SennheiserHD 280 Pro Headphone, Black

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.

The HD 280 pro's have a nice quality feel, and balanced non-fatiguing sound. I'm reading about these other people rating these headphones as trash, they are anything but! .... Of course they have their take, and I'm sharing mine.I am also a professional studio musician, like the other recent reviewer. In contrast to what he mentioned, being to flat! That is the intent for their design, to be accurate in presentation for all frequencies. Not for overly accentuated frequencies, making a mix sound inaccurate. As a percussionist, I love bass too, but not at a cost of sacrificing a well balanced studio mixed recording. Granted, they will never sound like a set of Meze Elite Aluminum headphones, but they also don't cost $4K.What they do provide is excellent value for the money.As far as the chord, I had no problem what so ever, a non factor.I've used this model for years, it's reliable, accurate at a price that is more than reasonable.I liked them so much, I personally went the extra mile of purchasing the VOARMAKS Leather Replacement Ear Pads, which is available on Amazon as well. They compliment the HD 280 pro's even more. They also improve the sound too. It's subtle, but the soundstage seems to be larger, and the presence is clearer IMO. Nothing subtle about the improvement in comfort, and larger, fitting over the ear nicely versus the stock ones. Installation is easy as well. To me it's a no brainer to purchase in addition.In Summary,Everyone has their own take, mine personally, the HD-280 Pro's is no doubt, a worthy of purchase!For $85 especially!

I got these after becoming frustrated with the "consumer" noise-cancelling headphones, and listening to a professional pair while helping a friend tune DJ equipment. After dealing with cord breaks (had to hold that pair dead still or you'd get cutting out and fuzz), cracking headbands, and loss of sound quality over time, I'd had more than enough. I was also sick of the slight hiss you get with active noise-cancelling, and the fact it only slightly mutes outside noise.The difference with these is hard to imagine, until the first time you hear them. They are, as has been previously stated, a bit toward the "bright"/treble end, but I don't find that pronounced or distracting. I can hear nuances in songs that I've been listening to for years and never noticed before-the slight tremble of guitar or piano strings after the hit, the crash and reverb of drums, slight tone shifts in vocals. These are designed as "monitoring" headphones, and the fidelity definitely comes through there.These do produce a lot of sound. Be forewarned that if you're used to listening to standard headphones on any device, ratchet the volume down several notches before you put these on. They don't distort at high volume (at least not as high as I could stand it to test), but they could get painful.The nice part is, though-you won't even want or need to listen to these at high volume! Even at a moderate volume, the nuances in the music come through crisp and clear, and the passive noise exclusion design works. At a reasonable volume, you'll shut out all but the loudest noises. I tried them right next to a running sink with some music on, and couldn't even hear the water running. I've also used them in several real situations, such as at work and on the train with people talking right next to me-not one sound. Of course, if you normally use headphones outside (especially near traffic), do be aware that these will shut out the sound of an approaching car very well too.For design quality, I think the part I like best is the cord. It's not your standard hair-thick headphone cord-it's a heavy, thick coiled cord like an old-style telephone handset cord. Having had cords break or develop twitches when touched or moved wrong in previous pairs of headphones, I love this-if you manage to break this one, you're REALLY abusing it. And even in that event, it's user-replaceable. This also leaves a lot of slack in the cord to stretch, if necessary. The top headband is plastic and well-padded, which also is very comfortable. The pleather cuffs on the headphone are soft and comfortable, and while I suspect they may wear out at some point, they are also user-replaceable. These are clearly designed to keep going for years, and I suspect they'll well outlast the 2 year manufacturer's warranty.Caveats: First, they're large, even folded up. If you're looking for something to keep in your pocket, these are not what you want. They also don't come with a bag, but I find they fit well in a larger Crown Royal bag, which I've normally used for my headphones. They are, as mentioned before, a bit toward the treble end. I still find them to have a good bass response even in heavy-bass music, but if you're looking for the "bass boost" style, these also might disappoint you. I've read some reviews stating that they had issues fitting on larger heads, but I can't see that-mine's pretty good sized and there's still plenty of slack in the headband to loosen them up further.Even at the $150 regular price, these would be well worth it. At their current price (under $100), I can't imagine you'd get any better for the money. If you're not used to higher-grade headphones, they'll blow you away.