1) please no open-back design in public situations.  not so much because other people can hear your music, but most importantly--you can hear other people. they leak sound not only outwards, but inwards.  open-back is great for low noise environments and not much else (imo, from owning a pair).

2)skip the cnet reviews. they seem to always rate everything as at least "good."  go direct to the audiophile forums for headphone recommendations (yejoon mentioned a good one).

Yes and yes!

Still diggin my 280's a lot. After i actually got them fully broken in they relaxed a little and the fit loosened up. I dont really ever take them with me when i go out because of the bulk. So i purchased a pair of Shure SE210's (http://store.shure.com/store/shure/en_US/pd/productID.105181400). Which are a solid pair of earbuds. Actually for rock and jazz i prefer them over the Sens, but not for anything electronic that demands a solid bass (ear buds are just not good for bass). My next pair is going to be some Grado headphones and a small amp to round out my listening options :D.

Personally havent tries AKG but i hear nothing but solid things from them.