Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones

HD 280 mkII. Used no 1 for years as vocal recording headset. The new ones is even better. Worlds most used headset for vocal recording and I understand why. Leak very little sound. Solid build even its lots of plastic. Comfy to wear. Sounds good. For mixing and mastering I would get HD650, 660s2 or 800s. Its Sennheiser HD quality. Some of the best there is. And the company has very fast and good service. Took a little time during transport but that is ok when you get quality like this. Very pleased.

The connection does not detach from the headphones to change it from a coil lead to a straight lead, as the ATH headphones. The coil lead that came with the product is very annoying when trying to play or record an acoustic guitar, YOu have to coil the lead around the body of the guitar so it does not make a noise with the guitar when moving around. The Coll lead gets in the way of camera when doing online zoom meetings with my Rode USB mic with boom arm or conducting online lessons. Above all false advertising on the front package. The picture shows small portion of the flat/straight lead, and customers assumes that the lead is flat all the way. It’s only when opening the box after purchasing when we get home, that we can see the full coil lead. Also I think Store ... MoreThe connection does not detach from the headphones to change it from a coil lead to a straight lead, as the ATH headphones. The coil lead that came with the product is very annoying when trying to play or record an acoustic guitar, YOu have to coil the lead around the body of the guitar so it does not make a noise with the guitar when moving around. The Coll lead gets in the way of camera when doing online zoom meetings with my Rode USB mic with boom arm or conducting online lessons. Above all false advertising on the front package. The picture shows small portion of the flat/straight lead, and customers assumes that the lead is flat all the way. It’s only when opening the box after purchasing when we get home, that we can see the full coil lead. Also I think Store DJ should have a sticker on the box saying it’s a coil lead only, so customers can make a decisive choice before purchasing. Very disappointed in spending my hard earned cash of $149 for product, that’s going to sit in the cornier, not being used much.

As you can see in the photo there, my pair of HD280 Pro cans is so well-loved that it’s time to replace the padding on the headband…. which is easy to do because Sennheiser was smart enough to make almost every part of these headphones replaceable! I’m considering buying a second set, but not even to replace these ones - they’d actually be for a second player to monitor while we record together when I upgrade my audio interface. Despite looking like I’ve had them for years and years (because I HAVE been using them almost daily for years), this set still sounds flawless. This is one of those “if you know, you know” standard-equipment things like an SM57. ANY musician who’s been into a pro studio can identify this set at a glance, but luckily, they’re still priced at ... MoreAs you can see in the photo there, my pair of HD280 Pro cans is so well-loved that it’s time to replace the padding on the headband…. which is easy to do because Sennheiser was smart enough to make almost every part of these headphones replaceable! I’m considering buying a second set, but not even to replace these ones - they’d actually be for a second player to monitor while we record together when I upgrade my audio interface. Despite looking like I’ve had them for years and years (because I HAVE been using them almost daily for years), this set still sounds flawless. This is one of those “if you know, you know” standard-equipment things like an SM57. ANY musician who’s been into a pro studio can identify this set at a glance, but luckily, they’re still priced at a level that working players can afford. It’s hard to hold back on gushing too much about how great these cans really are. I’ll cap off with a very quick rundown on the actual sound and utility of exactly what to expect with the HD280 Pro: The sound CAN be a little more bass-forward than some would prefer for mixing. This is a feature of closed-back headphones in general, and not unexpected…. they’re not SUPPOSED to have that “airy” or “open” sound that open-back cans have. This set is designed for the best sound quality AND maximum isolation, for a musician to monitor playback while tracking “in the room”. The closed-back, highly isolated design prevents the playback in the headphones from leaking into open mics being used to record whatever the performer is doing. With that said, you actually CAN mix on these, too…. the quality really is that good! Obviously you’ll need to know their characteristics to account for their frequency response (like any speaker you would mix on), and it’s always a good idea to check your mix on as many playback systems as you can. But they absolutely are useful in mixing as well as tracking…. or even just as your daily-drivers for enjoying music through!

18 years of usage

I've bought 4 pairs of these cans in 18 years. These guys are my best friends. For mixing sound I've only found one other company that outdid these but that pair was fairly expensive and the sound wasn't very strong. These fit the bill better as I took them everywhere with me to listen while walking, field recording and while in the studio. I have definitely had to replace the ear cuffs and headband several times, and that's normal when using these 365 days a year in the span of years. The only issue I have had with these is how after several years of daily usage I find the levels of the right and left do get offset by a 1/2 to 1.5 dB's. In the mix I can sort of fix that, using a pan offset, but that is the one drawback I do find with using these past 3 years.

Almost perfect...flawed by comfort and maintenance issues caused by manufacturer cost cutting.

I own two pairs of these...PROS:+ Becoming a bit of a "studio standard" for "accurate enough" affordable reference phones.+ Flat (almost) frequency spectrum represented, little hype. Also, by way of functional design to a point, very little "air" in the soundstage, a good thing (or bad thing for you stylish kids with open back headphones that are not so good for studio reference/isolation). Honest enough to "mix in cans" with some minor user compensation, low-mids sound a touch boxy and up front to my ears, but it's not overly fatiguing.+ Very good isolation almost rival hearing protection sets or big clunky traditional studio cans.+ Comfortable enough on average head size/shape (short term-ish).+ Adjusts pretty far out for us with fatter heads.+ Foldable/collapse ... MoreI own two pairs of these...PROS:+ Becoming a bit of a "studio standard" for "accurate enough" affordable reference phones.+ Flat (almost) frequency spectrum represented, little hype. Also, by way of functional design to a point, very little "air" in the soundstage, a good thing (or bad thing for you stylish kids with open back headphones that are not so good for studio reference/isolation). Honest enough to "mix in cans" with some minor user compensation, low-mids sound a touch boxy and up front to my ears, but it's not overly fatiguing.+ Very good isolation almost rival hearing protection sets or big clunky traditional studio cans.+ Comfortable enough on average head size/shape (short term-ish).+ Adjusts pretty far out for us with fatter heads.+ Foldable/collapse and store.+ Good all hard plastic all week. construction/physical design, have survived heavy use and multiple drops onto hard floors and rocks (when field recording) with no issues....not even much obvious cosmetic damage.+ Ear cushion cover does not flake off and wear nearly as easily as other sets in it's price point.CONS:- Long term comfort suffers from cheap cushion material. As seemingly intended to wear out, be replaced at more expense/hassle than they should be, and all too often.- Cushions NEED TO BE THICKER, MORE COMFORTABLE, and MORE RESILIENT. Please from big ear fat head people. Our ears "bottom out" on the painful inner plastic grill in the first 8 months of heavy use. This can be more painful and annoying than a shirt with a harsh label back right over your right nipple.- (Crown appears to be improved (partially on newer with thicker crown cushions. Thank you I think, have not used them yet). Stock original head crown cushion are about the cheapest you'd ever want to not cushion your cranium. Tends to slip along the axis of the top of headphones. Come un-ziplocked over time, pointlessly difficult to "stretch the un-stretchable" when replacing. This appears to remain the same. To add injury to insult...they tend to flatten out pretty quickly, so you feed the hard plastic headaches, then order replacements, repeat every 5-6 months or so.NEUTRALS:= Cord, while old school curly is fun and functional to wrap around a headphone hook under desk and provide strain relief. This one get's janky almost immediately, perhaps the nature of this unruly beast to get the curly cord at a price point?BOTTOM LINES: They're good workhorses. With required maintenance and modification in ways that are pure laziness and manufacturing cost cutting measures. They sacrifice long term usability and general comfort for pennies on the dollar, could be easily improved. I'm not near ready to drop 2300 dollars on a pair of HD820's that appear to have addressed the issues, so maybe apply a couple of these changes to the bargain set?

Excellent Sound Quality and Top-Notch Sound Isolation

I needed a pair of headphones with strong passive noise isolation. I was originally going to get this over a year ago, and now I finally did. I'm glad to say that I don't regret buying them, because they sound so good and yet deliver sound isolation that comes close to a pair of ear defenders.I've seen mixed reviews about the 280 Pro's sound quality for personal use, but the sound seems to work out well for me. Despite wearing glasses, the subbass doesn't seem to roll off at all, which helps up for the slightly underemphasized midbass. Pretty much anything that doesn't rely heavily on midbass is going to sound amazing on these headphones. Music that is midbass heavy will sound a bit dull without using EQ. The mids sound fantastic, and so does the treble. The treble ... MoreI needed a pair of headphones with strong passive noise isolation. I was originally going to get this over a year ago, and now I finally did. I'm glad to say that I don't regret buying them, because they sound so good and yet deliver sound isolation that comes close to a pair of ear defenders.I've seen mixed reviews about the 280 Pro's sound quality for personal use, but the sound seems to work out well for me. Despite wearing glasses, the subbass doesn't seem to roll off at all, which helps up for the slightly underemphasized midbass. Pretty much anything that doesn't rely heavily on midbass is going to sound amazing on these headphones. Music that is midbass heavy will sound a bit dull without using EQ. The mids sound fantastic, and so does the treble. The treble is slightly underemphasized from 2k to 8k, which helps reduce harshness, but doesn't sacrifice any clarity at all. Soundstage is very good for a closed-back headphones, and imaging is spectacular to say the least.Comfort-wise, I find them very comfortable to use for hours at a time. I feared they might be a little too clampy at first, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for me.Sound isolation is second to none among the headphones I have. It even outperforms the Koss Pro4S in sound isolation. Both measure similarly in sound isolation from InnerFidelity's measurements, but from personal experience, the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro beats the Koss Pro4S quite a bit in sound isolation. These come so close to ear defenders in sound isolation that it isn't funny. The outstanding sound isolation ensures that you can listen to your music while cutting down external noise to a dull roar if not blocked out entirely. Sound leakage is almost nonexistent.The coiled cable is permanently attached, which isn't too much of a deal for what I use them for, but it certainly is going to make it awkward to use while taking walks or going out in public. I still have my Koss Pro4S, which I use for those purposes anyway, so the Sennheisers stay at home.Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. Sure, if the midbass was at the same level as the subbass, it would make these headphones more fun to listen to, but I'm not going to complain given their outstanding imaging, soundstage, and clarity and lack of major peaks and dips in frequency. 9/10 for sound quality, 10/10 for sound isolation, imaging, clarity and soundstage (by closed-back standards).

Fine performing headphones with that famous Sennheiser sound

I've been using the HD 280 PRO since they were introduced over 20 years ago. In fact, I have used one model of Sennheiser 'phones or another since beginning my career in classical music broadcasting in the early 1970's. I started with the HD 414's. I'm retired now but still use the 280 PROs several hours a day listening to everything from Voice of Korea (DPRK) on my Sangean ATS-909X2 shortwave radio to streaming new movies online. I value these headphones for their flat frequency response and neutral coloring and their comfortable fit. They are fairly priced, too. During the years I have replaced the ear and headband cushions after they start to fall apart after several years. The Sennheiser replacements parts work perfectly. The 280's usually die after 5 - 10 years ... MoreI've been using the HD 280 PRO since they were introduced over 20 years ago. In fact, I have used one model of Sennheiser 'phones or another since beginning my career in classical music broadcasting in the early 1970's. I started with the HD 414's. I'm retired now but still use the 280 PROs several hours a day listening to everything from Voice of Korea (DPRK) on my Sangean ATS-909X2 shortwave radio to streaming new movies online. I value these headphones for their flat frequency response and neutral coloring and their comfortable fit. They are fairly priced, too. During the years I have replaced the ear and headband cushions after they start to fall apart after several years. The Sennheiser replacements parts work perfectly. The 280's usually die after 5 - 10 years of daily use when the plastic parts that hold the headband to the metal strap wear out to the point that black electrical tape will no longer hold them together.These are not noise cancelling headphones so I did not rate for that. The HD 280 PRO is my choice for daily use wherever I want to use headphones.

Great for music and drumming

The headphones are really comfortable, and the padding is super soft. The lows are surprisingly bassy while still being crisp. The overall sound quality beautiful when listening to tracks that are well mixed. I've used these headphones for drumming, listening to music and gaming, and they are excellent for all applications. The noise cancelling is good, but it doesn't block out all outside noise. This actually is what I preferred so that I would be able to hear tracks that I drum to while still being able to hear my acoustic set clear enough at the same time. Overall, these headphones will cover pretty much application you would need, while delivering great sound from high to low. The price is low for headphones of this quality, so these are an awesome purchase if ... MoreThe headphones are really comfortable, and the padding is super soft. The lows are surprisingly bassy while still being crisp. The overall sound quality beautiful when listening to tracks that are well mixed. I've used these headphones for drumming, listening to music and gaming, and they are excellent for all applications. The noise cancelling is good, but it doesn't block out all outside noise. This actually is what I preferred so that I would be able to hear tracks that I drum to while still being able to hear my acoustic set clear enough at the same time. Overall, these headphones will cover pretty much application you would need, while delivering great sound from high to low. The price is low for headphones of this quality, so these are an awesome purchase if you are looking for a new pair. 10/10 for price and quality.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro rule!

Always been a fan of Sennheiser. Their mics are outstanding and got my first pair of these headphones for everyday video and audio editing about 7 or 8 years ago. The sound quality is excellent, comfort is great can wear all day with no issues, and durability is solid. The material on the top pad part wore away after using my first pair everyday for 5+ years, so gaff taped it and used them for field work, and got a new pair for studio. Still using the gaffed pair for field and they work perfectly.The new pair have an improved top pad design with a gap in the middle. This is exactly where the pad cover wore down, so to Sennheiser's credit, they improved the design and this 2nd pair will likely last even longer.I have nothing but good things to say about the ... MoreAlways been a fan of Sennheiser. Their mics are outstanding and got my first pair of these headphones for everyday video and audio editing about 7 or 8 years ago. The sound quality is excellent, comfort is great can wear all day with no issues, and durability is solid. The material on the top pad part wore away after using my first pair everyday for 5+ years, so gaff taped it and used them for field work, and got a new pair for studio. Still using the gaffed pair for field and they work perfectly.The new pair have an improved top pad design with a gap in the middle. This is exactly where the pad cover wore down, so to Sennheiser's credit, they improved the design and this 2nd pair will likely last even longer.I have nothing but good things to say about the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, especially for the price. I have tried a few other professional headphones, some more expensive, and these Sennheisers beat them all in quality, durability, and price! Going forward I'm not even bothering with anything else for all my headphone needs.

Sennheiser to the rescue!

Overall:My old HD650s finally bit the big one after 25 years of faithful studio use. With no backups, I rushed to zZounds and I grabbed the cheapest set of phones on the site. The HD280p. I did not expect these to be so good and was very pleasantly surprised to see they are NOT made in the Orient. The sound profile is not bad at all, I'll be it, fairly "typical", from my experience. Not at all flat compared to my old HD650s but my ears tell me the peaks and dips aren't erratic and instead are more gradual. Compared to my old HD650s, the HD280p have an exaggerated low end (maybe +3db or more below 100Hz). Subdued/forgiving mid treble (maybe -3db or more in the 3k to 5k band). Very bright high end (definitely +3db or more round 10K). Good clarity. Good control. Very ... MoreOverall:My old HD650s finally bit the big one after 25 years of faithful studio use. With no backups, I rushed to zZounds and I grabbed the cheapest set of phones on the site. The HD280p. I did not expect these to be so good and was very pleasantly surprised to see they are NOT made in the Orient. The sound profile is not bad at all, I'll be it, fairly "typical", from my experience. Not at all flat compared to my old HD650s but my ears tell me the peaks and dips aren't erratic and instead are more gradual. Compared to my old HD650s, the HD280p have an exaggerated low end (maybe +3db or more below 100Hz). Subdued/forgiving mid treble (maybe -3db or more in the 3k to 5k band). Very bright high end (definitely +3db or more round 10K). Good clarity. Good control. Very good sound isolation. Extremely comfortable. Good imaging. No apparent mud. Great depth and mid-range separation. I can hear each element of chords and thick pads very well. In some ways, better than my old HD650s. Please keep in mind, I am running these phones off of a good Schiit Audio DAC and Magni amp. My listening notes are from the first 2 hours of listening straight out of the box, with NO BREAK IN. These phones may flatten out as I use them more. For casual listening purposes, the Achilles heel of these is the very pronounced high end (10k). It means, unless you have an EQ (or torched ears), you will run into ear fatigue, compared to more mellow phones. This does however, make them great for tracking and editing, as you will catch every little pop/click and EASILY pick out unwanted distortion. Advertised as professional studio phones, I would say, the bump in response on the high and low ends of the spectrum, actually make for a good stress test of mixes. As I listen right now, truly good mixes are staying smooth and still feel good to listen to. The exaggerated low end is revealing any bass problems in a mix, while the boosted high end is revealing other potential issues, especially on vocals and "bit crushed" elements. Mixing on these phones may get people to tighten up their bass and control their high end better. Which is always good. One could probably get good mixes out of these, SO LONG AS, you keep in mind the response curve. Particularly, the forgiving mid-treble response. If you resist the urge to boost those 3k - 5k bands in the mix to compensate, you will avoid creating an overly forward mix. IMO the response curve of the HD280p is very easy to keep in mind while mixing. I'd say, for the money, this is a fantastic pair of headphones. I just hope they hold up. Time will tell I guess. Thanks Sennheiser for still making great affordable quality phones and thank you zZounds for getting me new studio phones ASAP! 48 hours after I ordered, they were on my front step and I get to pay over time. I'm so very grateful! : )