ATH m40x sound leak?

[dresdenjah]

Hello, head-fi.

I'm choosing headphones to be used in public setting, such as a library, or next to a roommate with an audiophile's dream type of ultra-sensitive hearing.
After about a month of research, I'm still coming back to m40x. Seems like a good deal, but the sound leak is what bothers me. I know the closed cans shouldn't leak too much at normal volumes, but I'm afraid it won't cut it for when I'm blasting metal. Metal's not welcome in the library.

Is the sound leak truly that horrendous? Are iems a better bet?

 

[Dulalala]

Well before I say anything, I highly recommend you don’t blast your music ridiculously loud if you want to preserve your hearing. It may be fun now but in 20 years when you can’t hear your music properly you won’t be very happy.

I’ve never actually tested the M40X sound leakage but I’m going to assume it’s around the same as the M50X as they are similar in design. The M50X will leak a bit of sound, especially at higher volumes, but so long as no one is within 1m, you should be relatively fine. I think IEM would probably be a safer bet though.

 

[dresdenjah]

Well before I say anything, I highly recommend you don’t blast your music ridiculously loud if you want to preserve your hearing. It may be fun now but in 20 years when you can’t hear your music properly you won’t be very happy.

I’ve never actually tested the M40X sound leakage but I’m going to assume it’s around the same as the M50X as they are similar in design. The M50X will leak a bit of sound, especially at higher volumes, but so long as no one is within 1m, you should be relatively fine. I think IEM would probably be a safer bet though.

Yuhp, already deaf beyond 15-16kHz, at 19. The regrets over past choices are right at my doorsteps Just a little bit more, and headphones with sharp highs and sibilance are no longer a problem haha.
I've decided to look for more isolating iems. On top of the limited sound leak, there would be no need to crack up the volume as high to hear music clearly over the background noise. Thankfully, iems can sound quite good today, even single drivers.
Thanks for your response, really solidified my decision!