what exactly are open headphones?

[KiddyKong]

With open headphones can anyone in the room hear what you're listening to? I have a pair of Sony MDR-V6, which are closed headphones, but even so people can hear some noise when I have them on my head (maybe because they're not on very tight?) or i'm just going to blow my ears out.

I'm looking at the Grado SR80 headphones but I'm worried about this open design. I use headphones in my dorm room when my roommate is going to sleep. Are these going to be a poor choice?

 

[Maleficus]

<< what exactly are open headphones? >>




Speakers?

 

[Talon]

This is a great site for headphone information. Check out the technical papers and other links as well.

link

 

[erikiksaz]

Let's just say that with my Grado sr325s, you can hear what's coming out of my cans ~7 meters away. Those things push a LOT of air. I call them mini-speakers, but they sound oh-so-good.

 

[MrHelpful]

Open headphones are ones that fit relatively loosely (air-tightness wise). Closed means that they fit very tight against the head and block out most ambient sound.

 

[KiddyKong]

Well if i take my Sony MDR-V6 and put them against my chair, step back about 20 feet, i can hear the noise coming from them and can usually tell what i'm listening to. I think they're closed headphones but I wear them relatively loose.

So -- the question is -- if i have open-air headphones like the Grado, will I be able to use them around people going to sleep?

 

[DSTA]

I'm looking at the Grado SR80 headphones but I'm worried about this open design. I use headphones in my dorm room when my roommate is going to sleep. Are these going to be a poor choice?

Depends on how light the sleep of your room mate is, and of course at what sound level you like to listen. Worst case: he's someone brought up on Bach and Haendel plus has a very light sleep, and you are half deaf and enjoy 250 bpm techno at full volume. That would not mix too well, me thinks .

 

[KiddyKong]

he complained once when I was using my MDR-V6 pretty loud....would the Grado be a lot worse?

 

[Salvador]

Quite simply, the drivers on a closed headphone are "closed". They usually offer better sound isolation, but somewhat muddy bass and not very good staging IMO.

Open headphones offer very little sound isolation because the backs of the cans are open. They radiate sound toward your ear and they also radiate it outward. You can hear outside sounds more easily with "open" headphones and others around you can hear your music (or whatever) more easily.

Open headphones usually sound better than closed headphones, but because they are open, they aren't the best choice for riding to work on the subway.

This is just a simplistic explaination. I'm missing the boat when it comes to technical differences. Like someone mentioned earlier, check out www.headwize.com. It's a site and forum like Anandtech, but devoted to headphone listening and audio. Tons of great info over there if you dig.

Sal

 

[Salvador]

The Grado's are an open design. I have the RS-2's and the SR-60's. They are great to listen to when you are in a quiet room, but not so great when you are in a noisy environment or when you are trying to listen to music when someone else is sleeping. YMMV on how loud you listen to your music and how deep a sleeper your roommate is.

Sal

 

[PliotronX]

If you're a gamer, better stick to your V6's. They offer better stereo imaging than open cans which is better for games to identify positions in 3D space (thanks to our member Chu for pointing this out to me, else I would've never realized it). Also, since you've a roommate, I'd suggest keeping your V6's as you can hear Grados fairly far away. However, if you're an audiophile and/or music lover, go for the Grados, even though risking a beating from your roommate, they sound that good.