[mr.khali]

I am trying to decide which one of these to purchase. The only thing I know for sure is the ES7's are nice to look at and the 25-1 has great isolation. I would like to know how they compare SQ wise. I have read Skylab's review but in that review his 25-1 are recabled. Hoping to get some feedback on how these bad boys sound without any tinkering.

 

[mr.khali]

Nobody has tried both of these? My trigger finger is itchy but I only want to buy the one that would suit me best.

 

[chuckdpe1]

I've never tried the HD25s, but I currently own the ES7s. Running straight off an iPod, the mids are VERY forward, there's a good/decent amount of punchy bass that's a little loose at times, and the highs are a little recessed. As far as isolation, I was listening to them at work one evening and we had a fire drill. Someone had to smack me on the arm to let me know what was going on because I never heard the alarm!

 

[zumaro]

I've tried both and the Senns are better sound quality, in that they sound more neutral and refined with better bass control and less prominent mids. They actually sound fine without recabling, but because the cable plugs in, it is actually quite easy to replace if you want to.

 

[Oya?]

If you feel you can adapt to the HD25-1s clamp then you can't go wrong with it.

I've recabled mine with a HD600 cable because I needed the longer length and the straight plug. I know there's a lot of people who say the stock steel cable is a "sonic tragedy", and that there'd be a "night-and-day" difference between them and any replacement cable, but I didn't really hear any significant difference. The stock SQ is very good.

 

[mr.khali]

Thanks guys. I don't think clamp will be much of an issue as I used to have HD 280's and they only bothered me after 2 hours or so of listening.
Now I just need to wait for a good price or pick up a used pair.