beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium Edition 250 Ohm Over-Ear-Stereo Headphones. Semi-Open Design, Wired, high-end, for The Stereo System

This is the second time I've owned a pair of Beyerdynamic headphones. Between now and then I've owned AKG 701s, and a pair of unfortunately fragile Sennheiser 650s. I've returned to beyerdynamic's for two reasons price and sound. I love my AKG 701s, but they took a ridiculous amount of time to burn in. It was only after several hundred hours of continuous play that they lost their new headphone harshness and became truly musical. I was going to return to them this time around, but the AKG company has been bought by Harman and the factory has been moved from Austria to China. They claim production is of similar quality but a number of recent buyers aren't happy. Even with a price drop I simply cannot justify spending the money needed to buy another set of Sennheiser's. So, I'm back to Beyerdynamic. I have to say, I'm very happy with my decision. The last time my 880s cost nearly half again as much more and came with a beautiful aluminium carrying case. The price is a lot more reasonable now and the case is leatherette, but I don't much mind as the sonic qualities are the same: they are precise and accurate. If there is a flaw in the recording these cans won't hide it. On the other hand a superb recording will take you places with these headphones that you may never have been before. They are also very easy to wear. Though not the lightest high-performance headphones on the market, the weight is well-balanced and the clamping force over one's ears is not too heavy. I'd say actually that there are a lot easier to wear than the Sennheiser's. I was worried that I might have to endure a long breaking in. I needn't have worried. I listened to three pieces in my first sitting. First was Beethoven's 15 Piano Variations and Fugue in D flat in the 2006 Deutsche Gramophone recording of Emil Gilels. It was everything that you would expect of this music and this artist. From the resonance of the repeated low strikes alternating with rapid legato runs. Gilels makes the piano breath and everything sounds exactly right — from the resonances of those low tones to his glistening light touches in the upper registers. This recording is done very intimately and listening with these headphones one feels not only as if you were in the same room, but perhaps sharing the bench. I listened next to Glenn Gould's 1980 recording of J.S. Bach's Toccata in f sharp minor, BWV 910. Where Gilel's Beethoven was warm and dramatic, Glenn Gould's performance has a kind of precision that uses the piano in a very different way. In the end it is perhaps even more exciting, but it gets there through a kind of uniformity of touch that allows JS Bach's layering of tones to emerge unsullied. In his time Gould was highly criticised for using exaggerated tempos — too slow or too fast — but these recording seems spot on to me. There's very little room presence in these recordings (and this is exactly as Gould liked) instead these headphones reveal a piano that seems to surround the listener. Instead of sitting next to the pianist, instead magically it's almost as if one is living inside the piano hearing every hit of hammer on string, minute sounds of the keyboard mechanism, and the faint sounds of Glenn Gould humming in the distance. Absolutely magical! Finally for something completely different, I listened to Miles Davis's Masqualero (the original Album version, not the awful remastered botch) from his incredible 1967 album "Sorcerer." Everything is there from Davises raspy aggressive tone to Wayne Shorter's incredible saxophone (it's as if he can make the instrument speak your language — whatever the language is). The percussion work is superb Even a simple repeated strike of the cymbal (that covers many bars of the piece) seems to be alive. Thank you Tony Williams. Herbie Hancock on piano and Ron Carter on double bass complete quintet. The recording is spacious and has lots of air — even as it still manages to seem very intimate. You can imagine that you might be sitting in the front table small club. You hear every articulation — the sounds of hard key strikes on the saxophone when Wayne shorter gets moving, and of course Miles Davis breathing life into his trumpet. These headphones make it easy to just close your eyes and be there. It's possible things will change with these headphones as they are broken in, and if anything bad happens I will revisit this review but for the moment let's say I'm a very happy customer of a fine German company.

I just purchased the Beyerdynamic DT 880 after reading every possible review on the internet. Rather than just reiterating everything that other reviews have covered on the internet, I'll try to focus on a few things that may help you make up your mind. A little disclosure first - While I am not a "true" audiophile, I am a HiFi consumer. I own 2 NAD receivers, KEF Uni-speakers as for primary system and B&W CM1 (they are awesome) speakers for my secondary system. I listen to most of my music via MP3, as in a NYC apartment as space utilization is key and CDs were one more thing I could get rid of. That aside, I think anyone who loves music will appreciate these headphones for home or studio listening. They sound great, are really comfortable and block out more sound than traditional open headphones. If you are not familiar with headphones of this caliber, you will find yourself noticing new things in music that you had never picked up before. Typically, headphones that allow you to do this are analytical sounding, but I don't feel that way about the DT 880. It just sounds like it is reproducing the music the way it was recorded. First contrarian comment: You can absolutely drive these with an iPod. I have a 5th generation iPod, and I can tell you that if you turn it up to 90%, these headphones get loud. Many other reviews have said otherwise. While I have not used a true audiophile headphone amp to see what I was missing, they still sound very good with the iPod and did not seem distorted. Second contrarian comment: I had read that these headphones do not have driving bass, and that if you like electronic music, you would be unsatisfied. I have not found this to be the case. People who want exaggerated bass will not be happy with this headphone, but listening to Simian Mobile Disco and Daft Punk with the DT 880 put a pounding to my ears. I have other headphones that can absolutely put out more bass, but they didn't sound this balanced. One area where the other reviews are correct and I think it is worth noting, these headphones will point out if your music is recorded poorly or if you are listening to MP3s with a low bit rate. 128k compression won't cut it. These headphones while overall sonically balanced seem to favor the treble a little more than the bass or midrange, and MP3s tend to be compressed the most in this area. I found myself noticing artifacts from the compression process where I never had before. If anything, this isn't really a flaw with the headphones, but a flaw with my plan of getting rid of all my CDs. As most of my MP3s are compressed with a variable bit rate of over 200k, I haven't found that this is a huge issue. The cable on the 880 is nice. Approximately 9ft long, straight, with a 1/8" jack with ¼" adapter. This is ideal for me. I bounced the cable around a bit and got little to not noise transference to the phones. One final note - other reviews have noted that the burn-in for these headphones to sound their best is 200 hours. I have not gotten to that point with mine yet... I am at about 10 hours... so I may come back and adjust this review another time. But even without the additional burn in time, I would be surprised if a music lover did not enjoy these headphones. It has made listening to music while doing nothing else fun again. And on top of that, at the time of this review, the price to value ratio is heavily in favor of you buying these headphones. Overall 4.5/5 Update: At around 60 hours of burn-in my few qubbles with the headphones went away. The highs mellowed a bit, the mids began to come to life and with more color. Fiona Apple and other female vocalists sounded stale at 1-10 hours... at 60 they sound warm and inviting. I have not noticed a change in the bass, but regardless there is a very noticable difference following a substantial burn-in. If you are giving these as a gift you may consider doing this for the recipient as they probably would skip this process without prompting.

This is my first set of 'audiophile' grade headphones, so I was not sure where my expectations should be to begin with, but I must say there are few headphones I have ever seen which come even close to these. I am using a Mayflower O2 DAC+amp to feed the headphones. I purchased these with the intention of gaming and listening to a wide variety of music. The build quality is superb. The cable feels thick and durable and the gold plated connector looks great. The ear cups are very sturdy and yet they do not feel like bricks on your head. All of the connection joints are strong and give me no reason to feel they may break, however if they do break it will not be difficult to repair them as they are removable with screws and Beyerdynamic offers replacement parts. The adjustment system seemed a little odd to me at first, but after using them for a couple of months I have never had any mechanical issues with them. They always stay where I adjust them to and the way they function allows the cups to pivot a small amount. The headband is very sturdy with a steel band wrapped with fake leather. While I wish it was real leather it's not a deal breaker, given that the padding is ultra comfortable and has never become uncomfortable even after long gaming sessions. The soft pads on the ear cups are also very comfortable and allow your ears to ventilate naturally. I really want to stress the comfort of this design. I have never worn a set of headphones capable of the same ergonomics as these. The ear cups are big enough that my ears do not feel squished or any kind of pressure. The clamping force of the band is a little on the weak side which means you cannot head bang with these, however this is likely what makes them so easy to wear for long periods of time. The other factor to consider is the softness of the ear pads, as they are just the right stiffness to maintain shape and yet they are soft enough to prevent any irritation. Excellent comfort overall. The audio quality is simply astounding, though I must admit I do not have a massive collection headphones to compare these to. I have tried these headphones with a few different amps and systems just to see what kind of differences I can hear. The headphones sound great on any system, but nothing has sounded more clear and precise as when I listen through the O2 DAC. In general I notice these attributes: The high range and mid range sound incredible. Particularly when listening to high quality music the vocalist comes through the mix perfectly clear, not muddy and with too much bass. I could try to describe the sound more accurately but overall it can be summed up as 'extremely clear and precise' which can be extremely useful for positional sound. This is part of why I like them for gaming, but with high quality music you will notice the difference as well. It feels like the musicians are in the room around you. There is one flaw I suppose that may bother some people. The bass is not very deep and boomy, which for me is perfect as I do not like overly bassy sound, but my roommate and others are on the complete other end of this spectrum where they enjoy as much bass as possible. Don't get me wrong, the bass is there, but it's not 'movie theater' bass that rumbles your chest. For me this is perfect, but for others it may be unacceptable. Something else you should consider is that these are open back headphones, so there will be sound bleed into the room as well as sound bleed from whatever else is in the room. This hasn't been an issue for me, but if you live in a noisy area you may want to consider a more isolated system. I give the product 5 stars because I can't find anything I don't like about it. I am confident that these headphones will last me many years.

I need to preface my review with the disclaimer that my ears are very sensitive to treble and sibilance. I was hesitant when I initially purchased these since a lot of reviews have said that Beyerdynamic headphones tend to have "hot" treble. Per Beyer's product description, these are the most neutral of the mid-range headphones they sell (DT770, DT880, DT990). I decided to take a risk based on the overwhelming positive reviews on both Amazon and various other audio review sites. My other audio equipment includes: IEM's: Shure SE425, Westone 4R DAC/AMP: Audioengine D1 out of 2011 Macbook Pro I listen to a range of music varying from classical to the occasional electro synth album. I've primarily done personal listening with IEM's until recently due to convenience of being able to use at home and on the move. Between the Shure and Westones I listen almost exclusively to the Westone 4R, which may help explain my preference in sound signature. I'm not a bass head, but I like to have full range presence from sub-bass to treble extension. These seemed to fit the bill based on user feedback. I essentially demoed these for a couple days and returned them for a number of reasons. They have excellent full-range response, but I had issues with a treble spike around 8-9khz. As I mentioned earlier I'm a little sensitive to treble, so I pick up sibilance fairly easy. If headphones display sibilance I have a tendency to focus on "sss's" and it ruins the experience for me. I almost cringe whenever I know a sizzle is coming up. I was able to EQ out the treble spike to a degree, which evened out the experience a lot for me. Once I was able to fix the treble range, I was able to enjoy the presentation quite a bit more. Staging is incredibly wide on these, which makes some tracks incredibly engaging. Mid range is nice, if not a little recessed. I do get a "V-shaped" response feeling from these. The bass is nice and proportional to the rest of the spectrum. If you're a bass head you probably wouldn't be looking at this type of headphone, but I would point anyone who enjoys Beats in a different direction than these. I admit I gave up on these after only 10 hours or so of listening and ultimately settled on Hifiman HE-440s', which I ordered at the same time. My decision was mostly due to the 440s' having a much smoother treble region, which results in zero sibilance even when pushed on tracks that were almost painful on the 880's. With the DT880's I found myself skipping tracks with a lot of cymbal crashes or certain female voices that accentuated the already hot 8-9khz treble zone. While bass extension and imaging is slightly better on the 880's the overall experience for me is better on the HE440s'. Without the hot treble region the DT880's would have been keepers for sure. There is probably justification to keep both, as each has it's place with different types of music, I decided I'd most often grab the HE440s' for the majority of my listening. Without doubt these headphones will work for listeners with different ear sensitivities, music preferences, or perhaps those with different amps/dacs. I'd recommend anyone with ears sensitive to treble, especially those who pick up sibilant characteristics in tracks, to look at other brands than Beyerdynamic unless you are OK with using an EQ.

To start with, readers of this review must realize that the 250-ohm version of these phones was designed by beyerdynamic to be used with a fairly powerful home audio system. The 32-ohm version was designed to be a better match for the iPod/laptop crowd... of which I am not a member. For me, the reason for this purchase was rather specific: I have a moderately high-end 5.1 home theater setup (Yamaha / Klipsch / Philips / Toshiba / 58" Samsung Hi-Def Plasma), and for quite a while now, I've been looking for a way to watch DVDs and listen to CDs late at night, without disturbing my neighbors (I live in a fairly upscale 55+ mobile home park)... but also without losing the incredibly accurate sound fidelity to which I have become deeply and happily accustomed. Finally -- having read almost every online review that exists of the 880's and their chief competitors -- based on my listening tastes, I decided on the 880 Premiums. Upon first listening to them, I will admit that they seemed to be very slightly treble-heavy -- and a bit light on the bass end. Even so... without any break-in at all, I thought they sounded REALLY amazing -- very clear and clean -- and initially, I honestly could not have been more surprised and pleased. That was two weeks ago. Since then -- while I've listened to a number of CDs and watched several DVDs -- in order to more rapidly burn them in, I've been playing CDs through them almost around-the-clock, with them mounted on a foam cushion, instead of my head. As of this evening, they have accumulated just over 200 hours of use, so I consider the burn-in to have reached completion, and -- as I'd hoped -- the further into the burn-in process the 880's have gone, the more even, smooth and true they've ended up sounding. So, amazingly, what started out as being phenomenally good -- to my ears, at least -- has gotten INFINITELY better! While my DVD collection includes every type of film imaginable, my CDs and music-concert DVDs are primarily jazz and classical. Last night, I watched Pat Metheny's "Speaking of Now: Live" DVD, and even though the spacial representation of DTS 5.1 is lost, the accuracy of sound reproduction through the 880's was flawless, and their sound stage is open enough that I never felt as though I wasn't "in" the film. I also found this to be true while watching my Blu-Ray of "Avatar" the night before; COMPLETELY realistic. Tonight, I watched my Blu-Ray of "Jeff Beck - performing this week... live at Ronnie Scott's", featuring the 20-something phenom Tal Wilkenfeld on electric bass. Let me just say... while many reviewers seem to feel that the 880's bass response is somewhat lacking, I personally am ASTOUNDED at their ability to so clearly define, express, and reproduce every nuance of intonation and touch in the playing (for instance) of acoustic standup bass... right down to the lowest notes of which the instrument is capable. At the same time, neither deep electric bass notes nor loud, low drumtones are ever the least bit harsh, distorted, or uncomfortable in any way... yet they are fully, perfectly, and accurately THERE. Pure pleasure! And while the 880's certainly can't reproduce the (literally) earth-shaking Low Frequency Effects of which my 12-inch Klipsch sub-woofer is capable, the very-low-frequency response of these phones, in the midst of explosive, calamitous film action, is FAR beyond my expectations. Several times now, in fact, in the middle of some on-screen battle or disaster scene, I honestly have spontaneously taken the 880's off my ears, just to make sure that my sound system really was NOT on! Final evaluation: WOW. I absolutely LOVE them! Update, December 13, 2012: By way of reinforcing my conclusions, as represented in the above review, I'd like to add that, over the past eighteen months, I have become so enthralled with the accuracy of sound reproduction of the 880 Premiums, and with how incredibly comfortable they are (again -- so as not to disturb my neighbors late at night -- I often wear them for four or five hours at a time), that I bought a second pair of them a few weeks ago, so that a visiting friend can enjoy a (sometimes exceedingly loud) late-evening film or CD with me. And what's truly nice about that, is that even though we're both wearing headphones, it remains a genuinely "shared" experience... which would not be possible if we were wearing "closed" headphones. Because of the "semi-open" design of the 880s, we are still able to make comments to each other during the film, or carry on normal conversation, without having to remove our headphones or pause the film or CD -- just as we would if we weren't wearing headphones at all. Allow me to repeat myself: W-O-W. I absolutely LOVE these things!

Wow. Just wow. I can hear a lot more of the music now. Even, in one case, a metronome waaaay in the background that really shouldn't be there. Kind of funny. The DT 880 Premium replaces an AKG340, which I bought new when it first came out. The AKG was amazing in its time, comfortable and good sounding. These sound better, just richer, but not boomy or otherwise enhanced. They just sound clean and true. Headphone sound and comfort is very subjective. If you have the ears, these are woth listening to. I have been playing them mainly through the UAD Apollo Duo Twin, but tried them on my iPad 2 and iPhone. They sound absolutely the best on the Apollo, but the iPad seems to work with them very well, very high clarity without and sharp edges, very deep and broad. When using them the the apollo I am cheating a bit, as I am also hearing my nearfield studio monitors in addition to the headphones. The headphones are a semi-open design, so you can hear ambient sound (sound around you) as well as the music through the headphones. The earpads are very comfortable and are replaceable. The headband adjusts to my head well, something that rarely happens. (The AKG 340 'might' be a bit more comfortable, headband wise, but they feel heavier, and the ear pads aren't close to being as good.) The 880's do not feel heavy, and I can wear them for hours. I am using the 250 ohm version of the headphones, which might not work for some devices. Look into it before you buy. the 600 ohm 'should' sound a little better, but wouldn't work well for a iPad or iPhone. I had tried an 880 Premium and a 990 (at a friend's studio) before buying, and the 880 sounded better, but wasn't "quite" as comfortable as the 990, which while a touch more comfortable I thought sounded terrible; both were being driven by / through an apollo mind you. For me, the 990 had boomy bass and almost shrill treble. My friend preferred the 990. (Now I wonder if his hearing is 'sound'.) Just be aware they sound very different. I do wish I could rip the earpads off a 990 and put them on the 880. But, the earpads on the 880 are very nice. Be careful, as the 880 Premium sounds very different from the 880 Pro, which costs less. (If you don't know what the UAD Apollo's are, look into them. Off scale amazing. Thunderbolt to Mac connected, would work with a PC with Thunderbolt. You may not 'need' this, but you will 'want' it. :) ) So, a good upgrade from the 340's, works well with iPad 2 and i Phone6s, and works GREAT through the Apollo.

I am writing this comment as a comparison between the premium and pro model, in terms of *comfort*. Many parises have been said about the sound quality between these two (which I belive sound exactly the same as they have same sound unit). I have a little wide head (not large, just wide) shape and the pro model was clamping my head like a vise. There are two reasons I think why the pro hurted my head: at first of coz it is due to the strong clamping force, secondly I think it is better for BD to make the ear cup a little more "oval shaped" like sennheiser hd650 so the edge of the ear cups wont rest on my chewing muscles causing sore and pain. I know I could "strech" the headband using a box or so but in the fear of damaging it I returned my pro and get this premium. Even though BD's official website claims that premium has only a little less clamping force (2.8N vs 3.5N) compared to the pro, I have to doubt the way they measured such force because premium has way less clamping force for me and ought to be much more comfortable, except for one dealbreaker: I could not adjust the lengh of the headphone enough so it completely covers my ears. Instead the best I could achieve was letting the lower part of the earpads sitting on my earlobe, which is ridiculous. I have owned many headphones and though some of them has to be fully extended to be comfortable, none was as short as the Premium. And, the clamping force is a little too loose, not a problem for me but if someone with my head shape wants to wear them out walking on street: they will fall. Upon careful inspection I came with a dirty mod: I firstly squeeze the headband (yes, squeeze, not stretch) using cable ties for a night to make the headband perfectly sit on my head to distribute the weight evenly, then I removed the two ear pieces (4 torx screws) and straightened up the two "fork-like" metal pieces to extend them a little longer. The sacrifice I had to make were: firstly I am no longer able to retract the earpieces fully back without the end protruding in the leather cover over the headband, and secondly I lost even more clamping force. Now the headphones are sitting loosely over my head and if I bend over they will tend to fall...Though it can be annoying sometimes, those are sacrifices I would like to make because it appears to be the only way to make the Premium truly a pair of "over-the-ear" headphones instead of "partially-over-ear-and-partially-on-ear" ones. Since both the Pro and the Premium have been sold for many years and praised by many, I guess my story must have been in the minorities so I do not plan to complain a lot on this. But still I wish BD to make the metal "fork-like" pieces maybe 1 or 2 notches longer so it fits more person. Sennheiser on the other hand always have long enough earpieces, so long that I belive those pre-history giants would be glad to wear them, if they could tolerate their clamping force. In a summary, excellent sound quality, but relatively weirdly designed. As many have said the clamping force is really heavenly-like. If they were 1 or 2 notches more extensible they would be perfect.

Excellent value. I spent considerable time researching headphones and all roads kept coming back to the Beyerdynamic dt880. I listen to mostly romantic era piano and string/symphonic music, but also listen to other "classical" genres and a little modern/pop. With this in mind, the most desirable headphones should be neutral, detailed, and have a great sound stage. Intended sources are iPhone 6 and laptop computer - I don't want to be tied to bulky amplifiers or otherwise obligated to use additional equipment. Intended use would be mostly at home, but I would like to take the headphones with me for use at hotels and while staying with friends and family. My previous "audiophile" experience is limited to the AKG k550 and k553, which I use at coffee shops or other public places where noise isolation is desirable. I finally decided upon the dt880 Premium 250 ohm, which I bought from Beach Camera through the Amazon website. I decided on the 250-ohm impedance version because there is an audible hiss in my AKG k553s that I believe comes from its 32 ohm impedance; this turned out to be a good choice. I reasoned that if I wasn't happy with the volume level of the 250 ohm version I could either exchange them for the 32 ohm version or add a moderately priced portable AMP or DAC/AMP, but I have absolutely no complaints about the volume level of the 250 ohm version even when driven directly from my iPhone. I used my AKG k553s on my iPhone at around half-max volume, and use the dt880 250 ohm at about 3/4-max volume. There is a distinct treble boost, as I had read about, but I don't find this bothersome. The separation of not only instruments but of different notes within the chords played by single instruments is excellent - it's very much like being at a live performance. The sound stage is not quite as wide as I had hoped, more like being in the front part of the auditorium rather than 1st balcony (my preference). I would also like a bit more spacial resolution - be able to close my eyes and located the instruments on the stage more easily. The bass on the AKG k553 is a little more pronounced, but definitely more extended and more realistic on the dt880. The dt880s are by no means weak or thin on bass, but have a profile for those preferring a realistic true-to-life presentation over a bass-lifted larger-than-life presentation. Kettle drums and bass fiddle sound VERY accurate on the dt880s, and the tight control of the bass needs to be heard to be believed. The dtt880s are very comfortable, as advertised, although I feel my AKGs have a slight edge on comfort overall, but I can wear either for hours without any discomfort. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the dt880 Premium 250 ohm. They are worth the higher price tag relative to the AKG k553s, as they more ideally embody the sound signature I want. Recommend these without hesitation. As a final note, I have had friends audition these headphones. I listen to them without equalization, as I want true-to-life sound experience. My friends who prefer moder music that has deep heavy bass don't like these cans unequalized, but love them with personlized equalization. They even tell me they prefer them to the cans they already own.

Fairly spacious articulate soundstage, smooth midrange, focused highs and well balanced bass,...all there in the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned. I can wear these for hours without ear fatigue or heat buildup. I'm tremendously happy with the purchase.

Le migliori cuffie cablate mai provate. Il suono è a dir poco eccellente, potente, pulito, cristallino. I bassi sono equilibrati e mai invadenti, esattamente come dovrebbero essere in un paio di cuffie che si rispettino, così come i medi e gli alti. Esteticamente sono davvero molto belle e la costruzione si presenta solida con materiali di ottima qualità, inoltre sono molto comode da indossare,ma come ho già detto la cosa che colpisce di più è la qualità eccezionale del suono. A questo prezzo è difficile trovare di meglio. Acquisto consigliato

Toller detailreicher Sound, würzige Versrbeitung und dazu noch Made in Germany. Perfekt.

Muy buenos audífonos buen sonido y buenos para viajes, al ser semi abiertos es necesario tener silencio semiabsoluto para escuchar su verdadero potencial. Los recomiendo

I spent far too much time reading reviews of headphones. I wanted an over-ear set for comfort an open backed set for better sound (I listen on my own). In the end after looking at reviews and specs. I went for these. Wow!! The sound is everything I was looking for. Clear, good across the frequency range, great clarity --- can't find a fault. I tried the Grado SR80e's and I have to say the sound is good but too sharp and punchy for my tastes and the build quality is poor. You do need a good source for the headset. Straight from my Motorola G6 the sound is ropey to say the least. Include a DAC (I have a Cyrus Soundstage) and the sound is fantastic. Over Plex great sound. Off my PC sounds OK but with the DAC so much better. From my Denon mini player again superb sound - as good as my really good Dali speakers. These headphones are v comfortable and I could wear them all day. They fit my fairly large ears v well. They are described as semi-open - so I can hear people in the same room talking but its not too distracting and the sound other hear is not excessive. All round - if you want a headset with superb sound and great comfort go for these.