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DiscountDelight - Sennheiser HD-280 Dynamic Collapsible Headphones
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List Price: $199.99
Our Price: $68.99
Your Save: $ 131.00 ( 66% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sennheiser
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Electronics
Brand: Sennheiser
Color: black
EAN: 0615104049741
Feature: Dynamic, closed-ear headphones with up to 32 dB attenuation of outside sound
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Sennheiser
Manufacturer: Sennheiser
Model: HD 280 Pro
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sennheiser
Special Features: The HD-280 Pro is a closed-back, circumaural headphone designed for professional monitoring applications. With up to 32dB attenuation, itâs perfect for use in noisy environments, at live shows, and by DJ mixers! The HD-280 Pro features rugged design and optimum sensitivity thatâll make even those wimpy headphone outs on synthesizers come alive - these babies are LOUD! The HD-280 Pro delivers detailed, natural reproduction of music and speech, and boasts a smooth frequency response from 8Hz to 25kHz. Ready to pack it up? The collapsible ear cups make it easy to stow in your gig bag! And all those parts you normally wear out - such as the ear pads, headband padding, and cable - are easily replaceable. Due to its collapsible earpieces, the HD-280 Pro is very space-saving when it comes to transportation. All parts subject to wear and tear such as earpads, headband padding, and cable are easily replaceable, thus ensuring long service life.
Studio: Sennheiser
Warranty: 2 years warranty
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Features
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Dynamic, closed-ear headphones with up to 32 dB attenuation of outside sound
Lightweight and comfortable, ergonomic design
Extended frequency response and warm, natural sound reproduction
Collapsible ear-pieces for compact transport
Earpads, headband padding, and audio cord are easily replaceable, ensuring long life
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Headphones-- Worht the Money
Comment: Alright, im not a music professional and i dont record. But i have these for around the house use and trips and they are simply amazing. A lot of people say these are uncomfortable but thats a lie. These things are great. I wore them from Philidelphia to Montreal and they didnt bother me a bit. I also were them when i mow the lawn and they keep the noise down low so i can actually hear my music. The only real problem is that they dont have the greatest bass in the world but all of its other features make up for it.
Worth the money.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very comfortable for me and excellent sound
Comment: I'm surprised others have found these uncomfortable, because they are the most comfortable headphones I have owned. And I usually find headphones uncomfortable because of my relatively long ears, but they fit nicely within these cans. The sound quality is excellent for sealed headphones--unsurpassed at this less than $100 price.
Customer Rating:
Summary: DOA
Comment: I ordered a pair of these headphones after reading numerous reviews about how comfortable and great sounding they were. Unfortunately, one channel was dead no matter what source I plugged them into. I also was shocked at how stiff and uncomfortable the ear cushions were. My sony MDR 7506's actually feel better, I doubt I would have kept the sennheisers even if they worked. Zzounds did send me a free-postage return label but it was close to a month that they sat on my $100
Customer Rating:
Summary: SOUNDS great, but FEELS awful
Comment: I use these headphones for home recording and seriously I cannot wear them for more than 15 min, I get a huge headache, pain all around my ears from cut blood circulation and what not.
VERY UNCONFORTABLE to a point where I want to get other ones, maybe the AKG's. And also don't think if you have a small head this will work for you, cause I have a small head and I am dying. If you plan on using these headphones regularly I suggest choosing another brand or I just say good luck!
Having said that, the quality is great, but ergonomics and confort comes first, if I can't listen with them whats the point?
Customer Rating:
Summary: GRADE: B+
Comment: Yes, the earpads do press firmly against your head, but it's no big deal, and certainly not like your head is clamped in a vise, as one reviewer put it. Those who complain about this must be particularly sensitive, or have very big heads. However, I also shouldn't flippantly dismiss what seem like honest complaints; these phones are obviously too tight for some people. You just have to try them on to know for sure. I find that I can wear them for hours with no problem (they don't make my ears sore), and while they aren't the lightest headphones in the world, I would certainly not describe them as heavy (except maybe for the coiled cable, which is a bit weighty). They're lighter BY FAR than some of the Koss phones, for instance. So I give the 280s four out of five stars for comfort. As for noise reduction, they do a pretty good job of keeping out some types of sound. One reason I purchased closed headphones was because there's a particularly noisy A/C unit right outside my bedroom window. I could clearly hear the unit when I wore my old phones. The 280s do a great job of keeping the fan noise out; I could not hear the unit at all so long as the music played. However, they don't isolate all noise. For instance, when I clap my hands I can faintly hear it even when music's playing at medium volume. I give it four out of five stars for noise isolation--that is, for keeping unwanted sound out of the music listening experience. As for build quality, I give these phones three stars. These aren't the sturdiest phones out there, but neither do they seem cheaply made. (They're made in Ireland, by the way). Note however that there are some reports from those who have owned these phones for longer than I have that the plastic headband on this model tends to crack. But from what I understand it's only cosmetic damage and nothing that should affect your ability to use them. Moreover, certain other headphones that are even more expenive than this one--the Bose Triports, for example--break much more frequently and fatally than these do. In any case, the final and most important factor for me is sound quality relative to price. To put my comments into proper perspective you should know that I'm not using a headphone amp, but AM using a decent system. I have to confess that when I first slipped the 280s onto my head, I didn't think WOW IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BAND IS RIGHT HERE IN MY BEDROOM! [NOTE: Since I wrote this review I have listened to some CDs where the band definitely sounds like they're right here in my home and even right inside me. A vivid and immediate sound. Uncanny. These are great phones.] Initially I didn't hear that much of a difference between them and my old twenty dollar pair. But gradually my opinion changed as I continued listening, switching back and forth between the two pairs. Because some of the Amazon reviews led me to believe that the bass on these phones was less than adequate, I was afraid that this would give the 280s an excessively bright, even a tinny, anemic, or superficial sound. However, the bass is actually rich and clear. The reviewers who complain about weak bass must really like their bass up front, with everything else--mid to high ranges--subdued behind it. I listen to classical, punk rock, goth, acoustic, you name it--but my taste stops short of "boom-boom" music. All I can say is that I played some rock songs with some strong bass in them and for me the bass level was perfect, strong and deep but not overwhelming. The music did not sound anemic at all, although it is true that the 280s are just a little bit on the bright side. In any case, as I continued listening I started noticing new details in songs that I thought I knew every little tiny bit of. Music listened to with the 280s is clear and crisp and well defined, with each instrument well articulated. I started perceiving how pure--if a little analytical on some tracks--the music sounded compared to all the headphones I'd used in the past. Notes seemed to hang in the air a little longer; the phones are good at capturing the decay. I had to listen carefully before I noticed it, but once I heard it, it was unmistakable. I switched back and forth between some of my old pairs (none of which I paid more than forty bucks for) and the 280s and noticed something else, too. Without adjusting the volume at all between changes, the volume level on all my old pairs seemed significantly diminished when I put them on directly after listening to the 280s. One reason for this speaks to the benefit of closed headphones. With my old, open phones I kept having to raise the volume when the A/C noise kicked in. So one great advantage of closed phones (and note that not all closed phones have this feature; the 280s seal your ears unlike many closed cans that leak sound in and out almost as much as open cans do) became clear to me: with the sealed 280s I could listen to music at a much lower volume and still catch every detail, which protects me from the potential hearing damage that results from listening at high volumes. When you listen to open phones, you tend to crank them up a bit to drown out whatever noise there might be in your environment (and even inconsequential noise can make you do this; it doesn't have to be very loud noise). The soundstage on the 280 is compressed. Rather than a great expanse or sense of breadth, it's an "intimate" or "cozy" soundstage with good depth. These phones work very well vertically, but not so well horizontally. This is common with closed phones as opposed to open ones. Open phones in general give an airier, more open soundstage. But all my observations here are made "out of the box," so to speak; I've barely begun to break in my 280s. I'm "burning them in" now as I write this, playing Haydn's 104th at slightly above average volume. I have to say I'm amazed at how well I can hear the music right now considering the phones are about fifteen feet away. They sound almost like small shelf speakers. Even at this distance I can hear many details distinctly, and the music sounds strong and robust. This is what finally convinced me--at this distance, at the same volume, I cannot hear the same amount of detail from any of my other headphones (I checked). Also, the 280s are really EXCELLENT at reproducing the human voice. Singers don't sound this good even on my large speakers. In short, I'm very satisfied with my purchase, and if the sound actually does improve with more break-in/burn-in time and they begin to bloom, I'll be quite happy indeed. Incidentally, I read somewhere that it can take as long as one hundred hours of playing time for these headphones to fully blossom.
UPDATE: I've had these phones now for about a month and some idiosyncrasies have become apparant to me that potential buyers should keep in mind. Nothing that changes my original recommendation, but just certain minor quirks you might want to know about. While external noise IS attenuated quite nicely, the cable on these phones is pretty sensitive, which in one way is very good, but in another way is a small drawback. Whenever the cable (which is curled like a telephone cord but with both ends straightened out) rubs or hits something you do hear it inside the phones. For instance, if you rub the cable with your finger, you hear it. It just sounds like a very low rub and doesn't distort the music at all. I don't want to overemphasize this because it really isn't that big of a deal, but it is something you should keep in mind if you tend to move around a lot while listening to music. These are definitely NOT dancing phones (although moderate movement is no problem). If you are going to be bouncing around a lot, you probably would be better served by another model. Just keep in mind that while you are getting rid of lots of unwanted external noise, you do add a little bit--and it is just a tad--of what I would call internal noise. This seems to be a function of the closed design, which makes any tapping or rubbing anywhere on the phone, not just on the cable, reverberate in the earpiece. But it's a small price to pay and on balance it's still a great trade-off considering that the sound on these phones really is wonderful. Now I don't know whether burning or breaking them in actually improved the audio or whether I just got more used to their sound, but these phones sound better than ever. Break these cans in for 50+ hours over a period of a week or two (make sure you USE them during the breaking-in period; don't just leave them playing by themselves because you might have to adapt to these phones--mostly to wean yourself off of the artificially boosted sound of the more common earphones), then play J.S Bach's famous Organ Toccata & Fugue BWV 565 (I suggest the Helmut Walcha but any good recording will do). You will hear RICH, CLEAR, DEEP, BEAUTIFUL TONES! I love these phones. They are a great buy, but they DO have peculiarities that take a little getting used to. SECOND UPDATE:Since writing this review I've had the chance to compare these 280s to the Sony MDR-V700s which sell for about the same price. The 280s beat the V700s in just about every category, including sound. See my review of the V700s for a rundown of the problems I had with those phones. It only confirmed my honest belief that the 280s offer truly amazing sound. And if you ask me the 280s, despite their tightness, are more comfortable than the V700s, which have shallow earpads that crush your ears. The 280s have a deeper cup so that the pinnae of your ears don't get squashed. The 280s put pressure AROUND your ears, but not right on them. However, the 280s, because they were designed to keep noise in and out of cups, do produce a "suction cup" effect which produces some slight discomfort (at least for me) after a few hours of use. But again, this is part of the trade off if you want good noise attenuation. A NOTE ON HOW TO WEAR THESE PHONES: To get the best sound from these phones they must be worn properly. I used to wear them wrong and noticed only recently that the sound improves (and it was already amazing) if you do the following: make sure that the padded bridge sits lightly on top of your head. You should be able to nod your head vigorously without the phones moving. If you rock your head up and down and the phones start sliding back and forth on top of your head, they are too loose and you need to adjust them. I have a fairly average head size and I used to wear them at four or five clicks, but have found that I should have been wearing them at two all along. I am amazed at how good the sound on these phones is. Now I am speaking as a person who has owned only cheaper phones up till now and have never heard a really high-end model, but the difference these phones have made is astonishing. Having said that, not all music sounds great on these phones. The following is a short list of things that sounded really incredible and stuff that sounded not so amazing. I add this just so that you can have an idea of what works well with the Sennheiser 280s and what doesn't work so well (although almost nothing sounded outright bad). Note that I like all the music I'm about to list and my criticism has to do with how it sounds on these phones:
SOUNDS PARTICULARLY AMAZING:
--Alexander Scriabin. Le Poeme de l'extase. Pierre Boulez. Deutsche Grammophon. Orchestral music in general sounds great on these phones. Maybe they could be a tad warmer. I could also wish for a larger soundstage with more openness.
--Richard Wagner. Das Rheingold, Die Walkure. Herbert Von Karajan. DG. Opera in general sounds wonderful. Arias envelope and enrapture you. Lush-sounding.
--Radiohead. OK Computer. The 280s bring out the layers and textures like I have never heard them before.
--Johnny Cash. At Folsom Prison. The audience plays a big role in this recording, but up till now they had just been amorphously in the background. On the 280s they step forward to play a much bigger part and I can hear much more clearly what they are calling out to Cash. I can even make out snatches of conversations! Both Johnny Cash and June Carter sound amazing. If I closed my eyes I could easily imagine I was hearing them live. Live recordings in general really come to life on these phones.
--Kate Bush. The Dreaming. I had always listened to this on a cheap boombox in college. Listening on the 280s was a spine-tingling experience. I never realized how technically brilliant this recording is. I am rediscovering all my old music from my high school and college days!
--David Bowie. "It's No Game (Part 1)." Michi Hirota's voice sounds unbelievable. (She's the Japanese lady who does the voice-over: "Shirueto ya kage ga kakumei o miteiru . . .")
--The Weavers. Reunion Concert at Carnegie hall, 1963. Another live recording. The Weavers are an old folk band known for their beutiful vocal harmonies. Listening to them live on the 280s I wasn't only AT the concert, I was actually ON STAGE with them. Wow!
--Kraftwerk. "The Hall of Mirrors." Another spine-tingling experience on these phones. Brings out this track's haunting nature. Atmospheric. Totally envelopes you.
--All my old Billie Holiday recordings sound wonderful. The 280s emphasize the crudity of the older recordings, but also bring out Billie's voice in the most astonishing way.
--The Creatures. HAI!. This is a percussion-intensive recording and every cymbal, every thwack, every slap of the bongo drums is lovingly recorded. The recording is much more layered than I realized. Percussion in general sounds awesome on these phones.
--Roxy Music. For Your Pleasure. I have heard this recording literally hundreds of times, but when I listened to it this time around it was as though I were encountering it for the first time.
--I don't particularly like New Age music, but I listened to some of Brian Eno's recent new-agey stuff, including "Another Day On Earth," and I can say that the reviewer who claimed that New Age sounds really good on these phones seems to be right.
--Prince. "Sign O the Times." Bass sounds tight and punchy but not boomy. Crisp-sounding and makes you want to get up and dance.
MUSIC THAT DOESN'T SOUND SO GOOD ON THE 280s:
--Rock/punk is hit or miss on these phones. The Ramones's ROAD TO RUIN sounded excellent, especially with the bass cranked all the way on my receiver. In fact, the Ramones have never sounded better to me. But, strangely, The Damned's "Damned Damned Damned" album, which is classic British punk, didn't sound so hot. It's as though these phones were too polite for these guys. Magazine's "Secondhand Daylight" also didn't sound so hot on the 280s. The recording sounded too analytical as though the phones were dissecting the music. All the instruments were very well articulated, but this made the music sound deconstructed. It didn't cohere. In short, some rock has never sounded better to me than on these phones, but some just falls flat. Probably it has to do with how the music is recorded and also because these phones are kind of analytical and polite and also don't artificially enhance the music. The 280s are very detailed and so emphasise all the defects of a recording. Things sound pristine and clear on the 280s, which works very well for some types of music but for a lot of rock you want that gritty, grungy, rough, half-baked sound. If all you listen to is gritty rock (a la Iggy and the Stooges's "Raw Power," which sounded awful on these phones) you might want to shop around some more. I have read that rock sounds great on Grado phones, but Grados are supra-aural, so they sit right on your ear. I believe Grado does not make any phones that would keep noise in and out the way thee 280s do. Plus I much prefer circumaural phones like the 280s that cup your ears; they are simply more comfortable. If you listen to all kinds of music like I do, then I recommend these Sennheiser 280s as long as you have a pair of back-up headphones for your more grungy rock recordings. In general, the smoother the rock recording, the better it sounds on these phones. For instance, I was never a big fan of Television's offering from 1992--I always considered it too slick and polished for its own good. But the CD sounded great on these phones. I finally heard how good it really is.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The HD-280 Pro is a closed-back, circumaural headphone designed for professional-quality monitoring. Its exceptional attenuation of environmental noise (up to 32 dB) makes it particularly useful for use in high-noise environments, in outside broadcasts, and for DJs. Featuring rugged design and optimum sensitivity, the HD-280 Pro will deliver detailed and natural reproduction of music and speech with a wide frequency response of 8 to 25,000 Hz (-10 dB). Owing to its collapsible ear-pieces, the HD-280 Pro is highly compact when it comes to transportation. And all parts that are subject to wear and tear--such as earpads, headband padding, and the audio cord--are easily replaceable, ensuring long life. The headphone's 9-foot cord is detachable, so if it wears out you have only to replace the cord, not the headphone itself. The cord is made of oxygen-free copper for pure, long-lasting audio transmission.
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