Is there an open HP that has minimal sound leakage? Please let me know if you have experienced this. Thanks.
I think Fostex X00 is considered semi open and they leak minimal amounts.
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The Fostex MK3 are really semi open and has minimal sound like but require lots of power or you will be disappointed.
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It might be that the volume I listen at is low, but I’ve found the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro / DT 1990 Pro and MD K7XX to be pretty low. Just got the MD HiFiMan HE4XX and that’s more noticeable.
That’s holding them in front of me/up to my ear (back of ear cup) while music is playing and also using my knee to sort of simulate it being on a head with the pads flush up against something.
I have the same experience with the DT1990. It’s considered semi open.
Focal Elear has low leakage IMO.
I would agree; Elear has little leakage, which is kind of surprising considering how open it is. The Clear, on the other hand, leaks sound like mad.
If you consider the Audeze iSine10/20 and LCDi4 to be open back headphones, then these are it.
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Of my open headphones, the AudioQuest NightHawk Carbons leak the least. They have a special diffuser grill on the cups.
My ME1 leaks less than the iSine 10 I had. Both are IEMs though but fully open back ones.
I had decent luck with the Fostex T50RP Mk3 for low leakage. Depends on how loud you listen to music of course.
Depending on what your reason might be for specifying open-backed headphones, this answer may or may not be of any help:
Seconding the Fostex TH/TR-X00 series because it’s a remarkably open sounding pair of cans for its being semi-closed (save for some cup reverb that doesn’t much get in the way of listening, really, and is actually pretty enjoyable). They don’t leak a great deal of sound but somehow contrive to allow me to hear what’s happening in my environment, provided I don’t crank the volume to absurd levels.
This makes them a great work/school headphone, though for obvious reasons I wouldn’t recommend blasting these in a library.