Sennheiser HD 300 Pro vs Sennheiser HD 280 Pro

For most listeners I would take the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. It leads on sound quality, bass, midrange, treble, soundstage, build and isolation, and it does all of that while asking less of your wallet.

Buy the HD 300 Pro if the headphones are going to sit on your head for very long stretches and that matters more than anything else. It takes the comfort and fit aspect, though only narrowly, with full-ear coverage and padding built for hours at a desk. Its midrange is natural and flat-tuned in the way a studio monitor should be, and the soundstage really does put you in the room with the band. Be aware of two things before you commit. The low end is pushed harder than some listeners want, and it can be reluctant to reach proper volume on phones and tablets, so plan on a decent headphone output. The non-detachable cable is short too, which is worth a thought if your computer lives under the desk.

For everyone else, the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro is the one I would put my money on. It wins sound quality and imaging by a slim margin, but the gaps in bass, midrange, treble, build and isolation are wide enough to feel rather than measure. The low end is rich and punchy without swamping anything, sibilance is handled cleanly, and the passive isolation shuts out enough of a room or a plane to let you disappear into a track. It is also lighter at 490 g against 650 g and goes louder at 113 dB versus 108 dB. Earpads are replaceable when they wear, which is why it holds together over years of daily use. The clamp feels tight at first and loosens with wear, and ears do warm up on long sessions, but the value on offer here is hard to argue with.