Sound Leakage

[QuantumRock]

So I've decided to take the plunge into the open back planar world but have concerns about sound leakage due to where I work in an office and I don't want to disturb office mates. As a reference to how loud I listen to my headphones I'll choose one that probably everyone has, the Koss KPH30i. I average about 30 on my DX160, about 35 on my Fiio M11, about 50% through my phone. So hopefully that'll give an idea of how loud I listen to my music, and hopefully give me insight to whether or not sound leakage will be a problem. Thanks in advance fellow Head-Fiers!

 

[HBen]

....Yes people in the same office will hear it ...
... why not use iems or at least closed backs ....
.... and finally: why not just ask your coworkers? ... depends a lot on the workplace too

 

[Mightygrey]

So I've decided to take the plunge into the open back planar world but have concerns about sound leakage due to where I work in an office and I don't want to disturb office mates. As a reference to how loud I listen to my headphones I'll choose one that probably everyone has, the Koss KPH30i. I average about 30 on my DX160, about 35 on my Fiio M11, about 50% through my phone. So hopefully that'll give an idea of how loud I listen to my music, and hopefully give me insight to whether or not sound leakage will be a problem. Thanks in advance fellow Head-Fiers!

It really depends on your office and the amount of ambient noise there. I've used open backs in previous workplaces as I have enough room between me and co-workers (around 3 metres or so) and there was enough ambient noise to make it not problematic. I probably wouldn't use them in my current office. I find open-back cans generally pretty useful in these kinds of situations as it gives you situational awareness and you can still hear conversations around you (if you aren't cranking things too loudly).

 

[HipHopScribe]

I sometimes use my Aeon Open in the office (80% of the time I use my PM-3s if there's a lot of activity going on) but no one sits within 15 feet of me and the two people in the same room as me also tend to use headphones. I personally wouldn't use open headphones if anyone sat closer to me. It's really hard to say how much it would bother your office mates. I would assume they might be able to hear your music at least at a low level and ask them if it would bother them