Sennheiser HD280 Pro vs. Sony MDR-V6

Introduction

OK, so lately I've been hanging out at www.head-fi.org much more than I should. I've learned a lot there and I wanted to get a pair of closed headphones for under $100 (including shipping) and the leading contenders based on what I'd read were the Sennheiser HD280 Pro and the Sony MDR-V6. Opinions were split, with bangraman helpfully suggesting that I buy both because they're good at different things.

So, of course, I bought both (the standard greeting to newbies on Head-Fi is "sorry about your wallet"--truer words were never spoken), and I promised blessingx a head-to-head review, so here it is. The question of which one of these to buy comes up a lot, so I thought if I did a detailed comparison, it might help someone else out later.

Specs

I paid $69.99 plus $7.99 shipping for the V6s from Etronics, and I found that MacMall had the HD280s for $69.99, though I actually bought them from Guitar Center because they honored that price, plus $5.77 sales tax. So, very nearly identical in price.

Specs, as published by the manufacturer:

Snide comment: Gosh, I sure am glad the V6s go up to 30 kHz, just in case I want to put these things on my neighbor's friggin' dog. Laying on the marketing numbers thick enough there, Sony?

Photos

OK, I'm obviously not a photographer, but I thought people considering these phones might like to get a feel for what they look like, both side-by-side and separate.

As you can see, the V6s are smaller. They fold up very nicely, too, and they're also lighter.

Sound

Obviously, this is subjective, so I'll try to describe what kind of sound I like: flat response. I like to hear terms like "natural" and "accurate" in reviews, so I guess I tend to like things a little on the analytical side. My idea is that the sound engineer/producer wanted it to sound a particular way for a reason, so I want to try to make it sound that way as best as possible within my budgetary constraints.

Note that both sets were "broken in" for around 30 hours before I really listened to them seriously.

Source Info

The source material is my Audio Test Mix, which contains rock, dance/techno, new age acoustic, and classical. It's a challenging set of stuff to do well across the board.

My current home rig is an old Sony CDP-601ES (from back in the day when "ES" actually meant something) fed into a NAD C740 receiver. Not as good as a true headphone amp (maybe I'll buy that later), but the NAD has a better headphone section than is typical of consumer-grade receivers. (I like NAD because they seem to pay attention to details like how things sound, including phones.)

My current portable rig is an Apple 3rd-generation 15Gb iPod, also unamped (again, for now; I'm thinking the Xin Supermini--any thoughts?). I use AAC encoding at 192 kbps with QuickTime Pro's "best" setting. Not perfect but a good compromise between quality and file size.

Showdown: Home Rig

Pretty much what one might expect based on my preferences and the comments on Head-Fi. Overall, I liked the HD280s better here. In particular, they did a superior job with the classical and acoustic pieces, and with difficult vocals. Generally better definition and clarity. While the HD280s have slightly recessed mids (though certainly not bad), this is pronounced on the V6s.

In fact, you know how cheesy shelf systems have built-in EQ settings on them, and the "rock" setting is usually a simple V-shape? It's like the V6s have this built into them. (Actually, it was the push on the high end I found most disturbing on the Vivaldi--hard to hear the viola through the two violins.)

However, the V6's had a slightly more visceral slam and thus are a little more fun and involving on the more dance/techno pieces. (Rock is somewhere in between depending on how much you actually listen to the vocals.) Note that I did not find the HD280s to be bass-shy, in fact, they sounded to me like they went down lower than the V6's, and the bass seems tighter on the HD280s as well--but it doesn't "thump" as hard at the same overall volume. I'm sure some people would find the HD280s too "analytical" for them, but as I said, I lean that way anyway.

Showdown: iPod

For a portable, the iPod has relatively decent output: 30mW/channel, where the typical MiniDisc player puts out only 5mW/channel. Even at this level, though, a clear difference emerged. The lack of power really affected the HD280s, much more than the V6s. From the iPod, I actually would say the HD280s are, in fact, a little bit bass-shy; they lost a lot of their impact on the Underworld and Power Station tracks. The V6s held on better, though I thought the bass on the V6s started to get somewhat more muddy with the reduced power. Drums in general are definitely more involving with the V6s off the iPod. I thought the Fixx track "In Suspense" really showed off the difference here: the bass guitar is much more pronounced and involving on the V6, but it's twangier (is that a word?) and more defined on the HD280.

I still felt the HD280s were better on the classical/acoustic material, but their edge over the V6s was smaller from the iPod. However, sometimes good news is bad news, as I thought compression artifacts were a little more noticeable through the HD280s. Being more revealing, this is not a surprise, but it doesn't really improve the portable experience. (I can't imagine 128 kbps MP3s sound very good on the HD280s.)

On the iPodLounge, there have been a few people who have complained about the flatness of the iPod output--they want more bass, and the iPod's EQ isn't very good (tends to produce distortion). For those people, I would definitely recommend listening to the iPod through the V6s--got your bass EQ right here...

Other Considerations

Comfort

The HD280s are 25% heavier and definitely feel at least that much more when they're on my head. They generate a very good seal, but they put a little pressure on to do this. Overall, while I don't find the HD280s uncomfortable, they just aren't quite as comfortable as the V6s. I don't think the difference is all that huge, but it's there. A common mod for the V6 are velour Beyer pads, which supposedly makes them even more comfortable.

Portability

No contest, the V6s are more portable. They're lighter, smaller, fold up better, and even come with a nice little carrying bag. I will definitely be bringing these on future long road trips.

Isolation

I live in a really quiet neighborhood and I do most of my home listening at night when my wife and little one are asleep, so it's hard for me to judge this, but I'd be amazed if the HD280s didn't isolate better than the V6s. When I have a chance to travel and hang out at my in-laws some I'll have a better sense of this.

Appearance

Obviously super-subjective. I think if you're looking to impress people with something that looks imposing and professional, then the HD280s are the way to go. But seriously, do you spend more time looking at your headphones or listening to them? It must be listening to them, right, otherwise nobody would ever buy a Grado... (kidding!)

Availability

blessingx made a good pair of points on the thread on Head-Fi that this article generated: [1] I got a really good deal on the HD280s; generally they go for more like $100 than $70. [2] The Sony MDR-V6s are sometimes hard to find. Sony has replaced them with the MDR-V7506 which are pretty much the same phone, but generally slightly more expensive.

Bottom Line

In general, for the money, I think these are both tremendous headphones. The differences between them are not gigantic depending on your application, but they are certainly present and noticeable. I think for the money most people will be happy with one or the other of them. For $70, they're both excellent.

But which one would I recommend? My answer is "it depends." OK, but on what? On what you listen to, and what kind of source power you have. If you listen to primarily rock/techno/rap/dance music on an unamped portable, buy the V6. (I don't imagine the HD280s sound very good directly off a 5mW MD player.) Actually, if portability is an important criterion for you, regardless of what you listen to, buy the V6; the HD280s are just not set up for that role. Also, if your criterion is "involvement" for rock/techno/rap/dance, buy the V6.

If, however, you have a moderately-powered source and listen to a fair amount of classical/acoustic (probably jazz, too, but I'm not much of a jazz listener so I'm not sure), I'd recommend the HD280s.

And if you do a mixture of these kinds of listening, then bangraman is right on--buy both. I was originally planning to listen to them for a while and pick one, sending the other pair to my little brother, but I'll be keeping both of them. HD280s for when I want to really listen at home, and V6s when I'm on the iPod or I want to jam. (Do people still say "jam"? I'm getting old.)

Of course, very little of what I've said here is much different that what you could find out digging around on head-fi for a while. I take this as a good sign--it's a great community with tons of useful information, but of course sorry about your wallet.

Postscript: If I get a lot of positive feedback on this, I might be able to be convinced to do another head-to-head for $60 open phones: the Sennheiser HD497 and the Grado SR60. I have the HD497's on order and I'm kind of looking for an excuse to try out a pair of Grados since I've never heard one and people talk about them all the time.

Last modified 2003.09.13, Copyright ©2003 Mike Byrne