SENNHEISER Professional HD 300 PRO Over-Ear Broadcast Headphones,Black

A Worthy Successor To HD 280 Pro
***** If you have not used circumaural headphones like these, make sure to adjust the earcups down to a comfortable level! Most people can wear these without adjusting them, but they will be very uncomfortable! *****As a user of the HD 280 since 2008, I’ve been a fervent believer in Sennheiser. I was therefore quite upset when I discovered that they had stopped manufacturing and selling replacement components for the HD 280 for the last several years. I was even more annoyed when I discovered that the HD 280s being sold for the last 5-6 years have been entirely made in China and not in Ireland like mine were. Much to my surprise, when the headband on my pair of 280s broke, I found that Sennheiser had finally developed a successor to the HD 280: the HD 300 Pro.I have to preface this by saying that I am by no means an audiophile user, nor a professional. I recognize full well that these are designed for sound engineers and other audio professionals. That said, I’ve tried a great number of high-end consumer-grade headphones over the years and they all sound *wrong*. The bass is overblown, the highs are muted or out of proportion, or the mid is muddled and lost. Just like with the HD 280, the 300 faithfully reproduces sound with crystal clarity, and the closed-back design ensures that nothing will disturb that reproduction.This is a generally flat set of headphones – no one part of the spectrum overpowers any other. The mids might be a little quieter in the mix than the highs and lows, but not by a significant margin. If you’re not familiar with studio monitors, don’t mistake a flat profile for boring – these things will knock your socks off. These things attenuate a significant amount of external noise. You won’t hear much of anything unless you’re listening to very quiet audio. Positional recreation is perfect – you can pick out each instrument in a small ensemble and where they are in position to the microphones (also great for games). The definition is similarly excellent; you can clearly hear the vibration in string instruments and the impacts on drums. The range in volume is also spectacular. You can clearly hear instruments as they go from pianissimo to fortissimo (Edward Grieg’s Hall of the Mountain King or Klaus Badelt’s Fog Bound are great examples of this). These sound great listening to orchestral pieces, rock and roll, hip hop, metal, and house. All in all, the HD 300s are close enough the HD 280s that I’m not disappointed in the slightest.Now, there are a few departures in design from the HD 280s, mainly to do with the cord and headband. The weird-looking headband cushions seem to do their job well, keeping the weight off the softest part of your skull – something that would occasionally cause some pain and discomfort with the HD 280s after several hours if worn incorrectly. So far the headband has been very comfortable. The earcups are perhaps a little tighter than I’m used to, but seeing as the headband broke on my HD 280s, it’s more likely that I’ve forgotten what they felt like originally. They are still very comfortable – and as someone who wears headphones for 8-16 hours per day, both at work and home, I have no doubt that these will remain comfortable throughout the day for a long time.The other major (visible) difference between the HD 280s and the HD 300s is the cord. For the most part, I really like the change to a mostly straight cable from a mostly coiled cable. It’s maybe about a foot shorter than I would like it to be, but it’s about the same length as the HD 280s was coiled. The major improvement is the coil at the earcup. Not only does this act as a small amount of give and resistance before you reach the end of the cable, it also dampens the vibrations that travel through the cord. The one thing that annoyed me about the HD 280’s cable was that the coil stopped about a foot and a half away from the earcup, which meant that any movement from the cable in that space transmitted the noise directly into your headphones. So any time the cable moved on or brushed your shoulder or chest you would hear it loud and clear. With the new cable design you really have to smack that thing around to really hear it.Speaking of cables, the HD 300 offer some hope for those of us who will want these things to live forever. The cable is now terminated in a connector that is screwed into the earcup – meaning no more soldering to replace a cable. The headband cushion appears to have the same zip-lock-esque attachment as the cushion on the HD 280s. The bad news is that I don’t see how (without disassembling the ear cups) you would replace the ear cup cushions. I also don’t see a headband replacement being in the cards – the earcups are essentially one piece and without removing the cushions I don’t see a way to disassemble them. The other bad news is that Sennheiser has not yet listed any replacement parts other than the cable. That said, these have only been on the market for 3-4 months at the time of this review. It’s entirely possible they simply haven’t made any spare cushions yet.Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the HD 300 Pro. The HD 300 Pro claims to trace its electrical design to the older HD 250 Linear model; I have not listened to those, nor have I examined the electrical design of the HD 300s so I cannot make any judgement to that claim. But I’ve spent the last ten years listening to HD 280 Pros, and, despite the loss of that pair, I’m as pleased as punch with the HD 300 Pro. This is very much a worthy successor to the HD 280 Pro.

Amazing headphones, worth every penny.
I bought these headphones for my son who does a lot of computer gaming. I did do substantial homework online, and these seemed to be the best choice after reading lots of reviews. I worked in the recording business for a number of years and had the good fortune of using some pretty nice high-end headphones during that time. Honestly, these blow those others out of the water. While they are technically not “noise-cancelling” headphones, the comfortable and beefy material around the earpieces blocks out virtually all outside sound. Beyond gaming, listening to music with these is incredible. The clarity, imaging, depth and accuracy are truly stunning. I am so glad I went with the $200 version; I think you could spend a lot more on alternate professional headphones and still not get the level of quality that these have. Definitely worth the money!

Great fit and great sound
We were using them to isolate sound from live music (drummer). So the isolation was not great and we returned them without any problem. So the old negitive I can say is that they will let in a lot of background sound if you are using them while playing live (our experience). Otherwise, excellent product.

Great Sound Quality, Very Comfortable. Definitely worth the steep price point!

Io le trovo un buon prodotto ma non sono un grande intenditore.

I spent ages online trying to hear recordings of headphones! – especially where they were compared not only with others, but with a ‘direct’ connection – So listening through a decent pair I was able to use the ‘direct’ as a reference.These take over from the 280 Pro and seem to extend a bit further and are smoother. They are very clear sounding at all frequencies making my other Studio Monitors sound a little veiled. The only possible downsides might be that if you listen to anything sub standard, such as distortion or sibilance – they will show it up clearly! I have noticed fine details like a singer breathing before or in between singing. Frequency range and response is lovely, very smooth and clean and really well extended. The cups fit my bigger ears nicely – but if its really hot you may feel it after a while – but only when its quite hot. Otherwise they are very comfortable.I have had many pairs of phones over the years and heard even more – these are among the best I have heard for my kind of listening – that is pleasure and monitoring / mixing .