Best Isolation Headphones for Around $100

[Snarl 12/8]

Hey People,

I didn't want to hijack that other headphone thread, but it got me wondering. I need to pick up a pair of headphones for drumming practice. I want to start playing to records and a click again to work on my groove. I'd like something that would allow me to hear the click of CD really well without having to crank it and blast my ear drums. Another use would be for mic placement while recording. I record myself primarily and it would be really handy to actually be able to really clearly hear the differences in mic placement instead of having to move mic -> record a bit -> play back -> repeat, constantly. I've already got Sony 7506's, so I'm looking for a big step up in iso from that.

I'm thinking about the Vic Firths, those Etymotic ER6i's (which would also be cool for the mp3 player) or those "Extreme Isolation Headphones." What would be my best bang for the buck in the dreaded $100 range.

Also, is using the Ety's with some additional isolation ear muffs a good idea?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

[Brian Brock]

I have a big head and the Direct Sound Extreme Isolation simply couldn't get around my head and press on my ears enough to work.

It seemed like Sennheiser HD280s did about as much reduction anyway, even when I pushed the Direct Sound phones against my ears.

Isolation is pretty much contrary to sound quality, so any headphones that excel in both are likely to be expensive. The earbuds could be interesting, as they seem to be generally cheaper to produce than headphones.

Hearing protectors outside of ear buds seem to change the sound quite a bit, but it can work if you just need to hear a click or something...

[Snarl 12/8]

I'm intrigued by the ER6i's for two reasons. They seem to be EveAnna Manley approved, and 34db is a buttload of isolation.

[wren]

I like my HD280's. And in my experience, the HD280's have quite a bit more isolation than the Extreme Isolation phones. I didn't actually find the Extreme Isolation phones to be particularly isolating, personally.

(I'm pretty sure that, according to specs, the HD280's have either 32 or 34 dB gain reduction. I have no experience with the ER6i's, so I won't comment there.)

[Morgan R. Koren]

I've got the Vic Firth ones and they've worked out pretty good. Don't expect to hear any sub bass, though.

[woodhenge]

Yeah, the Vic Firth ones isolate really well, but are the worst sounding phones I've ever heard in my life. They'll instantly make any signal sound like it's miked in a cardboard box!!!

I know they're more than $100, but I've been using the Audio Technica ATH-M50's a TON for tracking lately and absolutely love them. Their isolation is excellent, and the sound quality is on par with a good set of monitor speakers.

I've had mixed results with the Extreme Isolation phones, but I'd take them over anything else in the price range if you need better isolation, especially the Vic Firth ones.

[firby]

Snarl.

I have had the ety er4s and ear muff combo before. I don't know about those etys you are liking but the etys I had stuck out from the ear at a weird angle and the ear muffs made the things uncomfortable by jamming the ear pieces into my head. That said they were great. You could be playing and move drum mics with them. You get a real mix. Those etys got stolen with my last ipod by some dicklord.

Now I just use some real nice old sonys. Also the ety company was a real loser by needing me to send in the er4s to put a headphone cable on them and then charge me 50 bucks for the pleasure of being without the headphones for a week or two. It appears the only difference between the er4 something and the er4s was the cable and they were up in arms about sending me the cable because they thought I might be stealth upgrading my er4 whatevers to the er4s that I had already purchased.

Whatever, that cable had microphonics on it, whenever it brushed anything you could hear in the earpiece. Anyways, those er4s sounded fantastic, but the company was a dud, the cable was microphonic, and they were painful to wear under a ear muff which is what you need to do to hear a real mix while you are playing.

You certainly won't go wrong with the etys for awhile anyways till you need to deal with the company. Myself, I am going to look at ultimate ears with fitted by a doctor earpieces. I also own the shure ec3s and those are pretty nice.

The etys that I had sounded like a cleaner set of AKG K240DF if you have heard those. The bass was not overpowering and the highs were not fatiguing and they were accurate but not aggressive.

regards.

I didn't mind the vic firths that much, I'll probably get a pair because you don't have to screw them into your ears.

[jakeao]

I have a pair of the Vic Firths, that do a good job of isolation. Like the other posters stated, they don't have very good sound quality at all. I've had mine for around 6 years, and they take a lot of abuse, and still work great for what they are. I know I've tried the whole ear bud with muffs thing, and it always ends up hurting my ears after about 10 seconds.

[jgimbel]

I've got the Vic Firths as well. Great for recording drums when all you need to pay attention to is the timing, not the sound. The sound is far from accurate, preventing the whole "putting on phones and moving a mic around" thing, which I'd really like to be able to do. They do a good job of isolation though, and I often put them on even when I'm just practicing drumming. It actually makes the drums sound pretty cool when I've got them on, an interesting high cut (I know I've seen people trying to get drums to sound like how drumming with these phones on sound). So I consider them very utilitarian. I can't imagine not having them, but I'd definitely like to have a pair that was more accurate. I'm looking at the Extreme Isolation now, and maybe the MoreMe phones from Mercenary, though I don't know that I'd consider them isolation phones.

[FBH]

I know they're more than $100, but I've been using the Audio Technica ATH-M50's a TON for tracking lately and absolutely love them. Their isolation is excellent, and the sound quality is on par with a good set of monitor speakers.

Actually, the m50s seem to be readily available on that major auction site for less than $100 (buy it now), including free shipping.

[woodhenge]

I know they're more than $100, but I've been using the Audio Technica ATH-M50's a TON for tracking lately and absolutely love them. Their isolation is excellent, and the sound quality is on par with a good set of monitor speakers.

Actually, the m50s seem to be readily available on that major auction site for less than $100 (buy it now), including free shipping.

Good to know! I could use a couple of additional pairs....

[riantide]

I'm a fan of the MoreMe headphones, here's why:

Pro:
-They're INSANELY cheap (5 pair for $120 from Mercenary), which means I honestly don't give two shits how people treat them, which provides more peace of mind than I can express.
-They seem to be rugged as well, since mine have been stepped on and thrown around and still work great.
-They get ridiculously loud without distorting and they do not bleed whatsoever. You can crank the most obnoxious click imaginable and the mics will never hear it.
-They're switchable from stereo to mono and the cups detach from the headband, so you can split one pair between two people if you're running out of phones.

Con:
-they sound HORRIBLE
-They're very uncomfortable out of the box, but a pair of needlenose pliers fixes that in seconds.

I only use them for really loud instruments and for more sensitive stuff like vocals I give people nicer headphones. Check em out!

rian

[FNM]

I've used most of these. I think the best deal are the set of 5 Senheisers from BSW. They fit well, sound OK, and have OK isolation, mainly because they fit around your ears pretty good. I've had 2 of 5 go bad, but I got them probably 4 years ago.

The AT M50's are awesome since they sound great, but they are loose and have quite a bit less isolation. I can't wear them drumming though since I will rock them off.

The Vic Firths isolate very well, but sound like utter shit and hurt your head after a short while (and I have a small head). I feel bad having people use these and they usually switch them out for the Senheisers mentioned above.

The More-Me's are OK since they are cheap, but yeah they fit like crap, sound like crap, and the Senheisers are once again cheaper in the long run.

[inasilentway]

I want to toss another vote out there for the HD280s. I don't leave home without them. I'm using them for live sound, where it's crucial to be able to solo instruments in the cans and hear them clearly without bleed. As someone mentioned, it's got 32db of isolation, and they're an absolute bargain (I got mine for about $80 new online).

[jgimbel]

I just wanted to put a word in, I just got a pair of Sennheiser HD202s that had been on my list as a cheap pair to get for clients to use. I've been giving them the runthru. They don't provide nearly enough isolation for drums, but they haven't been too bad for guitars. Two things stick out to me: one, the ear cups are oblong, so it's not completely clear if they're supposed to go entirely around your ears or not. In the long direction they're big enough, but in the short direction they're not wide enough to fit. It's just kind of strange, a near miss. It's not too bothersome, just odd when you're not used to them. And two, the "great bass response" they provide is ridiculous, in a "christ that's a lot of bass" way. The first thing I did with these headphones was listen to a lot of music I didn't record (albums I have and whatnot). The bass is almost too much to listen to. After listening for a bit, I kind of got used to it and it didn't bother me, but still definitely a lot of bass. I've got a number of pairs of headphones and I've never had any that had this kind of response. On the plus side, they're great for letting you hear those frequencies that you usually need a sub for. Easy to spot when compression's acting funny because there's a ton of bass you're not hearing. At first I thought "wow I can't use these", but now I'm starting to really like them.