I need opinions on choosing one of these noise Isolating/attenuation headphones

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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My main goal is noise isolation, I would sacrifice 50% in audio quality in a heart beat to get an extra dB of noise reduction.

I am looking for a comparable option to wearing PPE earmuffs (27db noise attenuation) + Samsung AKG IEM’s, that does NOT involve IEM’s.

I found a few options available to me at the moment but I don’t have experience with any of them nor enough of an idea of the difference in “feel” between them to be able to decide.

I hesitate to ask for different suggested headphones, as the brands available to me are limited and most are imported in single units and prohibitively expensive

Yes, ALL of these cost the same within 10% variance (sales, second hand but basically new, new old stock, etc) that is what makes this difficult for me.

-HD 280 Pro (new version) the defacto standard
-HD 380 Pro (these were discontinued so this is probably my last chance to get them if they are worth it)
-HD 300 Pro
-Momentum 2 over-ear wired or wireless
-HD 4.50 BTNC
+PXC 480

Special Mention:
-Audize Sine
(not noise isolating per say, but second hand in good quality and costs about the same at the rest (yes, I know!!). I already own a pair of T50RP’s so I am not sure if getting these are worth it. Should I just live with the PPE earmuffs for a while longer and get these as they are a steal at the price comparatively, or would my funds be best suited on something else above.)

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I don’t really know where to go from here.

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I am well aware I am asking for advice for noise isolating headphones and throwing the Audeze Sine in there, but that’s the problem, CUD is a real thing🤦‍♂️

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Easy peasy. Get the Argon mod for your T50’s as Ryan from Modhouse blocks off the rear “port” and those ZMF protein/Lambskin/cowhide leather pads have amazing isolation. I’d really go with this option cause of the clay internal dampening he uses its extremely isolated. It’s dampening to the max and isolated asf. They’re incredible

Ether CX’s are incredible at noise isolation. But they’re expensive

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Oh how I would love to send my T50RP’s to Ryan.

Unfortunately at what that would cost me, I could buy two headphones out of those available to me above.

Plus I am not to keen on taking my T50RP’s to the office, nevermind if I had them modded.

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My main issue is I kind of HAVE TO choose from the list above.

But I am going to try and see what price I can get a pair of Ether CX’s for.

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Yeah id see what you can do on the second hand market for an Ether CX they’re so quiet you almost cant hear yourself talk

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280 pros for sure. Just get the new version.

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That is exactly what I am after, I think it would be worth waiting for them until I find well priced pair… Although I suspect I might be waiting quite a while.

Thank you very much for the advice.

In the meantime I might go with the HD280’s like @KeroseneSlickback suggested since I can get them rather cheaply.

I would still like to know how the 300 Pro and 380 Pro compare against the 280 pro’s as direct comparisons are scarce.

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anker q30 and mess with the eq to make them sound good, not as good for noise cancelling as the higher end ones like the sonys but better than any non anc closed back I’ve used and I guess you’re on a budget…

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If you’re gonna get a 280 please get a tube amp I hear its an incredible experience like a 6XX

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You guessed right😝

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Never thought of that since I only planned on using them at the office.

Might get my butt off my chair and get me to find new tubes for my Dad’s old DIY University project tube amp (sounded amazing until the valve controlling the right channel started deteriorating)

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What is odd to me is no one is talking about the newer 300 Pro’s nor the 380 Pro’s, the supposed model “above” the 280’s.

Is it because everyone knows, has or talks about the 280’s that makes conversations always return to them, or are they just that much objectively better than other’s in their “class” from sennheiser, to the point that it is simply not worth talking about the others.

They are priced very cheaply against other comparable headphones, making them an easier choice to make, and from there they only need to be adequate or comparable for them to be the more obvious choice, and thus far more people would have experience with them, driving up the positive opinion of them.

But should they all be equally priced and equally accessible, would the 280 Pro’s still punch that much above their class.

Maybe I should make a new thread about just this, what do you guys think?

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How do they compare directly against the 280’s.

At such low prices for them both,I don’t mind going for the slightly more expensive 280 Pro’s, my goal is not to save a few bucks, but rather most bang for the buck.

If the Anker’s are better at isolation I absolutely would go for them instead though.

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I’m not sure about sound quality of the hd280 but passive headphones isolate by clamping on your head like a grip and still aren’t as good as anc, fwiw I’m not going back to wired non anc hps for commuting, sound quality difference flips around once you get on a train… And the anker can sound really decent once you eq (which then gets embedded and saved on the headphones)

Also rtings gave a 9 in isolation to the anker and a 5 to the senns:

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Soooo… It turns out I am an idiot. I just needed to re-watch Zeos’ review of the 300 Pro’s and 380 Pro’s to get my answers.

This counts for both old and new models of the 280 Pro’s unless otherwise stated.

Isolation
380 Pro < 280 Pro < 300 Pro

Build quality/quality of live
380 Pro < 280 Pro < 300 Pro

(pads, cables, materials, etc)

Analytical Listening / flat Freq response
380 Pro < 280 Pro < 300 Pro

How fun they are to listen to
380 Pro < 300 Pro < 280 Pro

Tube Amped
380 Pro < 300 Pro < 280 Pro

Low end / bass response
380 Pro < 300 Pro < 280 Pro

High end / treble clarity
380 Pro < 280 Pro < 300 Pro

Frequency response range
380 Pro < 280 Pro < 300 Pro

Price
280 Pro < 380 Pro < 300 Pro

Best overall (price not considered)
380 Pro < 280 Pro <= 300 Pro

Best value for money
380 Pro < 300 Pro < 280 Pro

Final thoughts
The 380 is discontinued anyway, but should absolutely just be ignored.

The 300 Pro’s are a definite upgrade and “best in class” in this comparison, BUT

The 280 Pro are the overall winner.

The 300 Pro are not enough of an improvement to really justify the price, at which there are better options available anyway.

Ok, I am feeling much better now about how they compare.

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Oooh, very nice, thank you very much.

This is mostly just an interim solution, eventually I’ll go to a wireless ANC set from Sony, Bose, Microsoft or the like.

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Yeah 100% 280 Pro and fuck a flat curve with some tubes :sunglasses::ok_hand:

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