Sennheiser hd25-II Headphones with a large head?

[Trevor Dennis]

I am not sure what my hat size is, but I needed an XL crash helmet back in the days when I still rode motorcycles. :-( The thing is, I have seen a couple of references to the Sennheiser hd25-II Headphones being a tight, and uncomfortable fit, for folk with large heads. Can anyone comment on that before I order a set?

Thanks.

[Tom Morrow]

I have a large head (XL or L hat size) and I was worried about the hd25 II fit at first, but after a few hours and a bit of breaking in they felt just fine. It's a tight fit but for film purposes plenty comfortable. I would feel unfomfortable having them on for a studio mix session but I have M50's for that.

[Shem Kerr]

I like their low mass ( they weigh little): that's a must have for me. If they are too snug, rather than keep getting annoyed with them crushing your head, try storing them on something the size of your head to break them in.

[Iker Riera]

store them on top of a basket/soccer ball for a few nights to break them in a little

[Andrew Stone]

The bands will expand down enough for a large head. The capsules do clamp down on the ears as they are sealed headphones. They do take a bit of adjustment to cope with the head clamping but that would happen regardless of head size. The sound quality is astounding and not clinical sounding like most reference headphones. The other common headphone that camera ops use is the Sony MDR-7506. Much more comfortable for long event video work and have a very long cord which is useful if you have to walk around a bit. In a hot environment the Sony's are trying and the sound although relatively neutral is tiring after a while.

I normally turn to the Sennheiser HD25-II for both sound monitoring on set and in the studio when doing rough edits. I even prefer them to my Sennheiser HD 600 because of the isolation from outside noise.

In my view, they are a terrific headphone on so many levels. It won't hurt to get them to add them to your kit particularly if you already own the Sony's which are good as well.

[Mike Beckett]

I think I probably have the world's largest head.. Not sure if it's full of brains or or full of sawdust. But those Senny headphones fit just fine, I don't even have them fully extended.

[Greg Miller]

Can anyone compare the HD25-II with the HD280 pro? Particularly in terms of neutrality and also isolation? (I've always felt the 280s are a lot more neutral than the Sony 7506.)

Thanks.

[Allan Black]

Another way of saying 'flatter' Greg :)

It's what you get used to, the Sony 7506 became popular with the location crowd because they were among the first (if not the first) cans
you could fold up and sturdy enough to survive thrown a case into a truck.

Of course sounding good was the prime requisite. Mine are still going strong after about 10yrs.

Cheers.

[Greg Miller]

Yes "neutrality" is another way of saying "flatter." Indeed, I'm familiar with the rise (and fall?) of the 7506's popularity.

But would you care to address my question?

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Greg Miller

Can anyone compare the HD25-II with the HD280 pro? Particularly in terms of neutrality and also isolation? (I've always felt the 280s are a lot more neutral than the Sony 7506.)

Thanks.

The HD 25 are certainly better than the 280.

Isolation is excellent on the 25, though I prefer the velour earpads (3dB worse isolation. but more comfortable and more durable).

The big bonus with the HD 25 is the 120dB sensitivity rating, which is about 14dB better than the Sony - this means that tou are not driving the headphone amplifier so hard and would also get better battery life.

My own HD 25-1 are now approaching 24 years old and still going strong. I have used them for critical monitoring all this time and, until Sennheiser come out with a closed version of the HD 800, are probably one of the best location recording monitoring headphones around.

[Trevor Dennis]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I can now order without worry. And thanks for the idea of storing them on a basket ball or similar.