Sennheiser HD 280 pro

2015

Despite their builkiness, the HD 280-s deliver in two ways: excellent sound, not too much bass, mild mids, clear highs; and sound insulation, means you can crank up the volume without disturbing anybody, or people might actually talk around yourself without you ever hearing them.

I loved the 280s. I consider them quite personal, because they have a break-in time, during which their sound develops from factory plastic to somewhat live and responsive mildness (and how that goes will actually depend on your choice of music), but also for one more reason - the earcups actually adjust to your ears. Another pair of 280-s against my very own feels like a totally different experience.. Anyway, my only complaint is that they are, indeed, a bit too large and heavy.

Edit 2015: After years of use, I've switched over to the HD25-s. Their bass does not extend as much, but they are slightly more even. The HD-280s remain exceptionally musical, but that makes them unsuitable for mixing. I had too many mixes wrecked by using the 280s with their bass and low-mid unevenness. The only choice was to switch. /edit

Since this is a somewhat controversial model (as in, they get lots of positive votes, yet reviewers hit hard on them for their weaknesses) Their excellent review at HeadRoom is now gone but for years it used to say this:

Every once in a great while somebody makes a small "mistake" of sorts that somehow gets things more right than they perhaps ought to be .... [...] The HD280Pro has also become the headphone choice of many audio, film, and location recording/mixing professionals due to its clear, flat tonal presentation, very effective ambient noise attenuation properties, and extremely durable build quality. The HD280Pro remains a true workhorse sealed-earcup headphone at a hard-to-beat price.

That pretty much sums it up.

HD 280's official page at Sennheiser.