Sennheiser HD 280 Pro (or other headphones?)

[Ryan Young]

I was just wondering if anyone has and/or uses these headphones. I need to buy a good, yet inexpensive set of monitoring headphones. I also want them to cancel a fair amount of noise, but not if it squeezes the foam to your head and makes it uncomfortable. Does anyone have any reviews on the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones. How do these compare to the Sony MDR-7506? Any other suggestions, around the $150 range... Thanks for your help!

[Kirby B.]

I use the Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and like them very much. Very flat. Only drewback is that they tend to squeeze my head- not great for hours of work. Not such an issue for me as I never use them for hours. The mentioned Sony's sound great, but it seems to me that they have a little rise in the bass frequency to make them sound more pleasing but less flat. In resume; best sound- Sennheisers. best comfort- Sony.

[Third Eye Studios]

Hey Ryan,

I just recently got a couple of pairs of HD280's, and I really like them. They get really loud and sound great. I don't find them uncomfortable at all, in fact I think they feel great on my big head. What will you be using them for? Tracking, mixing reference, live sound?

The HD280's compare really well to 7506's. As Kirby said, the low end of the 280's isn't hyped like the 7506's, but they are definately not lacking low end either. They seem smoother and not quite as "bitey" on the top end as 7506's, a more realistic representation for sure.

I have a bunch of different headphones around and they all have their strengths. For isolation while tracking, I like Vic Firth headphones. For overdubs (vocals especially) I like the 7506's and HD280's. For mixing reference I like HD280's and K270's.

[RobN]

May not be much use to you, but I've been using the 202s (bought 5 for tracking, but they are all I have right now) and they sound pretty darn good. They will make your ears a bit hot after awhile, but all closed phones will. If the 202s are good, the 280s should be great. BTW, you can pick up 5 pairs of 202s for around $100 at several online stores.

[macr0w]

I have a couple of pairs of the 280s. But I just got these . They feel and sound much better than the 280s. I think I will go for these next time.

[Ryan Young]

Hey guys, thanks so much for your responses. I got a pair of the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's. Overall, I am very satisfied. I did a comparison to those Sony's and yes, the Sony's did have a little bit more thump to it. They were also a bit more comfortable. These Sennheisers are huge on my head and kind of squeeze. However, the noise that these cancel out is awesome! I get a really really clear and true sound with my stuff. I'm using these on every step pretty much: tracking, mixing, mastering, live sound etc... I have used them already with each of these scenarios and it's great! I don't get bleed anymore while recording acoustic guitar to a click track, and I don't get the music in the vox tracks anymore. They're also awesome for listening to mp3s. I don't have to deal with any of the other chaos that's going on in my house, just enjoy good, and good sounding music. Thanks for your help and suggestions guys!

[Randirainbow]

Try storing them on a soccer ball if they are too tight.