Open-Back vs Closed-Back Headphones for Music Producers, Audiophiles, & Engineers

these headphones are closed back and

these headphones are open back which one

is right for you before choosing a

specific brand or model of headphones

watch this video to learn what type of

headphones you should be using for music

production critical listening and

recording you're going to hear the

differences for yourself later in the

video when I demonstrate this pair of

biodynamic dt770 pros and this pair of

biodynamic dt990 Pros through a binaural

microphone we're going to simulate the

experience of you actually wearing these

headphones here with me let me know in

the comments if it works closed back

headphones like these biodynamic dt770

Pros have an enclosure around the

outside of the ear cups headphones with

a closed back design like this tend to

be the ideal choice and noisy

environments and in situations where you

really want to focus in on the sound

within the headphones without being

influenced by the sound around you this

is the case if you're recording a loud

instrument and want to dial in the right

mic placement or tone and sometimes it's

difficult to hear what's happening in

the headphones when the sound of the

instrument within the room is very loud

in addition to keeping sound out closed

back headphones also keep sound in this

is good for privacy and it's essential

for recording acoustic instruments and

vocals if the sound weren't kept inside

it could leak out of the headphones and

into your microphone a common example of

this is when a click track or metronome

can be heard in the recording if you're

using the headphones to work in any area

that's noisy you'll probably be much

better served using a pair of closed

back headphones like these you may find

that the headphones feel a bit more

unnatural but they definitely help to

keep out exterior noise

listen for yourself and let me know in

the comments what you think

[Music]

open back headphones like the biodynamic

dt990 pros are open behind the speaker

headphones with open back design tend to

sound more natural the sound isn't pent

up inside the ear cups as it is in

closed back headphones this means the

reflections within the headphones will

be allowed to escape minimizing the

interference and cancellations that can

occur and making the listening

experience more enjoyable and

comfortable for me it's much easier to

listen to a full album or film with open

back headphones so long as I'm in a

quiet environment they just breathe

better there is of course far less

isolation from noise around you with

open back headphones but these

headphones are best suited for quiet

environments where surrounding noise

won't be distracting for example open

back headphones aren't great for

recording instruments within the same

room but they're excellent for critical

listening mixing and mastering a lot

more sound will escape from open deck

headphones which means people and

microphones around you will hear that

leakage assuming you're in a quiet

environment you'll generally get a more

accurate and open sound with open back

headphones the indirect sound can more

easily escape and you'll feel more

connected to your environment which

contributes to an improved Sound Stage

where music in closed back headphones

may seem to take place from the space

between your ears music from open back

headphones seems to take place within

the room although it's still not quite

as good as listening through speakers

take a listen to these dt990 pros and

leave a comment telling me what you

think

[Music]

so which one is right for you open back

or closed back let's listen to each pair

of headphones one more time and compare

them side by side

[Music]

thank you

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

I believe a music production Studio

should have at least one pair of each

it's nice to have a pair of closed back

headphones for providing an isolated

listening experience for you or a band

during recording sessions but it's also

nice to have some open back headphones

for mixing if you're choosing headphones

for casual listening consider the

environment you'll be listening in if

you want to listen in a quiet space at

home and you want to optimize the

listening experience go with a pair of

open back headphones if you're going to

take your headphones to different places

like a coffee shop or a gym you'll

definitely want to avoid open back

headphones and go with closed back I've

personally found open back headphones to

be great for video conferencing live

streaming and working from home because

they allow you to hear your voice and

your surroundings much more naturally

it's similar to the effect of the

transparency feature within a pair of

Apple airpods I tend to talk too loud

when wearing clothes back headphones but

it's not a problem for me when using

open back headphones watch the video on

your screen to learn the next thing you

should consider when choosing a pair of

headphones I'll see you over there