open back vs. closed back headphones
Thomas Veil
"closed back" headphones?
--
thanks :: tv
Willie K.Yee, M.D.
wrote:
>could someone enlighten me as to the difference between "open back" and
>"closed back" headphones?
Open back earphones allow the sound from outside to get in - you can
hear the telephone ringing or your wife yelling at you if the phones
are not to loud. They feel lighter on your head, and have a more open
feel to the sound.
Closed phones seal more or less tightly around your ear to shut out
outside sounds. Important in a noisy environment or if checking a live
mix.
Willie K. Yee, M.D. http://www.bestweb.net/~wkyee
Developer of Problem Knowledge Couplers for Psychiatry http://www.pkc.com
Webmaster and Guitarist for the Big Blue Big Band http://www.bigbluebigband.org
Mark W
news:Pi1O9.2230$fG3.27...@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com:
> could someone enlighten me as to the difference between "open back" and
> "closed back" headphones?
Open back means you can hear everything that's going on in the room - as
long as the music in the headphones doesn't drown it out. Closed back means
that as soon as you put the headphones on it cuts down on room noise.
For example my Grado SR80 headphones are open back and when I put them on,
I hear everything as if they weren't on. By Sennheiser HD 212Pro headphones
are closed and when I put them on, I don't hear what's going on in the room
nearly as well.
This works in reverse too - open back headphones are more likely to leak
into the room than closed back headphones, which is important to consider
when tracking with a mic - the headphones will bleed into the mic.
Regards,
Mark
--
http://www.marktaw.com/
Thomas Bishop
> could someone enlighten me as to the difference between "open back" and
> "closed back" headphones?
Open usually sound more realistic. They bleed into mics. Closed phones
block outside noise and cut down a lot of bleed, but don't sound as real as
open ones. A lot of people use open-back headphones for mixing and closed
for tracking. Personally, I'm using Sennheiser HD280's for both mixing and
tracking and I like them a lot. They have great isolation, which is
important for a drummer who needs to hear the music over the set.
Chris G.
I agree... that pretty much nails it. After using the Optimus Pro-25, Koss
KTX-Pro, and Optimus Pro-35 open back headphones for so long, closed ear
headphones sound so unnatural to me and I hate hearing them when doing
reference checking. But the close ear headphones definitely have advantages
while tracking. I use some cheap Sony closed ear headphones while micing up
my guitar amps for example. I turn the amps down, crank up the headphones,
and the move a mic around while I play until I find a sweet spot. That way
I hear mostly what the mic is picking up and not the amp itself so much.
Then once I find the spot, I turn the headphone volume down, and crank up
the amp. Then I set the levels, do a little eq tweaking, and hit record.
:)
I'd love to get me a pair of Grados however. I hear those are very sweet
headphones. But right now I'm very happy with my Optimus Pro-35
headphones.
Chris G.
"Thomas Bishop" <bishop...@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
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