[w0lla]

so how does the HD600 cable sound ?

 

[J_C_Denton1]

I have only listened for 25 minutes, so my opinion may change later.

Well, obviously the new cable sounds different.
Everything echoes a bit and is quite pronounced.
The sounds are more open now and not so restricted. Some background sound can easily be noticed.
But I feel the old steel cable has more bass hump than copper one.

 

[smarrad]

I've read that the HD-25-1's have no soundstage. This, I assume, is a big disadvantage. Could anyone please clarify?

I'm looking at a pair of these for my ipod. I listen to mainly Rock, indie, metal and some electronica.

 

[musicmaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarrad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've read that the HD-25-1's have no soundstage. This, I assume, is a big disadvantage. Could anyone please clarify? I'm looking at a pair of these for my ipod. I listen to mainly Rock, indie, metal and some electronica.

They do have a compressed soundstage. I haven't found a can that's closed in this price range that has a good soundstage and sounds better than the HD25s. I've tried the ES7, AH-D1000 and I find the HD25s to be much better. For me, these are the best portable isolating closed cans. I'm keeping mine for a long time to come !

 

[Agent Kang]

I find my hd25s to be sibilant. They do sound decent for a closed can.

 

[eruditass]

how well do they isolate compared to canalphones not IEMs?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

They isolate well enough that the noise of my wife getting the kids ready to go to school in the AM doesn't bother me if I go to sleep with them on. It is still less than my Denon C700 canal phones, but not terribly less.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent Kang /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find my hd25s to be sibilant. They do sound decent for a closed can.

That sounds like an improvement from your previous post. How many hours did you put on them to hear the improvement?

Quote:

I find that the sound quality is not what I was expecting. I find the music to be grainy and metallic. Piano sounded so unnatural. Needless to say, I lost interest in these and they're back in the box. I think they probably have around 30 hours on them, but no amount of burn in is going to improve them to the point where I will be satisfied.

 

[PeterDLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent Kang /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find my hd25s to be sibilant. They do sound decent for a closed can.

I think replacing the stock steel cable with a better cable is supposed to cure this for the most part, but I have not heard the difference myself.

This is based on posts from 1-2 years back discussing the roughness of the treble on these. It seemed that complaints of sibilance were calmed after the replacement of the steel cable.

My time with the Sennheiser HD 25 with the stock cable did give me the impression that they were sibilant as well.

 

[bernado]

Although I'm not one to be sucked into a debate about the nuances of audiophile enhancement to be had through recabling, I can confirm without any reservation changing the stock steel cable to stock HD650 cable does make a world of difference. To my ears it gives a much more rounded and enjoyable sound. For £15 it is an upgrade I think any prospective HD25 buyers should factor into the total purchasing cost.
Be prepared to chop the wire down to size and soulder a mini jack on the end though. One word of warning, as seems to be the way these days you will find the wires insulated with an acrylic coating which cannot be stripped off with wire cutters. I hold the wire in question with a pair of fine point pliers just beyond the area to be stripped and use a lighter to gently burn off the coating. Then with a very fine emery paper rub off any tarnish remaining. The pliers act as a heat sink and prevent the insulation further up the cable burning off. I developed this technique after watching much of the cable quite literally go up in smoke!

 

[Copperjacket]

Good tip.

Where did you find your cable that cheaply in the UK please?

 

[bernado]

I got it from Thomann, which is based in Germany but deliver Europe wide. The company is extremely efficient and I received mine within 3 days, with plenty of tracking information along the way. You may be able to get it for slightly less elsewhere but at £9.68 (£15 including delivery) I doubt it.
As far as fitting the driver end I just flipped the drivers and connected the cable in the conventional Y format. I liked the single side entry but this cable is to wide to fit in the headband groove where the original steel cable lies. One advantage of this Y configuration is I find it less prone to microphonics than the original routing as the cable did tend to bang against the headband which was a bit distracting.

 

[Agent Kang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif That sounds like an improvement from your previous post. How many hours did you put on them to hear the improvement?

I'd say they have approximately 100 hours. There was a definite improvement from my earlier impression of these cans.

Quote:

think replacing the stock steel cable with a better cable is supposed to cure this for the most part, but I have not heard the difference myself. This is based on posts from 1-2 years back discussing the roughness of the treble on these. It seemed that complaints of sibilance were calmed after the replacement of the steel cable.

If I was a DIY guy I'd love to switch the stock to a 650 cable. But since I'm totally clueless with a soldering iron, the length of the 650 cable kills the portability and ultimately defeats the purpose of these cans.

The Hd25s are not good enough to upstage my IEMs for daily portable use, but they're just too good for the price to be dumped to the F/S forum.

 

[eruditass]

interesting comparison on Y vs one sided cables.. if it is microphonic, i will opt for a 650 cable instead of the OFC hd-25-13 cable which i was going to get.

any other adv/disadv between these 2 choices?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent Kang /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say they have approximately 100 hours. There was a definite improvement from my earlier impression of these cans. If I was a DIY guy I'd love to switch the stock to a 650 cable. But since I'm totally clueless with a soldering iron, the length of the 650 cable kills the portability and ultimately defeats the purpose of these cans. The Hd25s are not good enough to upstage my IEMs for daily portable use, but they're just too good for the price to be dumped to the F/S forum.

I've had my HD600 cable on my HD25 for the past couple of weeks, since it already has a 3.5mm jack and sounds about as good as the HD650 cable on the HD25. I've been using them to sleep, and use my Livewires, Denon C700 or PMX100 for portable - depending on whether I need total isolation, partial isolation or none.

I had originally bought an HD650 cable for my HD600's and didn't feel there was enough improvement, and I needed a 3.5mm jack, so I moved up to a 4 foot cryoparts.com treated Moon Audio Black Dragon cable - that left me with both spare HD600 AND HD650 cables. Seemed a shame to not use one of them. I'll likely mod the 650 cable to 4-5 feet with a 3.5mm connector, because I wont cut my 600 cable.

My Ultrasone iCans NEEDED 350 HOURS to burn in. I was going to sell them, and I used them for 150 hours to burn-in a PenguinAmp. Still was going to sell. Then burned them in another 200 hours with my Headstage Lyrix. Now I'll just keep them unless somebody PM's me and says they MUST have them.