[butterfingazz]

So I'm looking to buy some new open headphones since I enjoy both gaming and listening to music, and my DT-770's block out sound and I don't like it because I speak a lot louder, so I'm looking for open headphones that let sound in but don't let it come out (don't know if those exist) I also enjoy bass but yeah, hopefully I can get some good recommendations, (have FiiO E07K but don't want anything amp dependent.)
Thanks in advance.
edit: basically looking for something casual that I can take anywhere and still sound great under $300, guess my original question about open headphones was dumb.

 

[jodgey4]

Howdy. Did you have a particular price range in mind? Also, can you please clarify this statement so I can help you: "my DT-770's block out sound and I don't like it because I speak a lot louder..." does this mean you speak louder so you can hear yourself? If so, can you try adding some microphone monitoring/feedback in your audio drivers?

 

[rebelinho]

  So I'm looking to buy some new open headphones since I enjoy both gaming and listening to music, and my DT-770's block out sound and I don't like it because I speak a lot louder, so I'm looking for open headphones that let sound in but don't let it come out (don't know if those exist) I also enjoy bass but yeah, hopefully I can get some good recommendations, (have FiiO E07K but don't want anything amp dependent.)
Thanks in advance.

 
that's like a faucet that only lets water go one way lol
 
if something is allowed to go one way through something, it can go the other way too (except the semi-reflective glass, but light is a completely different matter). I find it hard to get such thing, but if you find it I would be very interested in it

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  So I'm looking to buy some new open headphones since I enjoy both gaming and listening to music, and my DT-770's block out sound and I don't like it because I speak a lot louder...

 
I'm not sure why you would need to speak louder, or why you would need to speak while listening to music. With games, this is a peculiar case...normally everybody would speak louder anyway regardless of the isolation of their headphones (or that it wouldn't matter even with speakers) because normally we're all caught in the middle of the game anyway. What  I mean is that, for example, when we play Total War, "move far out of the left flank, then turn around and charge their right flank from the rear" will always be "RIDE! RIDE! RIDE!...CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGE!!!!!" in practice, regardless of what each one is using on the other end; same thing with how "damn he got me!" will always come out instead as "MEDIIIIIIIIIC!!" 

 
On a more serious note, maybe you just need to get used to not hearing your own voice to gauge whether you're speaking too loud? I easily got used to that because...well...our games always go as I described above.
 

  ...so I'm looking for open headphones that let sound in but don't let it come out (don't know if those exist)...

 
I wouldn't expect to find any headphone that is capable of this - I don't think anyone has made any acoustic technology similar to one-way glass or tint that looks different from inside the car and from outside (eg some are dark enough to obscure the occupants but from the inside only UV light is effectively filtered). Active noise cancelling may be the closest to this but all Active NC headphones are sealed cup designs.
 
Also, if you let sound in while in a noisy environment, you will not necessarily hear your voice better, because what will happen is that the environmental noise will get in the way of what audio you are supposed to be hearing from the headphone, so your voice might just end up getting lost in the noise plus you might also end up sing the headphone at a higher volume setting.
 

Originally Posted by butterfingazz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...I also enjoy bass but yeah, hopefully I can get some good recommendations...

 
The same noise leak as described above will end up affecting the bass too. Open headphones aren't necessarily "weak" in bass, in that a good open headphone will reproduce natural levels of bass. By comparison however a closed headphone produces "stronger" bass mainly from what the listener can perceive primarily because of more isolation, then on top of that, the bass notes might bounce around the space between the ear and the driver more if the circumaural earpads are dense enough.

 

[SteveHiFi]

As suggested above, you may be better off keeping closed back cans and feeding the mic output into your headphones if possible. Either that, or don't speak so loud!

 

[butterfingazz]

  Howdy. Did you have a particular price range in mind? Also, can you please clarify this statement so I can help you: "my DT-770's block out sound and I don't like it because I speak a lot louder..." does this mean you speak louder so you can hear yourself? If so, can you try adding some microphone monitoring/feedback in your audio drivers?

I can spend up to about 250.
Are you meaning having my microphone play back what I am saying into it to myself? I wouldn't be able to stand that.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Are you meaning having my microphone play back what I am saying into it to myself? I wouldn't be able to stand that.

 
We're not sure exactly why you want open headphone headphones to help you speak so we're all guessing at this point. If you are playing online and simply can't gauge well how loud you are speaking, it takes getting used to not hearing yourself, but not that much. You can guess that by how much strain you put on your vocal cords when you use them - when I'm on my IEMs and I just need to bark out one simple sentence without the need to hear any response (like, "mind the orange juice on the table" or "I'll catch up!") I don't need to hear myself, and no one has told me I'm speaking too loud (I can't say the same for my cousin though, who makes an arse of himself in public with his earphones all the time).
 
If you are playing with other people in the same room, then you run into all sorts of other problems: you need to hear your own voice to gauge how loud you are speaking, but then at the same time you'll hear all the other people and all the other stuff going on in the room if not the whole house (eg if somebody's working on the car in the garage and they rev it, or if somebody's using the vacuum cleaner, etc), so in all likelihood you wouldn't hear yourself very well either, and for that matter, the game audio including comms if you're using mics.
 
To be honest this is the first time I've encountered this kind of issue with headphones/headsets; anyone I've played with who shouts in comms is understandable considering they have to be heard over the sound of gunfire and explosions, or clashing steel and bronze with hundreds of horses galloping elsewhere on the map (or in the case of Shogun II, all of those).

 

[butterfingazz]

   
We're not sure exactly why you want open headphone headphones to help you speak so we're all guessing at this point. If you are playing online and simply can't gauge well how loud you are speaking, it takes getting used to not hearing yourself, but not that much. You can guess that by how much strain you put on your vocal cords when you use them - when I'm on my IEMs and I just need to bark out one simple sentence without the need to hear any response (like, "mind the orange juice on the table" or "I'll catch up!") I don't need to hear myself, and no one has told me I'm speaking too loud (I can't say the same for my cousin though, who makes an arse of himself in public with his earphones all the time).
 
If you are playing with other people in the same room, then you run into all sorts of other problems: you need to hear your own voice to gauge how loud you are speaking, but then at the same time you'll hear all the other people and all the other stuff going on in the room if not the whole house (eg if somebody's working on the car in the garage and they rev it, or if somebody's using the vacuum cleaner, etc), so in all likelihood you wouldn't hear yourself very well either, and for that matter, the game audio including comms if you're using mics.
 
To be honest this is the first time I've encountered this kind of issue with headphones/headsets; anyone I've played with who shouts in comms is understandable considering they have to be heard over the sound of gunfire and explosions, or clashing steel and bronze with hundreds of horses galloping elsewhere on the map (or in the case of Shogun II, all of those).

Okay I appreciate the help, I knew the main question of the original post was gonna make me sound dumb but I just wanted to see if something like that existed, where I can hear outside sounds well but not have people be able to hear everything that I'm listening to.

 

[jodgey4]

What outside noises DO you want to hear? If it's just your voice, then try the mic feedback. There's often a very clean sound, adjustable volume, and no lag. If you just want a little bit of environmental noise so you can hear if people are trying to talk to you, there's no such thing as on way noise isolation... though I'm sure somebody could make a market for it .

 

[butterfingazz]

  What outside noises DO you want to hear? If it's just your voice, then try the mic feedback. There's often a very clean sound, adjustable volume, and no lag. If you just want a little bit of environmental noise so you can hear if people are trying to talk to you, there's no such thing as on way noise isolation... though I'm sure somebody could make a market for it .

Yeah I mainly just wanted to hear myself better because I realized when I took them off after playing games I realized I would be talking louder and so that means I was talking loud while playing games, and sometimes I say things I don't really want my entire house to hear. I originally wanted them because I remember my Razer Carcharias was sort of like what I was asking for, I could hear all of the sound in my house and what I was saying well, but it didn't really let a lot of sound out.
Anyways I'm still seeking suggestions for good open back portable headphones, because I travel a lot and with my DT-770's I kind of hate needing to use my portable amp for music to sound good.

 

[jodgey4]

Do a search for Mad Lust Envy's Gaming Guide (or something like that)... it's a very comprehensive resource for those looking for headsets that are good for gaming. Popular 'fun' options that are good for gaming are the Phillips X1 and Beyerdynamic DT990 in that price range. The DT990's are semi-closed, FYI. If you could still use your amp while gaming, the AKG Q701 with bass mod might work as well in that category.

 

[butterfingazz]

  Do a search for Mad Lust Envy's Gaming Guide (or something like that)... it's a very comprehensive resource for those looking for headsets that are good for gaming. Popular 'fun' options that are good for gaming are the Phillips X1 and Beyerdynamic DT990 in that price range. The DT990's are semi-closed, FYI. If you could still use your amp while gaming, the AKG Q701 with bass mod might work as well in that category.

I'm looking for music headphones that I could take with me places though, I'm not looking for gaming optimized headphones or anything. I was considering HD 598s or M50s for that sort of thing..

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Yeah I mainly just wanted to hear myself better because I realized when I took them off after playing games I realized I would be talking louder and so that means I was talking loud while playing games, and sometimes I say things I don't really want my entire house to hear.

 
I see now why I can't see your problem, and it's a matter of manners, not technology. All I scream out while playing online games are all along the lines of "CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGEE!!!," "CAVALRY!!! Infantry in square!!!," "I'm taking the flank, cover me!" and never along the lines of, "I screw*d your wh0r3 m0th3r last nite n0oB LOL" 

 
Quote:

 
Anyways I'm still seeking suggestions for good open back portable headphones, because I travel a lot and with my DT-770's I kind of hate needing to use my portable amp for music to sound good.

 
If open back is preferable and you need something that doesn't need an amp, and also portable, why not get a Grado? They all fold, the SR80 is terminated with a 3.5mm plug so no need to get the SR225 only to have to deal with the bulky adapter on the go, then play around with whichever earpads you prefer for comfort and sound (including the mods you can do to them). 

 

[Byrnie]

I think the HD598s are what you're looking for. Open headphones don't leak as much as you think they do.

 

[jodgey4]

Will these be for walking around, or just something you can take with you? Open headphones aren't the best for walking around, you'll share everything you're listening to with those around you, and you'll really have to turn up to block out environmental noise - furthering the first problem. What sound characteristics are you looking for? M50's have a slight V shape, 598's are a warm, mid-centric phone.
 
BTW, your original question wasn't dumb. The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask!