Re-Appraisal of Senn HD-280's
Jan 16, 2004 at 4:19 AM Post #33 of 82
For me, between 70 and 100 hours they had a bit of a soft, ultra rich type of sound, a bit too mid-bassy, but at 120 hours (today) they have gained back the snap and precision in the mids and highs I like about them, and a bit of the low treble emphasis I didn't like. They still have overall a "thicker" sound than my Beyer 250-250's (which are fairly light and airy in comparison), and I can see why people feel the 280's don't really soundstage. They present images very close to you, nothing is very distant. But they do image, you can easily hear seperate images, just in a very close, intimate presentation. It might make some people feel a bit clausterphobic, but I like the envelopment. I'd still place them on par with the 250-250's for overall quality in absolute terms. But subjectively I prefer the specific (warm, intimate, weighty) type of sound the 280's have. It makes a nice contrast to the 600's, which are more airy and distant with a much larger soundstage.

I still have probably another 300 hours to go on them, at least, so we shall see what that low treble is doing at that point. Based on my experience w/my friend's 280's, it should have smoothed out by then. If not, a bit of cotton on top of the bluetak will probably be in order. We shall see. . .

(Edited twice to correct spelling).
 
Jan 16, 2004 at 1:50 PM Post #34 of 82
Tyson, I agree on the imaging being very close. Probably a side effect of the isolation...man I miss my 280's
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Scott
 
Jan 21, 2004 at 8:03 AM Post #35 of 82
OK, got about 220 hours of break in with very LOUD bass heavy music, and I think they have definitely turned a corner. I've been listening to the 280's every night when I get home from work, and between 100 hours and now they were still exhibiting the low treble/upper mid emphasis that made sss and sshh type sounds stand out from the rest of the vocals. That is now gone. There is still a bit of upper frequency emphasis, but now it has moved up a bit so that cymbals, bells, metal strings (on some acoustic guitars) are now a bit more emphasized than they would be in life. But I am so happy that the vocals are now completely smooth and non-nasal sounding. With the nasal sound gone, the mids overall have gained a lot in naturalness and detail, and vocals convey so much more emotion and nuance. I'm very, very happy at this point. I know that the mid treble bump I'm hearing now will also smooth out (my friends pair had no treble emphasis at all), but a mid treble bump is so much better than a upper mids/low treble bump. Now I can actually kick back and enjoy the sound.

I'll try to put in another update when I hit 300 hours. . .
 
Jan 21, 2004 at 8:10 AM Post #36 of 82
Now you went and did it. I only have about 120 hours break in on mine. I am going to put another 100 more break in on mine starting tonight too. Time to get out Techmaster P.E.B.'s "Bass Computer" again.
280smile.gif
 
Jan 21, 2004 at 5:10 PM Post #37 of 82
Cool, let us know how it turns out.
 
Mar 10, 2004 at 3:22 AM Post #39 of 82
Tyson,

Just wondering -- how far along is your burn-in now, and what do you think of the sound? I'm very curious, since I just picked up a pair of HD280's on Saturday, and I'm at about 50 hours of burn-in so far.

I confess, except for a pair of Shure E2's, this is my first pair of real, grown-up headphones (they replaced a pair of $25 Labtecs from CompUSA), so even straight out of the box I had some serious WOW factor. It's been interesting to follow the burn-in process, though. The bass did indeed disappear somewhere around 10 hours, but it's now back in strength and feeling quite nice and smooth. The highs seem noticeably grainy to me -- I'm not sure if this is the same thing as the harshness people have mentioned before. Listening to them tonight, though, it feels like the graininess is smoothing out a bit.

After a lot of reading and rereading the whole HD280/Sony V6 debate, it's this thread that tipped me over to getting these instead of the V6 as my first pair of serious headphones (plus getting a pretty nice price at the Guitar Center down the street -- $65 with an online price match). The head pressure still takes a little getting used to, but I'm really liking them so far.
280smile.gif
(They also inspired my new choice of avatar -- I knew the 280's were kinda funny-looking, but it didn't really hit me until I put them on and looked in the mirror.)

Anyway, just wondering what the future sounds like for these phones. Thanks!
 
Mar 10, 2004 at 7:45 PM Post #40 of 82
Quote:

Originally posted by Dixie Flatline
I'm at about 50 hours of burn-in so far.


Keep it burning. I would do another 150 more hours of good burn-in before being satisfied.
280smile.gif
 
Mar 10, 2004 at 8:32 PM Post #44 of 82
Quote:

Originally posted by TidesCAL
are you sure these aren't LIVING phones? changing at will... what are you feeding it?


avatar.php

I think that he feeds it watermelons.
Quote:

Originally posted by Bolt San
Wow, that's a lot of burn in, but I think I want to buy an HD-280 now.
biggrin.gif


Be prepared for the vice like clamp. It usually does not bother me but it might bother you.
280smile.gif
 
Mar 11, 2004 at 2:14 AM Post #45 of 82
Hottyson, thanks for the advice -- I'm probably going to keep these burning in for quite a while, until I stop hearing differences in the sound. I only have a few hours a day in which I want to use them, so the rest of the time I just leave them hooked up the PC on high volume.

Also, I don't think that's a watermelon. My best guess is a pommelo (a.k.a. "the bulletproof grapefruit"), but you'll have to judge for yourself.

TidesCAL, what I've been feeding them so far is mostly Sisters of Mercy, although I've added a bit of Tori Amos to the break-in rotation to see if that makes a difference to the highs. I'm not sure what the result will be, but if they are alive, then they've got to be feeling downright suicidal about now.
frown.gif
Perhaps I should throw in some Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music?
 
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