Where and How should I buy these?

[Chelan]

After much research I believe that I have decided to get the Sennheiser HD25 Originals (blue Adidas ones). I saw them on the Best Buy website for the best price online thus far. Though the website "unique squared" says they will match other lower prices found online. I'm not the biggest Best buy fan, but do want to buy from a legit Sennheiser retailer. Though many DJ retailers do sell the HD 25-1 II, not many sell the Adidas ones. Any more suggestions as to where might price match and also be a reputable seller?

Also, since nearly all parts are replaceable on this headphone, would you recommend buying the protection plan (usually 2 years) with these? I've had 2 pairs of Ultrasone DJ1 (not the pro) before and glad I'd gotten the protection plans with those. While they have a good sound, the durability is not much more then a year. So would a 2 yr protection plan be worth it on the HD 25 Originals?

Thanks DJTT community for your answers.

[bmwnutfrombirth]

You shouldn't need the protection plan. And uniquesquared is the shit; I bought some dicers from them, and they were here in a quick second.

[DJQA]

HD-25s are built properly, and come with a warranty anyway. Don't waste your money on vendor extended warranties...

[dookiex]

Do not buy the Best Buy protection plan. If something breaks, a call to Sennheiser will get you set up straight.

[Chelan]

Thanks for your opinions guys on the extra protection plan. I tried to do some research on the Sennheiser website to see if there were any parts that were not replaceable. And actually the only thing I did see them selling replacement parts for were the ear pads and the cable with the 3.5 mm jack attached to it.

This can't be right. They've got to offer more parts then just those as I know I've heard guys say that even the headband was replaceable. It seems like Sennheiser would offer all the parts directly from them rather than trying to have you only acquire them through aftermarket dealers.

Also, while looking around on the Sennheiser site, I came across these which were just announced at CES 2012 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMV-LVFrYng

These Amperior headphones apparently have lower impedance then the HD 25's and come with the microphone cable. I like the look, but don't know if I'd pay $125 or so more for them. Any other opinions on these?

[dookiex]

The Amperiors actually retail for $350. You're looking at a street price of $225-$250 for them when they come out. The only real upgrade on them is that the monitor pieces are now houses in aluminum. I consider the lower impedance to be a step back for studio and DJ usage since most of the studio and DJ mixers you would be plugging work phones into can easily blow out lower impedance phones. Basically, lower impedance ='s less voltage needed to drive the speakers, higher impedance ='s more voltage to drive the speakers to full range. Mixers generally pump out a lot of power, it's best to have higher impedance phones for professional equipment due to this. This is why portable devices like iPods could never make higher end phones sound truly spectacular (simply not enough power is being supplied to the phones for the phones to fully reach its full spectrum).

As for getting replacement parts for the good ole HD-25 1s, all you have to do is ring up Sennheiser to order the parts (there's lots of parts which they don't list on the site, but are completely there and easy to order from them if you call them). Bottom line, HD-25 1s are workhorse cans. They are pretty much indestructible and near impossible to blow them out or make them distort. You are honestly paying for what you get. Think of it like this, not only will they outlast your typical Sony v700's by years, you also end up saving money because you're not replacing them every year or two due to things like broken hinges, dead wires (the wires for the HD-25 1s are quite robust). It's basically pay now and see the savings continue to accumulate for years to come. Not to mention reliability on such a dominant piece in your setup is pretty much priceless.

[Ftruck]

uniquesquared are 100% a legit Sennheiser retailer as you can see from the list of authorized Sennheiser dealers here: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/service...online-dealers

I don't see much of a point in a retailer protection plan, they already have a 2 year manufacturers warranty and are rugged as hell anyway.

As far as the Amperiors go everything dookiex said is true, the lower impedance is not ideal in studio or Dj environments. These were more Sennheisers dig at making a pair of street headphones out of wildly successful pro headphones which is pretty obvious from the inline remote. The only real upgrade - the aluminum cups is debatable as I beleive they'd be more prone to dings and damage than the plastic cups of the HD25. Also not really keen on the colour but I'm not a fan of the three stripe cups on the originals either but the electric blue earpads and headband pads are pretty striking.

[Chelan]

Awesome info guys. You definitely helped me make up my mind. Thank you dookiex for the info on impedance. I did not know about the info that you provided.

Ftruck, you confirming dookiex's info only helped me realize that I don't want to think much more about waiting for the new amperior headphones. And unique squared seems to be a good choice if they end up having the cans in stock. Last I checked, they were out. Thanks again guys. I got the exact kind of info I was hoping for when I asked.