I need some decent 'phones

[grasslander]

Hi guys, ain't been on in a bit Can anyone recommend a pair of recording headphones? And not for a gazillion dollars? I'm not cheap, just poor Here's what I'm needing - to wear foam plugs inside my ears, then isolating headphones; I'm a heavy hitter, so I need the volume WAY up inside phones, and of course I need the foam plugs as protection from that then. I'm sure lots of you probably do this, heavy hitters or not, but when I asked a place online about a pair of their phones, and explained what I wanted to do, I got the email equivalent of a blank stare, hence my "over" explaining! LOL I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone has, thanks

[Olly]

extreme isolation ex-25 would be alright for you mate...check them out...

[LagerHead]

I like the Vic Firth Isolation headphones, but I don't think they are what you need. I don't think they're loud enough to get through earplugs inside. That being said, if you got rid of the earplugs, they cut out plenty of the outside noise that you may not need them.

[grasslander]

Thanks Olly, I was kind of thinking those might be the ones, from my searches And I'll have a look at those too Lagerhead, I hear good things about them Thanks both of you!

[Olly]

its a pleasure sir... :-)

[Russ]

im usin a pair of akg m70s for that bit of bass they give, 30 bucks, closed back, not too bad

[grasslander]

Thanks Russ, I'll check 'em out

[Russ]

or you can also get the sennheiser hd-202's for the same price, i guess i like them almost as much as my old audio-technica ath-m40fs's even though the AT's were twice as much, i guess i generally like sennheiser's stuff more. i do remember seeing some sort of buy one get two free deal on them somewhere as well, so theres something else to check on.

[grasslander]

Thanks again Russ

[limzz]

I use a pair of $20 Sonys. They double as ear protection and work perfectly in my opinion. I can hit as hard as I want and my ears are safe, and this also allows me to not have the music up as much; but I still have it damn loud.

[Russ]

its funny when you think about the concept. getting headphones to reduce noise, yet people are pluggin them into big stereos or boom boxes and turning it up full blast. what exactly are we accomplishing here in the long run? are our ears ever really safe?

[limzz]

its funny when you think about the concept. getting headphones to reduce noise, yet people are pluggin them into big stereos or boom boxes and turning it up full blast. what exactly are we accomplishing here in the long run? are our ears ever really safe?

Loud music through headphones is still not nearly as loud as drums (and i think mostly cymbals are the issue). I've played without ear protection jamming with a few guys and literally began to feel intense pain in my ears and we had to stop.

[Russ]

i guess your right.. i mean in addition to the many decibels of sound that the drums themselves produce, in a group setting you have also the guitar cabs to worry about too, those things can mess you up. plus it kind of makes the kit sound better when i hear it through closed-backs, but maybe thats just me

[funkyruss]

Loud music through headphones is still not nearly as loud as drums (and i think mostly cymbals are the issue). I've played without ear protection jamming with a few guys and literally began to feel intense pain in my ears and we had to stop.

I don't think cymbals are in fact the issue-I believe its the snare drum that kills us- cymbals don't produce the SPL that snares do. I think you should buy a pair of in ear monitors that give you isolation, as well as the sound you're looking for.
Save up your pennies and save your ears!!!!

[PearlDrummer18]

or you can also get the sennheiser hd-202's for the same price, i guess i like them almost as much as my old audio-technica ath-m40fs's even though the AT's were twice as much, i guess i generally like sennheiser's stuff more. i do remember seeing some sort of buy one get two free deal on them somewhere as well, so theres something else to check on.

Russ, do these headphones cut out the outside drum noise pretty well? I've been useing a Wal-Mart pair but with my earplugs i can hardly hear the music on the CD. If these cut out the outside noise really good and i can hear them well through my earplugs then i'm going to pick these up.

[Mysterious Stan]

Yeh im looking for some headphone aswel, ones that will pretty much totally cut out the noise of the drums while im playing them so i can hear what they sound like through the mixer (and get an idea of the recording quality). Would the vic firth fit this bill?

[Bish]

Hi guys, ain't been on in a bit Can anyone recommend a pair of recording headphones? And not for a gazillion dollars? I'm not cheap, just poor Here's what I'm needing - to wear foam plugs inside my ears, then isolating headphones; I'm a heavy hitter, so I need the volume WAY up inside phones, and of course I need the foam plugs as protection from that then. I'm sure lots of you probably do this, heavy hitters or not, but when I asked a place online about a pair of their phones, and explained what I wanted to do, I got the email equivalent of a blank stare, hence my "over" explaining! LOL I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone has, thanks

I'm going to pull a senior moment on you.

First, I cringe to think what you are doing to your ears....(and I'm saying with with complete respect and just concern for down the road)

With that said I have to pose a question first. Do you want to hear your drums as they are recorded or just want to hear the recorded drums later as playback?

For hearing the mic'd drums while playing, IMHO your best solution is in-ear-monitors and isolation headphones and not necessarily headphones as much as ear protection to filter outside noises. A firearms accessory comes to mind. They will have to form fit the area around your ear to be effective.

Otherwise, if you are the sound engineer and drummer, like I am when recording my drums, I set up the kit and mics, record and playback until I get the desired levels and effects I want. Then I record whatever I need to and have a digital copy of it for projects.

As far as brand name items go, I have no experience with any particular brand so I don't have any information to pass on that would be valuable.

Good luck, shopping for gear. It's always a great thing.

[brutal juice]

i guess i generally like sennheiser's stuff more..

sennys : probably the best headphone brand apart from Beyer.

[brutal juice]

For hearing the mic'd drums while playing, IMHO your best solution is in-ear-monitors and isolation headphones and not necessarily headphones as much as ear protection to filter outside noises. A firearms accessory comes to mind. They will have to form fit the area around your ear to be effective.

I totally agree with Bish - you are going to smash your eardrums to smithereens running red-hot headphone mixes. Putting foam plugs in your ears while wearing headphones will cancel out all the treble so you wont hear anything but low frequencies which sucks (obviously..)
you'll get more treble and clarity at and more comfortable volume level if you use simple in-ear plugs like on an Ipod then put some industrial hearing protection ear muffs on like you'd use for a chainsaw or jackhammer over the top.
The external ear muff should cancel out spillage from drums, cymbals, guitars etc and also add some extra low end to the normally tinny sounding in-ear headphones as there will be a semi-airtight seal around your ear and the earpiece.