I be happy with my hd-280 's . they sound good and they block out the noise . the headphone be comfortable , however the headphone padding do not breath so I sweat when I wear they for a long time . the head-phone be on the heavy side . the sound quality be very good , but not exceptional . I find that the bass can be a little thin . they will block out noise as well as any padded noise block ear muff . they may block out almost as much noise as active noise cancel headphone . active noise cancel headphone be very good at block out background humm and drone , but not so great at block out conversation . because the hd-280 's be passive , they be good at the latter .