Rating: 
Summary: I recommend these phones
Review: I bought these phones partially based on the good user reviews at Amazon.com. I have used them since December, 2003 and they have not dissapointed. I use them mainly for pleasure, gaming, and critical listening. I've listened to jazz, classical, folk, hiphop, the blues, and everything else and these 280s hold their own. Great price and great sound. You won't feel like you're missing out anymore, I know I don't. The only thing I might mention is that, like others have said, these phones grip your head fairly well. I have a small head, so I just loosen them up a little and they're fine. If you must have really light headphones, I suggest the Senn HD 570s or something in that category, although they're a different type of phone. I've worn the 570s and one could easily forget they were wearing them. :) Tschuss.
Rating:
Summary: Great product--great service
Review: These are some amazing headphones. After searching the internet for countless hours in search of great headphones for a great price, I discovered these. They are even better than I thought they would be. The sound is crisp and clean while outside noise is very minimal. This is very important as I am using them while playing a drumset. I would strongly encourage anyone to get these headphones. To top it all off, I received these very soon after making the purchase. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Best for the money, without a doubt
Review: Before purchasing these phones, I tried the HD-212's from the same manufacturer (which had an incredibly exagerated bottom end and somewhat artifical sound overall). Also the HD590's which were great, but not nearly efficient enough for my lowish powered system. Last, I tried a couple hundred dollar pair of Sony's (the top of the line model I believe) which were stunningly awful at any price.Here is a quick summary of what i've found: Once they are burned in, they sound fantastic...clear, defined, and with a tight and accurate, but still robust bottom end. For a closed headphone, they do have a very spacious and transparent sound, they can acheive a very convincing soundstage with the right system...impressive. Like everyone has said..don't judge them out of the box, they sound less than satisfactory. Play something for 24 hours at medium volume and then listen. I have NOT had the issue of discomfort from pressure on the ears whatsoever..and I admittedly have a rather fat head. I have also not had any issues with the headband cracking..they are over 6 mos old, used almost daily and are still looking great. The build quality seems to be very good. As far as efficiency, they exceed expectations. I can use these with my laptop, even my Discman and they still put out a lot of sound, more than enough. They also block out a huge amount of outside noise, which is great. If being compact is an issue they do fold up quite nicely. The only thing I can think of to complain about is the coiled cord, which is always irritating. Really a small complaint...all in all i'd say they are worth every penny and then some.
Rating: 
Summary: Sucked at first, good at last
Review: I bought these due to good reviews. I wanted clarity and heavier bass than regular. When I received these i quickly ripped everything open and put them on. i played some music from classical to rap. the rap was HORRIBLE. so horrible it was like ultra horrible. my 30 dollar portapros had better bass than them. i thought i just threw money down the drain. however, reading reviews of other dissappointed customers, they said to wait for a while. i had hope and what do you know? sounds great now. dont know i just got used to it or either it really "burns in." its very clear and i hear things i never heard before in music. however i think a better alternative would be the Grado SR80 for the money (they are open headphones though). the reason why i gave it 4 stars and not 5 was because i would get something else for 70 bucks i paid (from amazon). i really would have gotten sr80s. for Sealed headphones i would probably get something cheap like the hd497s.
Rating:
Summary: Great audio investment
Review: I can't afford a great aftermarket stereo for my car. I can't afford a tube-based amp and fridge-sized speakers. But I can afford Sennheiser HD-280s, and for now, that's enough. I use them with my Mac to listen to DVDs, CDs, MP3, AAC, etc., plus some basic audio editing. I like the way they bring out elements of the music that I miss when listening on my run-of-the-mill stereo equipment, like bongos that are hidden in the percussion, or people talking during live performances. I also like the little touches, like the fact that the cord runs only to the left headphone. The phones pivot around so they store flat and fold up, which has the fringe benefit that you can pull them off with one hand and abuse them lightly without worrying about snapping something. The circumaural aspect is nice, too. I have big ears and glasses, and other headphones tend to press my ear against my head and the earpiece, which hurts after an hour or so, but these are very comfortable. There's a big pad that goes on top of your head, which is also comfortable, but also puts a big dent in your hair after a while. I haven't tested them in cars or airplanes, but they do a good job of isolating me from apartment noise such as ringing phones, washing appliances, and my neighbors.
Rating:
Summary: Word of Caution...
Review: I love these headphones and the other reviewers share my appreciation for their accurate musical production. With that said, BEWARE OF THE IGNORANT REVIEWER. If you'll take a look at the box that these come in and their specs according to Sennheiser's own website, you'll see that these headphones are not for casual listening. In Sennheiser's own words, they "are closed-back, circumaural headphones designed for professional monitoring applications." Monitoring. Not listening to music with an MP3 player or a CD player. They are for monitoring. These are studio headphones designed to give a flat musical reproduction. Of course some people didn't like them when they listened to their MP3s - they don't color the music like consumer headphones do! The bass isn't designed to be booming and the mids and highs aren't supposed to be overpowering. In other words, these are a great pair of monitoring/studio headphones. That's what they were designed for, so don't heed the flak that others give these headphones when they say they don't like the way their MP3s sound with them. If you aren't going to be using these for monitoring like they were built for, then go buy the HD 500s. They color the sound and you'll be much more pleased. But for those who do recording of any kind and need a good pair of cans, these are it.
Rating:
Summary: Just too good!
Review: Sennheiser HD-280 Pro is an awesome headphone. I researched quite a lot (even listened to many headphones) before buying this. The HD-280 headphone is much better than its sony, panasonic equivalents (even some of the costlier models). Sony has too much bass and the sounds starts to deteriorate in upper frequencies. Panasonic has very weak bass. Comparing this with those systems, I would say it is very stable, and consistent. With hiphop, rap, jazz, it sounds perfect. Wont blow your ears! I especially LOVE the fine distinction in sounds at all frequencies. You can hear ALL instruments used in the music. Drums, etc are very distinct. When you go up in the frequencies, it is very smooth unlike Sony. You can perfectly hear the finer parts of classical music. Plus, the noise cancellation feature is awesome. I no more hear babies crying around me in planes, annoying teenage girls shouting in coffee houses.. :) I just love my HD-280 Pro headphone.
Rating:
Summary: Could be what you need or not, depends. WON'T pull hair.
Review: - Will NOT pull your hair. Even if you pull them off carelessly (I have long hair). That's VERY nice. I had a lot of experience with the popular (overrated) Sonys found in radio stations and recording studios (forget the model, but it's a direct competitor to this model) and with those Sonys had hairs being constantly pulled out from the root, even when careful. I've had almost 100% bad experience with Sony, and I never thought the sound was so great. I bought these to monitor audio recordings I was making of my own music and ambient (i.e. nature, foley) sounds, when my other open-air phones were creating feedback into my mics (ouch). I needed "isolating" or "isolation" headphones, and I can't stand earbuds/plugs. So the choice for over-the-ear was these or I believe Studio Kans (which are basically hearing protection mufflers modified to include audio drivers -- I didn't need that much isolation for the expected tradeoffs, such as comfort and price). I preferred the Sennheiser name, but they have also shifted their strategy to a degree in recent years to cheaper, lower-fi stuff, watering down their name. I didn't have a way to audition either of them. But I did know the Sennheisers have low bass response before buying, and I wasn't purchasing it for listening to industrial music ;) . - Low bass response. Not ridiculously low, but if you are purchasing these for listening (enjoyment, not technical/analysis) and enjoy deep bass, this is not for you. What is there is tight. If you like classical, you'll probably enjoy them, especially if you listen while traveling. I'll have to try that 'burn-in' thing some have suggested. - Good for listening for details. Isolation helps, as do the otherwise quality drivers. Cheap headphones will create or exaggerate hiss or noise, making your recording and gear seem noisier than it is. The HD 280 Pro lets you know what's really going on, but do audition the final mix in some regular speakers for a bass reality check so you don't overwhelm your listeners. - Blatently false advertising of "up to" 30-some dB of noise reduction (as others have mentioned). No way. That would make them more effective than most dedicated hearing protection, and that certainly isn't the case. I lost a lot of respect for Sennheiser when I realized that the company did not stop the person in the company misguided enough to claim this. Even if they technically made it happen in one register in the lab from a certain angle, in reality it's false. Now, Studio Kans' rating of 29 dB, I believe, making it double as hearing protection. But the Senn's DO provide decent isolation, but not as hearing protection, but for preventing feedback while recording, and muffling ambient noise enough that you're actually monitoring your recording, not hearing bleed-in sound. - Almost everything attached to these phones is replaceable, including a straight vs. stock coiled wire (wish it came w/straight). - In my experience, the Senn's are more comfortable than the Sony competitors, but the Sonys may stay on better if you're running, dancing, or prone (lying down). Senn's have a big, soft leatherette pad and rotate easily (and 'collapse', too). - Comes with 1/4" screw-on adapter (gold-plated connectors, O2 free copper wire). - Phones seem to be impedance-sensitive. Most quality gear will make these phones seem very efficient. More poorly-designed gear may get the opposite result. - Other phones I own: Koss Sportapros (descendant of the venerable PortaPros) and the venerable Koss/ Realistic/ Radio Shack Pro-60's.
Pro 60's gave almost instant and strong fatigue (from the drivers, not the headset). Despite their size, they were very much open air and didn't isolate at all, so they were surprisingly bad for DJ, recording, and travel purposes!
Koss Sportapros are an incredible value for a person who loves bass and wants to be entertained and enjoy modern music, not hear every detail in a technical manner. (Small, thin, light) Sportapros give wonderfully unnatural very-low-end and low-end bass (amazing, actually, and tight too), are cheap and great for just general purpose listening -- a great complement to the HD 280's (about the opposite of them in every respect). Sportapro headband is ugly as sin; I popped off the drivers & stuck them on a thin headband of throwaway Koss's (look at radio shack). I don't mean to review other phones, but it seems on-topic to me and may help someone.
I also had some Sennheiser Active Noise Reduction (ANR) (the small/typical size-ones which sit on your ear). I took them back, was utterly disappointed. The ANR actually somehow ended up drastically reducing bass and just deterioating sound in general -- bass response & general sound was better with ANR off, plus sound wasn't so impressive even then. Plus ANR led to huge fatigue & didn't work so well for anything above low registers (but did cancel out bass well enough to cancel out its own bass playback). Passive noise reduction (muffling sound) is much more effective. Combo passive & active noise cancelling is probably a great idea but is expensive & I've not tried it. Best 'enjoyment' phones I've ever used (don't own) by far were some high-end circum-aural open-air Sennheisers (fabric pads, forget the model). However, those wouldn't be suitable for my purposes as they let in/out too much sound. Bottom line: recommended for people who need isolation or noise reduction, such as foleys, DIY solo artists who need to prevent feedback & monitor their track from the recording and block out the ambient room sound, studios who don't want backing music to bleed onto vocal tracks, DJs who need to cue up music while other tracks are playing loudly, but also need to get them on & off quick (Studio Kans look tougher to don), and frequent travelers, all of whom don't like in-the-ear isolation designs (which could isolate better) and need accurate sound. Not recommended for the casual listener who enjoys bass. For musicians/technicians, the lack of bass response can help pick out other details, but if I had my choice, increased bass response would be the only thing I'd change about these 'phones, in addition to a straight stock cable and even more isolation.
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing.
Review: These are absolutely amazing headphones, especially for the price. All this talk of weak bass and "breaking them in" must come from people who don't have or can't operate an equalizer. Really, the sound is excellent out of the box, if it gets better with use then I am looking forward to hearing it. I can't say how they'll hold up over time because I just recently aquired them, but they feel very solid. I bought them so I could watch movies and listen to music without disturbing my neighbors, and I couldn't be more pleased. They keep out most of the noise (I'd say maybe 15 dB, the numbers they give on the spec sheet are high) the noise so I can turn on my dishwasher or washing machine and still watch movies undisturbed.
Rating: 
Summary: This is it !!!
Review: I am somewhat of an audio purist. It is almost certain that you fill find these headphones different from anything else you've heard. Mostly what I noticed was how these headphones sort of bring every peice of the sound forth. For example, if you were listening to a peice of audio with the wind blowing .. the wind would sound very .. clear and probably way more clearer than most others you've heard. The bass is enough. I am not one of those people who like thumping trunks. These headphones are pretty close to actually being there in person. In short .. yes these are recommended. Added later ...
.. First of all these don't block out close to 32db .. atbest 10db. Though for this price you won't find anything that attenuates 32db and produces music.
.. Secondly .. yes burning them in makes them sound much better. The bass really gets enhanced by burning them in. Added even later ... Ok, I've owned these for quite a while now .. here is one big negative .. all the pretty plastic you see around it's headband .. is ultra delicate .. shaterred with use for no good reason. The headphones are still usable .. but they look a little ugly now with their metal skeleton sticking out .. !!
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