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I'm using Sennheiser HD280 Pro, and they performed perfectly in the tests. Really excellent headphones. They're closed cup, so people don't hear what I'm listen

I'm using Sennheiser HD280 Pro, and they performed perfectly in the tests. Really excellent headphones. They're closed cup, so people don't hear what I'm listening to, and I use them on flights to cut out flight noise.

aaronem 13y ago
I used a pair of HD 280 Pros for about a year before I got my 558s, and I have to say, isolation is the only area in which the former outdoes the latter; in particular, as far as comfort goes, the 280s made me feel like I was wearing a bench vise on my skull, while the 558s sit so lightly that I barely notice I'm wearing them at all. Since I was working in a cubicle environment at the time, I figured I'd keep the 280s at work, primarily for their excellent isolation, and the 558s at home, where I maintain a quiet environment in which open headphones' lack of isolation doesn't pose a problem. That lasted about a week before I started carrying the 558s to work, because I could simply no longer stand to wear the 280s. It really is a shame the 280s are so big and clunky, because they are, as you say, quite good headphones otherwise, albeit IMHO a little weak in the lower part of the frequency range. HD558s being as cheap as they are, and from all I can gather being also the price/performance sweet spot of the Sennheiser 5x8 range, my experience leads me to suggest that it'd be worth your while to consider picking up a pair. (And I hear elsethread that the 558 foam mod makes them effectively indistinguishable from the twice-as-expensive and even more neutral HD598; I can't speak to that from personal experience, as I have yet to do the mod, but if true then the HD558 is most certainly the standout performer of its range.)
mattgreenrocks 13y ago
I use HD280's for guitar practice from my POD. They work really well in this case: as they're very analytical, and they don't leak. The closed cup helps me focus on listening to my playing v. the drums/bass. However, they're really hard on most music that hasn't been mastered well. And that is pretty much all modern music.
- jerf 13y ago
  That's what I'm wearing right now. Since I almost entirely away from horrifically mismastered stuff, it works out OK. Bass may not be the strongest but I'm not personally a big bass person. They're definitely monitor-style headphones meant for accuracy rather than "bass-boosting". If you're looking for a closed headphone set with that as the goal, it's a decent buy as they seem to run ~$80, given how many people are tossing around multi-hundred dollar recommendations. It really does seal you off from your environment a bit... I can't hear my cell phone ring in my pocket when I have them on.

aaronem 13y ago

I used a pair of HD 280 Pros for about a year before I got my 558s, and I have to say, isolation is the only area in which the former outdoes the latter; in particular, as far as comfort goes, the 280s made me feel like I was wearing a bench vise on my skull, while the 558s sit so lightly that I barely notice I'm wearing them at all. Since I was working in a cubicle environment at the time, I figured I'd keep the 280s at work, primarily for their excellent isolation, and the 558s at home, where I maintain a quiet environment in which open headphones' lack of isolation doesn't pose a problem. That lasted about a week before I started carrying the 558s to work, because I could simply no longer stand to wear the 280s. It really is a shame the 280s are so big and clunky, because they are, as you say, quite good headphones otherwise, albeit IMHO a little weak in the lower part of the frequency range. HD558s being as cheap as they are, and from all I can gather being also the price/performance sweet spot of the Sennheiser 5x8 range, my experience leads me to suggest that it'd be worth your while to consider picking up a pair. (And I hear elsethread that the 558 foam mod makes them effectively indistinguishable from the twice-as-expensive and even more neutral HD598; I can't speak to that from personal experience, as I have yet to do the mod, but if true then the HD558 is most certainly the standout performer of its range.)

mattgreenrocks 13y ago

I use HD280's for guitar practice from my POD. They work really well in this case: as they're very analytical, and they don't leak. The closed cup helps me focus on listening to my playing v. the drums/bass. However, they're really hard on most music that hasn't been mastered well. And that is pretty much all modern music.

jerf 13y ago
That's what I'm wearing right now. Since I almost entirely away from horrifically mismastered stuff, it works out OK. Bass may not be the strongest but I'm not personally a big bass person. They're definitely monitor-style headphones meant for accuracy rather than "bass-boosting". If you're looking for a closed headphone set with that as the goal, it's a decent buy as they seem to run ~$80, given how many people are tossing around multi-hundred dollar recommendations. It really does seal you off from your environment a bit... I can't hear my cell phone ring in my pocket when I have them on.