The Sennheiser HD 25 Light is a modern marvel of design that can trace its history back as far as 1968. German headphone company Sennheiser started making a range of headphones that would become iconic.
How we got the Sennheiser HD 25 light
Founded in the immediate aftermath of the second world war, Sennheiser quickly built up a reputation in professional broadcast and recording circles with its microphones. In 1968 Sennheiser launched the HD 414, which was made sturdy plastic mouldings and a highly adjustable headband , attached to light on-ear headphones. The HD 414 set a design philosophy that the Sennheiser HD 25 Light continues on.
This was back when most headphones were bulky ‘cans’ a la vintage Koss models. They would weigh on the listener during a long listening session. The Sennheiser HD 414 by comparison was light and easy to wear while providing an open accurate sound.
My first foray into hi-fi as a teenager was buying a pair of HD 414s from Richer Sounds. By that time Sennheiser had a full range of headphones, many of which were lighter and more modern looking than anything else on the market, especially when compared to AKG, Beyerdynamic or Sony.
Sennheiser had started making pilot headsets for Lufthansa in 1980 and had developed a good understanding of sound isolation.
Sony MDR-V6 and MDR-7500 series.
When I started DJing, I aspired to own a pair of Sony MDR-V6 launched in 1985 and only discontinued in 2020. These live on through the Sony MDR-7500 series.
These had a reputation for sound quality, good sound isolation, were robust and less bulky than their European rivals. They still weighed in at 230+ grams which could be a bit wearing after several hours. This was the rival that Sennheiser had to beat, and when they were launched Japan and Sony were at their peak.
However, the things hi-fi and sound recording magazines don’t tell you about them
Over the longer term, the vinyl trim on the Sony headphones would start to flake and they weren’t designed to be user-serviceable. Finally, even if you were inclined to repair and maintain them, Sony wouldn’t sell you the parts (in the UK at least.) 12 months of regularly DJing with them and they were needed new ear pads and a headband.
Later on I would go to video shoots and see sound recordists with Sonys which had gaffer-taped headbands and ear pads that looked rat bitten.
1988
1988 was a pivotal year, Mr and Mrs Danny Rampling were running Shoom out of a gym in Southwark, Paul Oakenfold was running similar nights in the backroom of Richard Branson‘s Heaven nightclub underneath Charing Cross station. Up North, the Hacienda was hosting the Zumbar and Hot.
All of which were pivotal in the rise of house music and nightlife culture for the following four decades. This in turn drove sales of professional DJ equipment including the Made 2 Fade family of mixers and Technics SL-1200 series turntables. Record shops sprang up on the high street catering to this audience, the kind of frequency only seen with Turkish barber shops now.
What was lost in all that cultural change was the launch of the Sennheiser HD 25. The Sennheiser HD 25 (1) when it was released was aimed at broadcast users in outdoor settings and sound recorders on a film, TV or advertising shoot.
It had the robust build quality and lightness of the HD 414, and sat on the ear in a similar manner which allowed for hours of very comfortable listening. There was a split head rest which helped keep the head ventilated while listening and spread the load. It had clutter free cabling which borrowed from Sennheiser’s experience making headsets for pilots, along with good sound isolation.
The frame had a special bracket that allowed an ear cup to be pivoted off your ear, making them ideal for DJs.
Finally it was easy to power as a headset thanks to aluminium voice coils that drew on Sennheiser’s heritage making professional microphones for broadcast and studio usage.
The Sennheiser HD 25 (1) when it was released was aimed at broadcast users in outdoor settings and sound recorders on a film, TV or advertising shoot and it took a while for DJs to discover it.
Being aimed at professional users Sennheiser designed them to be user serviceable. You can still buy all the parts AND there is a good third party community making parts for them as well.
Concorde
By the early 1990s, the Sennheiser HD 25 family of headphones comprised of the Sennheiser HD-25 (1) and the Sennheiser HD 25 SP – which is the direct forerunner of the Sennheiser HD 25 Light.
The headphones caught the attention of British Airways who were looking for passenger headphones that matched the noisy but premium experience of flying on Concorde. Sennheiser built a simplified version with adaptions to match the onboard audio system drawing from the HD 25 and the vintage HD 414 headband design known as the HD 25 BA.
This then set the foundation for Sennheiser to design the HD 25 SP as a simplified version of the HD 25. The HD 25 SP didn’t need to have a high level of impedance match the aircraft audio system, so it could be a lot easier to power.
What’s impressive about the Sennheiser HD 25 range is how little they’ve changed over the four decades they’ve been in production. There has been a slight improvement with the HD 25 (2) and the HD 25 Pro – which gave users a coiled cable and optional velour ear pads (recommended). Most of the other variants have been either limited editions more about marketing than sound, and some brand collaborations notably an adidas edition with three stripes and blue ear pads.
The Sennheiser HD 25 Light was a revamp of the HD 25 SP. The differences were:
A different headband design that modernised the vintage HD 414 inspired headband design. It connects to the back of the earphone the same as the HD 25, allowing it to use the same drivers as its big brother.
Sennheiser HD 25 Light
So what are they like and why am I talking about them? I got a pair of the Sennheiser HD 25 Light because I was doing more video calls in crowded spaces and wanted an on ear headphone that would work. It wasn’t hard to know what I wanted. If am listening to music or an audiobook in bed I use a pair of HD 25 headphones. They are very detailed even on low volume and ideal because falling off the bed does no damage to them at all.
I could have gone with a pair of gamer headphones, but they are overly bulky and their sound is tuned for Call of Duty rather than than video calls, podcasts and electronica. I found that they tend to get warm when you’re wearing them on two back-to-back calls and a three-hour virtual workshop. Lastly they come with LED lighting and controls that I don’t need.
So my solution was simple a pair of HD 25 Lights and a third party cable that had a built-in microphone. They sound similar to the the HD 25 like you would expect, the slight differences I think are down to the slightly different fit of the headband affecting they way they sit against my ear and the third party audio cable.
Calls are clear and detailed as is most type of music with more detail than the Shure IEMs that I previously wore all the time. I have a few hacks planned for the headset:
A hard case cover to keep all my audio bits together lint and dust-free in my bag as much as protect the headphones
A smidge of Sugru as reinforcement at the joint between the headphone jack and the cable to reinforce it. I do the same on the power cable for my laptop where the cable meets the MagSafe adapter. It’s less hassle to deal with than the blocks of epoxy putty that plumbers use and comes in more manageable amounts.
The Shure IEMs are still fine for talking calls on the move and listening to podcasts on the tube, while the Sennheiser HD 25 Light headphones take over my office work.
