Sennheiser Professional HD 280 PRO Over-Ear Monitoring Headphones

Product Information

If it had come out in the 1970s it could have easily cost an easy three hundred with what it delievers. When I first saw the "New" Sennheiser HD 280 Pro a little over a year ago, I said "Oh, I guess they changed the headband pad? This, and the closed-back design, results in a soundstage that is perceived as relatively small and located inside the listener's head. Unfortunately, they're very tight on the head and not breathable, which is not ideal if you're looking for a good pair of headphones to wear during your entire shift.

The unique collapsible design, combined with swiveling ear cups, offers maximum flexibility in any application. I've used mine for many many years, so long I need to start looking to replace them (since new earpads and headband(? The HD280 pro's feature a closed back over ear design so that you get a comfortable fit over your ears with great isolation from the outside world and also minimal sound spillage when you've got them on. They're also tremendously more comfortable than the Sennheiser, and their build quality is noticeably superior. You put them on for a bit of mixing, trying to get an idea of how your mix is and you can sweep any instrument or the song as a whole anywhere with an average Q at as little as 3db.For a recording studio headphone pair, the single most important design element, after the drivers that produce the audio, is long-term comfort. Sound: Sound is a highly subjective topic because the shape of everybody's ears is a little different, and so are each listener's preferences. The high attenuation of external noise (32dB) makes these particularly suitable for use in high noise environments.

Complete with a soft headband and earpads, the HD 280 Pro II headphones are guaranteed to exceed the demands of professional sound environments. Mid-low is quite clear, and fits well with the rest of the range, with a bass guitar driving the song, easy to pickup and listen. While they’ve long been held in high regard, it’s essential to scrutinize their performance and features to determine whether they actually live up to the hype or if there are any hidden shortcomings.However, put on some Bill Evans Trio, close your eyes, and you'll be surprised how convincing the experience of sitting in some smoke-filled jazz club in New York is! Today's headphone audience is much more style-conscious than the audience of 2003, when the HD280 Pro first launched. The only headphones that came close to the HD 280 PRO in terms of comfort were the Audio-Technica ATH-AD700. But again, we are talking about the difference between a pair to enjoy music on and a clinical tool to make music on.

But the build quality is excellent, they fold up small enough to take with you anywhere, and they sound very nice. I used them to monitor myself while playing, and I was pleasantly surprised by their ability to help block out drum sounds.You learn to trust a pair like this—if these babies distort at a reasonable listening level, you know you have a problem with your mix. The worst part is that they’re actually marketed that way, which has almost become a meme at this point.

though because of the un-scooped mids I can see where you'd think they were bass shy, I at first thought they lacked bass before they were broken in, and keep in mind that the bass isn't bumped.To increase the passive sound isolation HD 280 Pro uses relatively strong clamping force, yet the excessive force applied to the listener’s head becomes tiring rather sooner than later.