[Jimmy Gazelle]

Hi headphone fans, I have a very annoying problem and could not get any real help for it so far. Maybe anyone of you guys know something I am a music enthusiast and spend a considerable amount of time on listening to music. Three years ago I bought my first closed back over ear headphone, the DT 770 pro, 32 ohm. I know its a studio can, but that was what a friend of mine recommended to me back then. After only three days of listening, my ears felt very uncomfortable. Especially in my right ear a kind of piercing pain occured from time to time. I had the feeling that it was especially bad with the highs. Then suddenly, one evening I was listening again ( to very low volume) and a nasty pain shot into my right ear. I took the headphones off immediately. I couln´t listen to them at all anymore and went to the doctor. He could not detect any problem. Nothing was damaged, and my hearing normal. I gave it a long rest and slowly started to listen again, at very low volumes, only a few minutes at a time. Always the same problem. My right ear started to hurt only after a few tracks. I tried out different closed back over ear headphones as well (B&W p7, Focal, B&O) but it was also the same. Interestingly enough, during all that time I never had any problem listening to my cheap apple earbuds. So it must be something with over ear headphones. None of friends or people at audio stores heard of something like that. It is very frustrating, somce I love the sound and feeling from over ear headphones. I eventuall gave it a rest for about two years. A few weekes ago I cought the headphone fever again and just had to try over ear (closed back) headphones again. The same crap. After like 30 minutes my right ear started to hurt. However, no problems with earbuds whatsoever. Does anyone have an idea what the problem could be? Obviously, my ears can´t take closed back over ear headphones. Why? I will try open back and on ears one within the next weeks. Open back i never considered since I want to listen to my music on planes and at work, while on ears Ijust never really considered tbh. Thnks for the help and sorry for the long read. Greetings from Germany, Marian
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[cossix]

It could be a pressure sensitivity, over ears create a bigger pressure differential between your eardrum and the air in the ear canal. Perhaps your eardrum is sensitive to these pressures, but its odd you still have the same problem when listening at low volume. I'd suggest trying over ears to see if that helps. Open backed headphones probably won't change anything because between the driver and your eardrum, it's the exact same as closed backs. Good luck!

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Hey cossix,
thank your for the reply, highly appreciated!
Did you mean to suggest to me to try on-ears? Since you wrote you´d suggest to try over-ears, which are the type I experienced the issues with
If it is a pressure sensitivity, which sounds like a pretty good reason, wouldnt open headphones be better in a sense that the air can "flow in and out" of the headphone chamber?

 

[cossix]

Hey cossix,
thank your for the reply, highly appreciated!
Did you mean to suggest to me to try on-ears? Since you wrote you´d suggest to try over-ears, which are the type I experienced the issues with
If it is a pressure sensitivity, which sounds like a pretty good reason, wouldnt open headphones be better in a sense that the air can "flow in and out" of the headphone chamber?

Sorry! It autocorrected my "on ear" suggestion to over ear haha. As for open backed headphones, many times the only difference is that the back of the driver cone is open to outside air. There is still a seal between your ear and the front of the cone because air can't usually pass through the driver material. Imagine taking a speaker driver or subwoofer, and pouring water in the recessed cone. It won't drain through to the backside of the driver. Same thing happens to the air, everything between your ear and the driver is still a sealed environment, it's just the back of the driver that's exposed to the air. Sound waves can easily pass through the backside of the driver which is why you get poor isolation with open backs and why people often think it's not sealed. It is sealed even though sound can pass, air cannot (usually)

 

[cossix]

With over ears, there is little to no seal and air can pass through the channels of the outer ear, relieving pressure in your ear canal

 

[Jimmy Gazelle]

Thank you again for the detailled response!
Ok, got it. Always had a different picture of open cans in my mind.
WIll try the p5 this week. Supposedely good sounds for an on ear headphone.
Thnks again!
On another note, I see you are listening to the HD650. From everything I read about it, it sounds like a headphone I would really enjoy. Does it really have a warm, rich sound?
Best, Marian

 

[cossix]

Thank you again for the detailled response!
Ok, got it. Always had a different picture of open cans in my mind.
WIll try the p5 this week. Supposedely good sounds for an on ear headphone.
Thnks again!
On another note, I see you are listening to the HD650. From everything I read about it, it sounds like a headphone I would really enjoy. Does it really have a warm, rich sound?
Best, Marian

That's exactly how it sounds! Warm and rich, with plenty of detail but relaxed treble. Not muffled at all, but easy on the ears. I pair it with the Jotunheim to make the treble more lively and it sounds beautiful