[darkburnout00]

I've heard great things about both headphones in the $100-200 price range.

I listen to a lot of rock and christian music, but not exclusively. I just need some portable headphones I could take around with me everywhere.
Comfort is very important, but so is Isolation and anti-leaking.

what do you recommend for me??

 

[quiksliver]

from what I have heard, the senns have better comfort and isolation, but the ES7s have better sound quality

 

[Pianist]

Senn HD25 will give you better sound quality (although a tad artificial) and probably build quality, as well as excellent isolation even for use on the subway. The ES7, on the other hand, is not that much worse sounding, and more comfortable, but does isolate a lot less and won't cut it in very noisy places. Also, the Senns sound improves much more with an amp.

 

[episiarch]

Each has its strengths, and each could reasonably called the better of the two depending on your needs.

Unamped I certainly prefer and would recommend the HD25, as I find the ES7 unacceptably dull and muffled sounding without an amp. A lot of people disagree with me and think the ES7 doesn't need an amp, but I think it's just plain poor-sounding without one. Unamped I'd rather listen to my cheap Panasonic RP-HTX7 than to my ES7. The HD25, on the other hand, performs remarkably well without an amp, so if you're going ampless I'd strongly recommend it over the ES7.

Nicely amped, the ES7 comes into its own. The highs are extended, clean and clear without becoming shrill; the lows are deep and strong, without ever becoming boomy - the bass is there when the music needs it, and gets out of the way when it doesn't. The mids are clean and clear as well. It's just a very clean and almost open-sounding headphone.

The HD25 is not bad at all, but has a somewhat bass-weighted presentation which messes with the balance of classical music, solo piano, and some jazz, by overemphasizing the low end of the music. The mids and highs are good but do not achieve the airy cleanness of the ES7.

Comfort really depends on the wearer. The ES7 has lush leather earcups that are very soft and pleasant feeling - but the headband is not padded at all, and can be uncomfortable for those of us with a little less natural padding atop our heads than we used to have. The HD25 is well padded all around but tends to have a bit more clamping force than the ES7 and may give you some ear-squeeze fatigue a little sooner.

For commute purposes I would push the HD25 as I find its noise isolation higher, and its unusual headband design does a superb job of keeping it on your head despite almost any amount of jostling. Also its single-sided cable seems to me better suited to commute use than the two-sided cable design of the ES7.