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Are Sennheiser HD 26s worth the price?


Allen Rowand

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I'm thinking about getting new headphones- my HD 25-1s are somewhere around 15 years old and I don't have a spare pair. The HD 26s are interesting, but twice the price of HD 25s. I've never had cable issues with the 25s but I like the cable setup on the 26s. 

 

For anyone with experience with both, do you feel the sound and comfort of the 26 is worth the price premium over the 25? I'd obviously need to listen to them, but not if the higher price isn't worth it. I was also looking at the HD 300s but don't know if I want to switch to a circumaural design.

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They sound very similar but don't have that ridiculous spade connector that starts going intermittent after a while that the HD25's have, for that alone HD26's are worth it for me. I've found HD26's to be much harder wearing than I thought they would be, nothing is showing any signs of weaing out in over 18 months of heavy use, which is also excellent. HD26's are a liitle heavier and bulkier than 25's so putting them on with one hand is slightly less easy, but more confortable once they're on.

I like HD26's and I've finally escaped that fiddling with spade connectors that used to drive me nuts on the HD25's (five pairs, I tried hard with HD25's!)

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  • 2 weeks later...
17 hours ago, mikewest said:

The 25-11 have gold plated springs that the blades connect to

 

Also replacement leads and pads can be bought in Ebay for a fraction of retail price

 

Make you wonder where they are made!!!

 

mike

Is it possible that the replacement leads sold on ebay are copies and only a fraction of the quality...

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The HD26 definitely have far less bass boost which is better for judging dialogue. I find if I have to run/quick waddle with them on, I get a bit of a thud with each footstep. Not sure if it's cable bound, through the cup or if I just have a weird head shape. Not sure if you can get velour ear cups for them either. It's summer here and the leatherette can get nasty. All the same I dig 'em.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/17/2019 at 1:49 PM, Nate C said:

Not sure if you can get velour ear cups for [HD26 headphones] either. It's summer here and the leatherette can get nasty. All the same I dig 'em.

 

Garfield Headphone Softies come in two sizes. "Normal" for 7506 and their ilk, and "Small" which I think are designed for HD25-sized headphones. I use and like the normal-sized Softies. Your LLAD (local location audio dealer) should be able to tell you if the Small size Softies will work with HD25 and 26. Or perhaps PSC, a/the distributor:

http://www.professionalsound.com/specs/garfield.htm

 

 

Screen Shot 2019-01-31 at 5.55.57 PM.png

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10 hours ago, Jim Feeley said:

 

Garfield Headphone Softies come in two sizes. "Normal" for 7506 and their ilk, and "Small" which I think are designed for HD25-sized headphones. I use and like the normal-sized Softies. Your LLAD (local location audio dealer) should be able to tell you if the Small size Softies will work with HD25 and 26. Or perhaps PSC, a/the distributor:

http://www.professionalsound.com/specs/garfield.htm

 

 

Screen Shot 2019-01-31 at 5.55.57 PM.png

Didn't know they had two sizes. I am using the Garfields with my 7506, and have the original Senn velour pads for my 25ers. Happy with both solutions, I do like the blue Garfields on my 7506 though!

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 1/17/2019 at 1:49 PM, Nate C said:

The HD26 definitely have far less bass boost which is better for judging dialogue. I find if I have to run/quick waddle with them on, I get a bit of a thud with each footstep. Not sure if it's cable bound, through the cup or if I just have a weird head shape. Not sure if you can get velour ear cups for them either. It's summer here and the leatherette can get nasty. All the same I dig 'em.

 

You need the exaugurated low end to judge low end problems

 

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My HD26's just fell apart at the hinge on the left hand side. I had to do a quick tape job with transpore as turnover had just been called. Not a great look. Just over a year old, they have a 2 year warranty so I sent them back in today and will wait to see what happens.

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  • 1 year later...

The HD26 definitely have far less bass boost which is better for judging dialogue. I find if I have to run/quick waddle with them on, I get a bit of a thud with each footstep. Not sure if it's cable bound, through the cup or if I just have a weird head shape. Not sure if you can get velour ear cups for them either. It's summer here and the leatherette can get nasty. All the same I dig 'em.

 

Yes you can get velours for the HD26, but they are NOT sold in the USA, only overseas, like  UK and Europe (which of course they DON'T ship to the US).  The only place that will sell to the US is moogaudio.com,  but they are a whopping $57 (Canadian dollars)!  (32 pounds in the UK)   And shipping is another $19.   (Geez, if I can spend $319 for the HD26, what's another almost $78 ?)

 

https://www.moogaudio.com/en/sennheiser-ear-pads-velours-for-hd-26-pair

 

I love the HD26, they sound just as good as my HD25s which I use for work and home.  Both my HD25 (70 ohm and aluminum version) have velour ear pads from Yaxi and Zomo.  The Sennheiser ones are fine, but they get worn out after a year.  Buy the higher priced ones from Zomo (heard Yaxi stopped making theirs).   I'm still on the fence of buying the velours for my HD26... may end up saving my pennies for it.

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