What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones the
drums are so loud that even if I max out my headphones the music is barely
loud enough to hear through the drums and then obviously I have to wear
earplugs so everything is muffled and sounds like crap.

So what I would like are headphones or earphones that block out so much
outside sound that I can get a nice clear, even mix between my mic'ed
drums and cd tracks at a -comfortable- level. I've read about the gk-music
ultraphones ($219.00) which are basically 29db gun muffs with sony 7506
drivers in them, my dad had a pair of the same muffs so i tested them
out, just put regular cheapo earbuds in, put the muffs on, mixed in the mic'ed
drums with a cd track and even then the drums were still too loud and I still
had to crank the cd player fairly high.. not nearly as bad as with regular
headphones but it still wasn't quite enough attenuation for my liking..

So what are my options? Reading google groups I found out about the Sennheiser
HD 280 Pro's which have 32db attenuation and cost $99.99. Whats the quality
like on those? How would it compare to my Audio Technica ATH-M40fs?
Are there any other iso headphones out there? I also found out about isolation
earphones http://www.microphonesolutions.com/ear-monitors.html
some of which block out 41db.. these seem great however to get that kind of
attenuation you have to use foam tips which need to be constantly replaced..
also I don't know what the quality is like on these things.. headphones would
be ideal just because they're so easy to put on and take off, you don't have
to clean them or change tips, etc.. i figure worst case scenario i could get
a pair of of 30 db iso earphones with the non-disposable rubber tips and wear
light muffs over them however I'd like to get an all in one solution.

if you have any advice, please share!

Matthew Blake wrote:
What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music
and have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular
headphones the drums are so loud that even if I max out my headphones
the music is barely loud enough to hear through the drums and then
obviously I have to wear earplugs so everything is muffled and sounds
like crap.

I can personally vouch for the etymotic er-6 in such a situation, but
I've heard some nice things about the shure units as well.

--
Aaron J. Grier | "Not your ordinary poofy goof." |
The United States is the one true country. The US is just. The US
is fair. The US respects its citizens. The US loves you. We have
always been at war against terrorism.

What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music
and have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular
headphones the drums are so loud that even if I max out my headphones
the music is barely loud enough to hear through the drums and then
obviously I have to wear earplugs so everything is muffled and sounds
like crap.

I can personally vouch for the etymotic er-6 in such a situation, but
I've heard some nice things about the shure units as well.

the er-6's alone? there's no way thats enough attenuation for me..
they only have about 20db noise reduction, 27 with the foam tips.

Matthew Blake wrote:

So what are my options? Reading google groups I found out about the Sennheiser
HD 280 Pro's which have 32db attenuation and cost $99.99. Whats the quality
like on those? How would it compare to my Audio Technica ATH-M40fs?

This is kind of a strange coincidence, but a few days ago I discussed
the Bose active noise-cancelling headphones with someone and just 15
minutes ago looked them up on the web to compare to other headphones.
(Not surprisingly, the Bose ones were $300, and Bose provides no
information about how much noise they cancel!) So then I started
wondering if they actually even cancel as much sound as regular
closed headphones block out. So, I got out the manual for my HD 280
Pro's to compare.

Anyway, I actually just got the HD 280 Pro's a few weeks ago, so I
haven't had much time to get used to them, but overall I like them
a lot. They sound good, they're comfortable, and they do provide
some pretty good isolation. However, the precise wording in the
manual is this:

Ambient noise attenuation max. 32 dB

So, that means "up to 32 dB". A full 32 dB of attentuation is probably
a bit optimistic. It's hard to guess exactly what level of attenuation
it really is, but if I had to guess I'd say it's not really 32 dB, more
like 20 dB under most conditions and approaching 30 dB at some frequencies.
But then most competing products probably also have exaggerated ratings,
so maybe that 32 dB number is useful for comparison. :-)

If you really want LOTS of isolation, what about using some earplugs
in combination with headphones? *Supposedly* you can get earplugs
that attentuate relatively flat across the frequency band, so you
could still get good quality. And if the earplugs aren't blocking
out more than 15 dB, the headphones should be able to achieve a good
listening level.

- Logan

If you really want LOTS of isolation, what about using some earplugs
in combination with headphones? *Supposedly* you can get earplugs
that attentuate relatively flat across the frequency band, so you
could still get good quality. And if the earplugs aren't blocking
out more than 15 dB, the headphones should be able to achieve a good
listening level.
- Logan

no i wouldn't like that. its not looking like i'm going to find any
headphones that isolate enough for my needs, i guess i'm just going to
get some isolation ear phones with custom molds and wear gun muffs over
them.. that would surely do the job. time for a new thread.

Has anyone tried these? http://www.extremeheadphones.com
I saw an add in the newest copy of Tape Op.

--litepipe

Matthew Blake wrote:

I found out about the Sennheiser
HD 280 Pro's which have 32db attenuation and cost $99.99

Usually available for ~$75 from Etronics.



Whats the quality like on those?

Quite good for the price.




i could get a pair of of 30 db iso earphones with the
non-disposable rubber tips and wear light muffs over them

That will definitely give you the most isolation.

Uzytkownik "Matthew Blake" napisal w wiadomosci
.. .
What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones the

* Try Beyerdynamic DT770 - PRO attenuates less, M attenuetes above 30 dB.
VERY comfortable, and really great sound quality.

jup

What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music
and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones
the



As a recordist, I've had good experience with the Trew Audio extreme
isolation headphones....they're Sony MDR-7506 drivers in isolation
shells. http://www.remoteaudio.com/hn7506.htm .

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 03:10:32 GMT, (Matthew Blake) wrote:

What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones the
drums are so loud that even if I max out my headphones the music is barely
loud enough to hear through the drums and then obviously I have to wear
earplugs so everything is muffled and sounds like crap.

er....this may be a silly question, but even if the drums have to be
miced, do the speakers HAVE to be pointing at you?

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect

What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones the
drums are so loud that even if I max out my headphones the music is barely
loud enough to hear through the drums and then obviously I have to wear
earplugs so everything is muffled and sounds like crap.

er....this may be a silly question, but even if the drums have to be
miced, do the speakers HAVE to be pointing at you?

there are no speakers, the mic'ed drums go into the mixer, the cd player
goes into the mixer, and i'd put my headphones on and listen to the cd
player and drums together in a clean, even mix at a comfortable volume.

In article writes:

no i wouldn't like that. its not looking like i'm going to find any
headphones that isolate enough for my needs, i guess i'm just going to
get some isolation ear phones with custom molds and wear gun muffs over
them.. that would surely do the job. time for a new thread.

Once again, this begs the standard rec.audio.pro question: "What do
you want them for?"

If you're looking for something that allows you to listen to tunes on
your Walkman while at your day job breaking up concrete with a
jackhammer, that's one thing. The ear plug style phones under the
safety ear protection that you should have for your job is the right
solution.

If you're looking for headphones for mixing music in a loud club or
concert where you need to make critical mix decisions without being
confused by the ambient sound, look no further. It isn't going to
happen.

The kind of noise that you want to isolate from makes a difference,
too. The active noise cancelling headphones are good for continuous
low frequency noise. They work very well on an airplane, but they
don't do much for impact noise like a jackhammer or or a small
nearly unmuffled engine like a chain saw or lawn mower.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Get some electronic drums......

DaveT

wrote:
Get some electronic drums......

DaveT

Unless of course he's asking because he likes real drums like a lot of
us do.

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 03:10:32 GMT, (Matthew Blake) wrote:

What I want to do is be able to play my mic'ed drums along to music and
have it sound good and not be too loud. If I use regular headphones the

...

ultraphones ($219.00) which are basically 29db gun muffs with sony 7506

...

HD 280 Pro's which have 32db attenuation and cost $99.99. Whats the quality

...

some of which block out 41db.. these seem great however to get that kind of

...

a pair of of 30 db iso earphones with the non-disposable rubber tips and wear
light muffs over them however I'd like to get an all in one solution.

if you have any advice, please share!


So what frequency(ies) are these attentuation numbers measured at?
Is there a standard for this? ISTR there might be some official OSHA
standard for measuring muffs intended specifically for reducing SPL,
but since earphones/headphones aren't intended solely for
attentuation, it seems they could use whatever measurements they
wanted (visualize a marketing person with a pair of dice).
Frequency response will surely vary between different phones/muffs.
High frequencies are a lot easier to isolate than lows, and how well a
device fits into or around the ear can have a large effect on
isolation (obvious to anyone who has used earphones/muffs much at
all).
In short, I don't trust those numbers to correlate well to
percieved attentuation. Perhaps someone who knows more about how these
are measured could comment here.

-----
http://mindspring.com/~benbradley

Ben Bradley wrote:
So what frequency(ies) are these attentuation numbers measured at?
Is there a standard for this? ISTR there might be some official OSHA
standard for measuring muffs intended specifically for reducing SPL,
but since earphones/headphones aren't intended solely for
attentuation, it seems they could use whatever measurements they
wanted (visualize a marketing person with a pair of dice).

Normally they are measured at 1 KC, I believe.

Frequency response will surely vary between different phones/muffs.
High frequencies are a lot easier to isolate than lows, and how well a
device fits into or around the ear can have a large effect on
isolation (obvious to anyone who has used earphones/muffs much at
all).

Right, but if you ask the manufacturer of the plugs or muffs, they will
usually be willing to give you response curves which actually have some
info. At least Cook Safety Products, whose plugs we get on government
lowest-bid contracts, do.

The exception to all of this are the piston-type muffs which are used
for shooting. Those contact diaphragms which only seal when a shock
wave hits them, so they basically provide no attenuation at all until
there is a strong short impulse to close the seals. These things are
sort of hard to measure, but they are also useless for all of these
applications.

In short, I don't trust those numbers to correlate well to
percieved attentuation. Perhaps someone who knows more about how these
are measured could comment here.

One scalar value doesn't even come close to telling the whole story,
yes.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I like them too. I work with a drummer who is a big guy who likes to
hit the drums real hard.
He also has nice 7 ply maple drums that are very loud. He also wears
heaphones along with cotton in his ears. Says his drums hurt his ears.
I say, play softer. No, can't do that cause the drums don't feel
right. He finally bought electronic drums. Problem solved. :)
Dummers, don't get me started.......

DaveT

(Matthew Blake) wrote in
:

there are no speakers, the mic'ed drums go into the mixer, the cd
player goes into the mixer, and i'd put my headphones on and listen to
the cd player and drums together in a clean, even mix at a comfortable
volume.

Ahh, there we have it. No headphone or muff blocks low frequencies well.
If you're pumping the full spectrum of drum sound into your headphones,
you're getting double bass (from the headphone amp and bleed from the
drums). Severely chop the bass from your drums going to the mixer and see
how that balances.