[GanChan]

I didn't need these, but I bought them anyway. But that's okay, because even right out of the box they sound good to me. I don't find them bass-less, even before breaking them in -- the bass is there, it's just very well behaved. Not much less bass than my fully broken-in Senn 497, actually. (The 280 seems to resemble the 497 more closely than I would've thought, since the latter is an open design.) And the isolation means I don't have to hear my air conditioner/heater kicking in every few minutes.

Soundstage is not bad at all for a closed phone, especially compared to the V6. And a more pleasant overall sound than the V6; I can tell I will be less fatigued by the 280.

Classical music sounds especially nice so far.

Can I assume these will only get better? A LITTLE more bass wouldn't hurt anything....

 

[elnero]

GanChan,

Welcome to club 280

. Believe it or not there are a few of us around that think it's a good can.

Most people recommend a break in period of around 40 hours but I found mine seemed to get better even after that. Possibly even up to the 100 hour mark. Overall I found the sound relaxed and opened up more, there may have been more bass extension but not much. I don't know if you have an amp or not but I just got a JMT built CMoy and highly recommend one for the 280. The CMoy smoothed things out even further and gave the bottom a real boost as well. In addition the soundstage is more open and airy and details come through better. An overall improvement. Plus you can't beat dealing with a guy like JMT.

 

[tobor]

I've had my 280 Pros for about 3 weeks now. After a couple weeks the bass had better extension (though it's not really louder, just deeper) and the upper midrange wasn't so thin as was I first plugged them in. The soundstage has opened up nicely.

Great cans. They are a big improvement over the Sony V7 set that they are replacing in terms of both comfort and sound. The 280 Pros are so much smoother and nowhere near as fatiguing.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

Quote:

Originally posted by elnero GanChan, Welcome to club 280 . Believe it or not there are a few of us around that think it's a good can. Most people recommend a break in period of around 40 hours but I found mine seemed to get better even after that. Possibly even up to the 100 hour mark. Overall I found the sound relaxed and opened up more, there may have been more bass extension but not much. I don't know if you have an amp or not but I just got a JMT built CMoy and highly recommend one for the 280. The CMoy smoothed things out even further and gave the bottom a real boost as well. In addition the soundstage is more open and airy and details come through better. An overall improvement. Plus you can't beat dealing with a guy like JMT.

i agree. whats up with the bad rap about the 280???? the cans I think sound better than the v6. I love my 280s.

you could consider having a crossfeed in the amp.. makes my 280s sound much more natural.

 

[elnero]

Hmmmmmmmm, crossfeed. I got crossfeed on mine but don't think I really like it much. Some stuff it sounds nice with but others it really seems to take alot away from the music. Glad I got it to try though.

 

[GanChan]

How did you guys break in the 280? Did you make a particular effort to feed it bass-heavy music, or did you just let it run normally?

 

[elnero]

Personally I just listened to music. I didn't do anything special to break them in so maybe that's why it seemed to take longer.

 

[Magicthyse]

I did make an effort to 'drive' them pretty hard with bass-heavy music, after I noticed the difficiency. Didn't do very much, what it did was accelerate the break-in process, which was what I wanted. The low low bass was always there, it's just that they came out a bit during break-in, but still not enough for my tastes unless I employ some EQ.

IMO, it's not just the bass either although it does play a big part. Ultimately, the 280's don't seem to involve you in the music the way many other phones can. I think this may be the reason that people prefer, for example, the DT250-80 over the 280's on many occasions. They may not mind sacrificing some soundstage and some (to them) unnecessary top end for a more rounded and involving sound.

Of course, the only way you'll be able to find this out is if you buy something different and compare it yourself. I don't understand these 'I have one phone and because it's the one I picked it's the best on this planet' types.

Personally, I think neither phones mentioned above strikes quite the right balance as a listening phone. I'm still listening to the 250-80's trying to find out the nuances of this phone (so far, I've still not 'clicked' with them). And the HD280's are now consigned to be audio editing phones - I don't listen to music on them as such. I'm still looking for the perfect balance phones for all-round use. The Sony MDR-D66SL comes pretty close, but I'm still looking.

 

[elnero]

Just couldn't resist could you Magicthyse, you just had to get a few digs in.

For your information I don't think the 280's are the be all and end all of headphones, I happen to like them, alot. I have a pair of 580's as well and at this point if I had to give one up it would be the 580's. The 280's I find far more involving and musical. It's a personal preference. I don't feel it necessary to go around to every 580 thread and make my feelings known.

Only your first paragraph has any relevance to this thread, the rest is just your usual diatribe on why the 280's suck. Nowhere did I see GanChan ask for an opinion on why people don't like them so I see no reason for you to spew your crap and try to make somebody who just made a purchase feel paranoid that they made the wrong decision. What is the point in that?

GanChan, I apologize for thread crapping, just had to get that out.

 

[GanChan]

Well if the 280s aren't giving me the all the bass that's on the original CD, then I'll have to fix it with more break-in or EQ or whatever. But I don't want MORE bass than neutral, either. (The V6s have a tad too much bass for me, so the 280s are actually a little more appealing on that score.)

As for involvement, I kind of feel that it's up to the musicians, engineers, and acousticians who create the recording, not the headphones, to make the music involving, exciting, or whatever they want it to be. I guess I'm one of those who preferes the "boring" phones, the ones that kind of go invisible and present the music in a relatively neutral fashion. There's so many chances for coloration along the chain of electronic components anyway, I'd rather not have my heaphones making their own artistic comments as well.

As a record critic once said, "If you're listening to sound instead of music, you have the wrong hobby." While some will argue that the monitor-style phones do exactly that, I would counter that whatever's actually on the disc is the music, and electronic coloration on top of that is, well, sound.

Each to his own, of course. We have plenty of phones out there to fit our particular needs.