[alitomr]

$100? gET THE hd555S!!!! tHEy LEAK LIKE THE NIAGARA FALLS and isolate maybe 0.00005dB, but the sound is great! i havent tried the Grado SR80, the SR225 is on backorder, but I am in love with these.

 

[Pm@c]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah. Open cans have better sense of free airyness and staging, but even slightest background noise can affect negatively to the sound. Even computer fans are disturbing on more silent passes. So closed is better option if you intent to use them in enviroment with background noise. BUT while open headphones tend to have better air and stuff due to their design, closed ones tend to have more deeper and realistic bass response. It provides much more punch and such because closed design is more reverbating. Closed ones also have nice effect that you are sinking in music more, but also that feeling might be "claustrophobic" for some. Depends on taste.

Usually when you listen to music (unless its just a casual thing) you want to be immersed. Wouldnt closed headphones give you a more "immersed" feeling because you dont hear any background noise (maybe its just me, i have a loud PC).

 

[jarnauga]

IMHO, for a certain price (in the middle of the brand), 100$-200$ maybe, it's possible to obtain better SQ in open design that closed counterpart (technical data, housing, resonances, etc, etc). But if you want to spend more money... this matter changes fast. For 300$ or so there are several ones with different sound signature for different tastes, both types. More money and you enter in a realm of "trust only your ears and nothing more". There are few with dynamic open design and there are more with closed and dynamic design -at least some time ago-. You have to trust your feelings and not the spec sheet. I have only experienced two good cans: one open -Senn 595- and one closed -Sony CD3000- and I prefer the last one by far.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minarets /img/forum/go_quote.gif how and why do opens sound better? and if those 2 models do leak enough, with my requirements, would you suggest a closed can?

Essentially the issue is about backwave resonance. Rather than write it out in other words, I copy the pertinent bits from Wikipedia:

"Open headphones (sometimes marketed as "open air" headphones) have an open grille on the back of the driver, exposing the driver to the outside, and allowing the soundwaves to propagate away from the ear freely... (They) usually have less sound distortion (due to the lack of resonance) and tighter controlled sound reproduction. Most audiophile-quality headphones... are open headphones.

"Closed headphones have a sealed backing, which attenuates soundwaves propagating in the direction away from the ear. ...A sealed chamber generally has the added negative effect of distorting sound in certain instances and providing "boomier", less controlled bass, making them lower in price and high-end quality than open headphones."

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Keep in mind there is no standard definition of a closed can. For example, many people (myself included) would condiser the CD3000, R-10 and DX1000 semi-closed. Techically, these are open cans with huge and mostly hollow shells on the back that act as sounding boxes to improve the soundstage and add a little more body to the sound (much like the hollow space in an acoustic guitar).

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

Keep in mind there is no standard definition of a closed can.

Of course there is. A can is closed when the back of the enclosure is completely sealed. Even if the enclosure is huge, it's still closed.

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course there is. A can is closed when the back of the enclosure is completely sealed. Even if the enclosure is huge, it's still closed.

I agree, in part. Technically, yes they are still closed but they feature few of the detriments of a traditional closed design. Therefore, I think they should be considered their own sub-category of closed can. Since, as of now, no has thought of any better name I consider them semi-closed.

Also, the CD3000 features small holes on on the sides to let sound escape. This further complicates their classification.

 

[Minarets]

so closed can it is, i suppose. so V6 ot K-81?

 

[fuzydice]

the audio technica A500 (and maybe A700) are in your budget and are closed. Dunno how they stack up against the other closed phones in the price range, however.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pm@c /img/forum/go_quote.gif Usually when you listen to music (unless its just a casual thing) you want to be immersed. Wouldnt closed headphones give you a more "immersed" feeling because you dont hear any background noise (maybe its just me, i have a loud PC).

Yes. With closed headphones you get the feeling "that its all you hear and there is nothing outside" easier.

My computer fans effectively break the illusion with open cans...

 

[jdimitri]

Anything below A900 (or maybe A700, but never heard those), the closed cans i've tried sounded considerably worse than open headphones around the same price

It is nice though to have the (small) isolation sometimes

 

[warubozu]

Traveling in a plane with open cans can pose problem with sound leakage from them as mentioned earlier, and exterior sound bleeding into the cans. If you do go closed cans I'd also suggest the A700 as I own a pair. To my ears the A700s has a better soundstage and level of detail than my pair of V6's. They are also very comfortable. The only problem with the A700 is that they are rather huge and not collapsiable. This may be problem storage wise if you do take them on the go.

 

[jrussell6]

my favorite time to listen to my 325i's is late at night in bed, silent as a mouse, and i really feel like listening to them anywhere else, sucks, this is why i'm going after a pair of dt 770's, maybe manufacture, but we'll see. But i definatly say that if you get open cans, loud people will start to piss you off.,
however, if you've got the chance, try a pair of e500's, i don't remember if you said no iems, but these are butter.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnOYiN /img/forum/go_quote.gif You are right when you would say the most expensive headphones are all open.

Most are, but there sure are exceptions.
I consider all of these to be expensive and closed headphones:

1. Stax 4070
2. Sony MDR-R10
3. Audio-Technica ATH-L3000
4. Audio-Technica ATH-W5000
5. JVC HP-DX1000

 

[F1GTR]

Yes.