[Frostmoon]

Been away from headphones for a few years and just returning. I was wondering are there open lightweight heaphones out there that would be considered very good to high end? I work in kinda of a unique situation in parks and recs so i spend alot of time outside. However in my line of work complete isolation is not necessarily a good thing or needed either. Looking around tho it seems most of the better headphones that are portable are closed back or the IEM thing ( i can certainly see why as most want isolation).​

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So is this kinda of a dead market or is there anything out there that would at least be a upgrade from my current Grado SR80? Also have a pair of Senehieser PX100 w/e those are called. And by portable i mean something you could resonably move around with and under say 250grams. Thanks for any suggestions if anything is out there ​

 

[Frostmoon]

Oh and should add my budget would be $350 or under. And use a Cowon J3 as my mp3 player​

 

[129207]

Open portable hi-fi? If you consider the SR80 portable the easiest upgrade would be the SR225i. The cans you are looking for are a bit of a paradox really. Portable means out-and-about so they're mostly closed designs. Also, hi-end headphones kinda need a pretty sizeable build/driver to achieve that high level of SQ. Portables are mostly light and small. Ultrasone's edition 9 is supposed to be portable-high end but that one's slightly over your budget, with about a 1000 bucks.  
 
If I were you I'd consider IEMs without too much isolation. Or maybe even earbuds. Check the Multi-IEM thread here to find the ones that are high up in the ranking but don't isolate (Yuin OK1, Radius DDM for example). Good luck! 

 

[swbf2cheater]

 I dont think you can consider grado a portable set even if its small and light, the cord is way too long to be portable.  If you want an open back that is portable, you will likely have to mod the cord unless you enjoy wrapping it around your waist

 

[loremipsum]

Twist ties come in handy for that kind of thing, and you can get more than enough to last you for at least a year for a grand total of zero dollars at any grocery store 

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[Nuwidol]

Even though you don't need isolation wouldn't a closed back pair be better anyway? They don't really offer much isolation but they stop sound leakage a fair bit. I assume other people will be in the same areas you mention (Parks/Recs) & if I ended up sitting on the same bench as someone or stood near to them with a pair of open headphones on I'd be sure to let them know I didn't appreciate it.
 
On the basis of that I'd probably recommend one of the Sennheiser HD25 range. As usual with Senns they come with replaceable cables so could be swapped out with a shorter more convenient portable solution & sound awesome.

 

[swbf2cheater]

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 I dont think you can consider grado a portable set even if its small and light, the cord is way too long to be portable.  If you want an open back that is portable, you will likely have to mod the cord unless you enjoy wrapping it around your waist

Or you can get some cable-wrap tools to keep your cable manageable!
 
http://www.textol.com/t_ties.asp
 
http://cableorganizer.com/wire-wrap/
 
http://cableorganizer.com/cableties-wrap-clips/cable-wraps.htm

 
Trading a giant cable for a giant wrapped up cable isnt a solution  I tried running around with my 325i with one of the wraps and i hated it, to each his own i guess haha.
 

 

[mvw2]

When I think portable I think small.  You start pointing you more to something like the Yuin G1A with a separate purchased headband from a sacrificed cheapy.  I guess it depends on what you consider as portable or perhaps how portable you really need it to be.  Full-sized headphones just aren't small.  They vary some in size, but in the end you're kind of carrying around the same kind of hunk of material.  Some fold which are nice, but they're all still well sized products versus very compact options that are vastly less in structure.

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[ZARIM]

SR325i, Ultrasone, AKG K501, HD595 and Audio-Technica.........

 

[swbf2cheater]

Quote:

 
Quote:

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 I dont think you can consider grado a portable set even if its small and light, the cord is way too long to be portable.  If you want an open back that is portable, you will likely have to mod the cord unless you enjoy wrapping it around your waist

Or you can get some cable-wrap tools to keep your cable manageable!
 
http://www.textol.com/t_ties.asp
 
http://cableorganizer.com/wire-wrap/
 
http://cableorganizer.com/cableties-wrap-clips/cable-wraps.htm

 
Trading a giant cable for a giant wrapped up cable isnt a solution  I tried running around with my 325i with one of the wraps and i hated it, to each his own i guess haha.
 

If you were "running around" with a Grado 325i, I doubt the cable and eventual cable-wraps were your smallest problem!

touche*

 

[Frostmoon]

Thanks for some of the replies! And ya i mean i guess what i was looking at is things like the Audio Technica ES9-ES10, Sen HD25, Beyerdynamic T50p, Phiaton MS400 and even the Ultrasone Edition's but there all closed. So was thinking maybe there something open with same relative features as those (smaller cord, lightweight, small to medium cups, can at least WALK in, and can be driven reasonably without a amp). Correct me if i'm wrong but most of the top full size headphones are still open so i figured maybe that trickled down a bit to the smaller ones lol​

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The only thing i could find seem to be Senneheiser 238, Ultrasone Zino+HF15, or the upper grado line (125,225, RS2). Friend of mind also recommended the AKG701 ones but they seem kinda bulky even if there pretty lightweight. And as mentioned the Grado line have that huge cable. Can't tell ya how many times the cord gets wrapped around my shoulder or waist or stuck on something in the Jeep lol. Looking at those tie solutions might work at least for my current ones​

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I guess a closed one that doesn't have complete isolation might be a solution as well. I know it sounds weird but sometimes being in the middle of a empty park with no noise/full isolation feels kinda creepy to me at least. Do most of the closed ones tho still have that kinda hollow tin can sound tho as well?​

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[Br777]

sennheiser OMX980