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HD380 vs. HD280

post #1 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:05am
Thread Starter 
The HD380s have the same impedance and frequency range as the HD280s. They have somewhat larger/differently shaped pads and cost 50% more. That is all I know about the differences. Has anyone heard both? Is there a definite difference in SQ?

I ask because I want the best Sennheisers I can get, and I cannot use open phones. I believe that the 380s are their top closed phones?
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post #2 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:15am
Quote:
I ask because I want the best Sennheisers I can get, and I cannot use open phones.
Then you're about to FAIL. Sennheiser is not for closed cans. You'll find nice full-size closed Grados easier than Senns...
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post #3 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by QQQ View Post
Then you're about to FAIL. Sennheiser is not for closed cans. You'll find nice full-size closed Grados easier than Senns...
I have never seen or heard of any closed Grados. What are the model #s?

My HD280s sound very good. I am hoping the 380s might be enough better to justify the cost.
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post #4 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by intoart View Post
The HD380s have the same impedance and frequency range as the HD280s. They have somewhat larger/differently shaped pads and cost 50% more.


In the UK the retail of the 380 is only £10 more than the 280.

That's about 8% more.

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post #5 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Willett View Post


In the UK the retail of the 380 is only £10 more than the 280.

That's about 8% more.
wow, thats actually pretty cool (that the 380's have dropped like that)

the HD 380Pro is around $200 in the US, and the HD 280Pro is around $90

intoart:
he's making a snide joke about "Closed Grado's", I assure you, no such thing exists from Grado themselves

honestly, while I haven't heard the HD 380, I can tell you the HD 280 isn't "bad", but there is "better" available at the ~$200 line, you might consider expanding beyond Sennheiser exclusively, theres a few models from Denon, M-Audio, Ultrasone, and AKG which will fit into your budget as well

one advantage I can think of with the HD 380, you can probably find them for demo at a pro audio shop, so you could probably answer your own question if you've got something close to you (just a thought), while "audiophile" components are harder to track down for an audition
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post #6 of 128
4/2/09 at 11:56am
Give the AKG K271 a try. I think they sound very good for closed cans, but I don't recall how much they cost. I haven't spent a lot of time with them- just a few listening sessions in a store, but I enjoyed them and considered buying them myself.

Brad
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post #7 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clutz View Post
Give the AKG K271 a try. I think they sound very good for closed cans, but I don't recall how much they cost. I haven't spent a lot of time with them- just a few listening sessions in a store, but I enjoyed them and considered buying them myself.

Brad
roughly ~$170 US on Amazon (for either the 271 or 272)

one thing I'd caution you on: we are talking about AKG's here, which are going to be night and day in their presentation to the HD280's (so an audition is highly suggested), but X2 to Brad's suggestion (this is coming from a biased AKG owner tho )
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post #8 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:02pm
The 380 sells @ amazon marketplace (Musicians Friend) for USD 199.- vs the 280 for around USD90.-, which is basically what bounced me off.
I didn't hear them. The design is more homogenous, more defined.

I found 2 reviews on amazon, which are praising the 380 highly. I'd have to take a good listen to be convinced. Just the design wouldn't be worth the extra dough for me. Obviously not just 10 bucks more, at least not here. In fact, it was my thinking they might come down in price at some point.
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post #9 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:06pm
mr machine: didn't they release at closer to $300?

as far as the fit/comfort, a few have said they're just re-packaged PXC's without the noise cancelling circuits, if that helps anyone (senn rep John, you couldn't get a pair for free to give us a quick'n'dirty review by chance? pwetty pwease?)
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post #10 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by obobskivich View Post
wow, thats actually pretty cool (that the 380's have dropped like that)

the HD 380Pro is around $200 in the US, and the HD 280Pro is around $90

intoart:
he's making a snide joke about "Closed Grado's", I assure you, no such thing exists from Grado themselves

honestly, while I haven't heard the HD 380, I can tell you the HD 280 isn't "bad", but there is "better" available at the ~$200 line, you might consider expanding beyond Sennheiser exclusively, theres a few models from Denon, M-Audio, Ultrasone, and AKG which will fit into your budget as well

one advantage I can think of with the HD 380, you can probably find them for demo at a pro audio shop, so you could probably answer your own question if you've got something close to you (just a thought), while "audiophile" components are harder to track down for an audition

The 50% price difference was based on MSRP. Yes, the actual price of the 380s is about twice that of the 280s.

I was interested specifically in comparing these two cans, because I enjoy the 280s and would like an upgrade within the Sennheiser line. Other brands are a separate question for another thread. I know that the higher-end open Senns (such as HD600s) would be better SQ, but as I said, open just won't work in my listening environment.

The only pro audio shop in my area is Guitar Center. They are not set up for auditioning headphones, and they also don't allow returns on opened packages!
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post #11 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by intoart View Post
The 50% price difference was based on MSRP. Yes, the actual price of the 380s is about twice that of the 280s.

I was interested specifically in comparing these two cans, because I enjoy the 280s and would like an upgrade within the Sennheiser line. Other brands are a separate question for another thread. I know that the higher-end open Senns (such as HD600s) would be better SQ, but as I said, open just won't work in my listening environment.

The only pro audio shop in my area is Guitar Center. They are not set up for auditioning headphones, and they also don't allow returns on opened packages!
I understand entirely, honestly "I don't know" is my best answer wrt the above, regarding the Guitar Center thing, thats kind of surprising (the one near me lets you test equipment to your heart's content as long as you don't break anything, I've found that asking really nice and providing your own source usually helps (as they usually don't have source equipment other than mixing boards (and hooking up to a Digidesign c|24 isn't always a bad thing ))
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post #12 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by obobskivich View Post
mr machine: didn't they release at closer to $300?

as far as the fit/comfort, a few have said they're just re-packaged PXC's without the noise cancelling circuits, if that helps anyone (senn rep John, you couldn't get a pair for free to give us a quick'n'dirty review by chance? pwetty pwease?)
They look very much like the PXC, as I could see during my recent search.

On a different note, I just dropped back into the hp universe. After 10 years HD 500, I decided on a HD 280 Pro, which came yesterday and a HD 555 is also bound to arrive any day.

That's the bottomline of my idea. Instead of expending $190 on the 380, I get 2 sure hitters for the price of one

At least for starters. Should I find out, somewhere in the future, the 380 is really such a knock out, I prolly won't hesitate.
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post #13 of 128
4/2/09 at 12:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by obobskivich View Post
wow, that's actually pretty cool (that the 380's have dropped like that)

the HD 380Pro is around $200 in the US, and the HD 280Pro is around $90
In the UK the 280 retail for £112.33 +VAT and the 380 for £121.73 +VAT (that's recommended retail - *not* street price).

It looks like you are getting a good discount off the 280 and not off the 380 with a difference like that.
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post #14 of 128
4/2/09 at 2:24pm
Are you stuck on sennheiser? How about look into some ultrasones or beyers?
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post #15 of 128
4/2/09 at 2:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chews89 View Post
Are you stuck on sennheiser? How about look into some ultrasones or beyers?
Refer to post #10.

I have Beyer DT770 Pros. I love them, but I enjoy the Senns too because of their own unique sound. I can also listen to the Senns for longer at a stretch because they are less fatiguing.

The one limitation of the 280s is that their low impedance/high sensitivity reveals the noise floor of my amp. I would expect that issue to be much worse with Ultrasones (only about 30 Ohms!)
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