The worst thing about Sennheiser headphones are the fact that I left my PXC-25s on an airplane and never saw them again. I replaced them with a serviceable pair of Panasonic RP-HC70s as a temporary remedy for the silence.
But at 37,000 feet en route on British Air from Vancouver to London and a dozen Middle Eastern stops after that, it was clearly time to move up to some bona fide sound. Enter the Sennheiser HD-280’s, a set of noise-canceling headphones for people who want some serious sound and are prepared to pay a premium for it.
The beauty of these upscale Senneisers is the way the ear muffs wrap around the user’s ears. Not only does this block out ambient noise more effectively–airplanes are very noisy–but it allows me turn up the volume of my music to my preferred level without worrying about bad-neighborly sound leakage that annoys a man’s fellow travelers.
This set of Sennheisers has a talk-through function that allegedly allows one to let a flight attendant’s or neighboring traveler’s voice get through. I have yet to find this effective, but am still experimenting.
I get very strong bass tones and the upper register is almost as impressive. It would be hard to exaggerate what a set of quality noise-cancelers does for the ears and brains on a long trip. By my lights, it’s standard equipment for the frequent business traveler since you arrive at your all-too-task-oriented destination with more of your brain cells still functioning.
These are not nearly as small and convenient as the smaller PXC-25’s, but giving up a little convenience is a reasonable price to pay for the improved sound quality. To limit the damage, the HD-280 comes with a very nice semi-hard carrying case with a functional little carrying strap that makes it easy to juggle when climbing off a plane with a computer case, books, tickets, and passport jostling for attention among a limited number of fingers.
A fine product at the better-known Bose price point. Just don’t leave it on the plane.
Canter Bridge 