Open Or Closed Studio Headphones

These headphones showed me there is indeed, a difference between closed back headphones and open back headphones. These , I think, are listed as semi-open back. I really like the sound. Arrived quickly and was well packaged.

These have to be one of the best values in headphones, and they're made in the USA. I recently switched from a pair of closed-back to these open-back and I am loving them. My one gripe is that they are tight fitting. I have a relatively small head and I find these uncomfortable after about 45 minutes. I'm hoping they loosen up after some use. Now back to Oysterhead!

I have been reading about these beauties for some time. I have a home studio with no shortage of high quality headphones for tracking but they are all closed-back style for noise isolation. Many pros insist that open-back headphones are best for mixing because of accuracy, a lack of bass buildup and reduced ear fatigue. Although the HD600s are advertised as "audiophile" phones, I have repeatedly seen them reviewed as being some of the most accurate units around for professional mixing as well. B&H had them on a special and I took the leap. When they arrived, like all new transducers, they were a little stiff and needed some breaking in. After running music�through�them for about two days, they really opened up. Now, I totally agree with the reviews I've seen. These babies are spot-on accurate. There is a slight bass boost which would be distracting if these were closed-back because the energy couldn't dissipate but with the open-back design it's present but not really noticeable. What really shines with these are everything above about 50 Hz which is ruler flat all the way up. I use SonarWorks Reference to fine tune the response and the "averaged" response compensation curve for the HD600s is within 3 dB through the mids and highs - the flattest curve for any phones modeled in the software. OK, now my ONLY gripe is that they have separate wiring to each earcup rather than the more conventional single sided cable input but that's a minor thing compared to the amazing sound. If you're serious about mixing and need accurate headphones, these are the ones.

This Philips Fidelio X2HR choice was my first open-backed headphones after always using closed-backed. It was a great choice. The sound is much better than I was used to and the comfort level on the ears and head is also much more comfortable. I am not an audiophile like some of the other reviewers, yet I am very pleased with my choice. I highly recommend these headphones.

I wouldn't pay full retail for these headphones, but at the current sale price, it's a great set of headphones if an open back design will work for you. Keep this in mind - professional studio recording headphones have to be a closed back design, for multiple obvious reasons. It's more difficult to get neutral balanced sound from the drivers with closed backs. So thus you get the whole headphone scene for audio production tasks. You can't use these Philips headphones for any of that, but for normal consumer enjoyment of music, if nobody is bothered by the sound coming out the back of the phones, these sound absolutely fantastic. Beautiful open, clear, three dimensional soundstage that presents any recording at its best.

Broke down and replaced my flash meter. I closed my studio about 20 years ago, and the flash meter went with it. I'm getting ready to open another studio and I bought the Sekonic Light Master Pro L-478D-U. It is a joy to use, much easier to use than the one it replaced.

These headphones, for the money you spend, are a very good investment for any audiophile. I use them for listening to both digital and analog (tape and LP's) music as well as watching Television late at night. For music, being an open back design, they really shine. The open back allows one to really open them up and when you do they are just a real treat to listen to. For studio recording I would say go with a closed back style to prevent sound bleed. But for playback at the console they are an excellent choice. I have pushed these up to about 55 watts rms and the open back prevents the damage to your ears that a closed back would do. I would recommend them to anyone that's on a budget because in my opinion there's nothing on the market that will rival them. They are comfortable, require a short break in period and the sound reproduction is excellent plus there's no thump, thump, thump of an over compensative xtra Bass feature. I play these flat. I am a studio engineer and know that before a recording is released the mix has gone through alot and is as good as the engineers and producer wanted so I feel that xtra bass is just a way to mess up a good mix.

I use the headphones primarily for tracking in my recording studio. Because the cover the ear and have a closed back, they block out the music in the room, and allow the player to hear the headphone mix clearly. They do not distort and have a fairly even frequency response. The only downside is the cost, usually $ a pair, B&H did $ with free shipping, so I bought 3 pair.

It fits as advertised. I am not sure what else I can really say about it. I took two pictures and attached them, one open, and one closed.

It comes open very easily, so just use a rubber band to keep it closed (simple enough). I find it to be quite useful.