[harken]

I'm going to make my first real headphone purchase, and after buying some terrible Skullcandy headphones a few years ago out of poor judgment, I don't want to get burned again. I have the choice of being gifted these two, and I have no idea which to choose. I'll be using them with my home PC to both listen to music and watch DVDs, etc. Not to sound too basic here, but which ones are "better?"

 

[turimbar1]

I would get the Sennheiser hd-280 if I were you, the isolation is excellent, the sound is well balanced but it still has that bass you might want and the build quality is better than the beats (Ive heard they have a tendency to crack above the ear cup), also it is less than half the price (69.99 vs 189.99) of the beats (which means you can ask for more goodies besides the headphones .
 
the beats have good highs and big but bloated lows, but the mids are nonexistant (perhaps because of the emphasis on the highs and lows).
 
one of my friends has a senn hd 650, some decent iems (cant remember the brand), and the senn hd 280, he uses the hd 280 the most because he likes the isolation and the feel, granted they do clamp down a little and they wont win you style points with anyone but audiophiles, but they really are excellent headphones for the price
 
and if you really want style points with audiophiles, get the fostex t50rp and join our modding community!
 
this is a decent review of the senn hd280s, but the price is old, they dont sell for that much anymore http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd280-pro/4505-7877_7-30235462.html#reviewPage1

 

[jaqueh]

honestly if you have the money to afford either, i would get the beats. I really didn't enjoy the hd-280, but i suspect i didn't have enough amplification for it. I just used it directly with my macbook pro. I don't know if turimbar is just going off of a stereotype or if he's actually tried the beats and just has impeccable audio taste, but the beats do not have bloated base or nonexistant mids. they are a very warm, full, and fun sounding headphone that may not be too suitable for classical music, but sounded great for my metal. He is right though that the build quality is laughable.
 
however, there are also many, many better headphones around that price point.

 

[sumathias]

Agreed.
 
If you can afford headphones at the price range of the beats, you can get many better cans. Maybe you can get them and return them and get a better pair

 

[AhokZYashA]

M50!!
 
better than beats for half the price..
seriously

 

[cowjuan]

it depends on what you want. the beats are far more portable than the hd 280s, they are also more stylish and have tons more of (exaggerated) bass. i borrowed them from my brother for one week. and they were really a fun headphone. they sounded great with rap music, but terrible with everything else. everything seemed to "enhanced." now the hd 280s are big headphones, with a much better build quality than the beats. they have a very tight fit, and provide very accurate sound, with tight bass. they also block external noise way better than the beats. i wouldn't really call them portable, but that doesn't stop me from taking them with when i'm out in public. i would much rather recommend the hd 280s.

 

[Xymordos]

Quote:

honestly if you have the money to afford either, i would get the beats. I really didn't enjoy the hd-280, but i suspect i didn't have enough amplification for it. I just used it directly with my macbook pro. I don't know if turimbar is just going off of a stereotype or if he's actually tried the beats and just has impeccable audio taste, but the beats do not have bloated base or nonexistant mids. they are a very warm, full, and fun sounding headphone that may not be too suitable for classical music, but sounded great for my metal. He is right though that the build quality is laughable.
 
however, there are also many, many better headphones around that price point.

I own the Beats, and I dont see how they're good at metal... Beats are quite slow, and the bass is only good for pop, rap, hip hop etc. Listening to metal the double pedalling just sounds like a mess, and the guitar notes are not precise, but chained up. Also, the bass covers alot of the singing...Dont listen to fast songs with these. 
 

 

[furjim]

I had the 280's and tried the Beats
Neither are good all-arounders
People say the 280's are good for DJing because of the isolation, the Beats are only good in the bass department and suck at everything else
I'd keep searching. Check out the Denon AHD1001

 

[shwalee]

I heard 2 versions of Beats headphones.  VERY DISSAPOINTING!  Highs are fake, bass is overblown and muddy.  The beats phones were awful in midrange.  Unless you listen to 100% loud boomy rap music, beats are overpriced and heavily rely on marketing rather than engineering. I do own Senn HD280 Pros which are surprisingly true with much tighter and realistic bass. Even my Senn PX100 (40.00) are much more portable, durable and cleaner sounding.  200-300 dollars will buy much better phones than the Sennheisers I mentioned.  Look at Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica and others.  These companies have been making headphones for 40 or more years. Beats/Monster just hit the market and have a lot to learn.

 

[ClassicThunder]

I used to strongly dislike the 280's however after retrying them with my E9 I enjoyed them, and I've discovered they are actually pretty hard to drive. Without proper amping they do sound horrible so you need something at least as string as a E7.
 
Quote:

I had the 280's and tried the Beats
Neither are good all-arounders
People say the 280's are good for DJing because of the isolation, the Beats are only good in the bass department and suck at everything else
I'd keep searching. Check out the Denon AHD1001

 

[LizardKing1]

You just made an almost-flame thread =) most people here will say "screw the Beats, get the HD280", but like many have pointed out, there are better, cheaper choices out there. If these are your only 2 to pick from, my 2 cents go to the HD280 for overall, but if you're into boomy bass, even if muddy, the Beats it is.

 

[burnliff]

I prefer the Beats, just not a fan of the HD280s at all.

 

[swbf2cheater]

M50, 750Dj, DBI pro, Beyer DT770, Shure 440, JVC HARX900, ATH ES7/9, HD280/380 pro, Senn Pxc 350/450
 
so many more portable sets cheaper and better in every single way, you can almost do a blindfolded google search for headphones by just mashing your keyboard and randomly finding a set that is better for half the price.

 

[Eric_C]

Hang on everyone. 
Is OP buying or being given the headphones?
Quote:

I'm going to make my first real headphone purchase, and after buying some terrible Skullcandy headphones a few years ago out of poor judgment, I don't want to get burned again. I have the choice of being gifted these two, and I have no idea which to choose. I'll be using them with my home PC to both listen to music and watch DVDs, etc. Not to sound too basic here, but which ones are "better?"

OP: between the two (assuming you mean Beats Studio, not Beats Solo), I have tried both the Beats Studio and HD280 out of my iPod Classic. Please get the HD280. It is better in every respect except aesthetics.

 

[LizardKing1]

I find it amusing how all you need to do to get 20 replies in an hours on this forum is insert "Beats by Dre" in the title