[sdyk913]

just looking for opinions from those who have any hd280 experience. ANYTHING.

 

[apnk]

They have deeeeeeeeeeeeeep bass.

 

[sdyk913]

deep bass...good or bad kind?

 

[apnk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdyk913 deep bass...good or bad kind?

Good.

 

[diabloii]

how's the clarity and mid/high's?

 

[apnk]

Highs a lil to bright for some. Mids a lil lacking. (from what i remember anyway.) Do a search for more info.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdyk913 just looking for opinions from those who have any hd280 experience. ANYTHING.

Unless you're a masochist, don't bother.

On second thought, lying on a bed of nails is cheaper and wastes less time.

P.S. I could have gotten a defective pair or something... there were rumors of QC issues around that time with these cans. It's hard to believe they could sound that bad and still have some acceptance around here. The most mechanical, utterly unmusical headphones I've ever had the displeasure of listening to.

 

[sdyk913]

i admire your honesty

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apnk Good.

Talk about your understatements. Were talking teeth shaking, look outside your house to see if something is trying to shake the foundation, get under your desk and hide, kind of deep bass. The mids are fantastic, very detailed, and wonderfully liquidy at times. They are pretty comfy to my head (im used to 3-5 hours of football helmets so take it for what you will) and dont get too hot (i live in washington state) and are dead cheap for what they are. Not to mention the isolation that you get with these things. My one gripe so far is that they need a good EQ, because they can be a bit bright and lacking in a mid bass otherwise. But if you have a good EQ (like foobar's) then they are fantastic for what they are.

PS: The tight headband stretches out a lot if you wear them for the 200 hour burn in.

 

[White Fox]

They're good, well balanced cans for the money. The upper-bass might be slightly lacking and there might be a little too much low bass, but otherwise they're nicely balanced IMO. The clarity across the spectrum is very good. I don't have much experience with similarly priced, closed cans, but they are much more comfortable than the MDR-7506/V6s to me. Isolation is good but nowhere near the ER-4S for me. Just keep in mind that they were designed for monitoring applications - therefore they are very analytical sounding are not the smoothest sounding cans in the world. My brother actually 'stole' my pair for his studio.

 

[00940]

I heard them a few times, never optimally though (in shops, with cmoy and portable). Never did it for me. As Fewtch said, they seemed completly mechanical. And it's coming from someone who could support the rather dry ultrasone. At least the sony mdr-V6 are somehow fun to listen to.

 

[Jigglybootch]

The bass extension is amazing. They go very low, but they have almost no bass impact, so they aren't very fun in that respect. The mids are OK. The same goes for the highs, but they can get a little harsh sometimes. They do isolate very well, though.

All-in-all, the HD280 is very boring. If you're looking for something that's more fun and involving, I'd stay the hell away from the HD280.

 

[waylman]

mine were absolutely horrible out of the box....after a long burn in, they are sounding great!

 

[setchman]

I had a pair a while back that I thoroughly enjoyed but returned anyway since I thought I wanted the Beyer 770 80s. Although I think the 770s are a better sounding headphone all around, they didn't isolate as well as the 280s. I wanted a set of cans specifically for listening to in bed and the 770s leaked just enough at the volume I was listening at to make my wife put her pillow over her head. (We have a very quiet room and she's a light sleeper.) I knew then it was time to go back to the 280s.

Depending on what you're looking for, they can be great headphones for the price. My only advice is not to even bother with them unless you are willing to invest at least 200 hours, or so, of good burn-in. Having had experience with more than one set of 280s I can easily say that a long burn-in period is necessary to get the most out of these cans.

 

[JB.]

In my opinion, the 280’s are the best all-around closed can currently made. The critics are correct in saying they can be dry and analytical; they don’t have a big “WOW” factor.
On the other hand, they possess just about every feature one looks for in a quality closed phone. They are well-built and can take loads of abuse. They fold up for storage and travel and they provide the best isolation of any circumaural can.
As far as how they sound, I don’t find them lacking in mids and I certainly don’t find the highs to be harsh. The mid-bass does lack the impact and detail you find in Ety’s and good Beyer’s, but it seems consistent with the overall flavor of the 280’s.
They are by far the least fatiguing cans I have ever listened to. They do require an unbelievable amount of burn-in, 350 hours plus for mine, but it is more than worth the wait.
I find that too many closed cans exaggerate the highs to produce a “fun” sounding phone. Open cans don’t seem to have this problem. Canalphones are the best at providing detail without inflated highs and mids, but few circumaural cans can be said to have detail without sacrificing some other feature such as fatigue or neutrality.
In terms of use, 280’s are a nominee for “desert island” cans. They are incredibly forgiving. If you are going to be listening to MP3’s or using a less than stellar source, 280’s will perform better than any other.
Pro-audio applications don’t get much airtime around here, but these guys are the ones who are making the music we all listen to. I have yet to be in a pro studio and not find a pair of 280’s lying around. Many musicians known for attention to “sonics” on their albums insist on 280’s in-studio. Next to V6’s, 280’s are the most ubiquitous cans for monitoring, and outperform V6’s in every application besides “live-on-stage” monitoring.

Many head-fier’s suffer from upgradetitus only because they haven’t found the perfect collection of cans to suit their listening preferences. For me, the first sign of one reaching headphone bliss is downgrading- finding that a less expensive or less popular phone meets your personal tastes. I’m convinced that 280’s would be infinitely more popular if they cost five times as much. In high-end audio, far too many people rely on price as an indicator of quality, so much so that it influences how they actually hear a certain can to sound. I’m certainly not saying I am immune to this; in fact my lack of belief in burn-in being a significant factor in how a can sounds was changed by the 280’s alone. When I hear others say that burn-in is more of a perceptual acclimation than it is a physical change in the phones themselves, I’m inclined to believe them despite my experience with the 280’s.

Enough ranting, suffice to say I love 280’s and despite their popularity consider them to be one of the most underrated cans made. If you can get your paws on a pair that have been burned in to give them a proper listen, don’t hesitate.