[wavid]

Hey, just got a pair of HD280s as a replacement to my dogs eating my old sony v700s lol...havent had hedphones for about a year now so dont remmber if they were better or not...anyway i just got the 280s and im pretty happy with them apart from the bass...i heard it will get better the more they are used and im patient.
my question is....headphone amps desktop/portable and mp3 players?
will pretty much any high end mp3 player sound similar with these headphones?
becuase im thinking of getting SONY NWZ-A729 16GB walkmans
i heard they have great sound...
will i need a portable headphone amp with it? or will it sound really good without?....
i am def thinking of getting a headphone amp but dont know anything about them...
im gonna be using my 280s for music mostly (i know they arnt the best for music but i got them as a gift and will leave them)
my pc has a standard mobo soundcard..and will prob sound **** from my pc
so i want to get a headphones amp for my pc..or maybe new soundcard
i dont mind getting both but i have a limit of about 100 pounds

i should prob add that i will be listenin to alot of heavy metal

i might make a cmoy if i find out wer to get everything...
but other then that is ther anything else i should buy ?

 

[yklee118]

Might I make a recommendation.

Due to the closed nature of these headphones, the sound output from portable devices will be more than adequate to drive the Sennheiser HD280-pro. However based on experience, a headphone amp dedicated or portable will bring out the best in this headphone. Suffice enough to say, the burn-in phase is longer than I expected it when I purchased mine in Hong Kong more than seven-years ago. It took a better part of two-months to reach the driver's settling phase where the sound stage and dynamics reached a point where everything is where it should be.

This is all while using the Shellbrook Mini-moy circa 2004. I have upgraded in amplifiers over the years and I have to say, this headphone gets better with age (my experiences). All I can say is that try them without an amp first (and after at least about 300-hours of burn-in) and see if sound is to your liking. After that, if you feel that more is needed, then invest in a headphone amp. The choice is yours and advice is good, however not to be used to pressure I guess which is what happens some times in these forums. Not intentionally, but it does happen.

The suggestion is (my experience only and a formed opinion at that) if going for a headphone amp, head towards the portable side of things since it is least expensive route while investing in a good source signal cable. I purchased mine through Moon Audio. The Chinese make very good amplifiers and I have in the portable class both C&C and Little Tube's Little Dot MKI and MKI+. For C&C especially the C&C Box+, go to Audiophilechina.com since they can have one shipped below the 100-pound limit (I am assuming the UK) and for the Little Dot, best purchased directly from them at little-tube.com.

These are just suggestions and will provide more than enough juice for all of wholesome fun of having great music piped through those headphones.

Hope this helps

Take care and have a good month

 

[wavid]

thx alot for the reply...i cant wait till they burn in...do u recomend i force it?
im thinking of just leaving them on for 4 days playing heavy metal and electronic music on slightly higher than my normal listening level ...but i dont want to damage them...

i am going to be building a cmoy with my dad next week so that will sort out my portable amp need.....by good source cable...u mean for amp to mp3 cable? sorry im new and dont fully understand...how much would a good source cable cost? could some1 recomend me one please?
also does anyone know if its easy to add a bass booster to my cmoy?

atm i have it plugged into my pc defult mobo soundcard and gota say it sounds pretty bad...crackling in most songs even when not loud..i tried to eq to get rid of the crackling but couldnt...my Emu 0404 soundcard is coming in the mail soon and hopefuly itl be better sound...now..do i connect my headphones directly into the new 0404? or something before the soundcard?...if so could some1 recomend me something for under 50 pounds i could plug in before the soundcard...or should i just use the cmoy that im going to build?


ahhh just writing this reply..ive had to turn my music off cos my music is unbearable...alot of crackling and on high pitch parts like operic vocals parts its very unstable....i dont know if its because of my eq..i just set it to rock for now cos i couldnt figure out how to do a good one...it sounds better than default so i leave it...but still so much crackling....i dont have anything else to test them on atm

 

[wavid]

anyone?

 

[yklee118]

Don't force the issue. Just play music through the headphones at moderate volumes and the results after about 300-hours will be worth the wait.

From my experience is that with a DIY or commercially made CMOY will improve the audio quality. Moving from that to the offerings of the China or the USA will improve the phones even more. I prefer the Chinese due to cost and audio quality over time. The Chinese especially closer to Hong Kong tend to be audiophile (insane versions of the ones in the US) nut jobs (me included).

My HD280s have already settled down and are still very neutral with bass, mid-range, and upper frequencies in tune with each other. Bass is very deep (no EQ) while the mid-range roll to high-frequency tones remain ever so smooth. Excellent sound-stage representation can be heard with these phones if mated to the right amplifier.

Just an opinion

Take care and hope this helps

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yklee118 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My HD280s have already settled down and are still very neutral with bass, mid-range, and upper frequencies in tune with each other. Bass is very deep (no EQ) while the mid-range roll to high-frequency tones remain ever so smooth. Excellent sound-stage representation can be heard with these phones if mated to the right amplifier. Just an opinion Take care and hope this helps

I agree with everything except the bolded part. IMO, the HD280 tends to sound harsh and it doesn't have much of a soundstage. I tried pairing them with a Keces DA131.1, Paradisea 3+, RSA HR-2, and Singlepower Extreme.

Each of us hear things differently I guess.

 

[WittyzTH]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with everything except the bolded part. IMO, the HD280 tends to sound harsh and it doesn't have much of a soundstage. I tried pairing them with a Keces DA131.1, Paradisea 3+, RSA HR-2, and Singlepower Extreme. Each of us hear things differently I guess.

x2

 

[moogoob]

I agree about the harshness, but not about the soundstage. It's got a soundstage somewhere between your average Grado and the 650s, which puts it out of "small" territory and into "mostly normal"-ville.

The harshness can be dealt with by EQing the mids gently downward. These are the only cans I use an EQ with.

 

[yklee118]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree about the harshness, but not about the soundstage. It's got a soundstage somewhere between your average Grado and the 650s, which puts it out of "small" territory and into "mostly normal"-ville. The harshness can be dealt with by EQing the mids gently downward. These are the only cans I use an EQ with.

There is no harshness detectable, but then again I have more than 13000-hours accumulated with these headphones. If you want harshness, harsh would be a new AKG K701 before my little modification to the dampening material.

Right now I am listening to my still alive and well Sennheiser HD280-professional (sat, 11;15pm in Hamburg Germany) with the source material off of my computer. The Sound-card is M-audio Transit USB set to 24/96 while the files I am playing back are from HD-Tracks. Eiji Oue's Symphonic Dances in 24-bit/96-KHz AIFF on VLC. I own the SACD version of this ensemble, however I don't have access to an SACD player here hence no way to check it out.

Harshness doesn't exist at all. Forgot to mention, I am using the Moon Audio 3.5mm mini interconnect (Blue Dragon version-1) to a C&C XO+ portable headphone amp. The sound-stage is rather expansive (no eq or sound-field adjustment) with no detectable harshness. I do have my AKG K701 headphones with me as well for comparative listening. I also have the original foam damper rings, however I can't live with harsh or brightness, hence I left my modifications intact with the AKG K701.

I think everybody's ears are different from one another (of course they are what am I saying) hence the sound differences can be said from one to another. I use to say the same thing until the HD280 surpassed the 8000-hour mark. That was when the headphone finally settled down and expansive sound-stage was present. No harshness detectable was the feeling I was receiving.

This is just an observation so everybody have a great weekend.. Take care

 

[AtomikPi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yklee118 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use to say the same thing until the HD280 surpassed the 8000-hour mark. That was when the headphone finally settled down and expansive sound-stage was present. No harshness detectable was the feeling I was receiving.

I have never heard someone claim burn-in after a few hundred hours...
I used to think the 280's were ok but then after using the 650's for a year and sending them in to get reterminated, I have to use the 280's for a little while and they sound really boring, cold, analytic, and bass-shy (through the LD mkIII). FYI my 280's probably have 1000+ hrs of burnin; I used them exclusively for a few years.

 

[1Time]

I owned the HD280. A wide variety of opinions can be found on Head-Fi about the HD280 primarily because members use a wide variety of sources, amps, and have a wide variety of hours of use with their HD280. In short: HD280 + better source + better amp + longer burn in and use = better sound.

I suggest posting in the amp and source forums for help with choosing those.

You can speed up the burn in process by playing the HD280 all the time at moderately loud volumes with bass heavy music, preferably with a better source and a better amp. If you are in a hurry for it to sound better, buy a good source and good amp. Read the sticky on burn-in if you want to know more about that.

I do not recommend modding the HD280 because the wires inside are tiny / thin and too easily detach.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Time /img/forum/go_quote.gif I owned the HD280. A wide variety of opinions can be found on Head-Fi about the HD280 primarily because members use a wide variety of sources, amps, and have a wide variety of hours of use with their HD280. In short: HD280 + better source + better amp + longer burn in and use = better sound. I suggest posting in the amp and source forums for help with choosing those. You can speed up the burn in process by playing the HD280 all the time at moderately loud volumes with bass heavy music, preferably with a better source and a better amp. If you are in a hurry for it to sound better, buy a good source and good amp. Read the sticky on burn-in if you want to know more about that. I do not recommend modding the HD280 because the wires inside are tiny / thin and too easily detach.

I'm keen to hear what you think of the sound of the HD280.

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm keen to hear what you think of the sound of the HD280.

I primarily enjoyed my HD280 from onboard sound at my job for over a year when listening to electronica at high volumes. Often there were times when the upper mids and female vocals sounded so good, even magical, that I stopped working, exclaimed "**** this sounds good", and just listened. FWIR, I am certain I would have enjoyed it more from a better source and amp. The HD280 does an good job of blocking external noise and keeping sound in.

If it didn't fit so tight, I'd probably get another just to see how good it would sound from a better source and amp.

When choosing headphones, I recommend considering preference, synergy, and utility. Search my posts for "utility" for more on this.

 

[drader]

I have the 280s and at first I hated them. Very flat and dull, Excellent isolation, though. I decided to burn them in, as I read (here) that they take unusually long. I put on the mexican rap station, cranked up the bass-boost, and played them at volumes intending to kill the phones for about 4 days (this is in addition to the many months of play they already had). They now sound MUCH better. The wire inside is very thin and steel; I suspect a better wire will make a big difference. If the bass is too much you can cut a ring out of 1/8 or 1/4 dense foam (excercise mat?) and stuff it under the ear pad to give your ears more space from the driver.

 

[moonboy403]

I listened to my HD280 today through a Naim CD player and a DNA Sonett and I my impression of it(post #6) hasn't changed but I'll add one more thing: dry sounding.