The best Headphones I heard 
by Laurencio from Trinidad And Tobago, June 2008
Music Background:  Producer and Composer

These are the best headphones. i got 2 Sennheiser HD 280 PRO my sweetwater engineer Mike Picotte advise me to get these over the Sony MDR -7506. I have used sony headphones for a long time they are good but these are better, i compared them to my home theather wharfedale diamond 8.1 and i heard things i didn't hear with them, these headphones are really accurate and the sound seems come from around you not direct on your ears. Trust Me you will love them

  GREAT SOUND 
by Tony Variations from Vallejo,CA., April 2008
Music Background:  Recording Engineer

These phones are great,the flat sound makes it nice for mixing.Besides,you cant beat the price.

  Tight, accurate, detailed sound... 
by Bob Ashforth from Scotts Valley, CA USA, March 2008
Music Background:  Semi-pro musician

I've had my Sony MDR-5206 phones for years, having been steered to them by my Sweetwater rep at the time. When I needed some additional phones, my current rep steered me to the Sennheiser for their superior detail and sound isolation. I still like the Sony phones, but for my use the Sennheiser's tight reproduction is just plain superior.
This is another reason I always use Sweetwater: Great service and prices, but even more so professional advice that has never steered me wrong!

  Excellent, Best I've found 
by Mary Lou Huntington from Nevada City, California, October 2007
Music Background:  30 years as a semi-pro horn player. Band manager for five years.

I am a retired french horn player so I am used to hearing every instrument in the band or orchestra all around me. The bass, the treble and everything in between. I was looking for head phones that would allow me to hear all those sounds. I tried some Sonys and they just didn't do it for me. Then my son told me to try his Sennheisers, what a thrill, the 280 HD Pros put me back into that world of sound I was so used to. I bought some. They're a great product, even the packageing. Go easy on the volume tho, these are SERIOUS headphones, save your ears.

  Good Enough For the Price 
by Dan from San Francisco, CA, September 2007
Music Background:  Flamenco guitar, engineer/producer

I've had em for 5 years, and they just broke. Always treated them right, but for some reason the right ear just went out. I'm looking into more expensive models this time, mostly for mixing with another point of reference since I'm concerned about my room acoustics, and some cheaper ones to pass around for tracking in my home studio.

  great yes. 
by charles from brazil, são paulo , capital, August 2007
Music Background:  musical producer

sony mdr is great too, but hd280 have a perfect bass, and best spl .

  Great sound.. Durability... 
by Jay from FLA, April 2007
Music Background:  Recording for years...

Ok i've had my hd280's for nearly 2 years now... And so far they have given me nothing but greatness. I generally record hip hop and the bass response is very nice (not taking away from mids and highs). Since I rap myself, I sometimes have these headphones on for HOURS, and yea they get a little tite sometimes, but what set of headphones wouldn't feel a little uncomfortable after 3 hours on the dome??

  Good, but not great. 
by Mike_in_NJ from NJ/NYC, April 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer & Drummer over 30 years.

My first pair of these headphones had a problem, but Sennheiser replaced them free of charge. The second pair worked better, but now that I've lived with them over a year, I realize there are better headphones out there for the same money. The HD-280's lack clarity in the midrange area. They sound scooped. A lot of people like that sound I guess, but I'm not one of them. For the same money, you can get a MUCH better pair of headphones in the Sony MDR-7506. The Sony's are much more accurate, especially in the midrange. The Sennheiser's block out sound really well, but they can get a bit uncomfortable after a while. They really hug your head! They are a bit heavy too. For general purpose listening, these headphones are fine. I wouldn't use them for any monitoring requiring accuracy though.

  Flawless 
by Savi0r from Sacramento, February 2007
Music Background:  Multiple Frontman, Mastering, Production...

I tried these headphones out and was awed at how accurate its sound was to my top of the line computer sound system. I've already started to save up for these :)

PLUS: They eliminate outside noise better than most of the noise canceling headphones I've used!

  The Sony cans sound better. 
by Nathanael Davenport from Rexburg, ID, February 2007
Music Background:  Hammond Organist, Recording Engineer - Rock House Recording

I recently bought the HD 280 Pro's, and was disappointed with what I heard. I own some of the most expensive cans on the market, and comparing $100 heaphones to those is an apple to oranges proposition, but comparing cans that are competitors with the ideal as a reference has helped me out a lot.

Simply put, the Sony MDR-7506's sound better. They don't hold a candle to headphones four-eight times the price. But compared to the Sennheiser's, they sound better. Noticeably better. The Sennheiser's had a muddy mid-range, though the sparkles still come through. The Sony's are a little on the bright side, but the mids come through with A LOT more detail. I'm sending back the 280's for the Sony. It really is that obvious.

  The HD 280 Pro. 
by Geron Davis from Nashville, TN., December 2006
Music Background:  Sound Engineer. Musician.

Honestly I think I would pay a lot more for these headphones. I planned on buying the Sony V900 which were 230, but they did not have the bass response that i was looking for. I tried these headphones out and everywhere the sony lacked, these headphones made up for them. They are awesome. I mix constantly at night with the headphones. When I use my Blue Sky Monitors(FANTASTIC) it sounds almost identical, except for the fact that my monitors are about 20 times the price. So There you go, from a sound heads point of view, these are TOTALLY worth $100. Another great item from Sennheiser.

  hd 280 pro 
by Tom from bangor, me usa, October 2006
Music Background:  recording engineer

sometimes i like to mix at 2:30 in the morning my monitors quickly were ruled out by the landloard these headphones allow me to mix and have it sound good when i listen to it the next day on speakers and that is the ultimate test.

  Most comfortable, Clean percise headphones on the market 
by Sam Estes from LA, CA, June 2006
Music Background:  Orchestrator/Conductor

These are by far some of the best headphones you can get in this price range. Excellent response, cones have a tight responce giving a clean bass responce that does not mess with the upper range. Use them all the time in the studio, extremely comfortable. PLUS you break any part on it, very easy to replace. Kicks butt when you abuse headphones like I do.

sony is better 
by Chris from Chicago, Il,, April 2006

I bought a pair of these when I lived in NC when my local music center didn't carry Sony headphones. Because they were the same price as the Sony MDR 7506's, I bought them in haste. What a waste of money. no bass response what so ever! Not good for R&B and Hip Hop. I've lost them since then. I'm mad about that but now I'll get the Sony headphones. The ones I wanted in the first place.

HD280 
by Eric , March 2006

These are fantastic sonically. These used to be rather tight on my head, but after wearing them and breaking them in (put them on a soccer ball for the weekend) they feel great. A+

The seal is amazing, and you don't get the over-hyped sound of the MDR7506's that we all loathe

Vice Grip on my head 
by Justin from Bay Area, CA, February 2006

These headphones sound very good. I purchased them to use in a project studio situation-- DJ gear, samplers/workstations, etc. Unfortunately, they are like a vice grip on my head. I'm writing this in the morning and my upper jaw is still feeling the effects of using them last night. Although I'm a fan of the way these things sound, I'm going to have to send them back. They physically hurt my head-- not just my ears-- if I wear them for any length of time. Too bad.

Very accurate BUT 
by Lee Rothman from Salt Lake City, Utah USA, November 2005

I say but because I only discovered after try to track my voice, that if you have a lower middle to low voice range, these exacerbate resonance produced by your nasal cavity through your head. Sounds weird but let me tell you, there is NO amount of EQ compensation that will removed the muffled sound you will hear when trying to track your vocal as these really couple to your head like no other headphone I've ever tried. For listening, monitoring or even mixdown they WILL tell it like it is, and are indeed superb. Just that caveat about the vocal tracking on lower frequency voices........

Sennheiser HD280 pro 
by Janus Aurillius from Byron bay, August 2005

Wow, these take some getting used to. For a year I was using "The sony's". The sony's seem to have exessive highs, also the bass is more audible. The sennheisers, they feel more natural, like listening to the mix through monitors instead of headphones. The sony's give you a "headphone" type of thing going on. The sennheiser are more "monitor". I feel like I can trust them alot more than sony.
Alas, now I have both! I can rule my world!

Nice 
by Joe Cool from Newport News, July 2005

I wanted headphones where I could mic an amplifier right next to me without a lot of bleed, these are the ones that get the job done! I can turn my Music Man Amp 130watt RMS to 5 and use a Shure SM57 3 feet from me and hear most sound through the cans... and that is a job well done. I use them for vocals too where I follow a pre-recorded track, these cans wont bleed onto the new track... Less Bright than the old Sony ones I had, but good in their own right in sound...buy them all you home studio owners! The candy that Sweetwater sent me was an added bonus...:=)

fragile... 
by Anonymous from Peru, July 2005

I bought my "HD 280 PRO" headphones a year ago, I was really happy with them at first, mostly because the frequency response is so flat and the padding would keep loud noises out. But after 4 months the hard plastic started to crack on both sides of the headphones, it seems the opening movement to put them on would damage them. I was lucky that the people at Seinnheiser gave me new ones, but then again, Ive been using these new pair for 5 months and they are starting to crack again, so... I´ve been only using them in my homestudio and handeling them with care. So I am a little disapointed.

In Your Own World 
by Dean Bonzani from Flagstaff, AZ USA, June 2005

When you put these headphones on, you're in your own world. Whether blasting your way through the pit of Hell in Doom 3 or mixing down techno tracks, the outside world is shut out, and you're alone with some KICKIN' bass and very nice mids and toppy top end. A well-balanced set of 'phones for the price. I've tracked with a bassist and drummer while sporting these puppies, and my guitar couldn't kill my hearing for the rest of the night. So, they serve a double purpose: you can hear everything very clearly defined while they also protect you from "cymbal death." Very nice. They're comfy, adjustable, and easy to get used to, and I forget that I have them on, even after four straight hours of "Delta Force: Blackhawk Down" online. Highly recommended.

amazing 
by kevin from kansas city, KS usa, November 2004

These headphones are some of the best I've ever used--at least in live sound mixing. They really block out the external noise when I'm mixing a band, and need to hear what is being recorded as well. I love how well they are made and the sturdy collapsible design.

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