Open Back Headphones: Explained!

Open back vs closed back headphones broken down!

Intro Track: Deadmau5 - Slow Down, Start Over

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[snazzy]

Good explanation, buddy. Once you go open-back, you'll never go back.

[GaryKetchum]

Imma go with closed back cus I don't want my homies to know I like white girl music.

[ArmilDeSparta]

after seeing the price it made me CLOSE BACK my wallet.

[Oddzey]

some extra details for those looking to buy some:

Closed back headphones are better for a Tailored listening experience, usually you get a stronger bass because you can trap the bass much easier in a closed chamber (people tend to enjoy that little bit of bass boost) however at the cost of high end sounding a bit shrill and weak at times

Open back headphones are mostly gonna be for professional use in a studio or at home and its a lot harder to trap the bass in an open chamber however they have a much wider sound and are able to produce higher quality top end noise, as well as noise further down sub bass

Semi-Open back headphones get the best and worst of both worlds, since they have that open back, the soundstage is relatively wide, however not as wide as full open backs. They also don't bleed like open backs, but they don't trap all the noise like closed backs. they have a much more detailed high end than closed backs but not quite as detailed as full open backs, the one thing they have that doesn't have a cavoite would be the bass, they have a very detailed bass and trap bass really well, the sound still bleeds like crazy but the bass can stay contained in semi open-backs pretty well

Entry Level recommendations for each category
Closed back: Sennheiser HD280
Semi-open back: Samson SR850
Open back: Philips SHP 9500

KEEP IN MIND:
having loud bass, and having a lot of bass are NOT the same thing. loud bass simply implies a bass boost, meaning the frequencies in the bass section are just louder. having a large bass means you get more of those frequencies in the bass section, its a wider sound, it giving you more noise in that bass section rather than just giving you a little bass and boosting the crap out of it. Ex. Meze Empyreans their graph is a straight line all the way down to sub bass, however it might not be as boomy and punchy as a set of closed back Sonys

[NikolajLepka]

the only thing I wish you'd have done, is give a demonstration of how bad the sound leaking is

if the other people in your room can hear it as clear as you do, then it's quite a leak
but if it's just a tiny bit, then I don't see too much of a problem

[yusoffm]

If you're playing video game, I suggest using open back especially for FPS where you will listen to surrounding even better. Don't fall for 5.1 or 7.1 "gaming" headsets.

[theBKLounge]

Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Grado, Shure, Audio Technica, Klipsch, AKG, Audeze, Hifiman, Stax, V-Moda etc.

For headphones/audio in general, if it isnt German, hard to pronounce or triggers spell check then its most likely not worth buying. There will always be exceptions though.

Noble Audio and Sony are just a few of those.

[AlexisAlexander]

No one is gonna talk about his awesome shirt?

[TastyTherapy]

Anyone else heard the banging in this video? Might be a headboard <Lenny face/>

[makatron]

Came here expecting a mention of Grado SR80i, was not disappointed! Such a great headphones for the money and cheap spare parts to fix them very easily.

[sustenance]

And with open back you lose the sensation of like, imprisonment. The sound has so much space to breathe that you can listen hours and hours and hours without any pain. The fact that most open backs are also neutral made me rediscover my music, because almost all consumer grade headphones are so bassy it eats up the rest of the spectrum. Open backs really made me rediscover music and now I love it even more than ever. I'm never going back from open backs

[selkenshin]

Awesome, this dude has been doing straight to the point, high quality videos for soo long.

[nemesislucifer]

Soundstage: how wide the song sounds (spatial)
Imaging: direction the sound seem to be coming from (directional)
thus, soundstage≠imaging.

[JerryNeutron]

Open back headphones are _perfect_ for gaming

[vuichon]

To he honest, a lot of youtubers put ads in their video, but yours are the only one without ads, so exclusive to see your video.

[Kitsua]

The most important aspect of open-backed headphone designs is that they will have a much more neutral and "true" sound, particularly for bass frequencies. Closed-backed headphones necessarily have to compensate for bass and thus have a distorted version of the audio, which is usually fine for people just enjoying music. However, for music producers and those who have to listen to mixes for reference, open-backed designs are a must as it's much closer to the actual frequencies in the audio file.

For most people, they may well find open-backed headphones less "exciting" than closed-backed designs, which can be a lot more bassy and with crisper high-end which makes the audio really "pop". They also don't have the intrusive leakage into your environment. Anyone making music or working with audio who needs to do intricate mix references to compliment their studio monitors should always invest in a good pair of open-backed cans however, as close-backed products will be compromising the sound stage and frequency response.


Of course, people in studios will also need close-backed 'phones for tracking so that leakage into the mic is reduced to acceptable levels.

[dmazzone]

"I'm not that much of a gamer"

wears a Master Chief T-Shirt

[PauloNideck]

Great video, thanks for the explanation!

[rmoultonrmoulton]

If you want a good, inexpensive pair of open backs, go w/ the Sennheiser HD 518's. I use them constantly and they are easily the best headphones I've ever used due to the soundstage Marques talks about and you can get them for anywhere from $50-$70.

Side note, most open-backs are exponentially better w/ an amp, so I recommend getting, at the very least, a cheap 20$ one on Amazon in conjunction w/ your headphones.

[Gamer_Dad_]

I love this "explained" series you have going. I always learn something new. Keep it up!