The Sennheiser HD250 Impression Thread
Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600ohm (background) with modern day HD700
Well, I’ve only had the Sennheiser HD250 for a short while, but long-enough to realize what an incredible classic I have come across. Even more surprising, there is little fanfare here at head-fi.org and no dedicated appreciation thread.
I'd like to first thank @MrTechAgent who has helped shine some light on these old classics, in particular the HD540. With his videos, I would never have sought this out. I highly recommend checking out his HD540 Reference (1985) video, but also the rest of his channel.
And when I say classic, I’m putting these up there alongside the LCD2 and HD650. I may go as far to say it surpasses them in the aspect of natural, linear tonality. These are smooth, warm, detailed headphones that sound very expansive despite being a closed-headphone. Contrasted against an LCD2 or HD650, they have very extended, clear and natural treble. It is so involving. Beyond this, the rest of the sound is also on point, and the bass is superb, with it almost bordering on too much (and for those that want less there is the open back HD540).
So rather than just a review, I feel these cans truly justify their own Appreciation Thread, as they are not only rare, but under-appreciated given their capabilities to this present day.
I’m going to keep my impressions short for now, as well as the background on these headphones, as I actually only have a limited time with them, and secondly, it is difficult finding information on these. I’m hoping others will contribute some of their own experiences and information.
Remembering a Sennheiser Classic
At some point, the HD250 vanished into history. What remains is rather scant online. Keep in mind, this wasn’t just an ‘80s headphone, it was being produced until the early 2000s. There are two versions, the HD250 Linear and the HD250 Linear II. From my understanding it was brought back in the nineties due to popular demand, and given a new coat of paint. From what I have read, they are pretty much identical, but a number of user will describe one as being bass light, or one better than the other, etc. Further confounding this is that there exists 300ohm and 600ohm versions! Some users have reported that depending on the quality of the pads it can (no surprise) alter the sound signature. One user pointed out that they got their HD250 to sound very close to their HD540 with partially vented pads. Above all, a number of users agree that the HD250 (and perhaps to a larger extent the HD540) are preferred over the HD580,600,650. Or at the very least putting them at or near the same level.
Mine were form Radio-Canada studio headphones. In great condition with new pads and cable.
Can this Really Be Compared to the HD650?
I know controversial right. I love the HD650, and I won’t get into to this too deeply at the moment. I feel that the HD650 is perhaps a bit too relaxed. For instance, on dynamic classical recordings, the high-end was a bit uninvolved. It is an incredible headphone in its own right, and if you are an enthusiast of the HD650/600/580 then you may be surprised that these classic Sennheisers really pull it off. But maybe you shouldn’t be. It’s not as if this company came out of nowhere and dropped the HD580 on us.
What I find is that brass, strings, bell tones, glissando, really anything that hits those top notes is clear as day. This is some of the most accurate and best treble I’ve heard in can, let alone a closed can. The rest of the spectrum is all very present. This isn’t the more mid-centric sound we’ve heard from many flagship cans. Some people may say the mid-range is recessed, but it sounds perfectly balanced with the high-end, and the low range of the HD250 is also very natural, with percussion sounding life-like.
Even soundstage, is quite open, and imaging on this can is superb. You can easily place the depth of the different performers.
Let’s just put it this way, if you could have an HD650 with more sub-bass extension/volume, and more lifted accurate highs, would that interest you? Many people have been pointing those traits as some of the HD650s minor weaknesses. But here we have a Sennheiser can that pretty much nails reference tonality, in a closed back!
True Genre Masters
Since I’ve been here on head-fi, a term that used to be spun around a bit more was the idea of a Genre Master. In this case, it means a headphone that can play all Genres. The HD250 just doesn’t sound just great or good with all genres, it sounds outstanding with any genre providing its production is high-quality and dynamic. They are equally at home play classical music, reggae/dub, detroit techno, classic rock, pop to black metal.
If It’s So Good, Why Haven’t I Heard These?
Sennheiser has kept some of its headphones alive for a long-time. The HD600 and HD650 for good reason. The HD25 (not to be confused with the HD250) would have been relegated to being a broadcaster and ENG headphone if it hadn’t become a mainstay in the underground electronic scene across Europe and then the US.
Not too long ago, there were huge threads on Graham Slee’s old forum on both this headphone and the HD540 - its open back variant. Those are gone, but have been partially cached by Google. Graham Slee had at one point (and it could still be the case to this day) claimed the HD250 as his favourite headphone. From my understanding it was one of the formative headphones used in developing his amps. Great, so it has some industry acknowledgement. But aside from some other audio forums this headphone and the 540 are largely forgotten. But its time that they were re-discovered.
I’ll be posting in the coming weeks more detailed impressions, and how they compare to some other headphones such as the Denon D2000, Sennheiser’s own HD700, Sony MDR-7520 and Audeze LCD2 (early revision). Not to spoil anything, but they just sound right.
Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600ohm (background) with modern day HD700
Well, I’ve only had the Sennheiser HD250 for a short while, but long-enough to realize what an incredible classic I have come across. Even more surprising, there is little fanfare here at head-fi.org and no dedicated appreciation thread.
I'd like to first thank @MrTechAgent who has helped shine some light on these old classics, in particular the HD540. With his videos, I would never have sought this out. I highly recommend checking out his HD540 Reference (1985) video, but also the rest of his channel.
And when I say classic, I’m putting these up there alongside the LCD2 and HD650. I may go as far to say it surpasses them in the aspect of natural, linear tonality. These are smooth, warm, detailed headphones that sound very expansive despite being a closed-headphone. Contrasted against an LCD2 or HD650, they have very extended, clear and natural treble. It is so involving. Beyond this, the rest of the sound is also on point, and the bass is superb, with it almost bordering on too much (and for those that want less there is the open back HD540).
So rather than just a review, I feel these cans truly justify their own Appreciation Thread, as they are not only rare, but under-appreciated given their capabilities to this present day.
I’m going to keep my impressions short for now, as well as the background on these headphones, as I actually only have a limited time with them, and secondly, it is difficult finding information on these. I’m hoping others will contribute some of their own experiences and information.
Remembering a Sennheiser Classic
At some point, the HD250 vanished into history. What remains is rather scant online. Keep in mind, this wasn’t just an ‘80s headphone, it was being produced until the early 2000s. There are two versions, the HD250 Linear and the HD250 Linear II. From my understanding it was brought back in the nineties due to popular demand, and given a new coat of paint. From what I have read, they are pretty much identical, but a number of user will describe one as being bass light, or one better than the other, etc. Further confounding this is that there exists 300ohm and 600ohm versions! Some users have reported that depending on the quality of the pads it can (no surprise) alter the sound signature. One user pointed out that they got their HD250 to sound very close to their HD540 with partially vented pads. Above all, a number of users agree that the HD250 (and perhaps to a larger extent the HD540) are preferred over the HD580,600,650. Or at the very least putting them at or near the same level.
Mine were form Radio-Canada studio headphones. In great condition with new pads and cable.
Can this Really Be Compared to the HD650?
I know controversial right. I love the HD650, and I won’t get into to this too deeply at the moment. I feel that the HD650 is perhaps a bit too relaxed. For instance, on dynamic classical recordings, the high-end was a bit uninvolved. It is an incredible headphone in its own right, and if you are an enthusiast of the HD650/600/580 then you may be surprised that these classic Sennheisers really pull it off. But maybe you shouldn’t be. It’s not as if this company came out of nowhere and dropped the HD580 on us.
What I find is that brass, strings, bell tones, glissando, really anything that hits those top notes is clear as day. This is some of the most accurate and best treble I’ve heard in can, let alone a closed can. The rest of the spectrum is all very present. This isn’t the more mid-centric sound we’ve heard from many flagship cans. Some people may say the mid-range is recessed, but it sounds perfectly balanced with the high-end, and the low range of the HD250 is also very natural, with percussion sounding life-like.
Even soundstage, is quite open, and imaging on this can is superb. You can easily place the depth of the different performers.
Let’s just put it this way, if you could have an HD650 with more sub-bass extension/volume, and more lifted accurate highs, would that interest you? Many people have been pointing those traits as some of the HD650s minor weaknesses. But here we have a Sennheiser can that pretty much nails reference tonality, in a closed back!
True Genre Masters
Since I’ve been here on head-fi, a term that used to be spun around a bit more was the idea of a Genre Master. In this case, it means a headphone that can play all Genres. The HD250 just doesn’t sound just great or good with all genres, it sounds outstanding with any genre providing its production is high-quality and dynamic. They are equally at home play classical music, reggae/dub, detroit techno, classic rock, pop to black metal.
If It’s So Good, Why Haven’t I Heard These?
Sennheiser has kept some of its headphones alive for a long-time. The HD600 and HD650 for good reason. The HD25 (not to be confused with the HD250) would have been relegated to being a broadcaster and ENG headphone if it hadn’t become a mainstay in the underground electronic scene across Europe and then the US.
Not too long ago, there were huge threads on Graham Slee’s old forum on both this headphone and the HD540 - its open back variant. Those are gone, but have been partially cached by Google. Graham Slee had at one point (and it could still be the case to this day) claimed the HD250 as his favourite headphone. From my understanding it was one of the formative headphones used in developing his amps. Great, so it has some industry acknowledgement. But aside from some other audio forums this headphone and the 540 are largely forgotten. But its time that they were re-discovered.
I’ll be posting in the coming weeks more detailed impressions, and how they compare to some other headphones such as the Denon D2000, Sennheiser’s own HD700, Sony MDR-7520 and Audeze LCD2 (early revision). Not to spoil anything, but they just sound right.
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