Bought this as a factory second for £100 recent for a bit of portable fun. I have been looking at the Amperior for quite a while but I ended up with the DT-770 32ohm, which I did not regret at all. The initial pricing of the Amperior was the major thing that stopped me from buying it. But now that it has been discontinued by Sennheiser, the price has dropped quite dramatically as they are introducing the aluminium version of the original HD-25, essentially the Amperior with 70ohm drivers. Anyway, I am happy with the purchase.
I guess for the design and comfort, I really do not need to say much about it, the HD-25 design has been around ages, this one just goes along with the DNA really. Some people find it a bit too tight, but do not have big head, or my ears are located a bit higher on the skull, the tension is just right for me. I guess wear it in a hot hot summer day may not be a good idea though, I can feel that heat can build up quite easily with the velour caps.
The sound is also pretty much what I expected from a closed can from Sennheiser. Honestly, I expect a bit more bass from them but it is not really bassy after all, probably because the aluminium casing actually helps tighten the low end a bit. The sound is straight forward, no colouration, sound stage is a bit narrow, overall it is the typical Sennheiser type of warmth, unlike some brands which has a huge emphasis in the highs (what they call clarity). I would say the frequency response is pretty flat compared to some of the cans that I have tried. I also compared side by side the the Momentum, the Momentum just sounds muddy where as the Amperior has got the right amount of clarity. When compared to my DT-770 32ohm, the Amperior can be driven much easier with smartphones or earphone jacks right out from my laptops. The Beyer apparently can give a much lower punch where as the Amperior has more mid-bass. One thing I find on the Amperior is that, the two channels are pretty 'separated' as there is not much "stereo soundstaging" at all, I just don't know how to explain this (not like they are out of phase....). This may possibly be due to the fact that as a studio monitor, the sound is just a bit too analytical and upfront, very good for mixing, but a bit odd for normal listening. I have not got the HD-25 II to compare with at the moment, but some might suggest that the 70ohm drivers may be better, but the idea for Amperior is for low power devices anyway. I have also briefly tried the DT-1350 on a separated occasion, but I feel that the sound is a bit thin to me, not my cup of tea.
All in all, I think for the price that I have paid for the Amperior, I really have no complain afterall, and unlike some other headphones at similar price range, this one is still made in Ireland/Europe, unlike the Philips L1 or M50, which are made in China or some SE Asian countries, and even the new Momentums are made in China now?!?! ***. I think it it certainly a good buy.
I guess for the design and comfort, I really do not need to say much about it, the HD-25 design has been around ages, this one just goes along with the DNA really. Some people find it a bit too tight, but do not have big head, or my ears are located a bit higher on the skull, the tension is just right for me. I guess wear it in a hot hot summer day may not be a good idea though, I can feel that heat can build up quite easily with the velour caps.
The sound is also pretty much what I expected from a closed can from Sennheiser. Honestly, I expect a bit more bass from them but it is not really bassy after all, probably because the aluminium casing actually helps tighten the low end a bit. The sound is straight forward, no colouration, sound stage is a bit narrow, overall it is the typical Sennheiser type of warmth, unlike some brands which has a huge emphasis in the highs (what they call clarity). I would say the frequency response is pretty flat compared to some of the cans that I have tried. I also compared side by side the the Momentum, the Momentum just sounds muddy where as the Amperior has got the right amount of clarity. When compared to my DT-770 32ohm, the Amperior can be driven much easier with smartphones or earphone jacks right out from my laptops. The Beyer apparently can give a much lower punch where as the Amperior has more mid-bass. One thing I find on the Amperior is that, the two channels are pretty 'separated' as there is not much "stereo soundstaging" at all, I just don't know how to explain this (not like they are out of phase....). This may possibly be due to the fact that as a studio monitor, the sound is just a bit too analytical and upfront, very good for mixing, but a bit odd for normal listening. I have not got the HD-25 II to compare with at the moment, but some might suggest that the 70ohm drivers may be better, but the idea for Amperior is for low power devices anyway. I have also briefly tried the DT-1350 on a separated occasion, but I feel that the sound is a bit thin to me, not my cup of tea.
All in all, I think for the price that I have paid for the Amperior, I really have no complain afterall, and unlike some other headphones at similar price range, this one is still made in Ireland/Europe, unlike the Philips L1 or M50, which are made in China or some SE Asian countries, and even the new Momentums are made in China now?!?! ***. I think it it certainly a good buy.
