Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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469 of 477 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent sound, but . . ., February 4, 2003
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.
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169 of 174 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All I can say is, WOW, June 19, 2003
These cans are currently being offered well below MSRP -- no, they aren't in danger of being retired any time soon (confirmed with Sennheiser customer service) -- and are truly the best bang for the buck. Despite the very positive reviews, I had two reservations about purchasing the 280s: 1) the tight, uncomfortable fit; and 2) cracking in the plastic headband that some have commented on. I have a big ol' head where adjustable ball caps barely fit me. The 280s aren't tight at all, but rather comfortably snug -- what do you expect from a closed design? Shooting range ear protection/muffs are 3 times more tighter than these. Secondly Sennheiser claims to never having heard about the cracking issue but will repair/replace your unit with no questions asked under their 2 year warranty.Although plastic in design, the product has a solid, quality construction (made in Ireland if you care). An advantage, as you may already know, is that most of the components are designed to be replaced due to wear or damage. I like the folding convenience of the 280s, but don't expect them to fit in your coat pocket. After burning these puppies in for 24 hours, the audio quality truly impresses with details I've never noticed before in my Definitive Technology and Aperion Audio home theatre/stero systems. Initially I thought the bass was a *little* lacking, but the cans have developed a fuller, richer sound with burn-in. I'm tempted to buy a second pair so I don't have to carry mine from home to work all the time.
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286 of 318 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
GRADE: B+, March 21, 2006
BEWARE: These headphones are a much tighter fit than your average pair. If comfort is high on your list, these might not be the phones for you. But customers looking for noise attenuation who don't mind some extra pressure around the ears should consider them. They do a good job of keeping unwanted (external) sound out of the music listening experience and also of keeping sound inside the cups so that other people are not subjected to whatever you are listening to. These are not the kind of phones people usually wear in public because of their size, but they do a superb job of keeping out traffic and city noises. As for build quality, they are plastic but very well made (in Ireland.) I've had these phones for two years now, yet they appear brand new. In any case, the final and most important factor for me after the noise attenuation is sound quality relative to price, and that's where the 280 shines. To put my comments into proper perspective you should know that I'm using a headphone amp as well as a decent system, although my comments apply just as well to the un-amped phones (as long as you're using a good headphone jack that will give them enough power; you won't be able to get the volume up too high on your average walkman).
Initially, I didn't hear that much of a difference between the 280 and my old twenty dollar pair, but gradually my opinion changed as I switched back and forth between them. Because some of the Amazon reviews led me to believe that the bass on these phones was less than adequate, I was concerned the 280 would sound excessively bright, tinny, or anemic. The bass is actually rich and clear, although the 280 is definitely on the bright side (as opposed to "dark" sounding phones). The bass is punchy without being boomy. Because they are on the trebly end of the spectrum, playing them too loud can be killer on the ears.
Instruments often sound distinct and well articulated. I started perceiving how pure--if a little analytical on some tracks--the music sounded compared to all the headphones I'd used in the past. As I switched back and forth between my old pairs and the 280, I noticed that, without adjusting the volume, the volume level on all my old pairs seemed significantly diminished when I put them on directly after listening to the 280. One reason for this speaks to the benefit of closed headphones. A great advantage of the 280 became clear to me: with the sealed 280 I could listen to music at a much lower volume and still catch every detail, which protects me from the potential hearing damage that results from listening at high volumes. When you listen to open phones, you tend to crank them up to drown out whatever noise there might be in your environment (and even inconsequential noise can make you do this). At any rate, the sound is just more vibrant on the 280 than on any of my cheaper phones. I'm amazed at how well I can hear the music right now considering that the phones are about fifteen feet away. They sound almost like mini shelf speakers. Even at this distance, I can hear details distinctly, and the music sounds strong and robust. This is what finally convinced me--at this distance, at the same volume, I cannot hear the same amount of detail from any of my other headphones (I checked). Also, the 280s are really EXCELLENT at reproducing the human voice.
The soundstage on the 280 is compressed. Rather than breadth, you get an intimate, cozy soundstage with decent depth.
In short, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. Incidentally, I read somewhere that it can take as long as one hundred hours of playing time for these headphones to fully blossom, which may just mean before you get used to them. (Although I think it's true that sometimes the diaphragm on headphones needs to loosen up to sound their best.) I recommend you use them during the breaking-in period; don't just leave them playing by themselves because you might have to adapt to these phones--mostly to wean yourself off of the artificially boosted sound of the more common earphones.
Over time, some idiosyncrasies have become apparent, nothing that changes my recommendation, but just certain minor quirks you might want to know about. The cable is a mixed blessing. It comes out only from the left side and, when you move away from your source (if it's stationary), you can feel tension pulling on the left earcup. The cable also hangs awkwardly and heavily when you walk around, and swings back and forth like a pendulum. The cable sometimes causes contact noise. While external noise IS attenuated quite nicely, the cable is pretty sensitive, which in one way is very good, but in another it's a small drawback. Whenever the cable (which is curled like a telephone cord but with both ends straightened out) rubs or hits something you hear it inside the phones. For instance, if you rub the cable with your finger, you hear it. It just sounds like a low rub and doesn't distort the music at all. I don't want to overemphasize this because it really isn't that big of a deal, but it is something you should keep in mind if you tend to move around a lot while listening to music. These are definitely NOT dancing phones (although moderate movement is no problem). If you are going to be bouncing around or walking a lot, you probably would be better served by another model. Partly, it seems to be a function of the closed design, which makes any tapping or rubbing anywhere on the phones, not just on the cable, reverberate in the earpiece. It's a trade-off if you want to attenuate outside noise.
Since writing this review I've had the chance to compare these 280s to the Sony MDR-V700s which sell for about the same price. The 280s beat the V700s in just about every category, including sound. The Sony is more portable and will probably be a better choice for djs who play deep bass music. Otherwise, it only confirmed my honest belief that the 280 offers good sound for the price. And if you ask me the 280, despite its tightness, is more comfortable than the V700, which has shallow earpads that crush your ears. The 280 has deep cups; the pinnae of your ears don't get squashed as they do with many phones. The 280 puts pressure AROUND your ears, but not right on them. However, because of its noise attenuation, the Sennheiser 280 does have a "suction cup" effect that produces some slight discomfort. But again, this is part of the trade off if you want good noise attenuation without sound-masking technology.
But not all music sounds great on the 280. The following is a list of things that sounded really incredible and stuff that sounded not so amazing. I add this just so that you can have an idea of what works well with the Sennheiser 280 and what doesn't. I like all the music I'm about to list. My criticism has to do with how it sounds on these phones:
SOUNDS GOOD:
--Alexander Scriabin. Le Poeme de l'extase. Pierre Boulez. Deutsche Grammophon. Orchestra sounds great, but a bit cramped because of the limited soundstage. For classical I prefer the Sennheiser HD 650, which I purchased a few months after writing this review. Because of the sealed nature of the 280, some of the bloom of orchestral instruments is lost. When I put on the 280 after the 650, the instruments sound miniaturized, as if they have been shrunk to fit the reduced soundstage.
--Johnny Cash. At Folsom Prison. The audience plays a big role in this recording, but up till now they had just been amorphously in the background. On the 280s they step forward to play a much bigger part and I can hear what they are calling out to Cash. I can almost make out snatches of conversation! Johnny Cash and June Carter sound amazing. If I closed my eyes I could easily imagine I was hearing them live. Good live recordings really come to life on these phones.
--David Bowie. "It's No Game (Part 1)." Michi Hirota's voice sounds unbelievable. (She's the Japanese lady who does the voice-over: "Shirueto ya kage ga kakumei o miteiru . . .")
--The Weavers. Reunion Concert at Carnegie hall, 1963. Another live recording. The Weavers are an old folk band known for their beautiful vocal harmonies. Listening to them on the 280s I wasn't only AT the concert, I was actually ON STAGE with them. Wow! A very happy time.
--Kraftwerk. "The Hall of Mirrors." Another spine-tingling experience on these phones. Atmospheric. Totally envelopes you.
--All my old Billie Holiday recordings sound wonderful. The 280s emphasize the crudity of the older recordings, but also bring out Billie's voice in the most astonishing way.
--The Creatures. HAI!. This is a percussion-intensive recording and every cymbal, every thwack, every slap of the bongo drums is lovingly recorded. The recording is much more layered than I realized.
--Roxy Music. Siren. I have heard this recording dozens of times, but when I listened to it this time around it was as though I were encountering it for the first time.
--Prince. "Sign O the Times." Bass sounds tight and punchy but not boomy. Crisp-sounding and makes you want to get up and dance.
MUSIC THAT DOESN'T SOUND SO GOOD ON THE 280s:
--Rock/punk is hit or miss on these phones. The Ramones's ROAD TO RUIN sounded excellent, especially with the bass cranked way up on my receiver (although doing this did reveal a limit at which bass starts to distort on these phones). The Ramones have never sounded better to me. But, strangely, The Damned's "Damned Damned Damned" album, which is classic British punk, didn't sound so hot. It's as though these phones were too polite for these guys. Magazine's "Secondhand Daylight" also didn't sound so hot on the 280s. The recording sounded too analytical as though the phones were dissecting the music. All the instruments were very well articulated, but this made the music sound deconstructed. The instruments somehow didn't cohere. In short, some rock has never sounded better to me than on these phones, but some just falls flat. Probably it has to do with how the music is recorded and also because these phones are kind of analytical and polite and also don't artificially enhance the music. The 280s are very detailed and so emphasize all the defects of a recording. Things sound pristine and clear on the 280s, which works very well for some types of music but for a lot of rock you want that gritty, grungy, rough, half-baked sound. If all you listen to is gritty rock (a la Iggy and the Stooges's "Raw Power," which sounded awful on these phones) you might want to shop around some more. I have read that rock sounds great on Grado phones, but Grados are supra-aural, so they sit right on your ear unless you upgrade the earpad or something. I believe Grado does not make any phones that would keep noise in and out the way the 280s do. I much prefer circumaural phones like the 280s that cup your ears; they are simply more comfortable. If you listen to all kinds of music like I do, then I recommend these Sennheiser 280s as long as you have a pair of back-up headphones for your more grungy rock recordings. In general, the smoother the rock recording, the better it sounds on these phones. For instance, I was never a big fan of Television's offering from 1992--I always considered it too slick and polished for its own good. But the CD sounded great on these phones. I finally heard how good it really is.
So far I have written about music, but the 280s have, among several applications, TV studio monitoring, and this might just be what they do best. About a year ago I purchased a CD box set entitled "The White House Tapes" of live White House recordings made by presidents from FDR to Reagan. I tried listening to these CDs a few times, but always put them away. The recordings were just too poor. Well, I started listening to the recordings on the 280s and I could make out MUCH more of the conversations. Taking my cue from this I attached my HeadRoom Micro Amp to my VCR and DVD players (by way of a Straitwire cable) and listened to sports and other live events that I had recorded, including news conferences, and much previously burried detail was suddenly revealed; every little rustle, every half-uttered phrase and background detail on the recording was seemed like it was gloriously amplified. The 280s offer super-fine sensitivity that will be of great use to people who want to hear everything there is to hear in a recording. I'm not saying it magnifies, but it does transmit what is there with clarity.
WARNING: After mailing my headphones to Sennheiser for repair, I was called and told there was a problem because they were not purchased from an authorized dealer. I purchased them brand new here at Amazon from ELECTRONICA DIRECT, a seller often featured by Amazon right on the product page. Sennheiser told me that I probably purchased stolen phones. Shoppers who want the warranty honored SHOULD NOT BUY FROM ELECTRONICA DIRECT or any unauthorized dealer. Verify that the seller you are buying from is recognized by Sennheiser. After I complained up the chain, Sennheiser was nice enough to repair (actually, they replaced) my phones, but it was a hassle.
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