Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Review

The jury’s still out about Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones. They’re simple headphones for people with complex tastes.

Designed for professional studio use, they’re primarily focused on sound quality and noise-cancellation. They’re a combination of power, sensitivity, and comfort.

In this article, I’ll walk you through my personal experience, with a review of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro.

Overview

Founded in 1945, Sennheiser has been a pioneer in audio technology innovation. It has especially gained recognition in the eighties and nineties by being honored in the 59th Academy Awards and winning an Emmy Award for its developments in RF wireless technology.

Their HD280 Pro headphones are no different. It’s a step-up from the previous model, with improvements in many aspects, namely comfort, and aesthetics.

General Features

Sennheiser HD280 Pro is stacked with features, each designed for better functionality and convenience. Some of the features you should look into are design, comfort, stability, and breathability.

Design

When it comes to professional use, design has more to it than just style. It’s about comfort and ease of use, rather than how it looks.

At the first look, these headphones might look a bit bland. It’s all-black with a conventional style. Minimalism goes hand in hand with functionality though, doesn’t it?

They’re a bit thick with padded ear cups and a detachable headband padding. This might seem bulky, but it’s what gives them their studio appeal.

Comfort

Studio headphones are meant to be used for hours on end, which is why comfort should always be a priority. The Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones offer top-notch comfort and convenience for long hours of work.

The frame is made of flexible plastic and high-quality padding. The padding is soft and squishy allowing it to stay on your head for hours without causing you a headache. It feels more like a memory foam rather than headphones.

As for the ear cups, they’re roomy, with a lot of space for your ears. They cuddle around your ears with a thick ring of cushy foam.

Stability

Sennheiser HD280 Pro is tight, forming a snug seal around your ears. This obstructs airflow and improves isolation.

However, they can easily slide off your ears if you’re moving too fast, especially as they don’t feature a detachable cord.

Breathability

Honestly speaking, these headphones don’t score particularly high on breathability. It’s one of the tightest headphones on the market.

The leathery feel doesn’t do well with heat and the user usually ends up with warm sweaty ears. Absolutely no worse feeling in the world.

They’re meant to stay in an air-conditioned studio for a reason. Don’t think about taking these headphones while exercising.

Special Features

Sennheiser HD280 Pro stands out for its technical features as well as pricing. It offers outstanding audio quality and on par isolation, all for less than 100 dollars. It’s practically a steal!

Audio Quality

This is the main selling point of the Sennheiser HD280 Pro. The audio quality is unprecedented for headphones in this price range.

The bass is solid and clean, extending down to 10 Hz. This gives frequencies on the low-end a natural sound. It doesn’t compromise on accuracy either, eliminating any stomping over the rest of the mix.

As for the highs, their crisp stand out just enough for monitoring, without the harshness you would otherwise experience. You might come across some slight treble imbalances, however, they’re not too bad.

The mid-range frequencies are flat and pure, which comes as a tremendous advantage during mixing and mastering. They’re exceptionally detailed, especially when it comes to articulate elements, such as vocals.

The final sound is natural and wide with a flat signature, and absolutely no hint of claustrophobia.

Noise-Cancellation

Sennheiser HD280 Pro’s isolation is passive. It doesn’t feature active noise-cancellation . This basically means it can allow in the low-end frequencies, such as bus engines, droning, and traffic noises.

It’s, however, the best you can get out of a passive-isolation headphone. It blocks out speech and other mid-range frequencies exceptionally well. This translates into isolation by more than 11dB.

Moreover, they can achieve as high as 30dB of isolation, when it comes to sharp sounds in the treble range.

Price and Warranty

At below 100 dollars, the pricing is what initially attracted our attention to this pair of headphones. It offers many of the features of its counterparts at a fraction of the price.

Sennheiser also stands behind its products with impressive customer service and warranty policy of 2 years.

Who Are They For?

First things first, it’s not for recreational use. They’re not particularly stable, portable, or breathable. Let alone, stylish.

I’d say keep them away from the gym or your morning run. They’re also not particularly suitable for gaming, as the cable is a bit of a limitation.

As I mentioned earlier, they’re best designed for studio use. Their audio quality and isolation are decent and for such an economical price.

If you’re a creative professional looking to do field recording or mixing and mastering, you might want to consider Sennheiser.

It also works perfectly if you often work in a noisy office or coffee shop. However, there are other similar options better suited for that purpose.

Pros and Cons

To sum up, Sennheiser isn’t the best headphones out there, but they definitely have a lot to offer. Here are some of the features we like and dislike.

• ✓ Good value for money
• ✓ Great sound quality
• ✓ Passive noise-cancellation, which blocks out up to 30 dB
• ✓ Foldable and compact
• ✓ Wide frequency response range
• ✓ Comfortable
• ✓ 2-year warranty
• ‍
• ✗ No microphone
• ✗ Not particularly breathable
• ✗ Can easily slide off
• ✗ Wired

Comparison

Sennheiser HD280 Pro closely resembles many other similar headphones, including Sony MDR-7506 and M50X.

While the Sony MDR 7506 headphones are more portable and comfortable, they have a V-shaped sound profile in comparison with the rather neutral sound profile of Sennheiser’s. They’re less versatile, offering a more aggressive treble and bass. This can translate into a shallow wearing profile.

As for the M50X, I found the HD280 Pro to be more comfortable and affordable. The M50X has more aggressive lows and upper mids, which can be harsh fatiguing in the long run.

Wrap-Up

In our honest opinion, Sennheiser HD280 Pro is a set of headphones that combines functionality with affordability and minimalism. It simply gets the job done. No-fuss, no muss!

They’re studio-oriented headphones designed for professional recording and mixing. They offer top-notch audio quality as well as efficient passive noise-cancellation.

Although they’re quite comfortable, they don’t do well with heat or movement. Moreover, there’s no built-in microphone for taking phone calls or doing vocals.