[Veniogenesis]

Hi fellow College Head-Fiers!

Have you guys had any experience with open headphones and room mates? Anyone have good or bad stories?

I'm thinking about getting back into headphones, but I don't know if I can buy an open headphone or not. Obviously the best answer to ask my room mate, but I just wanted to hear if any of you guys/gals had any stories.

(And besides, I can't really prepare for the future, that is, when room mates change.) Or maybe I should play it safe and just wait for a good closed option to come.

Cheers,
Venio

 

[Debaser86]

Open cans worked great for me when I shared a dorm room last year... mainly because I hated my roommate and blasting some music through my SR225s was a good way to make him leave... then I could resume normal listening levels

 

[LuckyKarma]

IMO, the K81DJs are the best affordable dorm room can you can get, they're what I use most of the time. However when I had my SR225s (I already miss them

) I didn't mind blasting my music through them (because I dropped nearly $200 on them and about $400 total on the entire setup), I figured my roommate could deal with it

Normally he'd just put in his iBuds and listen to his own music, but he's never said anything about it.

If you already have some open cans, I'd add the K81DJ to your collection just in case your roommate doesn't like the sound-leakage. Otherwise go for the AT A900 or some Beyers, so you'll still have great quality without bothering your roommie

 

[humanflyz]

I would definitely recommend closed headphones for several reasons. First, your musical tastes may differ wildly from your roommates: this happened to me last year. My roommate listened exclusively mainstream pop music (read: yuck!), and he couldn't stand the stuff that I was listening to. The same might happen to you. Second, depending on how loud you listen, you might not be able to listen at a comfortable listening level if your roommate thinks it's too loud (this happened to me as well). And finally, if you guys have different sleeping schedules, open headphones will not do. Speaking again from experience, my roommate went to sleep every night at 11 while I went to sleep usually at 3.

I would definitely recommend a closed headphone, and since you like AT, then the W5000s seem like a no-brainer.

 

[gates_2]

I'm sitting here playing a game using my K501's...my roomate doesn't seem to notice...

I don't think your headphones bother your roomate as much as it bothers you that you can still hear everything going on in the room....

 

[ttol]

And in the unlikely event that your room mate gets annoyed you can always follow the golden rule of how to deal with annoyed room mates/neighbors - turn up the volume.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I had two roommates that didn't mind open headphones, I think they just appreciated that I would stop listening to speakers, and put on headphone when they came in.

I had one roommate that didn't like any sounds at all, he even complained that my keyboard was too clicky. Well that guy was dick in oh so many other ways as well. Once he complained to the resident adviser (as he did about anything else that annoyed him, including my keyboard), and she told him to get over it "it's not like he's blasting those huge speakers." I think she understood what a pain in the arse this guy was, after he had made so many other baseless complaints.

I always had closed cans or IEM's as well for times when my roommates were too noisy (or the damned A/C).

 

[jinp6301]

my roomate likes the same music as i do, so when i listen to my 225s, hes grooving along with me too!

 

[Ypoknons]

I didn't have a problem with my roomie last year playing through his iBook, so he was cool with my then HD465's. Then I got him a pair of HD201's for birthday...

I snagged a single this year.

 

[derek8555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gates_2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think your headphones bother your roomate as much as it bothers you that you can still hear everything going on in the room....

That's exactly what I would say.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ypoknons /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then I got him a pair of HD201's for birthday...

Gah, that's a great idea. My first roommate was in the ROTC, so his hearing was mostly gone, and he blasted music through some cheap semi-open headphones.

My second roommate listened to Neil Young's "Old Man" on loop literally for hours every day. He had those cheap supra-aurals that came with his portable CD player. All I could hear was harmony vocals and slide guitar for days.

"Old man, take-a-look-at-my-life, I'm a looot liiike you."

Buying a pair of isolating headphones for the roommates would have solved my problem in each case.

 

[gates_2]

I'd like to revise what I wrote a bit earlier....


I've began to become quite annoyed with the level of "background noise" in my dorm room. The noise from the central A/C is really quite loud, and my desktop computers fans dont help either(although putting the desktop in my closet and shutting the door does help some :-D)

With my 501's, it's basically impossible to listen to soft music at a low volume, which is quite distressing to me, a musician.

anyone else have similar problems? I love the soundstaging and "openness" of the 501's, but I wish I was in a dead silent concert hall just to listen to them!

 

[DarkWolf]

I have HD590s. I notice that when I set them to my normal volume and take them off, they're pretty quiet. However, when I have my friends listen to soemthing they all seem to turn them up 30-50% louder, and it would then be prett iratating if I were trying to get something done quietly. Basicaly, it depends on your listening level. That said, Grados are probably louder on the outside than my Senns are.

 

[derek85555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek8555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's exactly what I would say.

Acutally, i changed my mind. My room mate, Jeff, bought some new headphones, and they are open. They honestly look like a pair of speakers he taped to his head!!!! Its as loud as hell! and i cant study!!! his headphones ar ebothering me!! i think no one should use these speakers. ! I hope his head will explode sometime with those loud speakers taped to his head!!!

BTW I Love Carla Bossart

 

[Veniogenesis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek85555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Acutally, i changed my mind. My room mate, Jeff, bought some new headphones, and they are open. They honestly look like a pair of speakers he taped to his head!!!! Its as loud as hell! and i cant study!!! his headphones ar ebothering me!! i think no one should use these speakers. ! I hope his head will explode sometime with those loud speakers taped to his head!!! BTW I Love Carla Bossart

Stax?