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Showing 1 of 5034 conversations about:
bwasb
2
Feb 26, 2015
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I was planning on using these at work to close out the surrounding noise. and listen to some music while I work. I'm now concerned with the open back that the noise may bother others. Is there anyway to muffle this?
VolvoSpeedV70R
77
Feb 27, 2015
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bwasbHave to agree with Amiba & ginsbu, These cans are not meant for outside environment of home like work. Changing the design to muffle the semi-open designed will change the sound signature. You might want to look at closed back cans for that. These are great cans but not for the use you referenced.
bwasb
2
Feb 27, 2015
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VolvoSpeedV70RThanks for the replies. It's obvious I have not used headphones like these before. I really like the sound and will have to give it a go at work. If not I will listen at home and look for a good closed back set. Any suggestions?
givemeyourshoes
426
Feb 27, 2015
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bwasbThese would not be an ideal fit for your use case. Open back headphones such as these do not isolate you from outside noise, and they do leak sound. I would not suggest "muffling " as that will ruin the sound quality. I would suggest something like the current drop for the Taskar headphones. they are closed back, and will work much better for the use you have described.
bwasb
2
Feb 28, 2015
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givemeyourshoesThanks I will look at these. I now have the K7XX to compare to. Do you know how these compare?
Beast_that_can_talk
10
Feb 28, 2015
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bwasbNothing specific, here, but...
Closed phones tend to have a lot more character to them, and given the tendency towards polarized opinions on different ones, I suspect a lot of that is due to your head and ears being part of a *sealed* enclosure that varies per person, on top of preferences and varying types of ideal FR curves used by the different brands. In some cases, just getting and keeping a seal makes all the difference (if my head moved too much, Shure SRH940s would lose it temporarily, so I'm not sure how they would have fared if they fit my head better, as an example).
I've not found better than the AKG K271 mkII, for myself, though I did not expect that at all when I bought them. Instead of finding that going up the cost ladder yielded better results, with them being another stepping stone and reference point, I found improving my source and amp brought me to a plateau, where good recordings just *sound really good* (not to call them perfect by any stretch, but they match well with my head and brain, in ways that far outweigh their weaknesses *for me*). Descriptions of the sound from negative reviews, when reasonably well articulated, often do not sound like what I hear, and I am not alone in that. While not everyone likes them to the same degree, for example, the K240 mkII, which are basically an open variant, has a sound everyone agrees on. This dissonance is seen in discussions of other closed headphones, as well (I just happen to be extremely familiar with my favorite pairs, and if you can't already tell, have a preference towards AKG's sound :)), much more so than open ones.
Not to discourage at all, nor offer a specific recommendation; just that there's a reason there are so many of them, and so many different opinions, at most reasonable price points; and that finding a given pair to not sound good to you for $X does not mean you have to spend $10X for one that sounds good to you. You might just have to research, try, scratch one off the list, and repeat that a couple times, even if you are comparing with good information.
Closed phones tend to have a lot more character to them, and given the tendency towards polarized opinions on different ones, I suspect a lot of that is due to your head and ears being part of a *sealed* enclosure that varies per person, on top of preferences and varying types of ideal FR curves used by the different brands. In some cases, just getting and keeping a seal makes all the difference (if my head moved too much, Shure SRH940s would lose it temporarily, so I'm not sure how they would have fared if they fit my head better, as an example).
I've not found better than the AKG K271 mkII, for myself, though I did not expect that at all when I bought them. Instead of finding that going up the cost ladder yielded better results, with them being another stepping stone and reference point, I found improving my source and amp brought me to a plateau, where good recordings just *sound really good* (not to call them perfect by any stretch, but they match well with my head and brain, in ways that far outweigh their weaknesses *for me*). Descriptions of the sound from negative reviews, when reasonably well articulated, often do not sound like what I hear, and I am not alone in that. While not everyone likes them to the same degree, for example, the K240 mkII, which are basically an open variant, has a sound everyone agrees on. This dissonance is seen in discussions of other closed headphones, as well (I just happen to be extremely familiar with my favorite pairs, and if you can't already tell, have a preference towards AKG's sound :)), much more so than open ones.
Not to discourage at all, nor offer a specific recommendation; just that there's a reason there are so many of them, and so many different opinions, at most reasonable price points; and that finding a given pair to not sound good to you for $X does not mean you have to spend $10X for one that sounds good to you. You might just have to research, try, scratch one off the list, and repeat that a couple times, even if you are comparing with good information.
bwasb
2
Mar 1, 2015
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Beast_that_can_talkThank you for your thoughtful response. I will look at the K240 mkll
Beast_that_can_talk
10
Mar 2, 2015
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bwasbThe K240 are open, not too unlike the K7XX. I used them as a comparison model against another with the same drivers only, but that isn't open (the K271 mkII and K240 mkII). That there is enough difference with the shapes of our heads and ears that some people will just not hear the same closed headphone as well as others, or will hear something different, even with a consistent seal. IEMs, going right in the ear canal, bypass all of that, but of course have their own sets of cons.
IoW, if you don't match up well to a given closed headphone, try another well-regarded one in the same price range, before thinking you need to spend much more to get quality sound.
IoW, if you don't match up well to a given closed headphone, try another well-regarded one in the same price range, before thinking you need to spend much more to get quality sound.
bwasb
2
Mar 3, 2015
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Beast_that_can_talkI brought these to my work today. My cube mates said they could not hear them unless they were standing right next to me. I very happy that I will be able to listen while I work.
tommydadog
177
Mar 3, 2015
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bwasbI was more worried about sound going in rather than sound going out :P
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