[badtz]

Greetings,

I just received my 280pros [haven't burned them in, will they improve?]........

the sound quality wasn't what I was hoping........ [maybe they'll get better?]

anywho....

were their different "batches" of 280's, where sennheiser fixed manufacturing related problems?

if there are, how do I know which one mine is from?

thanks

 

[Magicthyse]

I don't know how much problems are due to QC issues.

Yes by all means, burn them in. Quite a long time (50 hours-ish). The bass improved noticeably. What's debatable is the change at the top end - it seems to have become more shrieky, although it could be my imagination (it could have been equally shrieky to begin with). Some people were attributing this to QC as well.

Mine seem properly built and there are no functional issues with the drivers per se - but they're quite shrieky (not distorted, but overemphasized) in the high treble, yet they are extremely accurate in their presentation - even in the same frequency range where it 'shrieks'. There is no distortion for example attributable to driver failure. I put it to the Head-Fiers that if the drivers had a problem they wouldn't be so accurate.

I can I suppose take them back and cite an issue with that and get the looked at - perhaps I will, as I just don't really like the phones as they stand. Low comfort and dorky/cheap looks don't add anything either. The only thing that is really good IMO at the moment is the isolation against mid-high frequency ambient noise (works a treat against computer fans!).

 

[badtz]

They sound a tad "dull" to me.......

lack bass extension & highs are somewhat rounded off.......

should I have gotten the Sony V6/7506 ?????

Again, I just got these & have not yet "burned" them in yet [if that makes a difference]............

The build quality is okay. The sides [where the cups twist] seems a lil' cheapy........



are there different "batches" that sound different from each other?

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

Give them 40-50 hours for the bass to improve. Do a search, you'll find the same thing repeated over and over again by those that have the 280.

What are you using them with by the way?

(HBZ)

 

[radrd]

I have them, and they don't really sound great until after 50 hours of burn-in. Just give them time.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

Quote:

Originally posted by Badtz They sound a tad "dull" to me....... lack bass extension & highs are somewhat rounded off....... should I have gotten the Sony V6/7506 ????? Again, I just got these & have not yet "burned" them in yet [if that makes a difference]............ The build quality is okay. The sides [where the cups twist] seems a lil' cheapy........ are there different "batches" that sound different from each other?

Just give them some time. they have better bass extension and way better overall sound than the v6. and I love the v6

 

[nierika]

Badtz: What you are describing is exactly what I went through when first received my 280s. I scoured threads trying to figure out if I had a defective pair, and debated sending them back for at least a week. Then one day I put them on after an overnight burn-in session and they put a big satisfactory grin on my face. I honestly think they need to start putting "burn-in stickers" on the box or running a pre-burn-in at the factory. Who knows how many people return them before they reach their proper form.

After demo'ing a pair of 7506s last week, I don't think the 280s are cheapy at all. The cup hinges are plastic, but it's very solid and durable plastic.

Magicthyse: I really don't know what could be causing your shrieky treble. The burn-in process just extended the bass and mellowed out the mids and highs for me. And I don't understand how someone on Team V700DJ can call the 280s uncomfortable. I used a pair spinning at a friend's house on the 4th and they only place I could stand them were on my shoulders.

 

[Magicthyse]

Quote:

Originally posted by nierika After demo'ing a pair of 7506s last week, I don't think the 280s are cheapy at all. The cup hinges are plastic, but it's very solid and durable plastic. Magicthyse: I really don't know what could be causing your shrieky treble. The burn-in process just extended the bass and mellowed out the mids and highs for me. And I don't understand how someone on Team V700DJ can call the 280s uncomfortable. I used a pair spinning at a friend's house on the 4th and they only place I could stand them were on my shoulders.

It is very solid and durable plastic - the build quality is not in question. It's just the overall effect is cheap. Open molds, etc as I mentioned in my original review.

Shrieky treble - as I said, it could be my imagination. I listened to the phones at a relatively low volume when I first got them, and thereafter left them largely untouched until they were broken in. It could be that the treble was even shriekier, or the same - I'm not entirely sure.

Sound issues aside, the V700DJ distributes the weight of the phone over a much larger area at the top of the head, and uses a more effective cushion. The headband is also deformable to an extent.

A lot (not all) of the comments about people not liking headphones begins with "when I tried my friends..." "when I was listening in the shop..." you above all should know that these are not particularly objective tests of the phones.

Because of the 'broad-shouldered' design of the HD280, the weight of the phone where it contacts the head is concentrated on a relatively small area of a largely inflexible headband at the top of the head. The cushioning material is also far too soft, so that it actually does no real cushioning effect at all. What Sennheiser needed to do was to make the black rubber portion at the top of the headband deformable, and put stiffer and 'deader' cushioning material at the same area.

--------

I never mentioned the V700's in the above post... My sig has really paid off

It's worth mentioning here that I do have a couple of other phones that you guys like.

It also ought to be mentioned here that I got the HD280's as a portable-use phone after the deluge of recommendations for it. These are NOT portable phones for all sorts of reasons, despite the noise attenuation. There's also little way of getting away with something like an HD280 outside unless you are a hardened geek - even I look like a geekozoid with one of these on. Now some of us are shallow that way

 

[badtz]

The headphones are being played out of original material, and my own produced material out of a MOTU 828.....

I'm preying that they get A LOT better with burn-in..........

what's the proper way to burn in?

should I just leave them plugged into something for 40+ hours straight? or break up the burn-in into 8 hr. increments? with time to rest in between?

the open-molding DOES look cheap, i wish they didn't do that.

i'm using these for studio purposes.......... and after LONG debate [look @ previous forum topics i did] I chose this [by a small margin] over the V6/7506.......

i'm hoping i didn't make a wrong choice, because i really hate doing mail returns..........

 

[Magicthyse]

Yeah - just pick what you normally listen to and play it at slightly higher than the volume that you'd normally listen to yourself. I do have a 'burn-in CD' which I got with my stereo (I later realized I'd been charged $320 US equivalent for the CD) but I'm not sure if it really does any good.

If you are using these for studio use, I think that after the burn-in process when the bass becomes balanced, it'll be a pretty good studio phone.

While I'll be keeping the 280's for computer use, I've however ordered the ATH-A9X as the last phones I'll buy for a while, which I'm told is better for a Grado lover - so probably not suitable for studio use.

 

[badtz]

it'll be for studio purposes.......

a little more burning in & we'll see how my opinion about them changes........ :-X

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse A lot (not all) of the comments about people not liking headphones begins with "when I tried my friends..." "when I was listening in the shop..." you above all should know that these are not particularly objective tests of the phones.

I used my friend's fully broken-in V700DJs in a DJ setting with a 2 watt headphone amp for at least an hour. How is that not an objective test?