[ImMersion]

Hey guys. I finally got my senn 280 pro's yesterday and will be going home today to do the burn in and initial listening. Ill try to put up a mini-review on the fit & finish, sound and craftsmanship.

Im so excited.

Im like a kid who was given too much sugar adn cant stay still. If u need me, Ill be in audio heaven this evening.

 

[qutius]

I got mine today (well, yesterday now, I guess) as well! I haven't had a whole lot of time to listen to them just yet, but they sound great so far!

 

[Commander]

I got some yesterday too! Have'nt burned them in yet, but my initial listening was not too favourable. I found them to be very thin and without much in the way of bottom end. My Sennheiser HD25's are fantastic, so perhaps I am being a little hasty. Will let you know in a couple of days.

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

What is this, some kind of 280 buying spree? I just got some Thursday!

I'm on about 35 hours of burn in. Out of the box they are VERY thin sounding. With some burn in the bass starts coming out, still a bit bright and mids are weak. At this point I'd consider them an upgrade from my 497s in comfort only. I put on my 497s after wearing the 280s for a few hours and they felt like the cheap phones you get with walkmans by comparison. I love the deep cups on the 280 but I'm not so thrilled with the wide headband. If I swing my head around too fast the phones go flying, and I'd say I have a big head too.

I think these are going to be really good gaming phones. I tried them with Thief 2 and heard details I NEVER heard before. I just hope the mids improve, I listen to music and some things just seem to be so much less prominent or just plain missing, this has improved with burn in so there IS hope. Well, I think the consensus is 100 hours of burn in to get the most out of the 280s so we'll see how they sound by next week. I know my 497s needed 40 to sound good and they've gotten better since then.

(HBZ)

 

[qutius]

I also noticed the bass sounding 'thin' right out of the box, but I didn't have a lot of time to listen right away. I'm probably at the 24 hour mark in the burn in (left them playing all day), and I am starting to hear the difference in the low end.

I'm listening to some Radiohead right now and plan on throwing on some jazz later on.

Do these headphones benefit from the power of an external headphone amp? I know these are rather easy to power, but I'm wondering what the differences would be in how they sound amped vs. un-amped.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

DUH! Like most mid-fi and some hi-fi headphones, the Senn 280's are easily driven by a Walkman alone, but will sound better (and often much better) with an amp.

 

[starch]

Just wanted to re-emphasize that the HD280s really need a burn in before they sound good or even decent. After 12 hours of burn in, they didn't sound much different than the Senn 2200s - I was this '-' close to returning them! Another 10 hours or so really brought out the bass and mellowed the high end.

 

[ImMersion]

Wow and overwhelming # of u had the same "problem" that I did when u listen to them right out of the box. Very thin sounding.
<<<>>> I was very VERY disapointed.
But after about 24 hours of use, these are sounding better, but I donno no there is still someting missing. Hopefully by the 50 hour mark they will be fantastic.

 

[radrd]

They will be gaming-only headphones after I get them broken in. My music headphones are Ety ER4Ps. I don't expect the HD280s to be anywhere close to the Etys, but hopefully they will at least be better than my HD495s (my current gaming headphones). From what I have read, they should be better in every way and outstanding gaming headphones.

 

[ImMersion]

RADRD
If ur prob wit teh 495's are lack of bass, then u can just remove the foam padding, and tape up the holes near the top of the headphone. I saw a guide to this about 2 weeks ago but dont have the link. IF u search around the typical places (headwize, meyers site) then u might find it.

 

[radrd]

Quote:

If ur prob wit teh 495's are lack of bass, then u can just remove the foam padding, and tape up the holes near the top of the headphone.

I didn't know that was an option, and bass is a problem I have with them. However, the biggest problem is sound leakage in and out. I'm in a triple dorm room and it gets loud. I would prefer not to listen to the various conversations, music, and television going on all the time. Thanks for the suggestion though. I've had them for over a year and a half. It's time for an upgrade.

Right now my HD280s are breaking in on my desk. They don't sound spectacular, but I've only been breaking them in for about 8 hours at low and medium volume. Once I hit ten hours I am going to finish breaking them in at full volume. Hopefully by ~50 hours they will sound great, but I'm going to reserve judgment until I hit 100 hours. I don't expect them to sound anywhere close to my Etys, but they should be excellent for gaming, movies, and television.

 

[Taphil]

Lots of people are saying they sound bad at first.

I've used mine for about 100 hours so far, and they sound lots better than they do right out of the box. But another reason they may sound bad at first even after burn-in is because your ears have to adjust to them. Well that's how it is for me anyway. When I put them on and then play music, they sound bad for about a minute or two. Then after that, they sound much better. The same happens when I've been listening to them for a while, take them off for a couple of minutes, and put them back on. I don't know if my ears have to adjust to them, or maybe the foam pads have to conform to my head. But this doesn't happen to any other cans I've tried.

 

[Driftwood]

hmm, if that is the case, I would wonder what is wrong?

Driftwood

 

[radrd]

I'm going on 14 hours of break in (4 at full volume) and these are really sounding quite good. Maybe playing them at low volume for a few hours, then medium for a few more hours made them break in faster?

Regardless, I am definitely satisfied with my purchase!