[zeron]

I am new to trying to acquire great quality sound and enjoying it. I started my journey with sennheiser hd 25-1 ii headphones and order an fio e11 for an amp that hasnt come yet. i did a couple weeks of research to determine that was a good starting point for my new delve into an unknown "universe" i am no "audiophile" but love music and great quality with everything i own... guns, cars, computers, consoles and everything..

well i guess i better get on with my questions... wel i would like to know... on a numerically tiered system were does the headphones i have acquired fall for the sennhesier brand? and how many other tiers would there bee? there description of how to clasify these tiers and whats in them and the quality upgrades one can expect while rising up in tiers.. please include the headphone devices and amps if neccessary...

please tell me if ive made any error in relaying my thoughts and questions to you as i have said i am new.
 
thanx in advance

p.s i currently am only listening to them from the jack of my HP pavillion since the e11 hasnt arrived yet... any thoughts on the matter? money isnt the questions since im mearly looking for knowledge... yes talk about price and price-to-quality ratio but dont make it the subject matter. im looking for information of were i am at and were to go.

p.s.s If you feel it neccessary to talk about other brands then do so... i just dont want to get overwhelmed and get ,brands,headphones, and who makes them confused.

 

 

[TheManko]

I haven't personally ever heard any of the Sennheiser HD 25s, but if you would create tiers just for Sennheiser like you mentioned I would put them like this:
 
Tier 1: HD 800
Tier 2: HD 650, HD 600
Tier 3: HD 595, HD 25-1 ii
Tier 4: HD 280, 380, 555
Tier 5: 238, px 100 II, maybe some more
Tier 6: Whatever the cheapest stuff they sell is
 
I'm omitting many models there, but most importantly from all I've read about the HD 25-1 ii they are in their category of smallish sealed headphones the best and the only ones that maybe sound better in that style of headphone would be the Beyerdynamic DT 1350 and they're more expensive. I would assume they would in quality lie roughly in the same legue as the 595s or now the more recent 598s even though of course the 595/598 are open and thus have a very different style of sound. But in the general amount of stuff you'll hear in the music and just sense of audio quality I'm guessing that's where they place.
 
My overall impression of higher tier of headphones is that they just present everything in the recording in a more effortless way. When I first auditioned the HD 800 and had brought some live discs I knew had a lot of sounds going on the first impression I got was that they were simply not as challenged by the sound as my other headphones. All the room accoustics and instruments seemed to have more space around them and the sound wasn't as congested making it very easy to focus on whatever part of the music I wanted. Also the HD 800s in particular have a very massive sound to them thanks to their big drivers so compared even to other higher end headphones they have a big sound that is very uncommon.
 
The difference an amplifier can make depends a bit on how demanding the headphones are, but I've found that no matter what headphones I plug into my Dac and Amp combo they all sound about twice as expensive compared to when I use them straight out of the iPod. The headphones just sound tighter in their response to everything. How much that is thanks to the Dac or the Amp I don't know, but the HD 25-1 ii are high enough in the quality scale that I would be surprised if the amp doesn't make a big difference.
 
Before anyone jumps on the scale I created and tries to correct it I just made it up on the fly and while I have heard most of the headphones on the scale I haven't heard some of them and just placed them based on reading impressions. It's not an absolute scale in any way, but it should be somewhat accurate anyway.

 

[zeron]

thnk you that did clarify some doubts in my mind. thanx for the detail of response and putting effort into answering my question. im new to head-fi but not new to forums and i know when to appreciate kindsness, hospitality and knowladge into one. idk if it your the community in gteneral but im impressed thanks .

since you havent listened to any hd 25 i wonder if you could do a tierd setup for amps of fiios and other brands if its not too much of a hassle

p.s amps ther dac counter parts and/or any other accessories i might find useful with "tier 3" HD 25 thats priced... modeslty...

 

[linuxid10t]

 

[size=medium]

You forgot tier 0, the Orpheus...  XD
​

[/size]


Quote:

I haven't personally ever heard any of the Sennheiser HD 25s, but if you would create tiers just for Sennheiser like you mentioned I would put them like this:
 
Tier 1: HD 800
Tier 2: HD 650, HD 600
Tier 3: HD 595, HD 25-1 ii
Tier 4: HD 280, 380, 555
Tier 5: 238, px 100 II, maybe some more
Tier 6: Whatever the cheapest stuff they sell is
 
I'm omitting many models there, but most importantly from all I've read about the HD 25-1 ii they are in their category of smallish sealed headphones the best and the only ones that maybe sound better in that style of headphone would be the Beyerdynamic DT 1350 and they're more expensive. I would assume they would in quality lie roughly in the same legue as the 595s or now the more recent 598s even though of course the 595/598 are open and thus have a very different style of sound. But in the general amount of stuff you'll hear in the music and just sense of audio quality I'm guessing that's where they place.
 
My overall impression of higher tier of headphones is that they just present everything in the recording in a more effortless way. When I first auditioned the HD 800 and had brought some live discs I knew had a lot of sounds going on the first impression I got was that they were simply not as challenged by the sound as my other headphones. All the room accoustics and instruments seemed to have more space around them and the sound wasn't as congested making it very easy to focus on whatever part of the music I wanted. Also the HD 800s in particular have a very massive sound to them thanks to their big drivers so compared even to other higher end headphones they have a big sound that is very uncommon.
 
The difference an amplifier can make depends a bit on how demanding the headphones are, but I've found that no matter what headphones I plug into my Dac and Amp combo they all sound about twice as expensive compared to when I use them straight out of the iPod. The headphones just sound tighter in their response to everything. How much that is thanks to the Dac or the Amp I don't know, but the HD 25-1 ii are high enough in the quality scale that I would be surprised if the amp doesn't make a big difference.
 
Before anyone jumps on the scale I created and tries to correct it I just made it up on the fly and while I have heard most of the headphones on the scale I haven't heard some of them and just placed them based on reading impressions. It's not an absolute scale in any way, but it should be somewhat accurate anyway.

 

 

[zeron]

what are those? i couldnt find them on the sennheiserusa website... plus they say there best headphones is the HD 800 in the stereophile section

 

[bcg27]

There were two Orpheus models, the HE-60 and He-90. These are electrostatic headphones and are discontinued. They are both highly regarded and the HE-90 is considered by some people to be the best headphone ever. I think they have been selling used recently for 10k+

 

[zeron]

any reason they wer discontinued? and what year was this that they were?

p.s was just looking around and wondered were would the
Grado Prestige Series SR60i
fall into he tier system? they cost alot cheaper than my 25's so mkaes me believe their in a different category but i see reviews and recomendations for them from top level head-fier in other threads..

 

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

sr60 maybe tier 4ish

 

[bcg27]

Quote:

any reason they wer discontinued? and what year was this that they were?

p.s was just looking around and wondered were would the
Grado Prestige Series SR60i
fall into he tier system? they cost alot cheaper than my 25's so mkaes me believe their in a different category but i see reviews and recomendations for them from top level head-fier in other threads..

 

 
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sennheiser+orpheus



 
 

 

[3602]

Quote:

any reason they wer discontinued? and what year was this that they were?

Sennheiser made the HE60 system with one single goal: Screw you, STAX.
After three hundred (300) systems were built, they decided to stop (or they planned for just 300 at the beginning) since even the mighty USAF cannot afford too many B-2 Spirits.

 

[caracara08]

Quote:

Sennheiser made the HE60 system with one single goal: Screw you, STAX.
After three hundred (300) systems were built, they decided to stop (or they planned for just 300 at the beginning) since even the mighty USAF cannot afford too many B-2 Spirits.

lol
so true.
 
to the op forgot the 598 and 558.. or 548? whatever the lower model new one.  
having had the 600, 650, and 598... id almost consider putting them in the same tier.  id have to listen to the 6x0s more as its been a while, but the 598 is not too shabby.

 

[zeron]

then what is a grado headphone around the same tier 5 like the hd 25s?

 

[3602]

225i? 325is?

 

[Max598]

Oh the sennheiser tree is a confusing one.  The big cans are simple because of the numbers but I have always wondered where the smaller ones like the hd 25 fit in with the big ones.  And I have been VERY curious as to why it is the HD25-1 II.  They might have a good reason for it but to me that seems like overkill with all the numbers.

 

[3602]

HD-25 is a long-running line of products designed for professional use "only". The current things are just different iterations.
The above I have read somewhere else.