I also have the HD280s and am running them out of a portable (amp on the way) and my home system. I'd reiterate-don't give up on them yet. They do, at times, rattle my ears with the amount of air they move due to bass response. What I'm finding is that a lot of it is recording dependent-you're hearing the bass as it's recorded, which is not always strong or impactful. Be careful about buying headphones that always provide a thundering bass impact-they probably are adding something that isn't there.

All in all, as a closed-headphone compromise, I'm pleased with the HD280. They're letting me hear details in recordings that are adding quite a bit to my listening experience.

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The current Sony V###-series headphones have an overboosted response in the midbass through the middle mids, while the highs and the upper mids (everything above 2kHz) and the low bass (below 50Hz) ain't so hot.

As I think I've said elsewhere the HD280 is one of the most EQable headphones I've listened to. You can do all sorts of interesting stuff to them as befits a studio phone. I think what people don't like is the appreviated short sharp bass response. They go very very low and can generate quite a forceful thump but it's not as elongated as some phones which by universal agreement deliver big bass. EQ can't quite cure that, unfortunately...

subscience, also consider Denon AH-D750/950. They provide good isolation and are very confortable. The midrange is sweet and they certainly give you that oomph in the bass response from the 50 mm. driver and anti-resonance housing. They also have slighly opened sound.

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I've decided to hold onto these for a bit. Don't get me wrong.. they sound amazing. I'm soon picking up the M-Audio Revo and possibly and amp, so we'll see what happens from there. Worst case scenario, I have a really really nice present for somebody.

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Only if you can get them cheap. And yes I think they are much better then the senn 280's. They have awesome midrange.

The beyer 250-80's are also nicer then the senns, detailed bass that is impactful.

Biggie.

Update - I just ordered a pair of eggos (D66's). They're not necessarily going to replace the Senns (for now), but I got them for the portability. I hear their sound is superior to the V6's, and some people argue that the V6's are superior to HD280's. So, does that mean the eggos are superior to the HD280's? I also hear the eggos are very sound neutral.

Well, I guess I'll find out in a week.

I think it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. One isn't necessarily better than the other, they just taste different and in the end you'll probably prefer one over the other.

I'll be interested to hear what your thoughts are on the two. I had debated ordering a pair of the D66's a while back (the dork factor of the 280's is a bit overwhelming at work by times) but in the end I wasn't sure if the isolation would be enough for my work environment.

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I'd like to sort of second this.

My home system - prepare to laugh hard - is an Aiwa boombox that I bought several years ago (at the time I was using little tape recorders.. I wanted something better and a CD player). A while after I got it, I decided that the mids and highs sounded okay, but there just wasn't enough bass.. so I stole the speakers from my dad's old stereo. They're nothing special, but the 8" woofers provide more bass than the stock boombox speakers, so I have both sets hooked up.. the smaller speakers on my headboard, and the bigger ones hidden behind it, like a half-assed sub.

Okay. Point is, when I turn the thing up to fairly good volumes, on some songs you can definitely feel the bass.. it doesn't pound in your chest, like it would with a good sub, but it's definitely moving the floor, and you can sorta sense the pressure in the air. On other songs, there's just nothing.. you can hear bassy sounds in the music, but they just don't have that push.

To a certain extent, I've noticed the same thing with headphones (more with the V6 than with cheapo phones).. some songs have bass, and then some songs have bass. If this isn't the case for you, then either you don't have a wide enough mix of music to notice the difference, or else whatever you're listening to probably isn't reproducing the recording very well. (Not that I'd exactly call my system "reference quality.")