LAND OF OPEN GLORY

Open-back headphones can provide a stirring solo listening experience. Here are four of our favourite pairs

For a more thorough explanation of the differences between open and closed-back designs, and a guide to which is best for you, turn to page 66 right now. But right here we are focusing on open-back headphones, and present four of our favourite pairs for your consideration.

An open-back pair of headphones doesn't have an enclosure behind its drivers, which means that sound is fired both towards and away from the listener's ears. This has advantages in producing a much more dynamically expressive and generally more emotive sound than their closed-back cousins, with a clearer, more revealing sound that is also usually more spacious. The downside is that they leak sound as a result of not having that enclosure, and also have next to no isolation from environmental noises. In a room full of people, they will hear your music in a tinny sort of way, and you'll still hear their chatter.

This, as you can imagine, makes them less than ideal for the commute or office. But, your home listening space is where they really are at, um, home. Over the following pages are open-back models from leading headphone manufacturers Grado, Austrian Audio, Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser. Whichever pair suits you best, and whatever genre you're listening to, your personal listening will feel that bit more open and emotive through these cans.

We're pretty sure Elgar would approve, too.

Grado SR325x

£249

These open-backed headphones remain the ones to beat at this level

The Prestige range of headphones has been at the core of Grado's output since it was first introduced three decades ago. While the series has developed over the years, Grado has always done so in small evolutionary steps. The story remains the same for this newest 'x' generation.