In celebration of the company’s 75th anniversary, Sennheiser is releasing a limited edition version of its HD 25 headphones. While they usually feature a nondescript all-black design, the limited edition will come with an extra pair of bright yellow ear pads inspired by Sennheiser’s other iconic headphones, the HD 414. The company is also reducing the price of the headphones while it’s selling the limited edition models, from $149.95 to $99.95.
The catch is that Sennheiser isn’t going to offer a foolproof way of getting your hands on the limited edition model. It’s not selling them separately. Instead, if you want a pair, you’ll have to order a regular pair of HD 25s from Sennheiser’s store and cross your fingers that one of the limited edition models shows up. Sennheiser says it’s producing 25,000 limited edition pairs to be sold around the world.
The HD 25s have a pretty interesting history. According to Sennheiser, the headphones were supplied to Concorde passengers between 1989 and 2004 because they worked well in loud environments. They don’t have active noise cancellation like many modern headphones, but Sennheiser says their design is excellent at passively blocking out background noise — handy when you’re traveling on a supersonic aircraft that creates sonic booms. This same quality has made them popular with many DJs.
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The HD 414s date back even earlier to 1968, and, according to CNET, they’re the first pair of headphones to have ever used an open-back design. Sennheiser no longer produces the HD 414s, but in their heyday, they were reportedly some of the bestselling headphones of all time.
Sennheiser’s limited edition HD 25s will be available through the month of June, after which, they’ll revert to their standard $149.95 price point.