Headphones for practicing: Open vs Closed

[madmaskbass]

I choose open. Have in-ears if I need closed but I much prefer open for breathability to expel all my brain farts

 

[smo]

Doesn't matter if you're practicing alone. What else do you do?

Open for mixing. Many options here
Closed for isolation, so you can record in the same room as other instruments (think live recording). With a loud room, you don't need a massive budget for these IMO, Shure 440's will do the job.

 

[smtp4me]

I use closed-back headphones - Sony MDR 7506 to be exact. I liked the first pair so much that I bought a second. Why closed-back? because I sometimes record with a microphone (acoustic guitar, vocals) and I don't want anything to bleed into the mic from the headphones. I like the Sonys so much because they have a very neutral overall sound, similar to what you have with good reference monitors.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Closed hands down, others around you will appreciate it.

 

[matdras]

It honestly depends on what’s going on in the room. If my wife is watching some epic battle scene on Netflix, then closed back for sure. I’m extremely pleased with the sound coming from my Shure SRH1450’s (closed) in that environment...

However, if the surroundings are quiet, I’m almost always going to grab my Beyerdynamic DT1990’s (open). The detail and imaging are unrivaled with anything else I’ve tried, and oh yea, still PLENTY of bass. The higher impedance calls for a more robust headphone amp, but it is totally worth it in my book. They are also extraordinarily comfortable even though they’re no featherweights.

The key here is to experiment. It took going through quite a few pairs before I even knew what I was really going for. There are plenty of good options out there, but it’s still surprising how different one set of cans will sound from another.

 

[GreyBeard]

I use open back as there are times when I'm learning a song I use another sound source and play alone with it so it is important to be able to hear the ambient sounds.

 

[Nickweissmusic]

If you were to drop big money on a set of headphones for both listening to music and practicing/learning bass lines from recordings, would you go with open vs closed headphones? Please explain the rationale for your decision.

closed, if you plan on using them anywhere that isn’t a controlled environment. Why stress your ears by needing to turn up if it’s noisy, and imposing your music on others is just tacky. If always in a controlled environment, the comfort of open backs alone is good enough reason to go that way. I won’t go into sound characteristics because that’s purely subjective.

 

[socialleper]

I use Neumann NDH20 headphones for recording and practicing. Good bass response, comfortable, reasonable isolation, and closed back. I have better open back headphones, but I can hear too much of my plucking\picking though them and I don't like it.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

Open-back if you have a quiet space to practice, closed if you need isolation. Make sure they're comfy.

 

[1bassplayinfool]

I had been using some earbuds which were OK for learning and practicing. Got a set of Sony MDR 7506 closed back cans for my little home studio. I like them so far.

 

[Nuage420]

https://austrian.audio/hi-x55/

I just bought these today... I'm pretty impressed. $350 impressed... maybe? Gotta get used to them a bit. I have been using my akg 240 mkii for a few years now for practicing, and this past year recording/monitoring. I'll run these for a few days then put the akg back on and see how I feel.

I wanted more background noise to be eliminated and a good listening/ movie/ youtube pair.

 

[seamonkey]

Closed
You want to hear the bass from pickup to the headphones
Not the click, buzz, and twang, from the acoustics
Also nice to isolate other noises, fans, AC in the room.
Of course some nice IEMs will also isolate and something you'll have to get use to if you play live but they aren't as convenient to take on and off as over the ear cans.

 

[swarfrat]

With open back you can only add to the noise. I think isolation headphones are a good idea even if you don't "need" them. Us musicians tend to crank them up. I mean, everyone does, but we're worse than average, unless its something you're conscientuous of.

 

[AngelCrusher]

If you have a good headphone amp, the beyerdyamic 990s are amazing for practice, mixing, about anything besides recording in the same room as a singer.

i prefer open back. Saves the ears. You can practice longer. No need to blast too much low end in your ears when practicing.

also have closed ATs. Great phones too but tougher on the ears over long durations.

 

[wellshuxley]

I have several pairs of open- and closed-back cans, and I most often reach for the “semi-open” Beyerdynamic DT 880s when practicing. I find them to be a reasonable compromise between open and closed.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

If you were to drop big money on a set of headphones for both listening to music and practicing/learning bass lines from recordings, would you go with open vs closed headphones? Please explain the rationale for your decision.

Closed. 100%

I'm not a drummer. I need isolation, accuracy, and sound.

 

[geesharp]

I use semi open AKG K240 Studio and an open one Sennheiser HD600 for practice and to listen to music.

The HD 600 is much, much more comfortable than the K240, the pads are much more comfortable... I can wear them for hours to listen to music with no discomfort.. and it's less hot.

 

[Rilence]

Open. Why ? Soundstage - because you did say for listening as well. If it was just practise and isolation was important, closed. But that isn't an issue for me so open all the way.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm listening through a €130 pair of AKG-701s, and I see no reason to drop any bigger money than that. Granted, they're a little more expensive in the USA.

Open-backed headphones provide more precise sound reproduction and are also typically more comfortable to use for long periods, but they lack isolation from the external environment in both directions. It's also not possible (to my knowledge) to implement noise-cancelling with open-backed headphones, due to this lack of isolation.

So if you need to block out noisy surroundings, or need to avoid disturbing people around you, closed-back headphones are the way to go. It's for that reason that I'd personally go for closed-back ones for this purpose: I'm not able to mentally filter out my surroundings.

If your surroundings aren't a source of distractions for you, the extra detail provided by open-backed headphones will probably help. Whether that difference is game-changing/deal-breaking for you depends on your hearing and the kind of recordings you're trying to learn from.

FWIW, I've been happy with Bose QC25s that I got for noise-cancelling: I was travelling often at the time, and was working in a noisy environment that made concentration difficult. They still work nicely, but I'm getting into music production, and it was much faster, easier and cheaper to get these headphones than to treat a room that's best summed up as an acoustic disaster-zone.

I would rather use ear buds. With a good seal in the ear canal you get better isolation than either closed or open back headphones. The key is the seal in the ear. Custom fit is better (Westone is not cheap), but I get good results and seal with my Shure ear buds and OCTO in ear lubricant.

 

[Rabidhamster]

I use a pair of closed back AT m50x if I have to practice in headphones. Before I found these, if I had to use headphones I just didn't practice.

I would rather use ear buds. With a good seal in the ear canal you get better isolation than either closed or open back headphones. The key is the seal in the ear. Custom fit is better (Westone is not cheap), but I get good results and seal with my Shure ear buds and OCTO in ear lubricant.

You lost me at in-ear lubricant I hate earbuds bad enough, but now I need to lube up my earholes for them?