[carter840]

In my experience, to be able to hear someone speak to me when they're not in my field of view is very difficult with any on-ear or over-ear headphone, unless they significantly raise their voice which you don't want in an open office. It would require listening at such a low level that the benefits of nicer headphone/DAC/amp is largely wasted. You can test this for yourself with any old pair of on-ear or open-ear. Put them on, play some music out of your phone, and experiment with the volume at which you can hear a friend 15 feet behind you speak your name at some random time interval after hitting 'play'. I think you'll be surprised. The best at maintaining contact with the outside world while still being able to enjoy music are ear buds. There are nicer ones around than the ones that came with your phone, still relatively inexpensive. If you think about it, one of the goals of high-end gear is the immersive experience, which is in direct conflict with your statement I quoted.

I completely agree with you, I myself am struggling with this as well. Perhaps it's not logical to proceed down this route. An alternative could be to use my existing Westone 3 in ears and a 5th gen iPod (which supposedly has a pretty decent on board DAC). I just noticed that so many people use over the ear headphones at work and once I started shopping for those it evolved into DAC and Amp.

 

[carter840]

Edit: Deleted duplicate posting

 

[ergopower]

I completely agree with you, I myself am struggling with this as well. Perhaps it's not logical to proceed down this route. An alternative could be to use my existing Westone 3 in ears and a 5th gen iPod (which supposedly has a pretty decent on board DAC). I just noticed that so many people use over the ear headphones at work and once I started shopping for those it evolved into DAC and Amp.

In-ears are if anything even worse than on-ear or over-ear in terms of the amount of isolation (good on stage/studio/airplane, etc.; bad when you need to notice someone is trying to talk to you). That's why I suggested ear buds. I run most days, some stretches of narrow-ish 2 lane. My survival depends on awareness of vehicles coming from behind, as that influences the drivers coming towards me. Ear buds are the only form factor I've found that let those external sounds come through while still being able to listen to music at a reasonable volume.

 

[kukkurovaca]

I find the Audeze iSine to be a nice option for office use. It's semi-open, and provides a pretty low level of isolation such that you can still hear your environment but (in an office context) you will also be able to hear your music.

Not being a full-size headphone, it also may be perceived as more polite by some folks.

With the cipher cable and an iOS device with a lightning connector, you can omit the dac and amp, although you may want to get a cable with dual lightning inputs so that you can charge your device while listening.

 

[squee116]

You're looking for inversely related traits:
1)Keeping noise in keeps noise out
2)Letting noise in lets noise out

You can compromise with semi-open, or just listen with lower volumes on open-back headphones. The worst are IEMs, as I can't hear people hollering three feet from me.

Mojo isn't an awful idea, Schiit Jot w/ DAC might not be awful either, or even Fulla depending on which headphones you get.

TH-x0 are great for getting work done. I use them while studying because the mids and highs are more veiled than I prefer, which prevents me from getting too engaged in the music.
THx00 are great, basically semi-open, superior sound quality, but if you get the volume up, it's bleeding out AND engaging you in the music, for better or worse.

I prefer open-back if I need to be available to other people, and the AKG k712s, Sennheiser HD6xx, and Hifiman HE400i are preferences for that. They bleed sound like made though.

 

[carter840]

Well I don't know what prompted me to finally make up my mind, but I ordered the Audio GD R2R 11 last evening. Still eyeing the Fostex T50RP or the T60RP when they come out. I think for now I will just use my Sennheiser HD 280Pro.

Can someone help me understand how I should be connecting the following items.

iPhone X: Plan to use just a standard lightening to USB cable. Will this work?
5th Gen iPod: Plan to use a standard 30pin to USB cable. Will this work?

 

[kukkurovaca]

Well I don't know what prompted me to finally make up my mind, but I ordered the Audio GD R2R 11 last evening. Still eyeing the Fostex T50RP or the T60RP when they come out. I think for now I will just use my Sennheiser HD 280Pro.

Can someone help me understand how I should be connecting the following items.

iPhone X: Plan to use just a standard lightening to USB cable. Will this work?
5th Gen iPod: Plan to use a standard 30pin to USB cable. Will this work?

You'll need a CCK cable. The R2R11 isn't an MFI device, so you can't just plug a lightning cable into it the way you can with some (mostly portable) devices.

CCK cable plugs into your phone, and the USB cable of the R2R11 plugs into your CCK. Note: not all devices play equally nicely with CCK cables, so I have no idea if this is even a good idea. If you encounter difficulties, you might try putting a powered USB hub in between the R2R11 and the CCK.

 

[carter840]

I assume CCK is Camera Connection Kit? I just ordered a couple used plugs offline. Will any USB cable work to go to my DAC, or is there a specific cable people recommend without getting anything crazy expensive.

 

[kukkurovaca]

I assume CCK is Camera Connection Kit? I just ordered a couple used plugs offline. Will any USB cable work to go to my DAC, or is there a specific cable people recommend without getting anything crazy expensive.

Yeah, CCK is camera connection kit. I think the R2R11 will ship with a USB cable, but if not, you would just need a USB A to B cable. You shouldn't need an expensive USB cable.