Open vs Closed Headphones

[WobbleWobble]

I'm looking for headphones and two Sennheiser models look good to me. The HD-280 and the HD-570 .

They're in the same price range $70 (HD570) vs $100 (HD280), but the HD-280s have a regular price of $200 vs $150 of the HD-570s. External noise isn't an issue as it'll be used in a bedroom enviroment powered by a Hercules Fortissimo 2. Also, is there a comfort issue with closed vs open? Is sound quality different at all?

 

[onza]

i want to know as well

 

[Gurck]

What's the impedence on the 570s? They may need an amp to sound good and have good volume. 280s are notorious for being tight-fitting. I've gotten used to it, but will admit this is true - and I don't have an especially wide head. Your prices are the MSRPs, btw - regular 'street' price for the 280s is about $80 - $100 new, not sure on the 570s. The 280s sound nice to me, but I haven't owned other hq phones so can't speak comparitively.

 

[Chaotic42]

I like closed better. They're more comfortable.

When I worked at the radio station, I noticed that my closed ears seemed to block out more background noise. All I could hear was what was going out over the air.

 

[oogabooga]

I went from cheapo headphones to the 570's, so i can't comment on sound quality, but i can say that they are the most comfortable set of headphones i've used. IMO they also sound great, and i'm only using an audigy card.
The open while not making them really unnoticable, definatley cuts down on the headphone profile. Open tends to be not as good at blocking room noise (not that this is really an issue unless you're trying to use them as stage monitors). I've heard good things about the 280, but a few of my buddies complain of some comfort things, some don't.

I give the thumbsup for the 570's more out of ignorance as thats the only one i've used before.

 

[Viper GTS]

In general high end headphones are open, most of the high end brands (Sennheiser for example) have lower end models that are closed but the high end is pretty much open.

IMO open is the way to go unless you have a specific need for one of the advantages of closed headphones (reduced leakage/increased isolation for example).

The best solution of course is a variety of cans for different environments - Closed for the bus/library/etc., open for private listening, earbuds for ultimate portability & isolation, etc, etc, etc.

Viper GTS

 

[onza]

i want to hear from someon who has both ...

hmm

i'm trying to figure out what my bro should get, closed or open for his bday present.

 

[WobbleWobble]

The 570s do look more comfortable than the 280s. I don't really care about sound leakage, so I'm leaning towards those...

 

[whattaguy]

I have a pair of open and closed headphones.
For critical listening, I prefer the open ones (AKG 240M) since it gives a more airy, balanced, natural sound.
For tracking purposes (laying down vocals or guitars with microphones), I prefer the closed (Audio Technica ATH40fs) since the sound won't leak into the mics. The closed tend to accentuate the highs and lows more...I guess if you want to "hear" music at it's best.

 

[pulse8]

Link

These are supposed to be better sounding than the HD280s and also are larger and more comfortable.

 

[whattaguy]

Originally posted by: pulse8
Link

These are supposed to be better sounding than the HD280s and also are larger and more comfortable.

"better sounding" is really subjective.

To OP:
Go to a store, bring in your favorite CD, and try out a bunch of headphones. Walk out with the ones you like.

 

[BigJ]

Got a pair of the 570s for $60 awhile back and I love 'em. But don't use them for non-private use because there is a lot of leakage. When I'm listening to hard rock or metal people can pretty much make out the word to the songs a couple of feet away.

 

[acemcmac]

I like closed... I think you get better reproduction

 

[CptObvious]

The regular price of the HD280 Pros are $100. In fact, I got mine for $65 on sale earlier this year. I find them good for isolation (when I'm doing home recording), but for listening to music I use a pair of semi-open AKGs. I prefer the sound of open headphones because they sound more natural to me and not as "compressed" as closed ones. Plus the HD280s are kind of uncomfortable for long periods of time because they grip tightly.

 

[0roo0roo]

open is better. closed is for where one needs isolation and cannot disturb others.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Surprising no one has mentioned a single Grado product; specifically any of the SR Series. Excellent choice for budget headphones.

Very nice thread here regarding various headphone makes and models.

 

[screw3d]

Originally posted by: pulse8
Link

These are supposed to be better sounding than the HD280s and also are larger and more comfortable.

I have these and kept it after using a HD497 for a long time, and after trying out a Sony CD780 and Grado SR80

One of the best closed headphones per recommendation by the head-fi guys! The only other thing that beats it for about $100 more is the slightly higher-end ATH900.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I was able to compare my friend's SR-80 and another friend's HD-570. The SR-80s definately sounded more clear, but it was lacking bass. Boosting bass via software made it sound good. HD-570 had fuller bass, but it sounded more muffled.

 

[thomsbrain]

i can't speak for the 570's but the 580's are much much better sounding than the 280's, and the 280's are pretty good. the 580's do take a lot of power. a portable CD player has to run the volume at around 8 to play a normal level. but any stereo receiver or decent soundcard should be able to run them fine. the only downside to the 580's is how revealing they are (this is their upside, too). the first thing you realize when listening to them is A) how crappy your headphone outputs are on whatever you're listening on, and B) how crappy the recording is you're listening to. tape hiss from the master recordings, distortion, lip smacking from singers, etc are all made painfully obvious. the upside is when you've got a good recording, it sounds simply fantastic.

 

[konakona]

you cant make a generalization on quality. R-10 is closed, orpheus (or HEV90 to be precise) is open.
i own a hd-580 and a cd-3000 and they are equally as good although i prefer the sennheiser sound. grado vs sennheiser debate has been waging forever, at that price point its not so much of quality as they all are top notch; its more of personal preference for sonic signature of particular brand or model.
if you must generalize, open cans are known for more natural and airier presentation with wider soundstage while the closed counterparts have more intimate sound with stonger bass impact.

EDIT : whatever you do, keep in mind good headphones cost a whole lot so you wanna audition them before buying. or buy from places that let you return stuff... at first i was dissapointed at cd-3000, luckily now they sound quite good with the ppx3.

 

[IGBT]

...my hd600's sound very transparent with phenomenal bass response that achieves suspension of disbelief..you'll forget your listining to headphones..and they are open aire design...

 

[Kelemvor]

What's closed vs open? The two pics in the OP look about identical...

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
What's closed vs open? The two pics in the OP look about identical...

The cups that house the drivers have either 1) an open/vented constuction which allows for sound leakage and outside sounds to affect the listener, and 2) a closed construction which will reduce these noises for the listener and also prevent some of the sounds from the headphones annoying those around the listener.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: onza
i want to hear from someon who has both ...

hmm

i'm trying to figure out what my bro should get, closed or open for his bday present.

I have GRado SR-60s (open) $70
I have Senn 280 Pros (closed) $80

Both are awesome. I prefer the Senns in terms of sound quality. Over-all it's really up to what you want. The Grado's are more comfy.

AS for hte two Senns you are debating between, look at impedence. I know hte 280s are low enough to run off of anything. If hte 570s are higher impedence (greater than 64 ohm) you should just go with the 280s.

My opinion

 

[DPmaster]

I've got both closed and open headphones.


Sennheiser HD-280 (Closed)
Sennheiser HD-580 (Open)
Sennheiser HD-650 (Open)

In general, open headphones will sound better than closed headphones. Almost all of the high-end headphones on the market are open headphones. This doesn't mean that closed headphones sound horrible. It's just that most of the better-sounding headphones on the market happen to be open-based.

If you're going to get those HD-570s you will need something better to power them (i.e. headphone amp). That's the reason I have the HD-280s...I use them for listening to things on the computer. I break out the 580 and 650 headphones when I'm listening to something on the stereo.