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Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphone, Black
$99.95
The HD 280 PRO is a pair of closed, dynamic stereo headphones that deliver accurate, linear sound reproduction with ambient noise attenuation for critical monitoring applications. Optimum impedance ensures universal compatibility, from home listening to studio monitoring. The space saving design features collapsible, rotating ear cups that are very comfortable to wear, even if used for long periods of time. The ear pads of the HD 280 PRO are made of a synthetic leatherette.
High ambient noise attenuation
Accurate, linear sound reproduction
Soft earpads for a comfortable fit
Folding and rotating earcups for space-saving transport
Tough, single-sided cable
Price: $34.99 - $99.95
(as of Apr 30, 2025 23:07:25 UTC – Details)
Customers say
Customers find these headphones offer good sound quality, with one noting they measure similarly in sound isolation, and describe them as professional-quality with excellent value for money. They are comfortable to wear, with one customer mentioning they sit well on their head, and customers find them not too heavy and easy to travel with. The build quality receives mixed feedback, with some finding them durable while others report them falling apart, and the fit is also mixed, with some finding them comfortable while others say they’re tight around the head. Functionality is mixed, with some saying they work well while others report the right ear speaker stopping working.






seraphimblade –
Brilliant sound quality, and tough.
I got these after becoming frustrated with the “consumer” noise-cancelling headphones, and listening to a professional pair while helping a friend tune DJ equipment. After dealing with cord breaks (had to hold that pair dead still or you’d get cutting out and fuzz), cracking headbands, and loss of sound quality over time, I’d had more than enough. I was also sick of the slight hiss you get with active noise-cancelling, and the fact it only slightly mutes outside noise.The difference with these is hard to imagine, until the first time you hear them. They are, as has been previously stated, a bit toward the “bright”/treble end, but I don’t find that pronounced or distracting. I can hear nuances in songs that I’ve been listening to for years and never noticed before-the slight tremble of guitar or piano strings after the hit, the crash and reverb of drums, slight tone shifts in vocals. These are designed as “monitoring” headphones, and the fidelity definitely comes through there.These do produce a lot of sound. Be forewarned that if you’re used to listening to standard headphones on any device, ratchet the volume down several notches before you put these on. They don’t distort at high volume (at least not as high as I could stand it to test), but they could get painful.The nice part is, though-you won’t even want or need to listen to these at high volume! Even at a moderate volume, the nuances in the music come through crisp and clear, and the passive noise exclusion design works. At a reasonable volume, you’ll shut out all but the loudest noises. I tried them right next to a running sink with some music on, and couldn’t even hear the water running. I’ve also used them in several real situations, such as at work and on the train with people talking right next to me-not one sound. Of course, if you normally use headphones outside (especially near traffic), do be aware that these will shut out the sound of an approaching car very well too.For design quality, I think the part I like best is the cord. It’s not your standard hair-thick headphone cord-it’s a heavy, thick coiled cord like an old-style telephone handset cord. Having had cords break or develop twitches when touched or moved wrong in previous pairs of headphones, I love this-if you manage to break this one, you’re REALLY abusing it. And even in that event, it’s user-replaceable. This also leaves a lot of slack in the cord to stretch, if necessary. The top headband is plastic and well-padded, which also is very comfortable. The pleather cuffs on the headphone are soft and comfortable, and while I suspect they may wear out at some point, they are also user-replaceable. These are clearly designed to keep going for years, and I suspect they’ll well outlast the 2 year manufacturer’s warranty.Caveats: First, they’re large, even folded up. If you’re looking for something to keep in your pocket, these are not what you want. They also don’t come with a bag, but I find they fit well in a larger Crown Royal bag, which I’ve normally used for my headphones. They are, as mentioned before, a bit toward the treble end. I still find them to have a good bass response even in heavy-bass music, but if you’re looking for the “bass boost” style, these also might disappoint you. I’ve read some reviews stating that they had issues fitting on larger heads, but I can’t see that-mine’s pretty good sized and there’s still plenty of slack in the headband to loosen them up further.Even at the $150 regular price, these would be well worth it. At their current price (under $100), I can’t imagine you’d get any better for the money. If you’re not used to higher-grade headphones, they’ll blow you away.
Amazon Customer –
Excellent Headphones worthy of consideration
The HD 280 pro’s have a nice quality feel, and balanced non-fatiguing sound. I’m reading about these other people rating these headphones as trash, they are anything but! …. Of course they have their take, and I’m sharing mine.I am also a professional studio musician, like the other recent reviewer. In contrast to what he mentioned, being to flat! That is the intent for their design, to be accurate in presentation for all frequencies. Not for overly accentuated frequencies, making a mix sound inaccurate. As a percussionist, I love bass too, but not at a cost of sacrificing a well balanced studio mixed recording. Granted, they will never sound like a set of Meze Elite Aluminum headphones, but they also don’t cost $4K.What they do provide is excellent value for the money.As far as the chord, I had no problem what so ever, a non factor.I’ve used this model for years, it’s reliable, accurate at a price that is more than reasonable.I liked them so much, I personally went the extra mile of purchasing the VOARMAKS Leather Replacement Ear Pads, which is available on Amazon as well. They compliment the HD 280 pro’s even more. They also improve the sound too. It’s subtle, but the soundstage seems to be larger, and the presence is clearer IMO. Nothing subtle about the improvement in comfort, and larger, fitting over the ear nicely versus the stock ones. Installation is easy as well. To me it’s a no brainer to purchase in addition.In Summary,Everyone has their own take, mine personally, the HD-280 Pro’s is no doubt, a worthy of purchase!For $85 especially!
Jordan F Viray –
Excellent sound, but . . .
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.*** UPDATE, October 20, 2009 ***Wow, well these headphones are still ticking after over six years and I’m pretty rough with my equipment! Cheap headphones break after six weeks for me because the cable gets pulled or I mess up the speaker so these Sennheisers are pretty solid.Just as I feared though, the plastic HAS cracked and you can see the thin wires (covered in plastic or rubber) exposed. Now that most of the plastic on the headband has broken off, the fit is quite a bit looser though the headband is still held together by a wide piece of metal. I just wish they would just make a nice metal headband to avoid the plastic cracking issue.While I like the fact that they aren’t so tight, I don’t like the fact that richness (low-end midrange and bass) suffers because of it. You can simulate this when listening by pulling the headphones slightly apart. It isn’t noticeable on light music though and might not be an issue with newer versions of the HD-280 Pro.The ear cushions on my 6+ year headphones are worn past the leatherette, past the foam and to the foam backing layer. The top is looking ratty as well. Replacement ear cushions are around $20.00 which isn’t cheap. I’ll probably skip that in favor of a new pair of HD-280s – especially if they’ve been redesigned for larger heads as some people are indicating. I’ll keep this pair around as beaters until they quit on me. However, now that I’ve quieted my working area, sound isolation isn’t as critical to me as it was before so I might take a look at other Sennheisers.
vadym –
EL PRODUCTO:Cómodo, gran calidad de sonido y relación calidad precio muy bueno.Tenía intención de comprar auriculares para mi estudio, y me decidí por estos. Después de un tiempo utilizándolos, puedo decir que no me siento decepcionado en absoluto. Aíslan el ruido completamente, se adaptan a la perfección a la oreja y a qualquiera forma de cabeza. El volumen está equalizado, no suena tan alto como otros que he tenido la oportunidad de probar. Pero no es bajo. Además la calidad de sonido es insuperable. Se escucha cada detalle de la melodia.Tras estar una media de 3 horas con ellos seguidas, no he notado molestia alguna.-PROS:Gran calidad de sonidoAislamiento correctoCómodos y nada cansinosPuedes cambiar las piezas si se te rompe algoGran vida útil (tengo amigos que llevan con estos auriculares ya 4 años)Cable largo y con adaptador.-CONTRAS:Aveces me pareció que los bajos están subidos un poco. Alomejor es cosa mía, lo he notado solo en algunas canciones.Son unos auriculares grandes, para un estudio va perfecto, pero para escuchar música y estar moviéndote por casa cuesta.*El volumen. Aunque la calidad de sonido y el volumen es correcto, me falta poder subirlo un poquito más. Más que nada porque me gusta la música muy alta.POR PARTE DE AMAZON:Perfecto como siempre, embalaje, portes, precio.
Phil –
I love these headphones so much. I’m not a sound engineer or anything similar but I do listen to a lot of music and the sound from these HD280’s is just beautiful. They are monitoring headphones meant for the studio of course – nevertheless I like the ‘neutral’ sound they produce.I have these on for hours most days and they remain very comfortable indeed – the soft cups really are almost unnoticeable after a while. I have had my pair for 6 years now and after heavy use they have aged very well (other than wearing of the headband and the cup covers – as to be expected) and they are very durable. Then again I take extra care of my stuff..Anyhow, these headphones are fantastic value and I would highly recommend them. Just remember they are monitoring phones so if youplan to use them for music or other they might sound to neutral for some..
Amazon Customer –
I don’t have much experience with the studio headphones as this is my first personal buy. But I have used many headphones for shorter durations so this is my review in respect to my personal experience.Build Quality:Very good. Seems and feels really durable. The adjustment clips are very smooth and the headphones fit my head perfectly. The sponge part is also decent and feels like a quality product. It has a long curled wire which is very convenient. It has a 3.5 mm jack and has a quarter inch adapter, again very rich quality. Headphones are heavy and pretty tough.Performance:The voice and bass quality is very good. The noise cancelation is pretty effective as compared to other studio headphones I have ever used. It has been a year I am using it and I am completely satisfied with the sound quality. Very good for Production, Mixing and Mastering.I am using it with Focusrite Scarlett 2.2 and works excellent.Comfort:Very Comfortable and handy. You can fold it inwards and it takes very less space. It has a supreme quality sponge fit to both ears and at the top for head comfort. Use it for 2-3 hours without any pain or trouble. It totally depends on person to person anyways.Price:I got this for 6,600/- (discounted price) and for that price it is totally worth. There are other inexpensive studio headphones in the market but if you are looking for a one-time investment kind of deal, Don’t even think twice just and go for it.
Rashmin –
After a lot of research & comparisons with Studio Monitoring Headphones in this league, both price wise & functionality wise, between the Audio Technica ATH-M20x or 30x (a popular & formidable product) & the Sony MDR7506 (classic & iconic studio headphones), what finally made the choice for me was a super discounted deal on amazon for these Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones! At 6.5k, they are way more than a steal.First impression, right as you open the box packaging, is of a premium, well built & heavy duty pair of studio headphones. Box contains the headphones, which come with an attached output cord in a 3.5mm Jack with a 6.5mm adapter & a Safety Instruction guide, that’s it . . .No muss, No Fuss!The cord length provided is just perfect for my usage. These headphones are primarily going to be used for Video & Audio editing on a Macbook Pro, for 4K & Dolby Vision content, so the max distance is usually a standard desktop or office table setup, so the cord length is sufficient.Overall, build & touch n feel quality is off the charts, especially considering the price & the other options available in the same price/features segment.As soon as you pick up the headphones, you know you’ve picked up a premium brand.Finally, the sound quality, is by far the best I’ve experienced till date on any “over the ear”headphones, which were bought for personal use. The audio levels are crisp & clean, totally studio quality. The Noise Cancellation feature is highly effective & makes tuning out from the world, when editing a music video, a cakewalk.Despite looking like heavy duty headphones, these are fairly lightweight & haven’t caused any major issues after a few hours of usage. The cup size is nice & large enough to cover an entire average sized ear.The only caveat so far is the shape of the overhead band, which is way too wide, especially on a bald narrow head, so they may look a bit funny, but it is an extremely small nit-picky thing in what is otherwise an exceptionally fantastic piece of audio equipment.Although it is just the first day of use, the purpose & functionality of the headphones has been a 10/10 for the sound quality, on all audio trials & tests so far.Whether you’re looking for a pair of headphones for professional audio recording/mixing/engineering work or just to plug into your home device & hear crisp, clean & balanced sound, these HD280 PROs are absolutely perfect. Extremely impressed & happy with the purchase. Two Thumbs Up!
Burak –
Her şey güzel ama kablosu sarmal olduğundan ağırlık yapıyor. Kucağınıza ya da koltuk el koyacak yerin yanına koyarsanız sorun kalmıyor. Koltuk arkasına uzanırken sünüyor sonra geri toparlanıyor sadece burası güzel yani kablo dağınıklığı olmuyor ama haricinde ağırlık yapıyor. Pedler dışarıdan gelen sesi en aza indiriyor, dışarıdan sadece tiz sesler yani tabak çanak dizme sesi geliyor. İnsan sesi çok az alıyor, hele müzikle falan hiç almıyor. Kafada pek hissetmiyorsunuz en azından ben fazla hissetmiyorum. Sadece sıcakta kulağı tam sardığı için terleme sonucu kulak kaşındırması oluyor kulak duvarında. Yani arada hava alsın kulaklar. Kulaklık kafa bandı tarafında demir var zaten, yani tamamen plastik değil. Kulaklığın her bölgesi farklı plastikten yapılmış, hepsini sökme vidyosunda gördüm. Kablo çıkar tak değil biraz sorun olabilir bazıları için. Kablo çıkmayan ve ağır olduğundan yıldız kaydı 2 adet.