[davewhit]

Been using and buying hi fi for 37 of my 50 years, and I have been lucky to always have space for big loud speakers ! but with the wife going back to uni to do another degree at time I have now promised to be quiet

So I am looking at headphones

and thought here should be the place to ask a few questions

So to start with which do you think is better open or closed ? I know open leak sound thats ok because she will be far enough away for that not to be a problem

so what are the pros and cons of each ?

ta in advance

 

[joeq70]

Well, open cans generally seem to have a larger soundstage. A person like you who has been into hi-fi speakers for a while would likely place a high value on this characteristic. You are right that open phones leak more sound, though. However, many closed cans leak quite a bit of sound, as well (my Denon D2000 for instance). Of course, open does not always mean more soundstage. Grado headphones are open yet have a rather small soundstage, much smaller than my closed Denon's.

I think deciding open vs. closed is less important than finding out what phones match best with your taste in music and finding out what sonic characteristics are most importnant to you(i.e. soundstage, punchy bass, imaging, smooth highs, etc.)

So tell us a little more about your music preferences and perhaps what you liked about the speakers you've owned over the years.

 

[davewhit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeq70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, open cans generally seem to have a larger soundstage. A person like you who has been into hi-fi speakers for a while would likely place a high value on this characteristic. You are right that open phones leak more sound, though. However, many closed cans leak quite a bit of sound, as well (my Denon D2000 for instance). Of course, open does not always mean more soundstage. Grado headphones are open yet have a rather small soundstage, much smaller than my closed Denon's. I think deciding open vs. closed is less important than finding out what phones match best with your taste in music and finding out what sonic characteristics are most importnant to you(i.e. soundstage, punchy bass, imaging, smooth highs, etc.) So tell us a little more about your music preferences and perhaps what you liked about the speakers you've owned over the years.

Had the Tannoys years I like they work with amps from 6 watts to 250 always try to use A class amps (but not at present) loads of real deep bass great sound stage detailed mid range too

music foo fighters bob dylan santana in fact everything have bought 30 of the present top 40 uk albums in the last few months
classical maddona queen snow patrol clapton yes most music

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

I completely agree with joeq70, it's more important that you know if sound leakage or isolation are an important concern to you to decide whether going open or closed, than the sound quality you will get from either type of cans. There are great closed cans as well as there are very bad ones, and the same happens with opens. It's upon your taste, music preferences and maybe budget that you'll like better open or closed, not for their design, but for their sound quality to your ears.

Regards.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davewhit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Been using and buying hi fi for 37 of my 50 years, and I have been lucky to always have space for big loud speakers ! but with the wife going back to uni to do another degree at time I have now promised to be quiet So I am looking at headphones and thought here should be the place to ask a few questions So to start with which do you think is better open or closed ? I know open leak sound thats ok because she will be far enough away for that not to be a problem so what are the pros and cons of each ?

There are some very good closed headphones, but they tend to be more expensive than equally good open headphones.
Most of the better closed headphones don't isolate that much anway, and if you don't need the better isolation you are generally better off to look for open headphones.

Due to economies of scale the german/austrian mass produced TOTL headphones by AKG, Beyerdynamics and Sennheiser do provide the best bang for the buck ratio as far as high-end headphones are concerned, but all of them do desperately need a dedicated headphone amplifier for their full potential.

Without more information about your preferred musical genres, your preferences (in the loudspeaker realm) and the budget we can't give useful advice .........

 

[b0dhi]

I've yet to hear a closed phone that didn't sound like a miniature bathroom. YMMV, but I recommend open all the way.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Open headphones are simply more natural.

 

[krmathis]

Its easier and hence cheaper to develop a great sounding open-back headphone than a closed-back one. But they can both sound equally (or very close) great when done properly.

Since sound leaking is not a problem for you I would not limit myself to either of them. Just decide how much you are willing to spend, then go out to audition some 'phones. Pick the one that suits your taste, regardless is its open or closed.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

x2 krmathis audition headphones from various companies and see which ones you like the best preferably with the music genre you usually listen too

Happy 'phone hunting!