
9/29/11 at 3:57pm
My ears never agreed with headroom's hd25 graph. I have the the srh750djs and the hd25s too and I find that the hd25s can be more prone to sibilance than the srh750djs. When I find there is sibilance problem through the hd25s, lowering the volume usually solves it. After lowering the volume the overall perceived frequency response is more balanced. If adjusting the volume doesn't help much, then the track itself might be sibilant.

Another thing is that the imaging on the 750djs is much larger than the hd25s. Lowering the volume also changes the perceived size of the sound image. If I get too used to the shure image and try to replicate that size image in the hd25 my ears get punished by their treble. When I find them at their best (most balanced and unfatiguing) it's like comparing a 15" size monitor to a 24". I can turn the 750djs up pretty loud and not feel too uncomfortable, while the hd25s will tell me fairly right away when I have them too loud, and I have to back off on the volume. I generally listen at a lower perceived volume on my hd25s than I do than the srh750djs.
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post #23 of 27
10/1/11 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocksteady View Post

My ears never agreed with headroom's hd25 graph. I have the the srh750djs and the hd25s too and I find that the hd25s can be more prone to sibilance than the srh750djs. When I find there is sibilance problem through the hd25s, lowering the volume usually solves it. After lowering the volume the overall perceived frequency response is more balanced. If adjusting the volume doesn't help much, then the track itself might be sibilant.
Another thing is that the imaging on the 750djs is much larger than the hd25s. Lowering the volume also changes the perceived size of the sound image. If I get too used to the shure image and try to replicate that size image in the hd25 my ears get punished by their treble. When I find them at their best (most balanced and unfatiguing) it's like comparing a 15" size monitor to a 24". I can turn the 750djs up pretty loud and not feel too uncomfortable, while the hd25s will tell me fairly right away when I have them too loud, and I have to back off on the volume. I generally listen at a lower perceived volume on my hd25s than I do than the srh750djs.

Very interesting comment you made. I will take note of that.
Do you still have the HD25's? You haven't returned them?
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post #24 of 27
10/1/11 at 3:43pm
Yes, I still have the HD25s. They were my second head-fi related purchase. I've had them since July 2008. I don't think I'll ever part with them and I still use them regularly. They're very useful and are a good reference point to have around when comparing headphones.
Edited by Rocksteady - 10/1/11 at 9:47pm
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post #25 of 27
10/1/11 at 4:36pm

What are your sources?  Which pads are you using?

 

It's also important to point out there's some ringing in the HD25 impulse response, so while it might not have more energy in the highs than some other headphones, the sibilance range might seem a little more weird or metallic, as some have called it.  It's a fairly regular ringing, not a fizzy or otherwise chaotic distortion.

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post #26 of 27
10/1/11 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iceshark View Post

I have had my Sennheiser HD-25 II's for about 2 weeks now. I do not do any extended burn-in aside from daily listening.

 

However, as I was doing a very thorough comparison of them and my Shure 750dj's, I noticed how shrill the highs were on vocals. When a singer would pronounce certain words, like a "t" or "s" its sounds overly harsh. Like "st" is "stands," or "t" in "take." I'm not sure whether it has sounded like this from the beginning, but after noticing it a couple of days ago I can't stop noticing it.

 

Does this mean the drivers have been/were damaged? I do not recall damaging them. Do any other owners notice this shrillness on the pronunciation of those words?

 

I both noted and measured this. The (harsh) sibilance you are hearing is typically a result of ringing near 7kHz. The HD-25 rings at 6kHz with a another resonance node an octave higher at 12kHz - just to reinforce this effect for you! Links to initial impressions and graphs are below.


http://www.head-fi.org/t/566929/headphone-csd-waterfall-plots/270#post_7793381

http://www.head-fi.org/t/566929/headphone-csd-waterfall-plots/270#post_7793394

 


Edited by purrin - 10/1/11 at 4:47pm
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post #27 of 27
10/1/11 at 10:14pm
Nice waterfall plots. Those plots would better explain what I'm hearing from the HD25 than a straight FR graph. I'm having a look through that thread. Nice work, I subscribed.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SRH750 DJ Headphones (Black)
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Sennheiser HD 25-1 II Professional Headphone
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Sennheiser HD 25 Studio Monitor Headphones
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