SennheiserHD 280 Pro Headphone, Black

The Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones have earned their reputation as a studio workhorse, and for good reason. For anyone prioritizing an uncolored and truthful representation of their audio, these headphones are a revelation, especially at their price point.First and foremost, the accuracy with music response of the HD 280 Pro is their defining characteristic. These aren't headphones designed to impress with booming bass or sparkling, hyped highs. Instead, they aim for a flat, neutral frequency response that reveals your music exactly as it was mixed and mastered. This means no artificial enhancements; what you hear is what's truly there in the recording. For producers, engineers, and audiophiles who want to discern every detail without any sonic bias, this level of transparency is invaluable. Bass is tight and controlled, mids are clear and present, and the treble is detailed without being fatiguing.This commitment to neutrality means they don't modify the sound of your music. If a track has a deep, resonant bass line, you'll hear it. If it has a subtle vocal harmony, you'll hear that too. But you won't get an exaggerated version of either. This "true to the way it's supposed to be heard" philosophy is what makes the HD 280 Pro a favorite for critical listening and monitoring tasks, allowing you to identify imperfections or subtle nuances that might be masked by more "fun" sounding headphones.When it comes to comfort, the HD 280 Pro often elicits mixed opinions, but generally, they are praised for their robust build and ability to provide a good seal. While the initial clamping force can feel a bit snug for some, especially those with larger heads, this pressure is integral to their excellent passive noise isolation. Over time, the headband and earpads tend to soften and conform to your head, making them quite comfortable for extended periods. The soft earcups and padded headband are designed for long sessions, making them suitable for studio use or simply enjoying your music without distraction from external noise.While they may not be described as having an overtly "rich" sound in the sense of a warm, colored presentation, the richness of the sound they give comes from their revealing detail and clarity. You get a full, coherent soundstage, where instruments are well-separated and individual elements within a mix are distinct. The lack of artificial coloring allows the natural richness of the recording to shine through, providing a genuinely immersive and analytical listening experience.In summary, the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro are an outstanding choice for those who value sonic honesty. They deliver highly accurate music reproduction without coloration, offering a true window into your audio. With their robust build and eventual comfort, they're a reliable and insightful companion for serious listening.

the folks at Sennheiser must not have large heads. As with about every pair of headphones that I try on, I had to extend these all the way to fit. After a few months of daily use, the plastic headband began to develop small cracks. Now the cracks are growing and I fear that the whole thing will just snap one day. Unfortunately, that is one of the parts that isn't listed as replaceable.That said, people who look at this headphone are looking for: a) quality sound synonymous with the name Sennheiser b) excellent noise reduction.a) The sound from these phones is excellent. The standard criteria are there. The signal is very clean, thanks in part to the oxygen free copper cabling used. Bass is controlled and precise so a timpani doesn't sound muffled. Higher frequencies do not hiss and the phones are able to drive high frequency sounds and pull out details lost by consumer grade headphones. Soundstage is fairly narrow as some have said, but much better than consumer sets that sound like the sound source is inside your head. Of course, a DSP solution for soundstage expansion could help if someone didn't like the soundstage.What people should realise is that most music is optimised for listening on a stereo system and not headphones. A search for "binaural music" will yield samples that show how music should be sampled for headphones. Anyways, the HD-280 Pros also have 64 Ohms of resistance so an amplifier isn't needed.b) The biggest impression I got from these phones is silence. Not total silence, since with the headphones on I could still hear outside noise. Once the music starts playing, however, music is much clearer because background noises have been attenuated so effectively.That was the biggest attraction of these headphones. For my sound processing work, ambient noise from my computer and the outside world are suppressed admirably. 32 decibels is a lot of sound attenuation, far more than the Active Noise Reduction sets from Bose or even Sennheiser. The HD-280 Pros use passive noise attenuation. This means that for the phones to supress outside noise effectively, they have to be tight. They are very tight in fact. Four Newtons of force are applied, a number significantly larger than most headphones. If it weren't for the thoughtful padding, they would feel as uncomfortable as firing range headsets. Passive noise attenuation also means there is no artifacting from electronic noise that is usually the case in Active Noise Reduction sets.If you have a very large head, a solution is to find in-ear phones (the expensive Etymotics sets have even better sound quality and noise reduction). If you are sensitive to tight headphones, a solution might be the Active Noise Reduction sets (although they aren't as good sonically). If you listen to sound in a very very quiet environment, Grados or some other Sennheisers would probably get you that better soundstage for the money.If none of these situations applies to you, then these phones will provide better sound through their native excellent quality and their superior noise attenuation. After all, the listening experience with Sennheiser 600's on an Audigy 2 card or a tube amplifier is diminished with that noisy computer fan in the background.All in all, these phones are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.*** UPDATE, October 20, 2009 ***Wow, well these headphones are still ticking after over six years and I'm pretty rough with my equipment! Cheap headphones break after six weeks for me because the cable gets pulled or I mess up the speaker so these Sennheisers are pretty solid.Just as I feared though, the plastic HAS cracked and you can see the thin wires (covered in plastic or rubber) exposed. Now that most of the plastic on the headband has broken off, the fit is quite a bit looser though the headband is still held together by a wide piece of metal. I just wish they would just make a nice metal headband to avoid the plastic cracking issue.While I like the fact that they aren't so tight, I don't like the fact that richness (low-end midrange and bass) suffers because of it. You can simulate this when listening by pulling the headphones slightly apart. It isn't noticeable on light music though and might not be an issue with newer versions of the HD-280 Pro.The ear cushions on my 6+ year headphones are worn past the leatherette, past the foam and to the foam backing layer. The top is looking ratty as well. Replacement ear cushions are around $20.00 which isn't cheap. I'll probably skip that in favor of a new pair of HD-280s - especially if they've been redesigned for larger heads as some people are indicating. I'll keep this pair around as beaters until they quit on me. However, now that I've quieted my working area, sound isolation isn't as critical to me as it was before so I might take a look at other Sennheisers.