Why Closed Back Headphones Sound Worse Than Open Back
Jan 15, 2022 at 6:09 AM Post #46 of 58
Also closed backs come with comfort issues a lot of the time. Even the DT770, while very comfy headphones, if you use them for many hours (like four hours ++) they start to be a bother, especially when the weather gets hotter. I guess everybody's different though but that's definitely true for me, I don't think there are many people who use their headphones for long stretches like that every day. DT990 Edition and HD598 are headphones I can wear all day, almost regardless of the weather.
 
Jan 15, 2022 at 8:15 AM Post #47 of 58
Here we have the legendary openback hd800s vs their closedback version the hd820. It's plain to see the closed back response is much more colored and less clean and smooth:



Same exact problems can be seen on cheaper headphones as well when converted from openback to closedback like dt770 vs dt990.



In conclusion always get the open back version if you want a cleaner more transparent less colored sound. also known as higher sound quality.
As a reminder, all the higher sound quality in the world is pointless when it is polluted by loud outside sound. That is the point of a closed back headphone, you buy one for environments where you cannot attain a quiet background.

Always getting the open back version is poor advice. Having both an open and a closed back version (ie hd800s AND hd820) will serve most best unless you live by yourself in a soundproof room. Also looking at graphs between open and closed back is pointless due to different brain psychoacoustic perception of sound between these types of headphones.
 
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Jan 15, 2022 at 9:43 AM Post #49 of 58
As a reminder, all the higher sound quality in the world is pointless when it is polluted by loud outside sound. That is the point of a closed back headphone, you buy one for environments where you cannot attain a quiet background.

Always getting the open back version is poor advice. Having both an open and a closed back version (ie hd800s AND hd820) will serve most best unless you live by yourself in a soundproof room. Also looking at graphs between open and closed back is pointless due to different brain psychoacoustic perception of sound between these types of headphones.
I am quite the opposite. Bad is bad no matter what. In fact, in my experience closed-back headphones (most of them) sound even worse in noisy environments than in quiet environments since the nasty resonances get amplified to an even greater extent. I do not experience anywhere near the same auditory masking effects when I listen to open-back headphones in the noisiest of environments (as in the basic sound remains relatively the same as in a quiet environment), except that the bass response seemingly rolls off to a greater extent.

Please note that this applies only to over-ear full-sized headphones. After all, why would you want to use full-sized headphones in any situation other than in an extremely quiet environment?
 
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Dec 26, 2022 at 4:43 PM Post #50 of 58
If you are in an even slightly noisy environment, the closed back will have a vastly higher SNR and arguably better sound - at least for the HD820 vs HD800S. That is why they make the HD820 in the first place.
The 820 IMO is a miserable experience next to the 800 and 800S.

Look at the ratings of audiophile/ToTL headphones - there seem to be more open backs then closed backs - at least who/what I read.
 
Dec 26, 2022 at 4:47 PM Post #51 of 58
Although I need to be in a comfy recliner to enjoy my LCD-XC closed planers, they are still my reference for overall sound quality. I did a long review of the 820s, and the Audeze easily beat them.
 
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Dec 26, 2022 at 4:53 PM Post #52 of 58
The 820 IMO is a miserable experience next to the 800 and 800S.

Look at the ratings of audiophile/ToTL headphones - there seem to be more open backs then closed backs - at least who/what I read.
This thread has no direction with the HD820 used as a reference.
 
Dec 26, 2022 at 5:13 PM Post #53 of 58
Although I need to be in a comfy recliner to enjoy my LCD-XC closed planers, they are still my reference for overall sound quality. I did a long review of the 820s, and the Audeze easily beat them.
No question about that.
 
Dec 26, 2022 at 11:18 PM Post #54 of 58
Did you buy the k702 like in previous post?

I use dt990 burned in :D only one problem spot:
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I bet the OP was talking about the DT 990 Edition. The DT 990 Pro, which I have a pair of, somehow screws something up: The upper bass response was a bit bloated, with its bass boost shelf running a bit too far into the lower mids, while there was simply too much overall treble response that didn't quite settle down to my liking even after "burn-in."

And I knew why most closed-back headphones sound so wonky: They (at least the ones I have) all have a weird lower midrange suck-out at around 300 Hz. If there weren't such a suck-out there, then a closed-back headphone would sound boxy and honky due to resonances. I don't want to go back to the nasty pre-digital-audio days of nothing but closed headphones that sound boxy and honky!
 
Dec 27, 2022 at 8:19 AM Post #56 of 58
where to find the ratings you mean? just wanting to have a look. source please.
https://forum.headphones.com/t/resolves-headphone-ranking-list/16052

My general problem with closed backs:

* Sense of a soundstage is smaller - one of the major problems for headphones in general, made worse, no thanks.
* Bass is too loud relative to the overall sound. I like taut, damped, fast, and timbre proper bass. Most closed backs are too much volume, and lack proper damping.
* Early reflections and cancellations abound - if you never used open backs you would not know. But once you have used good ones, yuck on closed backs.

The Focal Stellia are probably the best closed backs I ever heard, but, I would spend $850 on them, not $3k.
 
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Jan 1, 2023 at 7:13 PM Post #57 of 58
* Bass is too loud relative to the overall sound. I like taut, damped, fast, and timbre proper bass. Most closed backs are too much volume, and lack proper damping.
A very common problem with most consumer headphones - both closed- and open-back.

In addition, the typical closed-back headphone housing itself resonates significantly at 200 to 350 Hz - that’s the exact area where the upper bass transions to the lower midrange. As a result, most closed backs tune out a notch within that very range which would have made the sound very, very boxy had that frequency were allowed to be reproduced at “normal” levels relative to the rest of the midrange.

Moreover, the bass of many closed backs lacks the extension of a good open back headphone - as in it plummets rapidly below the closed backs’ natural resonance frequency.

And this from a guy who strongly disagrees with closed backs being better suited to noisy environments than open backs (from strictly a sound quality perspective). In my own personal experience, I found closed backs to be equally as unsuitable as, if not more so than, open backs for commuting or walking. In fact, the significant sound disadvantages of closed backs relative to good open backs remain very evident even in such less-than-ideal environments.
 
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Jan 1, 2023 at 9:32 PM Post #58 of 58
A very common problem with most consumer headphones - both closed- and open-back.

In addition, the typical closed-back headphone housing itself resonates significantly at 200 to 350 Hz - that’s the exact area where the upper bass transions to the lower midrange. As a result, most closed backs tune out a notch within that very range which would have made the sound very, very boxy had that frequency were allowed to be reproduced at “normal” levels relative to the rest of the midrange.
Exactly! I use dynamat in my HE-500 and HE-6 SE due to too much housing resonance. OTOH I don't treat my HEX v2 or Senn 600 because they don't show it/need it.
Moreover, the bass of many closed backs lacks the extension of a good open back headphone - as in it plummets rapidly below the closed backs’ natural resonance frequency.
yes.
And this from a guy who strongly disagrees with closed backs being better suited to noisy environments than open backs (from strictly a sound quality perspective). In my own personal experience, I found closed backs to be equally as unsuitable as, if not more so than, open backs for commuting or walking. In fact, the significant sound disadvantages of closed backs relative to good open backs remain very evident even in such less-than-ideal environments.
so true. !nice to hear from an incisive poster!
 

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