I use HD380 Pro at the office, too. They're comfortable for closed, but they still do get ears/head warm over time. This is in contrast to HD600. The sound is also like night and day difference.
>I've heard they leak audio and didn't want to annoy my coworkers.
At healthy (as in low and plenty sufficient) volumes this is not an issue. The reason I use closed headphones in the office is the other way around: I can hear my coworkers and they're louder than my music is.
>so maybe I should re-consider open-backed headphones if they breath better. Thanks for the suggestion!
You're welcome. I'm confident you can't go wrong with HD600, they're legendary all-rounder, neutral-tuned, uncolored headphones, and at their price they're a steal, but do watch/read some reviews before making the call, for your own sanity.
Do note that HD650/660S are less neutral and near-universally considered worse by reviewers, on both subjective and objective (measurements) metrics, even when more expensive. And the lower end HD599/etc models aren't even comparable on a level field, in neither sound nor build. (HD600 are modular and built like tanks. The parts are compatible with 580/650/660S and sold individually, for the worst case and unlikely scenario of breaking anything)
They're 300 to 600Ω impedance across the frequency range, so they do benefit greatly from a headphone amp, but will still sound great even from an anemic source.
If you end up feeling like buying a dac/amp combo to get that extra, perceivable improvement, do look into "Audio Science Review (ASR)" community for no-bullshit hard measurement driven reviews. There's excellent solutions that do not break the bank, and a lot of hocus-pocus that measures like shit and yet has outrageous asking prices.
Use tiny drivers with higher distortion and frequency response is v-shaped relative to HD600. They're better than e.g. HD579/HD599, but that's a low bar to meet.
>HD6xx
Are just a massdrop/drop brand for HD650, and thus everything regarding HD650 applies to them. All in all, the price difference of 58x/6xx/650/600 does not make it sensible to settle for a worse headphone than HD600. Particularly since it'll last you a lifetime. This is unlike, say, your computer's screen.
And the HD660S is, besides worse, dramatically more expensive.