[dubstep]

Dear good people of Head-Fi,

I need a new headphone for working in a noisy environment and would love to hear your recommendations.

Would love to find a closed back headphone that isolates well from outside noise.

At work, I listen to a lot of focus music / binaural beats stuff (brain.fm) to help me focus on my tasks and sort out my ADHD. Would be great if I could use the headphone with just the headphone jack on my Macbook and still get a half-decent performance.

After work I would like to use the same headphone to listen to music, all genres (from jazz to techno) using a Chord Mojo.

Budget is $500 max.

Any helpful ideas would be highly appreciated... thank you!

 

[voja]

Will not directly recommend any models as though I don't have much experience with closed-backs, however, I do recommend that you look at the used market. Take a look around the "Classifieds" section on Head-Fi (https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/categories/full-size.2)

Wishing you success!

 

[dunring]

My favorite closed backs that can be powered with or without an amp are the AKG K371Pro. The Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohm I have are nice, but treble peak can be bright at times with stuff like pop music. The 770 needs an amp and the 32 ohm version doesn't sound as good (had those in inventory last week so got to compare side by side).
The 371pro didn't need equalizing, they travel much better than the Beyers due to compactness and 3 cables it comes with.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

While passive noise isolation can be helpful, it is sometimes very dependent on getting a good seal which can be affected by beards, glasses and/or longer hair.
I personally found a combination of passive and active noise isolation to work more reliably. Since it is also one of the main points of today's mainstream headphones, you can find good isolation with Bose, Sony and Apple wireless headphones.

Sound quality varies, but I found many models to be generally "good enough" for casual/background listening.

 

[musicinmymind]

ultrasone signature pro could be best bet, they isolate well even for my evening walk.

 

[pbui44]

ultrasone signature pro could be best bet, they isolate well even for my evening walk.

If the OP wants to save some cash, then they could also go for 2 pairs of the Ultrasone Pro 900i for home and work, which is would go for around $150 shipped each to the US from German-based Thomann:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/ultrasone_pro_900i.htm

 

[chesebert]

Sound quality and isolation are inversely proportional. What do you want more?

 

[pbui44]

You will have to rotate the ear cups individually to get a good seal and get better isolation, but the Drop Hifiman HE-R7DX will be $79 tomorrow at 9am:

https://drop.com/talk/113119/promo-preview-7-11-7-13

https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he-r7dx-closed-back-headphones

 

[Corti]

i would recommend the denon ah-d 7200. but it needs a little eqing, because the bass is not very linear. it has a bit too much mid- and upper bass. after eqing it down though it becomes a very enjoyable headphone, especially for electronic genres but also allrounder capabilites. on sale it is roughly 500€ (got mine for 520€ open-box), dont know about $, probably similar.

edit: it also runs fine from any phone / laptop, not very power-hungry

 

[KPzypher]

Dear good people of Head-Fi,

I need a new headphone for working in a noisy environment and would love to hear your recommendations.

Would love to find a closed back headphone that isolates well from outside noise.

At work, I listen to a lot of focus music / binaural beats stuff (brain.fm) to help me focus on my tasks and sort out my ADHD. Would be great if I could use the headphone with just the headphone jack on my Macbook and still get a half-decent performance.

After work I would like to use the same headphone to listen to music, all genres (from jazz to techno) using a Chord Mojo.

Budget is $500 max.

Any helpful ideas would be highly appreciated... thank you!

From my stable, these fit the bill.

AKG 371
Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X
Shure SRH840A
Rode NTH-100
Sony MDR-1AM2
Shure SRH1540

All easy to drive with good isolation except 1AM2 might lack a bit in isolation due to ported cup design.

I highly recommend AKG371 or DT700 Pro X. Both great for portable use (DT700 doesn't fold), easy to drive, and super comfortable with great sound. But most importantly, well under your budget. On the higher end of that budget, I would get the SRH1540 and get a decent balanced cable. Keep in mind, SRH1540 sounds fantastic but not so great in isolation with stock perforated pads.

 

[LeTrain]

From personal use, I would recommend the DCA aeon x closed. I find it to be rather big but I believe it may just be my head size being rather small comparatively. The clamp force is great and the isolation is pretty good despite the small vent it has on the back of the cups. Although it is rather power hungry, I've run it off an apple dongle just fine. I'd suggest checking out more reviews on it but I'd say the overall sound signature is pretty good. I'm treble sensitive and these rarely have harsh peaks. The bass is great. The separation and detail is superb. Only complaint is the sense of recessed mids which may be a deal breaker, for me anyways. Otherwise, comfort, fit, and what not is great!

 

[AudioThief]

Shure SRH1540. Closed, sounds fantastic, very comfortable, easily driven.

 

[dubstep]

Thanks everybody, some great recommendations and lots of valuable input here that I am currently following up on - only thing is, it drives me further down the rabbit hole...
but i guess that's part of the process
thanks again, much appreciated!

 

[Tex Irie]

Thanks everybody, some great recommendations and lots of valuable input here that I am currently following up on - only thing is, it drives me further down the rabbit hole...
but i guess that's part of the process
thanks again, much appreciated!

Sony WH-1000XM4 versatility, sounds pretty decent, easily driven, decent isolation, within your stated budget, on sale.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Drop DCA closed backs (aeon closed x?)