Sennheiser - HD 280 Professional Headphones Review

If you are listening to MP3s encoded at 64 Kbps, the reality is the headphones aren't going to make that much of a difference. However, if you are picky about your music, listening to faily non-compressed MP3s, CDs, or records (like, on vinyl), headphones can make a huge impact. And for the money, you'll have a hard time beating these headphones. The sound reproduction is great and you'll notice the difference and the Sennheiser quality immediately. They perform great throughout the sound range, with an especially good bass. From classical, to blue grass, to punk, to ambient, I have yet to find a genre that doesn't sound great in these headphones.

They are big, fitting over ear with lots of padding. This, along with the closed design (as opposed to your average Grado headphone with an open design) acts to block out other sound from the room, giving you a great sense of isolation. The closed design leads to a little sound distortion, but the fact that my coworkers no longer complain about my music selection no matter how loudly I turn it up is well worth it.

The headband also has lots of padding and the size adjusts, ensuring a good fit for most anyone. I happen to have a big head, and these expand plenty big to fit even me. The ear peices twist and fold, allowing the headphones to be pretty compact for travel (and they are great on a plane).

The long cord (with a spiral twist, so it expands and contracts well) prevents you from being teathered to your desk/console.