Semi-Open

A headphone design that falls somewhere between closed ear and open air designs. Many headphones that are called open air are really semi-open, as a true open air design does not stop any outside sound from getting in. Semi-open designs will muffle or partially stop outside sounds from getting to your ears, and as such can serve as a workable compromise to open air or closed ear designs, giving the listener the comfort of an open air design while helping to maintain some isolation.