Open back headphones... which pair, and is it easy to hear someone talking to you with them on?

guitarfishbay

Could be.  The low end on my monitors definitely changed over the first couple of weeks.  I don't remember noticing a big difference on any headphones in the past but maybe I wasn't looking for it.

guitarfishbay

Not sure how accurate this will be, but interesting none the less.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/499378/dt880-600-ohm-before-and-after-break-in

steamabacus

Purely anecdotal, but I'd say my Shure SRH1440s sounded a little less harsh in the high end and maybe a bit fuller overall (it's hard to know how much is just familiarity after getting to know them for a couple of months) after 'breaking in'.

guitarfishbay

So been using the 880 Pros multiple hours a day the past few days.

Pros

+ Earpads Just as comfy as DT770s, but having the open backs is much more comfortable long term.  Less claustrophobic feeling.  You don't notice them as much, if that makes sense.
+ Super easy to hear someone talk to you, so quite suitable if you're the type of person who likes to track DIs with headphones on but someone else is doing the computing.
+ Bass response is more natural than the closed back headphones I've heard.  Switching between these and the DT770s it feels like a subwoofer is cranked up on the 770s.  Since getting the Beyers I've noticed how the AT M50x's are noticeably less comfortable for my tastes, mostly because the ear pad sits on your ear and the Beyers go around it.

Negatives

- They do seem to present sibilant vocals slightly more forward than the 770s.  I A/B'd this on day one, and A/B'd after probably 20h of use (when I've not been listening to them I've run some loud electro music through them) and while there might be a little change the 880s are brighter IMO
- Obviously unsuitable for tracking next to a microphone due to bleed
- Coily Cable not as long or flexible as I'd hoped, I have to use an extension when not sat at the desk.


+/- the brightness makes it easier to hear things like cymbals (and editing mistakes with drums), guitar fizz, any clicks/pops etc...  I also think it's easier to tell a lower quality MP3s with these headphones (as lower bitrates tend to trash high end).  So possibly not a headphone I'd recommend for casual listening unless you like a bright sound.


All in all, they do what I wanted them to do so I'm happy.

guitarfishbay

Update.

Love the 880 Pros, they are a little bright but that's actually useful. The coily cable was too short if I wasn't sat at the desk but I already had extensions so no big deal. Impedance has not been an issue, they get plenty loud with my interface.

I ended up also getting the 990 pros recently which are cheaper but just as comfy. They're like the 880s with a bass boost and more of a V shape hifi kind of tone... I've found I use these for tracking instruments and give the 880s to my band mate who operates the DAW. The 880s weren't really giving me enough low end to vibe off but the 990s are great at this - they're not flat at all but I find the sound pleasing. I actually think we are getting better (tighter) takes both listening on headphones when recording instruments and the open back nature means we can still easily talk. And I find it way comfier over long periods vs wearing closed headphones.

I'm still using the M50x when tracking vocals (not me singing but we record in one room) as despite being less comfy than the closed Beyer 770s I do prefer how vocals sound on the M50x's and I find it way easier to tell if comps sound like the same performance. The opens bleed too much. At this point given I bought 2 sets of open backs I've spent more on headphones than I intended anyway so I'll just stick with the M50x's.

The Beyers all have a family sound to the (forward) treble, but of my sets the most sibilant are the 880s - I've seen some suggest the 990s are more prone to this but that's not my experience.

Wazmeister

I use the Beyerdynamic 770 Pro, and they are super light, and mine are the 250 ohm - which seems to suit the Helix/Kemper etc digital devices.

In fact, Ive got 2 pairs. The second set are virtually unused so I may sell em if anyone is interested. 

p90fool

Although this is an old thread and the OP is now sorted, it's worth setting up a cheap little mic just for this purpose on it's own fader or button. 
I had to set one up when I built my vocal booth so I solved this issue for about a tenner.