[itsZENmusic]

Recently lost my Sennheiser momentums, which has me bummed.  
 
Trying to look for headphones that do not block out sound.  I'll be using them in a work place environment where I'll want to know if someone sitting next to me wants to tell me something, or get my attention while I am listening to music at medium volume (this will happen a lot).  Or if I'm walking through the city at night I can hear the ambient noises around me and enjoy an "outside" feeling where the music breathes through the air, as opposed to trapping the music and separating me from the reality.  I'm looking for headphones that would probably be a poor choice on an airplane.  Are there a specific type of headphone that fits these criteria?  
 
I think I heard the grado brand has a few headphones that are more open to the outside noise?  But I'm new here and don't know much.  Not looking to spend more than 300$, but let me know what's out there in case one day I do.  Ideally 100-200$.
 
Thanks and much appreciated
 
-z

 

[jodgey4]

Howdy and welcome to the forums, first off!
 
Yes, there are two types of headphones - closed, and open (some are semi, but I count those as open). Closed back isolate, and open allow sound leakage both in and out. Most use closed for portable, and open for at home - most open cans sound better than their closed counterparts because there's less resonance issues that you have to deal with.
 
What kind of sound signature do you like? Popular options in that range could be AKG K7XX's, Sennheiser HD558's, and then the Grado's are popular for rock, the other two are closer to neutral.

 

[itsZENmusic]

  Howdy and welcome to the forums, first off!
 
Yes, there are two types of headphones - closed, and open (some are semi, but I count those as open). Closed back isolate, and open allow sound leakage both in and out. Most use closed for portable, and open for at home - most open cans sound better than their closed counterparts because there's less resonance issues that you have to deal with.
 
What kind of sound signature do you like? Popular options in that range could be AKG K7XX's, Sennheiser HD558's, and then the Grado's are popular for rock, the other two are closer to neutral.

 
Are the sennheiser momentums closed or open?  Just curious so I have a reference point.
 
I listen to nearly all genres of music (classical, rap, indie, rock, broadway, electronic), so I believe I really am looking for a crisp balanced range.  I'm not speaking from experience though.  
 
Any recommendations?  =)

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Trying to look for headphones that do not block out sound.  I'll be using them in a work place environment where I'll want to know if someone sitting next to me wants to tell me something, or get my attention while I am listening to music at medium volume (this will happen a lot).  Or if I'm walking through the city at night I can hear the ambient noises around me and enjoy an "outside" feeling where the music breathes through the air, as opposed to trapping the music and separating me from the reality.  I'm looking for headphones that would probably be a poor choice on an airplane.  Are there a specific type of headphone that fits these criteria?  

 

You have to keep in mind that in some cases you might not even be able to hear your music without raising the volume up to the point that the person next to you (at work, on the street/public transport, etc) will hear it too. I'd say get a Grado for work, then don't use it on the street.

 

There's also the Superlux HD330 for only $40. The vents on the earcups aren't as wide open as on Grados, and in my room my industrial fan can run at full tilt (not pointed directly at me though) and I don't need to really turn up the volume with these (the HD600 is just about useless when there's that much of a racket around me). However these are even harder to lug around than the Grados because the cups don't swivel flat, and these are larger too. If however you don't need to carry them on your neck and keep them more on your head anyway, these are more useful in noisy environments; if you have a large enough bag/backpack, well, for $40 you can just put them in a soft pouch (to prevent most impact damage; but this is more for protecting the other stuff in the bag, in case you have other electronics) and stash them in there.

 

[Youth]

Soundmagic HP200

 

[itsZENmusic]

   

You have to keep in mind that in some cases you might not even be able to hear your music without raising the volume up to the point that the person next to you (at work, on the street/public transport, etc) will hear it too. I'd say get a Grado for work, then don't use it on the street.

 

There's also the Superlux HD330 for only $40. The vents on the earcups aren't as wide open as on Grados, and in my room my industrial fan can run at full tilt (not pointed directly at me though) and I don't need to really turn up the volume with these (the HD600 is just about useless when there's that much of a racket around me). However these are even harder to lug around than the Grados because the cups don't swivel flat, and these are larger too. If however you don't need to carry them on your neck and keep them more on your head anyway, these are more useful in noisy environments; if you have a large enough bag/backpack, well, for $40 you can just put them in a soft pouch (to prevent most impact damage; but this is more for protecting the other stuff in the bag, in case you have other electronics) and stash them in there.

So maybe my idea of an open headphone is actually not fitting for work?  There will definitely be some people next to me, like 5-8ft.  Bull-pen cubicle set up.  
 
Also, what is the advice for navigating through the many different Grado lines (prestige, reference, professional, statement), and the different levels within?  
 
I am liking the idea of buying open headphones just for the listening experience perhaps.  

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  So maybe my idea of an open headphone is actually not fitting for work?  There will definitely be some people next to me, like 5-8ft.  Bull-pen cubicle set up.  

 

Probably not. Like I said, the Grados are too open that noise outside will interfere, then you try to compensate with the output level, and at some point - long before many others get to it - it would be loud enough to bother other people, make it difficult to hear them talking to you (basically it's potentially super counter-intuitive), as well as damage your hearing.
 

 
I am liking the idea of buying open headphones just for the listening experience perhaps.  

 
Personally that experience won't be a good one unless you use them privately.
 
 

 
Also, what is the advice for navigating through the many different Grado lines (prestige, reference, professional, statement), and the different levels within?  

 

Prestige is generally the worst with imaging, but it's the kind of sound that most people know as Grado; the Reference has fuller bass notes in general with a smoother treble; the Professional tends to have a sharper treble. Not sure if they actually measure with peaks (which seems counter intuitive if it's for pros, unless the Reference rolls off the treble), or it just sounds that way to me (note that headphones known to be "detailed" like the AKG K701 have some kind of treble peak higher than on some headphone known to be "laid-back," like the HD6x0).

 

My personal favorite is the RS1.

 

[Shaffer]

OP, you can see which cans I own in my profile. The most open, meaning, the one that allows one to hear the most ambient noise is the Beyer DT990pro.

Edit:

So maybe my idea of an open headphone is actually not fitting for work?  There will definitely be some people next to me, like 5-8ft.  Bull-pen cubicle set up.  

If you don't play music loudly, you'll be able to hear it well without disturbing others, and you'll also be able to hear everything around you. Ask me how I know.

 

[superjawes]

Are the sennheiser momentums closed or open?  Just curious so I have a reference point.

Closed.

As for the work environment question, it will depend on your coworkers. I use a mechanical keyboard with cherry blue switches (dampening rings to kill the bottoming-out noise), and I don't get complaints. Some naggy people might have a different stance, however.

Side note, I have a dB volume app on my iPhone. Ambient noise here is 47 dB, and it kicks up to 52 dB while I am typing (~6" between keyboard and phone). I don't know if that helps, and I don't have some open cans to test their noise, but I have a feeling that my keyboard raises the local noise level more than open headphones would.

 

[Youth]

Open: Soundmagic HP200
 
Closed: Soundmagic HP150