Rating: 
Summary: Strong, Elegant, Wonderful Sound
Review: Sennheiser is a trusted name in headphones and their HD-600s are probably one of the finest sets of headphones out there. But the HD-600s have a price tag most of us can't afford, and they are open phones, meaning you can hear everything else around you while you're listening.The HD-280 is an excellent corrective to the above two problems. For one, these phones are very inexpensive for what you get. Secondly, they are closed headphones, providing a truly private listening experience that won't be interrupted by noises around you -- nor will they let your music annoy roomates, wives, etc. These features also make it perfect for travel. These headphones have a high impedence of 64 Ohms, but not so high that a portable player or computer source won't run them. They also have a coiled cord, which keeps it from getting tangled up with items around your listening area. Also beneficial is that almost the whole package is replaceable should something wear: ear pads, head pad, cord, and driver. These headphones are clearly made to last -- probably a decade or more! To be honest, however, these headphones are more suitable to us jazz, classical, and acoustic listeners than you rockers out there. You will hear more bass on these closed headphones than on open ones, but it won't be as boomy as on headphones designed to pound on your temples. Keep that in mind and look at the Sony or Grado brands if pounding bass is what you crave. For the rest of us, however, these are probably the best headphones in their class!
Rating:
Summary: Great sounding closed headphones
Review: These Sennheisers are a great pair of headphones, but you need to know something very important about them: they are closed, not open. This means that the cups need to have a very good fit on your ear to get the best bass, so you better adjust the headband exactly right. Too small, and the bottom of the cups will lift up, breaking the seal, and too large and the tops will come off. So you must make sure you get that right. Also, the less hair in the seal the better, but this is good for me because I would forget to get a hair cut otherwise. So why would you want to deal with the finickyness of closed headphones? There are many benefits of this design: If you work or listen to music in noisy environments and would like some escape, these are the headphones for you! Granted, you could probably get better ambient noise reduction with some active noise cancelling headphones, but these guys do really great without being nearly as expensive. Nobody is going to bother you in these unless they are shouting directly in your ears or operating some serious heavy machinery. Also, the music for the most part stays in, so they are good for listening to music in an environment where you can't make noise. Or maybe you're just nice and don't want to bother those people next to you with a tinny version of your great music leaking out. As for the sound quality, they are excellent in that area. You may be in for a surprise if you fall in the "all you need is bass" category of listeners, because these do not have a huge bass lump, but instead a very even frequency response, down to some very deep lows and all the way up to crisp high frequencies. If you don't already own some good headphones, you will surely be constantly listening to your entire music collection on these.
Rating: 
Summary: it's Sennheiser Quality....but you may think it's a miracle!
Review: While i'm no audiophile, i go out of my way to learn about a product before i make a purchase, and i'm very satisfied with the quality of this Sennheiser headphone.
I was comparing this pair with a similar DJ headphone model by Sony--similar price point. I tried the Sony pair and they sounded very good to me, and comfortable. However, in searching the web for user reviews, i was coming across statements about the Sony product not holding up in terms of manufacturing quality.
-The HD-280s are solidly built. ** Compare the 2yr warranty against the competition, and Senns replaceable parts. All swivel and pivot joints give the impression that they will handle a lot of use. The earpieces fold up (ear cushion to ear cushion) inside the arch of the headband for more compact storage. Each earpiece will also swivel on a ball joint from its connection to the headband so you can hold one speaker to your ear. Each earpieces also flips inside-out on the their wishbone connection.
-The cord is single sided, coiled, and substantial.
-The 1/4" and 1/8" plug ends are gold plated--the 1/4" screws on the 1/8".
-Be aware that Sennheiser--off their own web site--lists the pressure of the earpiece to your head at 6 Newtons. This pressure, combined with the closed earpiece design (the back of the earpiece is a solid piece of plastic vs an open mesh that allows sound to enter and leave the speaker and ear space), and the relatively firm foam pad with soft vinyl-like covering allow it to block 32dB of sound from entering your ear from outside the speaker enclosure surrounding your ear. This product does a very good job at isolating your ear (also referred to as sound attenuation) to the audio input--no neighbors, no dogs barking, no traffic noise, etc...to 32dBs. **Don't put these on if you're expecting an important phone call--you likely won't hear it! This does mean you will feel these earpads resting on your head more aggressivley than others Senns or other makes of headphone. If you have a wide face, i would be cautious of purchasing these, and certainly recommend trying them at a local audio source for at least 15 minutes to get the feel of them....and compare it to the feel of similar products. After a couple hours with these on, i do find a little dampness around my ear due to the tight seal. Other Senn products will use an even softer foam and a cloth covering, but that also allows more ambient sound to enter the earspace. It's all a trade--decide on your priority.
-I found the sound to be crisp, full, and amazingly deep. I actually find the base from certain sources will cause that rumble in my body i thought would only be felt by large external speaker woofers. And i do find, along with the other reviewers, that i hear new sounds from tracks i have listened to many times. So you ask, "Why 4 Stars?" Answer: because now i know what a good pair of headphones can do, and these are only half way up the Sennheiser line! My next pair will also be Senns. Happy Listening.
Rating:
Summary: really good mid-priced, sealed headphones
Review: These were the only really good mid-priced, sealed headphones that I could find. I've found these to be great at work where I want a combination of high quality sound and isolation from background office noise. These are full-sized headphones that are fairly lightweight and quite comfortable for me to wear all day long. The sealed earpads are covered in a soft leather. Adjustment rails move in and out of the headband to provide an excellent fit. The earpieces fold up and in via hinges in the headband, allowing them to be stowed away in a compact bundle. The cord is a coiled design that easily stretches to a few meters. I liked these so much that I bought a second pair for home.
Rating:
Summary: Just what I needed
Review: I regret to say that I can't write about the sound quality of these head phones - I'm not an audiophile, I really can't tell the difference between these and something that you could get for 40 dollars or so. But I can tell you that these had everything I wanted in a new pair of headphones. I'm a college student and I share a tiny room with 3 other people. When I listen to music, I want to 1) not be able to hear my roommates or anything other than my music, and 2) i don't want to disturb them with my music. These headphones work perfectly for this. When you have them on, you can hear almost nothing other than what you are playing - people talking in the room won't disturb you any more. Also, when they are on, almost no sound leaks from them. You can listen to music as loud as you want and those nearby won't be able to hear it. I also need to walk around a lot when wearing headphones. This pair of headphones also worked well for that - the wire connects to only one ear, and can stretch to about 8 feet, long enough for me to go anywhere in the room. Lastly, I needed a pair of headphones that would last me a long time, and survive a lot of beatings from the people who come in and out of the room on a daily basis. These are perfect for that as well. They are very well built, and, if, by chance, you do break them, you can replace almost any part of them yourself. The last pair of headphones I had were a 30 dollar pair of sonys and they broke pretty quickly with all the abuse they get here, but I'm confident these Sennheisers will last me well past graduation. ********** EDIT ********** after only a month or so of use, the headband has small cracks and chips in it. i use these headphones with great care, and don't stretch it beyond normal, so this is highly unexpected. as another reviewer said, this is the only non-replacable part of the headphones. while i don't expect the cracks to become much worse, it is a possibility, and would probably render an 80 dollar set of headphones completely useless. so consider this before you purchase them...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sound, but . . .
Review: the folks at Sennheiser must not have large heads. As with about every pair of headphones that I try on, I had to extend these all the way to fit. After a few months of daily use, the plastic headband began to develop small cracks. Now the cracks are growing and I fear that the whole thing will just snap one day. Unfortunately, that is one of the parts that isn't listed as replaceable. That said, people who look at this headphone are looking for: a) quality sound synonymous with the name Sennheiser b) excellent noise reduction. a) The sound from these phones is excellent. The standard criteria are there. The signal is very clean, thanks in part to the oxygen free copper cabling used. Bass is controlled and precise so a timpani doesn't sound muffled. Higher frequencies do not hiss and the phones are able to drive high frequency sounds and pull out details lost by consumer grade headphones. Soundstage is fairly narrow as some have said, but much better than consumer sets that sound like the sound source is inside your head. Of course, a DSP solution for soundstage expansion could help if someone didn't like the soundstage. What people should realise is that most music is optimised for listening on a stereo system and not headphones. A search for "binaural music" will yield samples that show how music should be sampled for headphones. Anyways, the HD-280 Pros also have 64 Ohms of resistance so an amplifier isn't needed. b) The biggest impression I got from these phones is silence. Not total silence, since with the headphones on I could still hear outside noise. Once the music starts playing, however, music is much clearer because background noises have been attenuated so effectively. That was the biggest attraction of these headphones. For my sound processing work, ambient noise from my computer and the outside world are suppressed admirably. 32 decibels is a lot of sound attenuation, far more than the Active Noise Reduction sets from Bose or even Sennheiser. The HD-280 Pros use passive noise attenuation. This means that for the phones to supress outside noise effectively, they have to be tight. They are very tight in fact. Four Newtons of force are applied, a number significantly larger than most headphones. If it weren't for the thoughtful padding, they would feel as uncomfortable as firing range headsets. Passive noise attenuation also means there is no artifacting from electronic noise that is usually the case in Active Noise Reduction sets. If you have a very large head, a solution is to find in-ear phones (the expensive Etymotics sets have even better sound quality and noise reduction). If you are sensitive to tight headphones, a solution might be the Active Noise Reduction sets (although they aren't as good sonically). If you listen to sound in a very very quiet environment, Grados or some other Sennheisers would probably get you that better soundstage for the money. If none of these situations applies to you, then these phones will provide better sound through their native excellent quality and their superior noise attenuation. After all, the listening experience with Sennheiser 600's on an Audigy 2 card or a tube amplifier is diminished with that noisy computer fan in the background. All in all, these phones are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: Spent 60 mins in store today, listening to headphones from the cheapest to the most expensive. I was not happy with anything until I put these on, and instantly I bought them. These are ace headphones no matter what any reviewer says. They are PERFECT for reference, sitting in hotel rooms recording with Reason and a midiman keyboard!
The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 stars is I hate handing out such bucks but at least the components are replaceable so I should get at least 15 years out of them.
Rating:
Summary: Great Headphones, after burning them in
Review: These are, overall amazing headphones. They sound great, are comfortable, and easily driven by portable players. However, when I first bought them, and eagerly unwrapped the packaging and tried them out, I was bitterly dissapointed. Where had my money gone, I wondered. They sounded tin canny, and the bass had no punch. I nearly returned them. But, taking the advice of many reviewers, I plugged them into my computer and left the music playing loudly for nearly a week straight. And it paid off. After nearly a month's use, these headphones sound GREAT. I have fallen in love witht eh tight, clear treble and amazingly accurate bass that the HD-280s provide. Jazz and classical fans (and rockers too but to a lesser extent) will love these headphones. I could go on and on and on about the sound quality, but you would find your self reading needless repition of the words "great," "amazing," etcetc. The design is a little big, but very comfy. I can wear these for several hours at a time and my ears will feel fine. The way that they fold up is also very useful for the frequent traveler, and the stretchy wire design is also very handy, keeping the wire out of the way yet providing you nearly 3 meters worth of wire (if stretched to the max) I would also just like to note that, after several airplane trips, the noise reduction in these headphones is also wonderful, and the HD-280 Pros make airplane flights that much more enjoyable. In conclusion, wait at LEAST two weeks, preferably more before judging these headphones, because the more you use them, the better they sound. And after a month's worth of use, they sound great. And they also fit great, and are extremely comfortable. The price too, isn't too bad, and I found them at ... for [$$$], including shipping from the states to taiwan. Do your ears a favor, and buy a pair of HD 280s.
Rating:
Summary: Best headphones I've owned
Review: As given by "an electronics fan" below, be sure to burn these in for 40-50 hours of use at normal-to-slightly-above-normal volume levels before rendering your final verdict. The tonal qualities change quite a bit in that time. Initially the sounds were "good" to me but a little flat or thin, and I was a bit disappointed. After 40 hours the Senn 280s warm up to a very nice set of headphones. I liked them so much that I had to share the experience with folks at work -- the people that listened were all impressed at the sound, especially considering the price. Bass is tight and thumpy without being boomy. Midtones are clear. Treble is clean and doesn't get harsh at volume levels that I can stand. Sound isolation from the outside world is good -- I'm oblivious to my family and pets when listening :-) and they are comfortable. They pump out a lot of volume -- more at a given volume setting than even the low-end on-ear headphones that I've used. My 1984 vintage Pioneer SX-V300 (~45 watts per channel) receiver drives them as loud as I can stand with the volume set slightly below 1 (out of maximum 10). I recommend them.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sound Takes getting used to
Review: I needed to get a new pair of "cans" because my Sennheiser HD540s were literally crumbling and falling apart from heavy usage(I've had them for 12 years). I loved those cans but unfortunately they are a discontinued line....so I bought these HD280 Pros because I read several Pro Audio reviews and they were all very positive. Sound wise they are great, but I found them not as comfortable as the 540s which were feather light and fit like a glove. The 280s are a bit bulkier but you get used to them. I need to wear them a little lower than the 540s to get the proper bass response but I got acclimated to them rather quickly and, for the price, I think they are an excellent choice.
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