Open Back Headphones

I've only ever used closed back cans, but I keep reading about how open backs are the way forward for mixing and production work. I've been thinking I could get something better than my Sennheiser HD280's to work with, so I'm inclined to invest in a pair of good open backs in the near future. The thing is, I share a room with my brother and I'm often making music while he's sleeping, working or listening to something else (which is the main reason why I use headphones and not speakers). The HD280's were great at isolation when they were brand new, but wear and tear over the years have made them somewhat noisy at times. The main reason I'm looking into open backs however, is that I'm looking for a definitive improvement in sound quality for producing and mixing.

So my question is this: how noisy are open back headphones for people standing around you? Are they only marginally worse at isolating than closed backs, or is it more like having small speakers in the room with you? I can't think of any stores around here with open back headphones for me to try before I buy; if I'm disturbing my brother it'll defeat the purpose of me using headphones.

PS: sorry for starting yet another headphones thread; if someone talked about this specific issue before, I couldn't find it with the search function.

  On 9/1/2012 at 1:09 PM, kokeboka said:

So my question is this: how noisy are open back headphones for people standing around you? Are they only marginally worse at isolating than closed backs, or is it more like having small speakers in the room with you? I can't think of any stores around here with open back headphones for me to try before I buy; if I'm disturbing my brother it'll defeat the purpose of me using headphones.

yes they are and more than marginally worse. open cans in the subway or bus are a nightmare.

It does vary considerably from model to model, but as a general rule, yes open backs are far worse for leakage than closed back headphones.

However, with some models at least, unless you have them turned up very loud, I would be surprised if the leakage is sufficient enough to wake a sleeping sibling. It would depend a lot on how loud you have things turned up when you work, and how light you brother sleeps.

Personally, I do find open backs a little bit better for mixing, but as always, you shouldnt rely on an headphones for your mixes. If you have a decent set of monitors you can use when you brother isn't sleeping, then surely a set of decent closed backs will suffice for night time music making.

And as Tokn says, open backs are pretty terrible for public spaces. Not only will you end up bothering people with the spill from what you're listening to, but that lack of isolation works both ways. You will hear far more ambient sound, possibly prompting you to turn the volume up, further bothering other people and potentially damaging your hearing.