[sameguy]

I know this subject has been touched upon before but not quite with this bent.   I've had a set of Grado SR 325's for year.   Honestly they they don't have more than 30 hours on them but that's another thread.   I am a regular hifi junky, with a lot of Linn gear, amps, pre, speakers etc.  I fine myself, for the first time in the need of keeping it down (for family reasons) for probably the first time in my life.  I thought I'd just slap on my cans and be fine but I am finding that there is another world over here.  I picked up a PS audio GHCA which I am enjoying quite a lot, but I feel like the Grado SR 325's ar4we holding me back in a number of ways.
 
Sadly, the open design allows quite a bit of outside noise in, whether it be the UPS guy heading up the street or the vacuum doing its duty in the next room.  I know these are low to middle of the road cans at best, and I am planning on upgrading as we speak.  I'm looking at the

Denon AH-D7000

And the Audez'e LCD2   Every component of the LCD-2 is precision engineered with one goal in mind: Recreate the sound exactly like the artist intended. Read More   I know the Auzez'e is open and the Denon is closed.  The denon is closed which is a big plus bu the Audeze is getting some prety big press and I'm a fan of new and gizmoy.  Please lead a lost soul down the right path. lead me to the right decision here.  I miss the big HIfi but with little ones sleeping and the better half getting partial (if not completely disputed) custody of such hifi for inane "Jersey wives and mid day soap dramas." the whole system, mine, needs to be moved to the den so "daddy can get some "work" done.

 

 

[Croozer]

I prefer the isolation and bass response of a closed headphone.

 

[fabio-fi]

Well i like both. Open headphones soundstage for gaming is awesome. I would like to try the Audeze's sometime. 

 

[sidel]

I greatly prefer open headphones if I can get away with it.  It sounds like you're in some serious need for isolation though.

 

[Naim.F.C]

Pretty sure my T1's and D5000 both leak so much sound they might as well be fully open lol.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I used to be a big fan of open headphones. But more and more I find myself wanting closed headphones. I just feel like I hear better detail at lower volumes and I get tired of hearing house noises (even the AC bothers me if I hear it kick on while I'm at a quiet moment in a song and it ruins it). I think if you have any issue with outside noises, at all, you should likely just go closed and call it a day there. I find it really hard to enjoy music when there's a lot of noise coming in and congesting things. There's a difference between background music you play when your friends are over and you're all playing poker and having drinks, compared to sitting back at home having some alone time and listening to some of your favorite records in a quiet atmosphere.
 
325's are not low. They're middle tier headphones. Don't play them down. Not everyone has a $5000 headphone setup.
 
Very best,

 

[Gwarmi]

As a wise headphone loving man named Can-fucius once said :-
 
"Price alone does not always maketh the can"
 
 

 

[oqvist]

D7000 don´t isolate... You have to be aware that many "closed" headphones are ported or seal so bad they don´t offer any practical isolation.
 
Headphones that come to mind that I tried is markl D5000 (which supposedly isolate a bit better then the stock D5000 due to thicker pads.
Audio Technica W1000x
Sony CD 3000
 
If you don´t want to disturb others they are all better options then the LCD-2 which is pretty much the worst headphone you could buy in that case.
 

 

[sameguy]

Oqvist,
Thanks for the info on the D7000.  I didn't think they really isolated but I figured they would shut out external sound better than the 325's I currently have and the LCD-2's that I'm lusting over. I'll check out the cans you mentioned.  I see you have a set of LCD-2's.  How do you like them?

 

[Croozer]

I figured they would shut out external sound better than the 325's I currently have and the LCD-2's that I'm lusting over.

They will.

The D7K is a great set of closed headphones.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

Oqvist,
Thanks for the info on the D7000.  I didn't think they really isolated but I figured they would shut out external sound better than the 325's I currently have and the LCD-2's that I'm lusting over. I'll check out the cans you mentioned.  I see you have a set of LCD-2's.  How do you like them?

There is hardly any difference worth noting in isolating from incoming noise between the markl D5000 and more open headphones like K701 I had at the time. I absolutely love the LCD-2 so much I really don´t mind outward noise as much as I generally do lol

 

[alphaphoenix]

To the OP, as a family man myself, I completely understand your position.  Like others have said, the D7000, despite being classifed as a closed can does leak due to the venting design with the wooden cups.  There's one closed headphone that I wish I never sold and that's the ALO modded Ultrasones HFI-780.  It's worth a try for over half the price of the Denon and Audeze. However, if you have a nice and powerful amp to bring out the details of the LCD-2 at low listening volume, it would be fun indeed to jump on the bandwagon of the LCD-2.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yep, open cans let in noise.

The problem is that I'm not crazy about closed headphones. IMHO (and rather disputably) the bass is awful. I can enjoy a D7000 for about one or two songs (preferably electronica) before they get overwhelming. I don't like classical, jazz, country, or rock on them. The exceptions are the Sony R10, Beyerdynamic DT48 and the Sony MDR-7509HD. I'd like to own a R10 (they're incredible, but hard to find and expensive), but own the other two and love them. The 7509HD might work for you, but the DT48 is a specialty item for classical/jazz/acoustic nuts.

Personally, if I needed the isolation, I'd go with a high-end custom IEM. The JH13 sounded awfully good to me at CanJam. A little midbass hump, but otherwise flat and beautifully detailed. Probably even better with bespoke plugs.

Though I'm not terribly well educated on various IEMs. There are lots of them and something other than a JH13 might be great for you. Take a look at all of them - a custom might be what you need.

 

[keanex]

The Denon D1001 leaked as much sound as my Audio Technica Ad900. I think it's a bit misleading to blanket statement on closed vs open.