[Chinchy]

So it's common knowledge that there are third party cables for Senn HD-650's, 600's, etc. I'm wondering whether any such cable replacement was ever attempted for other Senn headphones like the HD25-1? These also boast user replaceable cables, so I'm wondering if anyone knows of any such cables that exist? Looking to squeeze out more fidelity and enjoyment from my HD25-1's...

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchy So it's common knowledge that there are third party cables for Senn HD-650's, 600's, etc. I'm wondering whether any such cable replacement was ever attempted for other Senn headphones like the HD25-1? These also boast user replaceable cables, so I'm wondering if anyone knows of any such cables that exist? Looking to squeeze out more fidelity and enjoyment from my HD25-1's...

I'm pretty sure the "user replaceable" part means an identical replacement from Sennheiser if you happen to break the original.

It would not be difficult to commission a replacement cable from someone like Larry from Headphile. But he agreed with me that it would be difficult to reproduce the thin wire that goes under the headband to the right earcup. We would probably have to deal with wire hanging from both earcups.

 

[Chinchy]

Yeah I know that you can replace it with another stock cable from Sennheiser, just wondering if it were possible to replace with another custom cable and if anyone had tried it on the HD25-1. I'll try to contact Headphile and find out...

 

[luukas]

Any luck with this so far? I'm curious too... though, most aftermarket cables would make the HD25's less portable.

 

[Chinchy]

The update as it stands:

I've talked it over with Larry at Headphile and we're going to try it. What he's going to do is to take the current cable, cut off the left/right plugs, and splice his cable onto it, which is a solid wire cable, the same as what he uses on his CD3000 mod. This will indeed make the HD25-1 a litle less portable because you don't want the cable to get kinked. The stock wire is quite flexible, but at the same time I found it to be quite microphonic. The new wire is supposed to alleviate both of these issues, heh. The problem though is the way the cable is set up.

For those familiar with these headphones, it goes from the 1/8" plug to an anchoring point on the right earcup, where it then gets parted out with a single cable to the right driver and to the left driver (going through the headband). The cable entry is from the top of both drivers. If this is recabled the problem will be getting the new cable to the left driver since the gap between the two halves of the headband is not too thick.

In the process of doing initial research, it was speculated that the drivers are not really angled, so either Larry can attempt to leave it single sided, or potentially the earcups can be removed from the band, and then turned upside down, making the plug entry on the bottom. This will then facilitate a dual entry cable going straight into each driver. I'm hoping this will not affect imaging on the headphones. Does anyone have any idea if rotating the drivers 180 degrees will affect anything? If you look at the pic below of the exposed drivers, you can kinda see how the earcup can be put onto the headband upside down, allowing the cable to enter from the bottom.

Either way, I'm not too worried about the cable because I can always order a new stock cable from Sennheiser USA. Actually, since this was meant to be a DJ type headphone, every single part is user replaceable. So yes, you can "build" your own HD25-1 by buying the headband, the drivers, the cushions, and the cable from Sennheiser's shop.

If you're interested here are some pics of the stock headphones. To see larger unretouched pics, just remove the 2 from the image url.

- Front pic showing the full shebang. Notice the small wire to the left driver.

- Cable split

- Splitter disassembled

- Exposed drivers

- Closeup of pins

So the headphones are currently in transit to Headphile for assessment and modification. Larry assures me that it will sound better splicing the new cable onto about an inch of the stock plugs than just using the stock wire. I'll keep this thread updated with new information.

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchy The update as it stands: I've talked it over with Larry at Headphile and we're going to try it. What he's going to do is to take the current cable, cut off the left/right plugs, and splice his cable onto it, which is a solid wire cable, the same as what he uses on his CD3000 mod. This will indeed make the HD25-1 a litle less portable because you don't want the cable to get kinked. The stock wire is quite flexible, but at the same time I found it to be quite microphonic. The new wire is supposed to alleviate both of these issues, heh. The problem though is the way the cable is set up. For those familiar with these headphones, it goes from the 1/8" plug to an anchoring point on the right earcup, where it then gets parted out with a single cable to the right driver and to the left driver (going through the headband). The cable entry is from the top of both drivers. If this is recabled the problem will be getting the new cable to the left driver since the gap between the two halves of the headband is not too thick. In the process of doing initial research, it was speculated that the drivers are not really angled, so either Larry can attempt to leave it single sided, or potentially the earcups can be removed from the band, and then turned upside down, making the plug entry on the bottom. This will then facilitate a dual entry cable going straight into each driver. I'm hoping this will not affect imaging on the headphones. Does anyone have any idea if rotating the drivers 180 degrees will affect anything? If you look at the pic below of the exposed drivers, you can kinda see how the earcup can be put onto the headband upside down, allowing the cable to enter from the bottom.

Very interested in how this turns out; I just might upgrade mine as well because I don't like the plug and I need a little more than 1.5 meters. You can listen to them upside down by having the headband go under your chin...sounds the same to me! Are you going with copper or silver wire?

 

[Mastergill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchy Does anyone have any idea if rotating the drivers 180 degrees will affect anything? If you look at the pic below of the exposed drivers, you can kinda see how the earcup can be put onto the headband upside down, allowing the cable to enter from the bottom.

You can do that it doesn't affect the sound, it is made to be used like that especially with the cable for HD25-13 (the 600 ohms version ) it's 3 meter long with 1/4' jack that you can use BTW as a replacement cable for your HD25-1.

I was interested also about a better cable for this phone (not for a personal use but for a friend). I've tried to use a Cardas for HD-600. It does not fit but with a little plastic removal work it should be possible, but only with the first generation HD-600 Cardas with the small plugs. Sorry my bad English i will try to explain: The driver plugs from the Cardas 1st gen. are thicker where the Cardas logo is. So remove this 'thickness' (on both side), make the plug flat and it should fit into HD25 drivers.

Well i have not done that (yet!?) it's not for my HD-25.

Anyway that's a good idea to try to change the stock cable. There's always room for improvement even if i think that HD-25 won't benefit as much as HD-6X0 'cause they are less 'refined' phones.

 

[Chinchy]

Great to know that driver orientation doesn't affect the sound!

And I know the results of the upgrade may not be substantial, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll let you know if there is a difference at all. Hopefully Larry will take a listen and see if he detects anything as well.

 

[Chinchy]

Oh and to answer nierika's question:

According Larry, the cable used will be the same as for the CD3000 recabling he does. And according to the headphile.com website, the cable for that is: "BlackSilver configuration, in a softer than stock and flexible, all black (no sparkly silver undertone) reduced microphonics cable."

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastergill You can do that it doesn't affect the sound, it is made to be used like that especially with the cable for HD25-13 (the 600 ohms version ) it's 3 meter long with 1/4' jack that you can use BTW as a replacement cable for your HD25-1.

Thanks for the tip! I shall order one of those...

 

[Daroid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinchy Great to know that driver orientation doesn't affect the sound! And I know the results of the upgrade may not be substantial, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll let you know if there is a difference at all. Hopefully Larry will take a listen and see if he detects anything as well.

Oh yes please do!

I thought about upgrading the cable also, and saw that Cardas had cables for nearly all Sennheiser headphones - just write them an email. Guess the HD25 is one of those exceptions.

When ordering the 3.0m cable, bes sure to check that you don't order a coiled cable instead. Those exists too, and are 1.5m unstretced.

If this works out fine and there are improvements (e.g. refined more less-agressive treble) I must have one of those cables

. Will Larry be able to ship the cable overseas, so I can custom fit it, you think ?

EDIT:

Found this earlier today, first time I have seen a HD25-1 Silver

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=3824319728 - fresh looking IMO

 

[Chinchy]

Update: Once received, my headphones were in and out the door from Headphile in like 2 days. Very quick! Too bad I was on vacation when they arrived back, but in any case they're in my hands now.

As stated before, the final configuration: The driver cups have been turned upside down to allow for a dual entry cable. The stock cable was cut an inch from the pins, and then the new cable spliced onto it. The new cable is a solid wire, silver I believe, that is covered with a soft cloth cover. The new cables are definitely less microphonic than stock, but still microphonic. I don't think there's any solution for it due to the design of the headphones, but in any case, when the wires rub on your clothing or get tapped, it's now more muted. The cable is very flexible, but since it's solid wire, it would be bad to get it kinked. I had it terminated with a straight switchcraft 1/8" plug.

My initial impressions:
Comparing from memory to the stock cable, the headphones definitely sound less tinny. I'm hearing more details, and the sound is clearer. At least to my ears it doesn't sound like they're closed phones anymore, and the isolation really helps to accentuate the cleaner sound. I'm still burning these in as Larry tells me that it should take about 100 hours to reach full potential. All I can say at this point is that I am definitely enjoying the music coming out of these babies more than the pre-op condition. I'll report back and let you all know.

Pics will be up maybe tonight since I don't have my camera on me now.

 

[Daroid]

Oh no... the temptation!

Thank you for doing this, it is much appreciated, and glad it all turned out well. How much did the upgrade cost you ?
Could you maybe do a short comparison between the new HD25s and the SR-225s, or maybe even the HP-2s when you have the time - just very brief ? (The HD25s are said to be very Gradoey in stock form...)

 

[Chinchy]

Each recabling is essentially a custom job, and your pricing may vary depending on what options you pick and how difficult it is for recabling the headphone. For mine, the cable is approximately the same length as the stock cable (approx 6 feet or 2 meters), terminated in a switchcraft mini plug. Larry at Headphile will recable any headphone, so each inquiry could get a different price, which is approximately proportional to the CD3000 recable. As far as I know, he doesn't have any set pricing on the HD25-1s. Just to give you a sense of what your price will be, the original quote for me was about $100 shipped. I believe Larry gave me a discount since mine was the first HD25 that he's done, so I got either a Guinea-Pig discount or a Nice-Guy discount. My price was about 20% less than that. If you go full out with exotic plugs and woody options and other what-nots and doohickeys, then you might pay a little more. So there's your approximate range.

In any case, it was a no brainer for me since the recabling is reversible, and I can buy a new stock cable at any time and swap it out.

 

[luukas]

For some reason, I suddenly feel that not having the HD25 around right now is a good thing

Are the pins on the HD25 cable identical to 580/600 ones? Provided I get the headphones back in time for our local meet, I might try some of the other cables.