Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Circumaural Closed Headphones

I use these primarily for live sound (medium venue- 300 seats). They do not isolate as well as I had hoped- I have to apply slight pressure to provide enough isolation.

At home, or in a studio environment they are extremely good. The sound quality is top-notch. I would say that past these, the money you spend will be great compared to the marginal improvement in sound quality for a better set of phones.

These require a dedicated headphone amp or high quality equipment to hear it's full potential; without it you will not be impressed. On my work computer with system sound card I can hear all of the noise and garbage on the system.

They are comfortable for extended use (I have warn mine for 5hrs without wanting to take them off). The removable head band pad is a nice feature. Single sided cord is expected.

These are great phones for the price. I highly recommend these for the casual audiophile, small budget recording artist, or small venue DJ. I do not recommend these for substantially loud environments.

Truly non-fatiguing sound, not irritating at all (like most of the Sony's). Bass extension is adecuate, but needs a strong drive phones output to shine. Headphones output jack on some equipment lacks the low bass extension with enough strenght to drive the HD-280 Pro with authority; but when driven by a dedicated good quality output stage (like some portable outboard headphone amplifiers, or a strong Laptop sound card like my Soundblaster Audigy card, the bass becomes extended AND stays clean. Only complaint is that the plastic bearings (pivots) of the earcups are not low friction, and on soft passages ANY small head movement produces slight mechanical noises. Can be cured by careful disassembly and lubrication with a little quantity of grease lub.
Sennheiser should have solved this by using inexpensive Nylon bearings instead of rubbing the same plastic against itself. On the other side, highs are not as extended, but overall balance is correct. Not as detailed/crisp as I would like; Isolation is NOT as high as claimed, but quite better than most; NOW, considering 100 dollars as the top limit, it is undoubtely THE best in this class.

Two thoughts on the HD 280 Pro. #1 very comfortable, very clean sound, flat response across the entire frequency range, no listening fatigure, great when doing homwork or reading. #2 Not audiophile level, can not adjust bass, not for rock or metallica - great for vocals but no bass hit. Recommend you math the headset to what you listen to most.