[irrbloss]

Hi, I'm looking for some good headphones to wear at work. I'm in an open office space with (disgusting) music/chatter all day long. At home I have a pair of Sennheiser HD600 which I love, but they're open. I have looked at Denon AH-D2000 which seems to offer the sound quality I'm after, but even if they're closed they seem to leak sound both in & out. Maybe Denon AH-D1100 is a better choice, but maybe a litte low-end? Do you have any suggestions what to get? Noice cancelling headphones maybe, but I guess they usually don't offer very good audio? The price should be something in the Denon AH-D2000-range (or cheaper).
 
As source I will use my old X-Can v2-headphone amplifier with a DACmagic connected to my computer via USB.

 

[Proglover]

look into AKG 271 and Senns HD-25

 

[irrbloss]

Thanks! The AKG 271 seems to be out of production, how about AKG K272 HD instead? Are they similar? The Sennheisers seems good, but they are on ear (not over the ear) headphones? Isn't that a bit uncomfortable if you wear them for hours?

 

[Acix]

You can try the GMP 8.35, here is more info: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/406658/the-german-maestro-gmp-8-35-d-monitor-in-the-studio-serious-about-audio-indeed

 

[irrbloss]

The GMP 8.35 sounds nice, but I read they are quite small and "semi"-on ear headphones. I guess it depends on ear size .
 
How about Sennheiser HD 380 Pro? Never tried them, but they seem to offer both good isolation and good sound.

 

[ardgedee]

IEMs are going to give you the best bang-for-buck in terms of isolation and sound quality. If you on-ear or over-ear full-sized cans, the Shure SHR-x40 series (440, 840, 940) are good, as are the Sennheiser HD-25-II phones. You'll be looking at prices north of us$150 or so for better quality, though.
 
The GMP 8.35 phones are circumaural - they fit around the ear - but the pads are oddly shaped and will rest on your outer ear. You can get conventional donut-shaped replacement pads for relatively cheap, though.

 

[LugBug1]

I used to have the D2000's and they don't offer much isolation at all. How about the Senn PXC450? they've been out along time now and are cheaper, and from what I've read offer briilant sound with great active noice cancelling. I've got a pair of Goldring ns1000's and they have active NC which works a treat, they sound nice and are verrry comfortable, but sound will not be up to par with your 600's.
 
Theres always the M50's?? great sound for the price and pretty good but not great isolation.   

 

[irrbloss]

Quote:

IEMs are going to give you the best bang-for-buck in terms of isolation and sound quality. If you on-ear or over-ear full-sized cans, the Shure SHR-x40 series (440, 840, 940) are good, as are the Sennheiser HD-25-II phones. You'll be looking at prices north of us$150 or so for better quality, though.

 
I agree with IEMs being good at isolation, but I miss something with IEMs - not the quality of the sound, but separation and sound stage, which I get in my (open) Sennheiser HD 600. Maybe I'm just spoiled with my open headphones and expecting to get something similar with closed headphones. The Denon AH-D2000's are about $470 here in Sweden incl swedish VAT (which is about $376 without VAT), so my budget is about $370-$400. Will IEMs still be the best choise? Can I get something better with good isolation and better "sound stage" for that money? I'm willing to spend that money on IEMs too, as long as they give both good isolation and excellent sound.

 

[LugBug1]

Just also want to add.. IEM's will always offer better sound isolation but you wouldnt be able to use them with your Xcan. It will be too powerful. If you go the way of IEM's then ideally you will need a portable amp to match the impedance, and most of these don't allow for connection to a seperate dac. Only through a 3.5 mm jack.
 
You have a great set up with your Xcan and Dacmagic, I would try and go with that with over head phones.
 
Anyone else got closed phone recommendations to help this op out?   

 

[irrbloss]

I got the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro today. They're not as good as my HD 600 but I'm still impressed as they are closed. Very comfortable on the head and very portable as you can fold them flat. The package also included a nice semi-hard bag with a zipper for transportation.
 
The highs are very good and clean, the bass is responsive but a bit laid back. The mids sounds a bit muddy, hopefully they will be a little better after some hours of burn in. Pretty good and wide sound stage, but not as good as HD 600. The isolation is quite good (probably one of the best closed hifi-headphones out there when it comes to isolation, 32 dB according to the specs), but not as good as IEMs. Haven't tried them in my noisy work environment yet, but I think they will be just fine .

 

[Acix]

Quote:

The GMP 8.35 sounds nice, but I read they are quite small and "semi"-on ear headphones. I guess it depends on ear size .
 
How about Sennheiser HD 380 Pro? Never tried them, but they seem to offer both good isolation and good sound.

The 8.35 are not on ear, they're over the ear as ardgedee mention...in the photos you can see a few different pads from GMP, and all of them are over the ear and fit the 8.35.