HD 280 PRO - Thoughts?

I've owned my HD 280 PROs for several years now and I guess you could say they were the first set of cans to truly get me interested in over ear headphones. I know many people have mixed feelings about these cans regarding their comfort and sound signature, but I've found that they really came to life after hooking up to the Fulla 2 and now the Modi Multibit & Vali 2. Up until a couple months ago, I was using them on an X-Fi PCIe sound card and I found it truly pales in comparison to the Schiit equipment. I no longer have the X-Fi installed in my computer due to buggy driver and software support.

For my tastes, I find that the HD280s are perfect for listening to EDM or other bassy music and when I want isolation to block everything out. These cans really do extend LOW, as in it sounds like they have subwoofers in them depending on the music. They rumble and I just have lots of fun when I listen with them. I've even used them for FPS gaming on many occasions and I can always locate my enemies by the sounds of their footsteps and gunfire. Are they as clear, detailed, or comfortable as my HD598s and HD650s? Absolutely not, but I got these on sale for $99 at Best Buy several years ago. Thankfully I don't have a big head, so the clamp of the HD280s isn't uncomfortable for me. That said, they've had quite a while to break in and loosen up.

Has anyone else here used the HD 280 PROs in the past or maybe still currently using them? I'd love to know your thoughts as well.

 

Ear rattling bass and jaw shattering clamp. Great isolation and good for tracking.

 

Soundwise, it's your prototypical closed monitoring can: bass hump, withdrawn lower mids which gives a honky sound, treble hump/cup resonance.

The isolation is their strongest suit. When you need to hear stuff in a loud monitoring environment, not many will surpass it... The DT770 with gel pads comes to mind, but that was a sweaty sauna for your ears.

 

I have some Fostex/Massdrop TH-X00 EBs on the way and they should be here on Thursday. I'm looking forward to hearing the differences since the HD 280s seem to be a love it or hate it kind of deal. I know they are semi-closed/vented so they won't isolate anywhere near as well as the HD 280s, but I expect them to be a nice improvement overall.

 

Having owned both the HD 280 and TH-X00, the Fostex is a massive upgrade in SQ. They have some isolation, and lots of faux isolation. By faux isolation, I mean they LOOK like they should isolate, so if you use them at work, you can still ignore people and act like you can't hear them. Sometimes they even go away.

 

bumperoo. Were you talking about the new version hd280 pro? the old version doesn't sound as good. Ive owned the old ones and still own the latest version. I like them more than my 6xx, 58x, and lcd2c