Update on the Sennheiser HD-280:
I've lived with these for over a week now, and I want to update/amend/revise my initial review.
Isolation:
I want to take back what I said about the isolation being "more than adequate" and simply restate that as being "adequate." They do provide enough isolation to play drums along to music without cranking it way up, but after spending some more time with them I think I could use a little more sound blockage.
I've been using foam insert earplugs for years to sleep with, and more recently for drumming. Most of them are rated around 29-31 db attenuation. So I know what that sounds/feels like. Each time I've played drums along to music through the HD-280s, I kept thinking: This isn't that, even though they are rated UP TO 32 db. So I spent a few hours googling technical data, and the devil is in the marketing details: "UP TO," not AVERAGE. The sound attenuation curve is nowhere near flat, and they block a maximum of 32 db in the upper mids and highs. Sound blockage at lower mids is considerably less and much lower around the bass notes.
I found this at
www.headphones.com, a very useful and informative website:
They rate these headphones as having an AVERAGE attenuation, across the audible spectrum, of 15 db. The fact that the higher (32 db) rate is in the upper register does, however, make them useful for drumming because that's where most of the spikey noise is. Ride, crash and snare are substantially muted; toms and kick less so in overall volume. Overtones are considerably muted.
I don't know how Direct Sound (EX-29) arrives at their numbers, but if they offer a true average of 29 db of attenuation, they would obviously provide more isolation than the HD-280. Headphones.com does not offer any information on the EX-29. Thus, if maximum ear protection is your objective, think twice about the Sennheisers.
Sound:
I fall more in love with the detailed clarity of these ‘phones every time I use them. I’m definitely keeping them, even if the isolation factor isn’t quite what I hoped for. I’ve read that they take at least 40 hours of usage to “break in,” after which the sound comes more fully alive. I don’t think I have quite that much time on them yet, but they still sound amazing.
My previous review was based on audio played through my laptop, which has onboard sound processing. The HD-280s sounded great, as I described. I’ve since listened to all kinds of music on my other computer – a Dell quadcore with a Soundblaster sound card – and the difference is marked. I’ve also listened to them on my Onkyo receiver/amp and again I’m blown away by the clarity of the sound. Being sealed ‘phones, the soundstage is a bit tighter and closer than with good quality open units. Supposedly they aimed for a flat frequency response curve as the intended application was critical monitoring.
Native bass response is more smooth, full and deep than punchy or hard-hitting. But it is rich, goes extremely deep and with a little EQ bump the drivers will deliver as much bass as you want. The overall sound is clean, vibrant and extremely detailed. (That’s a two-edged sword – it enhances your enjoyment of good recordings and also makes you tragically aware of bad ones.)
The unit has also become much more comfortable with continued use, although they are still snug. They are light for their size and the ear cushions are comfy, but out of the box they were
very tight.
In short, I'd say these are the best headphones I've ever owned as far as sound quality goes. For the express purpose of providing maximum isolation from exterior noise while drumming - they do a good enough job but there are probably better options.
Here’s the review from HeadRoom:
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/sealed-and-noise-canceling/sennheiser-hd-280-pro.php
Hope this helps.