[H20Fidelity]

  New owner of HD 25's here.
 
Don't want to criticise too much but I'm a little bit disappointed with the HD 25-1 II as my first good headphones. Payed 200$ for them. I received them yesterday and listen to them all the time, and comparing sections of the songs with the Monoprice 8323 which cost around 27$. My source is Macbook Air (VOX music player), and LG G2. I use flac or alac only.
 
Is my hearing dumb? I notice better instrument separation and clearer sound. But the difference doesn't seem big to me. Of course they sound nice but the sound seems a little weak and unfulfilling. They sound underpowered although many say they don't really need amping. I've read a lot of reviews and I don't notice that punchiness, sparkliness, and overall in your face sound. Ok, when I turn up the volume really high they come alive, but I don't like listening at high volume. 
 
Am I missing something, was I expecting too much? Is price tag of expensive headphones all about the build quality, detail and instrument separation? I was really hoping for a fun, engaging sound that will blow me away since I have never listened to a 200$ headphones.
 
I've already ordered Topping portable amp, and I'm burning them in with pink noise while I'm not listening.
 
I hope I will be able to delete this comment after/If I change my opinion when I receive the amp
 
And no, they are not not HD 25 SP

 
In my opinion sounds like you want something with a brighter sound signature.
 
HD25 are good, I enjoy mine a lot though I wouldn't say they blow me away, not for my standards anyway. They're quite a thick and to some extent warmish in tonality which isn't going to give you that absolute clarity and detail for thrill seekers. In saying that though they're well suited for long listening. I enjoy my SRH940, Grado 325e because they can blow me away in detail and clarity on levels HD25 cannot. Despite this, I still reach for the HD25 a lot over those headphones because I enjoy their sound and don't expect those kinds of levels.
 
Sounds to me you worked yourself up pretty high, read a lot of reviews which depending on the user experience with sound quality and expectations of audio gear are true. those people heard what they said but when you plugged those HD25 into your laptop fireworks didn't come out the earcups and you're disappointed. You've also worked out that $200 doesn't instantly buy you freedom and 'insane sound quality' in portable audio.
 
if you want something more engaging then consider something like SRH840, 940.

 

[rocoloco]

  It's already pretty good that the HD25's are giving you noticeable improvement, even with onboard sound.
 
You won't notice much of an improvement with just the amp plugged into the macbook, as you will just be doing double amping. Instead you'll find more improvement through getting yourself a DAC. A simple DAC to begin with would be the ELE DAC EL-DO1, which should cost around $15-$20.
 
Unfortunately, things aren't as simple as "pay more for better quality" especially not when I've seen DIY projects for pre-amps costing $5 that rivals those on the $1500 price tag. Different headphones have different sound signatures, as do most amps, hopefully none on DACS, and most of the money spent in this hobby is on finding the amp/dac that matches the headphone
 
The second issue is that our hearing are different, and our listening "tastes" tend to change slightly over time: causing us to favour different sounds as we carry on in this musical hobby of ours. It's very difficult to find the one set-up that will do everything perfectly for us. Maybe some will find the set-up that meets the requirements perfectly for a period of time, but the urge to try out new things is always around the corner.

 
ELE DAC EL-DO1 seems like a good and cheap DAC for experimenting. Will see what kind of improvements the portable amp Topping NX1 will bring (my main source is smartphone), and I'll go from there on.


 
 
Quote:

   
First off, the Monoprice 8323 swing way above their weight class, easily the best "bang for the buck" headphone out there (at least in my opinion)...
 
With that said, my HD25s are awesome for what they are.  But, they do need a little time for head/headphone break in.
 
2 things that will make the things the HD25 more are a nice little dac/amp (like the Dragonfly 1.2 or Schiit Fulla or many others in the micro department), and ditching the lousy steel cables and going copper of better yet silver plated copper.
 
I'm sure these work horses will grow on you...

 
I'm also sure they will grow on me, I love everything about them, including the sound. Is just that the sound + the price tag in comparison to the 8323's bothers me.
 
I was a little bit blown away when I first put the 8323's on my head. I previously only owned cheap earbuds with no bass and seal. So after the 8323's I though HD 25's will again be another world entirely.
 

   
In my opinion sounds like you want something with a brighter sound signature.
 
HD25 are good, I enjoy mine a lot though I wouldn't say they blow me away, not for my standards anyway. They're quite a thick and to some extent warmish in tonality which isn't going to give you that absolute clarity and detail for thrill seekers. In saying that though they're well suited for long listening. I enjoy my SRH940, Grado 325e because they can blow me away in detail and clarity on levels HD25 cannot. Despite this, I still reach for the HD25 a lot over those headphones because I enjoy their sound and don't expect those kinds of levels.
 
Sounds to me you worked yourself up pretty high, read a lot of reviews which depending on the user experience with sound quality and expectations of audio gear are true. those people heard what they said but when you plugged those HD25 into your laptop fireworks didn't come out the earcups and you're disappointed. You've also worked out that $200 doesn't instantly buy you freedom and 'insane sound quality' in portable audio.
 
if you want something more engaging then consider something like SRH840, 940.

 
I will keep them, I've bought them because of the build quality, interchangeable parts, and the sound. Yeah, I know 200$ is nothing special in the headphone world. I blame the reviews

 

[H20Fidelity]

You would be surprised, of many headphones here with me, some that will excel HD25, guess which headphone is sitting on my bed right now for listening later. 

 

 

[rocoloco]

I've checked your huge inventory, there is Monoprice, but 8320, so ...

 

[H20Fidelity]

 
I've checked your inventory, there are only Monoprice 8320, so ...

 
Oh, I think there's a few more than that there, maybe have another look.

 

[rocoloco]

I've meant amongst the brand Monoprice there are only 8320  
 
So, Shure's?

 

[rocoloco]

I've received the Topping NX1 this morning. It is very neutral, it doesn't really do anything to the sound, it just makes the headphones go louder.
 
Is there an amp in the 100$ price range that makes sound more "in your face like", fuller and with stronger mids maybe.
 
Does anyone know maybe how does PA2V2 or Schiit Fulla or Fiio E10K perform with the HD-25's?

 

[Mad Max]

The Fulla is a fine choice.  Its noise floor isn't high enough to pose a problem for the overly sensitive HD25.  I imagine the same goes for the E10k.

 

[kfarndog]

The JDS CMOYbb pairs nicely with the HD 25s.

 

[rocoloco]

  The Fulla is a fine choice.  Its noise floor isn't high enough to pose a problem for the overly sensitive HD25.  I imagine the same goes for the E10k.

 
 

  The JDS CMOYbb pairs nicely with the HD 25s.

 
Thanks for the input. I got one beginner question though: Would amps like CMOYbb and Fulla also improve and open the sound, or just rise the highest volume level like what I've experienced with Topping NX1. I know it depends on the headphones... but... how about in the HD-25's case?

 

[Mad Max]

That Topping probably has poorer distortion, crosstalk, and so forth, so the Fulla would end up sounding like an upgrade in comparison.  Also keep in mind that the Cmoy doesn't have a built-in DAC like the NX1 and Fulla.  The Fulla cannot act as a stand-alone amp to combine with another piece of equipment like the NX1 and Cmoy.

 

[rocoloco]

Umm, NX1 doesn't have DAC, NX2 does. Topping NX1 has its own thread here on head-fi, reviews were good (it is better than Fiio E11 for the money) so thats why I've pulled the trigger.
 
"Fulla cannot act as a stand-alone amp to combine with another piece of equipment like the NX1 and Cmoy."  Sorry I don't understand completely what does that mean. I can't use Fulla with my smartphone?

 

[H20Fidelity]

For those interested in good quality replacement cables this eBay maker has them quite cheap. 
 
The quality is good, correctly terminated at the cable clamp join, copper wire. 
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/new-Replacement-Cable-for-Sennheiser-HD25-HD-25-1-HD25-1-II-headphones-/201097591469?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2ed259baad
 

 
 
The only difference with these cables is the connection side will now run down the right hand side of the headphones (meaning left/right). I have no idea why it was designed this way when it could have been simple, but they're good cables and save lots of money. 
 
Here's my pair of HD25 with brand new pads and ^ the new cable ^
 

 

 

 

 

[Mad Max]

The stock cable runs down the right, too.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  The stock cable runs down the right, too.

 
Actually, you're right, I had totally forgotten! (thanks for confirming)