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isolating headphones


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Hi there... I don't quite have the luxury of a soundproof'd room to record in, and as a result, often am mixing in the same room as drums/guitars, etc. Anyway... I am looking for a set of headphones (high qual) that will allow me to basically be in the same room as the sound source, but hear an accurate portrayal from my mix without bleed from the source. I have a couple sets of Audio Technica ATH_M40fs headphones, but they don't really isolate too well. Any suggestions? I have read about a lot of drummer oriented isolating headphones but most of the drivers are crap that I've seen. Thanks in advance :D

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What about using IEMs? Don't need the wireless and beltpack and all that stuff, just the IEMs themselves. Shure sells them.

They're basically earplugs with a speaker built-in.

 

Of course, you'll never get total isolation from a loud drummer, you'll always "feel" the low-frequencies. It's nice to have the headphones for quick referencing when placing mics, but you'll still have to do test tracks and listen carefully with real monitors to the recorded sound and adjust as necessary. It's a PITA but it's the only way when you don't have a dedicated tracking room.

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If you use earplugs you could buy, and they can be really cheap, a set of insulation....headph...well, I don't know the proper name, but those headphone like things that the workers who use very noisy tools or those used to work with jet engines...I imagine that no headphones insulate that much....

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I'm sorry, I don't think I phrased my question correctly.. i have iems... i have earplugs... I was referring to cans I would wear while recording... like to find the sweet spot on amp speakers, position drum overheads, you know... to listen while IN the room w/ the source, but only hear what the mics are picking up. I am more or less looking to see if headphones exist that will give me a COMPLETELY isolated hearing base to listen with no bleed to what my mics are doing.

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Originally posted by zkaudio

I'm sorry, I don't think I phrased my question correctly.. i have iems... i have earplugs... I was referring to cans I would wear while recording... like to find the sweet spot on amp speakers, position drum overheads, you know... to listen while IN the room w/ the source, but only hear what the mics are picking up. I am more or less looking to see if headphones exist that will give me a COMPLETELY isolated hearing base to listen with no bleed to what my mics are doing.

 

 

These

 

http://www.remoteaudio.com/hn7506.htm

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Originally posted by zkaudio

lol^ breaker breaker

 

 

No... but really. If you want isolation while you're adjusting a snare mic you're gonna have to go with something that extreme. The drivers are the same drivers in Sony 7506's so they should sound great. I got Extreme Isolation phones and wish I'd got these instead. Mine just don't sound that great... but they do isolate.

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Originally posted by Warhead

The Extreme Isolation Headphones are very good and work as advertised.


War

 

I agree. :)

 

I borrowed a pair of Vic Firths that belong to a drummer I know so we could do some side by side tests, and I personally just wasn't as impressed with them. To be fair, they isolate pretty well, although not quite as well as the Extreme Isolations. To me, their big drawback is the fit. They sit on the ear, instead of surrounding it like the Extreme Iso's. I guess that's a matter of personal preference, but I prefer the EI's. The drummer did to, and went out and got a pair of EI's for himself.

 

They sound pretty good too... but it takes a while to get used to being that isolated and closed off from the world. I don't like them sonically as well as a few other cans I've owned / heard, but for their intended uses, they sound fine to me. As long as they don't distract / annoy the talent, and let you hear everything you need to, that's enough for me. And to be fair, I felt I could do that with either the Firths or the Iso's, but I just liked the sound, build quality and especially the fit of the Extreme Isolation cans a bit better.

 

The one thing I've heard occasional complaints about with the Extreme Isos is the vise-like grip, but the folks at Direct Sound told me the secret to that is to open them up a sit them across the arm of a couch for a night or two. That usually loosens them up enough to make them more comfortable. They don't have to crush your skull to isolate effectively, and there's no need to suffer with a crushing fit. And it worked great. :)

 

For me, the main complaint that I have with the Extreme Isolations is the plug. It's held up very well, but I hate the attachment. It's a 1/8" molded end plug with a removeable 1/8 -> 1/4" TRS adapter... and unlike some headphones that use a similar arrangement, the attachment doesn't screw into place - it just clicks into place. I can't tell you how many times I've grabbed the plastic part of the plug and pulled that free, leaving the adapter behind. That I was the first thing I checked on my buddy's VF's, but they have the same basic setup on the plug as the EI's, or at least his did.

 

Overall, I've been pretty happy with the EI's, and I feel quite comfortable with recommending them. At under $100, they're a good deal on a good product IMO.

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I agree I also use and reccomend the Extreme Isolation Headphones. They sound decent and they isolate well. I also found it best to stretch them out because they crushed my fat head at first. For the price I would definitly reccomend giving them a try.:thu:

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Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe

I have not tried the Shures, so I can't offer an opinion on that - sorry.

 

That's cool. On paper, they look pretty good. They have a higher dB response at 1k and slightly more noise attenuation. I'm just not certain how "flat" their response curve is or if an in-ear set would have the same bass response cans like the Extreme Isolations would.

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I have at least 20 sets of in ear monitors laying around here, all models, from westone to shure and everything in between. I can say, that even with the multiple driver iems, the quality is not even CLOSE to over the ear cans. So if you are purely using them for rough mic placement, etc, they are ok, but I have plenty of iems and am still desperately wanting some heavily isolating cans for my studio.

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