[Androxylo]

Hi All! Asking for experience.

Had anyone ever tried to use open headphones in the office, i.e. air conditioners working and some people sitting 8 feet away, possibly hearing your phones?

Possible grade of answer:
1. Absolutely impossible, don't even think about
2. Other people will hear you, forget it
3. Other people will hear you only if you bump up the volume
4. The air conditioner will kill all the fun
5. The supremacy of open headphones is so big that the air conditioner doesn't matter, you will forget about it
6. Some "open" cans are not really so open, they are almost closed (which ones?)
7. The closed cans are not so good as open ones, so either way you are screwed. Forget about good sound, just listen something
8. The closed cans are as good as open ones, so just forget it and use closed ones
9. The closed cans are better than open ones, so just forget it and use closed ones

 

[Maxvla]

If you are worried about sound leakage at all I'd recommend going to a closed headphone. There are several very good ones. If you can afford them the Denon D2000 are excellent for the money. Beyerdynamic DT770 is another option at a lower price range. Other phones are available at other ranges but before I waste a bunch of time I'll wait til you set a price.

Closed headphones don't mean bad. The arguably 'best' headphone in existence, the Sony R10 ($5000), is a closed headphone.

 

[Benaiir]

Well, I'd imagine open being used on tech support lines, so it's not a huge issue. Get some cheap opens and see how people respond. If it's a problem upgrade to closed, if it's not upgrade to opens.

For the 2nd part of the question, relate to the Audio-Technica "AD" line or almost any AKG and Sennheiser. By definition, it's on your ears, almost squashing them if there isn't enough padding (Taking refrence from my AKG K141's

 

[lon420]

8 feet away? I can hear my DT880 / AD700 from 2 rooms away on medium-high volume. So I'm gonna have to go with 2, "Other people will hear you, forget it."

The D2000 is an excellent choice, but for a closed can, it leaks a surprising amount of sound. The DT770/80 is good at both isolation and leakage - I listened to them at near ear-bleeding levels and people around me said they could barely hear a thing.

 

[booboohihi]

closed headphone recommend

 

[Skin]

unless there is a reason you want open back i would get closed mainly for the benefit of sound isolation. If you're getting something really cheap and dont care about sound quality then it wouldnt matter, but if you're posting here chances are you DO care about sound quality. Get a decent comfy closed and be happy with the benefits.

 

[booboohihi]

or iems....office is the place where people works...put it this way. do you want to "listen" to the music from 8 feet away, while you try to concentra on your work?

 

[Young Spade]

I would say 2: People are going to hear you.
I have Sennhieser 555s that I used for a while as my first good pair of headphones.
They are open design and leak sound in and out of the can.

IMO, if the people are talking or something is going on, it won't be THAT much of a problem depending on the type of music you are listening to.

If you are in a quiet office where people are making important phone calls then I would say forget it.

 

[Androxylo]

Thanks a lot for all answers. I never had experience with open phones, so I wanted to be sure that they indeed do not fit

 

[member1982]

I hate my work mate next pod, he uses some cheap open ear buds, and it leaks annoying sound. to annoy him and everyone else i might get an Grado/Alessandro and see how that goes haha

Although truth to be told my UltraSone Pro 750 at the volume i am listening to (ipOd) it also leaks sound. Not so much, but when i take it off my head, WOW probably everyone can hear it.

 

[Katysax]

I used to use open headphones, but with the volume down, in the office. That way I could still hear what was going on around me, know if the phone rang, and respond to people who came to my desk.

Closed phones are both better and worse than open phones. For the last few years all my phones were open. Recently I've acquired some closed phones - the DT770-80 and they are a lot of fun. They don't have the soundstage of my K701s, but even with the volume low they have lots of bass slam.

 

[mbd2884]

I am in complete agreement with this plan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I'd imagine open being used on tech support lines, so it's not a huge issue. Get some cheap opens and see how people respond. If it's a problem upgrade to closed, if it's not upgrade to opens. For the 2nd part of the question, relate to the Audio-Technica "AD" line or almost any AKG and Sennheiser. By definition, it's on your ears, almost squashing them if there isn't enough padding (Taking refrence from my AKG K141's

 

[wavoman]

Don't forget, as Ion420 said, there are two different issues here: containment (of the sound you are listening to. i.e., lack of leakage) and isolation (from outside sounds).

Singers in a studio need closed phones that contain (so what they hear is not picked up by their mikes) but do not isolate (they want to hear what's around them). This type of HP is perfect for a quiet office where the ambient sound won't bother you, you DO want to hear the phone and your boss, but you don't want to annoy your office mates.

Denon D1001 is perfect for this, and not so expensive that you will be heartbroken if it is stolen, a common office problem. Very close in SQ to the D2000s that Ion recommends, but surprisingly leak less than the D2000s even though the cups are smaller.

I disagree over isolation of the beyer 770s ... I can hear outside noise while using them. Similar to the Denons in this regard. And except for the 600 ohm version, lower SQ than the D2000, in fact lower than the D1001 IMHO. On the other hand, the 600 Ohm 770s are fantastic, very different (analytical, detailed) than the D2000s (warm, lush) but just as strong.

(We've got the 770/600s, and both Denons here right now, so this is not rumor).

 

[member1982]

hehe i hope NC headphones can become something else... when they detect say someone talking to you.. immediately they should amplifer what they are saying and reduce the music volume that would be convinent.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by member1982 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hehe i hope NC headphones can become something else... when they detect say someone talking to you.. immediately they should amplifer what they are saying and reduce the music volume that would be convinent.

Give them a few more years and you might see that. Heh.