Frederick Jace
When it comes to buying a headphone for gaming, gamers are presented with either of the two options. Go with closed back gaming headphones or buy open back headphones. The choice between these two is not as easy as it seems. Each headphone offers intricate detail and features that are unique to that particular type of headphone.
Both the closed back and open back headphone trade blows when pitched against each other with each headphone claiming merit in something the other can’t but which one should you use is the main question. Well, to find that out we need to do a head-by-head comparison between the two to decide which one is better and deserving of your money.
Closed Back Headphones
The unique attributes of closed back headphones are shaped by their characteristic of trapping the sound within the earcup capsule seal. In this type of headphone sound is not allowed to escape from the headphone.
Benefits of Closed Back headphones
The main benefit that comes with using closed headphones for gaming is that they provide much better sound isolation hence you hear less of your surroundings and ambient noises.
This allows you to focus on the game you are playing and increases the immersion of a gamer. Likewise, since sound isolation works both ways, these headphones also don’t leak the gaming audio to the surrounding hence can not only be used for gaming at home but can also work as your go anywhere or commute headphones.
Another benefit of closed back headphones is that they are relatively mainstream compared to closed headphones therefore come at a variety of different price points and that price is less than a similar open back headphone.
Drawbacks of Closed Back headphones
The most substantial lacking aspect of closed back headphones is their inability to deliver Hi-Fi grade sound. Don’t get me wrong there are a handful of very great sounding closed back headphones but generally, the sound output of closed back headphones is average at best.
Open back Headphones
Open back headphones are characterized by their sound leakage trait. These headphones have exposed speakers, therefore, allowing the sound to freely dissipate to the surrounding.
Benefits of Open Back Headphones
The main reason you would be using open back headphones for gaming is that they provide unmatched sound. The sound coming out of these headphones is airy and much fuller when compared to closed back headphones.
This means that there is much more detail in the sound produced by open- back headphones and all my fellow gamers know that a slight micro detail in the audio like a faint footstep can decide the outcome of the whole match.
Drawbacks for Open back headphones
Open back headphones are not as mainstream as their closed back counterparts hence these headphones are not on the list of many common headphone brands that we know and love.
Due to this reason, open back headphones are expensive and cost more than closed back headphones.
Conclusion
Like most tech gadgets, headphones are also based upon personal preference and there is no right or wrong approach here.
If you want the best sound possible then you should consider an open back headphone but on the contrary, if you want a versatile pair of headphones that can be used for both gaming and commute then a closed back headphone is a better option in that case.
