When it comes to selecting headphones for general monitoring, there's a pretty wide choice, but it seems that few of the models on the market are designed specifically for the musician working on the other side of the glass. One of the exceptions is Beyer's DT100, which is why it is so much in evidence in studios around the world. Having said that, the Sennheiser HD25s under review have been on the market for some time but, for whatever reason, they seem to have kept a low profile.

By way of pose value, HD25s score pretty modestly — they wouldn't look out of place perched on the head of a radio ham — but the design has been thought out with a lot of care. Essentially, the HD25s are fully enclosed, moving coil headphones designed to rest on the ear rather than to fit around it. They offer a high degree of isolation from external sounds and can produce a powerful 105dB SPL, which should be more than enough for anyone who still cares about their aural health.

Their frequency response extends from 30Hz to 16kHz, and though there are many phones that go higher than this, I would imagine that this tailoring of the spectrum is deliberate, to reduce the fatigue factor of high-level monitoring. In any event, the sound is still more than acceptably clear and detailed, without sounding unduly coloured as so many fully-enclosed phones do.

A padded, double headband not only makes these phones comfortable to wear but also offers the kind of physical security conventional single headband models can't match — even an enthusiastic drummer shouldn't be able to shake these loose. The single feed cord is secured to the right earpiece via a simple, screw-down cable clamp and the cable feeding the left phone runs through the headband. Push-fit plugs connect the cable to the individual phones, which makes servicing easy, and the left phone is mounted on a swivel, making it easy for performers who like to work with one phone off or only partially covering the ear. At the other end of the cable is a 3.5mm stereo jack, though this is docked into a standard quarter-inch, stereo jack adaptor, making the phones compatible with the majority of relevant signal outlets.

Though low on glamour, these are thoroughly professional headphones which seem ideally suited to vocal and musician monitoring in environments such as the recording or broadcast studio. Though they grip the ears fairly tightly and stubbornly remain in place regardless of the antics of the wearer (within reason!), they are surprisingly comfortable and really do offer good isolation from the outside world. And, unlike some enclosed phones, the sound is surprisingly uncoloured, though not quite as clean as some of the better open phones.

As might be expected from a professional headphone, most of the parts likely to break or wear out are field replaceable and the ear cushions can be removed without the need for tools in the event that they need washing. In all, the HD-25s must be considered yet another example of Teutonic efficiency.

Further Information
HD25 headphones £129.95 including VAT.

Sennheiser UK Ltd, (Contact Details).