Open or Closed

KLapinas
KLapinas Posts: 608
edited March 2013 in Headphones
Whick do you prefer, open or closed headphones?
Post edited by KLapinas on
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,381
    edited March 2013
    Depends on where and why I am using headphones. In a quiet environment I tend to prefer open. Also, if at work where folks frequently come by to ask a question, I prefer open. However, if I need to seal out noise then I like sealed.

    In general though I prefer open for the open sound stage. It seems that you need to spend some really good coin to get this in a sealed design.
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • blairfrischx
    blairfrischx Posts: 259
    edited March 2013
    I enjoyed the closed headphones I've owned (Beyer DT770, Denon D2000), but they really can't touch the sound of open headphones at the same price point.

    I'd like to hear the Denon D7000 and the Beyer Tesla T1 sometime, but for now I prefer open headphones.
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited March 2013
    A well designed open backed pair will have the best sound quality, but they can be hard to listen to as the room as to be quiet. I ended up selling my open back headphones as I could only listen to them in the same circumstances that I could listen to speakers, so I didn't see any reason to use them.
    Jake
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  • KLapinas
    KLapinas Posts: 608
    edited March 2013
    So if noise is not an issue open would typically be preferred unless you are buying high dollar headphones?
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited March 2013
    Give us your price range and we can recommend great options for what you're wanting to pay.
    Jake
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  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited March 2013
    Open for me. More natural in sound than what I found so far compared to closed cans.
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