Both open-back and closed-back headphones have their advantages and disadvantages. The difference between open-back and closed-back headphones is in the physical design of the earcups.
Open-back headphones allow air and sound to pass through the earcups, while closed-back headphones are entirely sealed. While the concept of open and closed headphones is simple, you would buy one over the other depending on several factors.
In this post, I’ll discuss the pros and cons of these headphone designs, plus a lesser-known type known as semi-open-back. I’ll also cover the application of open-back and closed-back headphones for music, studio use, gaming, and much more.
Open-Back Headphones
Open headphones can be identified by the ear cup enclosure’s perforated, vented, or mesh-covered design. Open-back headphones allow air and sound to pass through the earcups; thus, the listening experience is closer to a real Hi-Fi speaker system.
You can See The Driver Units of the Sennheiser HD 6XX & HD 650 Through Their Vented Earcups
The main advantage of open-back headphones is the improved sound quality. The sound reproduction is transparent, clear, natural-sounding, and with great detail. The feeling of sound emanating from around you, known as soundstage, is also better in open-back headphones.
However, the improved sound reproduction of open-back headphones comes at the cost of isolation. Open-back headphones will not block out any ambient noise, making them unsuitable for use in noisy places. They will also leak out the sound, which means that anyone near you will hear what you are listening to. Open-back headphones might not be the best choice if you work in an office or use the public transport system with headphones.
Open-back headphones are suitable for listening at home or in a place where ambient noise is not a problem, allowing for an immersive listening experience. Switching to a good pair of open-back headphone, especially if you’re used to consumer headphones, can help you rediscover your music and improve the sound clarity.
Closed-Back Headphones
Closed headphones are completely closed or sealed around the back of the earcups, which helps block out ambient noise to varying degrees.
The Closed-Back Design of DT 770 PRO
Over-ear closed-back headphones are better at isolation compared to portable smaller-sized closed models. Besides isolating from ambient noise, closed-back headphones also minimize music leaking. They are ideal in libraries, public transport, or noisy places where you want to enjoy your music.
Other than the better isolation levels, another advantage of closed-back headphones is the enhancement of the lower frequencies or bass. This is also the case with sealed subwoofer enclosures, which results in punchier and more accurate bass reproduction.
Closed-back headphones also come with their disadvantages. To start with, the music can seem colored. This is because of the tiny reflection of soundwaves off the materials used to create the earcups. This works against the overall accuracy and clarity of the music. However, this is becoming less of an issue as manufacturers use anti-resonant materials. The soundstage in closed-back headphones can also seem smaller and congested than in open-back headphones.
Semi-Open-back Headphones
According to manufacturers, a user can enjoy the best of open and closed headphones in one headphone with semi-open headphones. Semi-open headphones are the ones where there are holes in the back of the earcups, but they are partly closed.
Some good examples include the AKG K240 STUDIO or the Fostex T50RP.
Fostex T50RP Semi-Open-Back Headphones
A partially open earcup of semi-open headphones will give them some advantages over open-back headphones, but they will also bear all the disadvantages. So, you’ll get an expansive soundstage, but the isolation and sound leakage will be just like open headphones.
When shopping for headphones, I would not advise anyone to let the ‘semi-open’ tag be a deciding factor. First, listen to the headphone and see if you’ll like them. Otherwise, semi-open headphones are not the way to go if you’re looking for closed-back headphones’ isolation and the sound quality of open-back headphones. It is better to purchase two headphones to serve these purposes. Read more about semi-open-back headphones.
Open-back vs. Closed-back Headphones
Choosing between open or closed headphones should not be a hard choice. When pondering the two alternatives, your preferences and the intended application should significantly influence your final choice.
For audiophiles or users using headphones at home, you are free to choose any pair of headphones you like. However, open-back headphones should be your go-to headphone. Open headphones are perfect in quiet spaces and will give better and more transparent sound reproduction. A cheap model like the Phillips SHP9500 is an ideal starter choice and does not require an amplifier. Check out our best audiophile headphones.
The Phillips SHP9500 is a great budget-friendly open-back headphone. They are comfortable and well built, but most importantly, they have audiophile quality sound. For the price you pay for these, they easily come off as a worthy recommendation.
For those looking for portable traveling headphones, you’ll want to use closed-back headphones. In public transport, like trains and airplanes, where playing music from your phone’s speaker is inappropriate, so are open headphones. Subjecting other people to your music is not always a good look. A good closed-back headphone is a choice to use in public areas.
The design of closed-back headphones blocks outside noise from coming into the earcup or music leaking out. This gives them better isolation levels, ideal when listening in a bus, library, or anywhere you would disturb anyone with your music. They also offer privacy since sound leakage is minimal, even when turned up loud.
For studio use, closed-back headphones are the king. If you’re starting, a good closed-back studio headphone like the Sennheiser HD280 PRO or the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x is good.
Sennheiser HD280 PRO and Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
They are suitable for recording vocals and preventing audio from bleeding into the mic. However, open-back headphones are the way to go if you are mixing and mastering without a pair of studio monitors. They are perfect for revealing mistakes to make a track sound better.
In gaming, both open and closed headphones create a different experience. Closed-back headphones are best in noisy areas where noise interferes with your gaming experience. Closed-back headphones can block out ambient noise and give you better gaming immersion. However, when gaming at home where noise is not a problem, good open-back headphones like the AKG K702 or Audio Technica ATH-AD700X can create a realistic and expansive gaming experience. Open-back headphones can be helpful where positional audio is essential such as in FPS gaming.
