Gadgetory

hey what is up guys I'm QB HD here and the idea for this video came from a bunch of test footage I shot so it's a little bit short but I really like the footage so I wanted to upload it anyway or at least include it in the video so this is everything you need to know about open-back headphones there are only really two types of headphones and if you're in the market to make a decision it's a pretty good idea to understand the basic differences between the two so there's closed back headphones and open-back headphones so most headphones you'll see are closed back and that's because most of us listen to headphones to just hear our music and not anything else so whether we're on a commute or we're working out or whatever we're doing listening music we just want to hear the audio and not our environment so closed back headphones do this by creating a seal around your ear to isolate the noise and separate the inside from the outside a couple months ago I did a video on my top 5 favorite headphones under 200 bucks those were all closed back headphones and I still stand by that list by the way that's still like some of my favorite headphones for the price so you've probably heard by now one of the headphones on my list which was the audio technica ath em 50s M stands for monitor and they are closed back headphones so they will isolate your inside audio from your outside environment but in a studio or in some other quiet solo listening environment you don't need that isolation between yourself and the outside noise because there is no outside noise so that's when you might explore open-back headphones so open back as the name implies means the back of the headphones are literally open there's no barrier between the drivers and the outside world so sometimes in some pairs you can actually see straight through from the inside to the outside of the headphones if you shine enough light through this of course has its main pros and cons the main pro is normally in the way it sounds you'll typically have a much more natural sound where it sounds like the music is coming from the room around you instead of being played into your head this is what's called a wider soundstage where essentially the stronger this effect is the more it'll sound like the sound is coming from further away from you the more separation there is so it might sound like the guitar is back there and the drums are over here and the bass is over there and the vocals are up there it can be really immersive and that's pretty cool and another thing that can be considered either a pro or con is that real world sound gets mixed in with your audio sound so and back you get room noise as opposed to just a totally silent isolated noise from closed back so you'll feel like you can snap along with the music and hear yourself snapping you can have a conversation with the person next to you as if they're sitting in the room and they can't hear your music but you can still hear them if they talk to you it's pretty interesting again that could be a pro or con but the real downside of open back is definitely sound leak because there's no barrier between the inside and the outside the vibration of the diaphragm pushes audio both inward and outward so if someone's sitting next to you it'll sound like you're wearing mini speakers on your head or something they'll ibly hear everything you're listening to in a studio or alone this might not be such a big deal but if you're trying to listen to music in a public place like in a gym or on a bus or really anywhere that's going to be a little weird that everyone can hear exactly what song you're listening to these are the audio technica ath our 70 X the R stands for reference and you can see it says on the box they're professional open bag headphones of course there are other features that make them more professional grade headphones like the design and the material choice and they have removable cables but really it's the open back design that makes the real difference in sound versus the m-series these are the Sennheiser HD 800 s and they sound incredible and they are legitimately professional headphones and they are also open back and a lot of the highest end reference headphones you'll find the ones designed for studio use are open back for these reasons you're listening to it in the studio by yourself and a quiet listening environment but note you don't have to go super high budget to get some nice open back headphones there's a company called grotto actually I've talked about them before no one's paid me to say this but they make some pretty awesome lower priced open-back headphones so they make open back and close back but I'll leave a link to grottoes stuff below there sr ad is or one of my favorites a couple years ago there is also something called semi open back headphones but you really won't see too much of those so now you guys basically know all the differences between open back and closed back and all of their pros and cons so there you have it thanks for watching hope you enjoyed something or learn something and I'll talk to you guys the next one bass you