Sennheiser HD280 Pro

Pros: extremely clear highs, good bass response, near silent at full volume

Cons: Even the claimed 6N pressure on your head can feel a bit tight at times

Summary: Ok, if you're a music lover, but don't feel like spending a fortune, these are the headphones for you. The highs and mids are extremely clear and crisp. I find the bass response to be just right, though some may find it to be lacking slightly. Again, it is needs-dependent. For a good comparison of the lows to highs, I recommend listening to Jesse Cook's album "Gravity" all the way through.

The noise-cancelling ability is second to none, for the price. I can turn the headphones almost all the way up (which is extremely loud, by the way) without anyone else either hearing or complaining about my music being audible to them. I was considering the Sennheiser HD-555's as well, but I decided I needed the better bass response instead of the open-air design. I tested both, listening to different types of audio (music, movie, radio), and found the HD 280 Pros to be much more suited to my needs.

If you have any circuit-building skills, I highly recommend building a pocket amp for these babies. The sound coming out of your portable sound source (iPod, cd-player, etc) will be much clearer and also have better bass response (dedicated capacitors for sudden, unexpected sounds like big bass drum hits).

To conclude, I highly recommend the HD 280 Pros to anyone who is picky about sound quality, but doesn't want to blow a huge wad of cash on getting it. They are worth every penny of the money I paid for them.