Sennheiser HD 280 Headphones

I've owned these cans over 2 years and I've watched them mature like fine wine sitting in the barrel. When I first bought them I was surprisingly disappointed. I was expecting a lot more but found their sound to be tinny and weak. After many many many hours of burn in these cans really warmed up and showed coloration in a nice way. I like to compare these headphones to my DT880 600ohm cans for reference of sound. These cans are much more LIVELY while my DT800's are more ANALYTICAL and neutral. I would say the HD280s are much more suited to electronic/hip hop/ dubstep and any sort of bass heavy music that doesn't require a soundstage. I found my DT880s much better for rock/jazz/some electronic(progressive house) and a few other genres that require a large soundstage such as live performances and movies.

Overall, the HD280s take a long long time to burn in. I suggest burning them in for atleast 200 hours to see the full potential of them. These cans are an amazing steal and have incredible bass response for their price tag. My source right now is an HT Omega Claro 24-bit/192khz DAC to a Schiit Magni amp which sounds absolutely amazing. I prefer my HD280s for reggae and hip hop over my DT880s but would pick the DT880s for just about every other genre of music.

Here's the bottom line: let these cans mature and then they will put a WOW on  your face. I have compared the bass of these cans(500 hours burned in) to the Ultrasone Pro 900s my friend owns and I must say these can hold sub-bass frequencies surprisingly well while sitting next to the bass king Ultrasones which still reigned supreme over the HD280s.

For $99, I purchased them at discounted price for $78 I must say they are a complete STEAL. BUY THEM! NOW! If you have money to splurge I suggest you get the Ultrasone Pro 900s as they will crave your desire for BASS

I'm a pro-sumer, not an audiophile, so I will not discuss the sound, really. These were purchased new, are still stock, not modded.

I have owned these cans for 2 years, so burn-in is complete. Full head of hair, no glasses, no TMJ.

Pros:

• completely circumaural, even for my large-ish ears leads to great noise isolation. I keep the volume below 20% and can hear the music fine and no cube-mate phone calls.
• Nice padding on cups and headband. I wear these for hours at a time at work and neither the clamping force nor the weight of these bother me.
• Both cups rotate and swivel. You can wear them comfortably around your neck or off the ear of choice easily. They also lay flat and fold into the familiar headband ball.
• The sound is pretty good for the price.
• Single-sided cable entry (left side) with nice, thick coiled cabling.

Neutral (good and bad even out):

• Plastic construction throughout. Seem a bit flimsy, but this also makes them light. I have had no problems with cracking or creaking

Con:

• Fixed cable. I would use these for the bus commute but the cable is way too long and heavy. (In my opinion this is the only thing that keeps these from being viable portable headphones.)

If you buy your gear new, these are going to be a pretty good purchase, especially if you wait for a Black Friday sale. If you are willing to try used these may not be your best option as you can find the Sennheiser HD 380 used for about $20 more than these used. The HD 380 headphones sound much better, have metal components, and a removable cable, and possibly come with the stock carrying case. A much better deal.

First, let me start by saying I am a total noob. These were my first and still are my only pair of real headphones. Now that I look back, I probably should have bought the ATH-M50S considering what people have said about it. These cost somewhere around $120 when I bought them. I have had them for a few months and just got an amp (Pyle PHA-40) today (great amp, by the way). An amp is HIGHLY recommended. It got rid of any harsh, screechy highs typical of my computer's headphone jack. The bass also sounded pretty undefined and in general, missing. The amp fixed that right up. Now bass is well balanced and has incredible extension like I have never heard before! These also respond well to EQ.

Second, these are well constructed, well balanced, isolating monitor cans: nothing more, nothing less. Do not expect some kind of great musical performance from these headphones. They sound good to me, but I have noticed some problems. Among the most prominent issues is the claustrophobic soundstage. The instrument separation is good, however. Traveling with these headphones worked for me, both on a plane, and in a car. After about 2 hours I have to take these off due to the clamping force.

All in all, these are well thought out monitor headphones. They allowed me to rediscover my music collection. If you have not heard good audio before being able to hear drums flex, and acoustic guitars resonate, the experience will be magical. If you plan on buying these get an amp. If you don't need isolation get the HD-558 or HD-598.

Well to start off lets list the headphones I am comparing these to... 
Over Ear 
Dr. Dre Beats (Studio) 
Sennheiser EH 150's 
Sennheiser HD 202's

On Ear

Dr. Dre Beats (Solo)

In Ear

Altec Lansing Back-Beats Pro 
Ink'd Skullcandys 
Monster Turbine In Ear 
Dr Dre Beats 
Monster Turbine Pro Copper

The design of these headphones is a clever design, the coiled cord was a huge advance from constantly rolling over my EH150 wire with my computer chair. Another weak point I find in just about every pair of headphones is the connections at the end of the cable. On these the end user is able to remove and put in a new cable which is a huge advantage in my opinion. The headphones themselves are a thick sturdy plastic with plenty of padding, they do get warm on your ears after a while but what do you expect.

The Sound I was quite disappointed with at first when plugged into my Samsung Infuse smartphone. I thought they were worse than any other of the large headphones I listed above. That is when I said well they are STUDIO headphones (So were the STUDIO Dre's and they sounded fine on this mobile device) however when plugged into my computers or any studio device they blew me away. Bass is incredible, if you like BASS STOP LOOKING these are what you want, FAR better than the beats. They have a warm sound to them. While delivering great bass they also have great trebles. I listen to a mix of music from jazz to some rap to hip-hop etc. 

OVERALL I would absolutely recommend these to a friend, in fact I am getting them for a friend for Christmas. I would give these a lower rating for not working on mobile devices as well ie phone and ipods however they are specifically titled STUDIO DJ headphones which implies computer and on the computer they go far beyond their expectations. 

OH and the big question YES they are better than Studio Beats!!!!!!

Too many people first starting out in the $100 category for headphones choose the 280 as a starting point.  Without directly A/B comparing the 280 pro against other headphones at this price point is you are going to leave yourself room for much improvement.  The isolation is about all that is beneficial from this headphone.  The durability is unanimously horrid and sound quality is hugely dependant upon how to fit your head and seal around your ears.

If you are looking at these for you first choice in "quality" headphones I would listen to the Audio Technica ATH-M50's before making your final decision.  If you like In-Ear type headphones try the Brainwavz M2.

One interesting fact about these headphones is that the outermost part of the shell is too thin which appears to dampen the sound a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkb4bhdnRA