Headphone sealed for bass, open to midrange

[Loren Booda]

Audio headphones, especially portable ones, need to be sealed against the ear at low frequencies to reproduce bass. They also need to be "open" enough in the midrange to hear traffic and people for safety reasons.

Can you think of a passive design (as opposed to electronic feedback) which would allow the reinforcement of bass, yet allows voice and warning sounds to be readily audible?

 

[turbo]

You need to select headphones designed with drivers that are biased toward the low end and relatively open in design. Sennheiser has been a leader in this technology for over 40 years.

 

[Loren Booda]

I have a pair of Sennheisers, and over the years the bass of their products has been improving, but nowhere like sealed headphones. Yours may be the best answer to my problem, though.