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Best drumming headphones

G

ganderson13

Junior Member
I saw a thread about this from 2011 but wanted to make an updated one due to advances in technology etc etc..

Anyway, what are the best, over-ear headphones for listening to music whilst drumming in terms of noise isolation, comfort, durability and sound quality?
 
While I'm still thrilled with my Ultraphones, I always keep an ear out for anything that might be better for me. But in the 10 or so years I've been using them, I haven't found anything else that comes close.

www.gk-music.com/ultraphones.htm

Bermuda
 
bermuda said:
While I'm still thrilled with my Ultraphones, I always keep an ear out for anything that might be better for me. But in the 10 or so years I've been using them, I haven't found anything else that comes close.

www.gk-music.com/ultraphones.htm
Click to expand...

+1

I've had my GK phones for 15 years and swear by them. I've tested the other brands, too. The Vic Firth phones have good protection but terrible sound. The Direct Sound Ex-29 sound better than the Firth phones, but their protection is not as good.
 
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BillRayDrums said:
I use these. They're my earplugs/headphones/phone headset. :D

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/mc3.html
Click to expand...

+1 I've used Etymotic in-ear ear plugs for run and gun video production for over 14 years. Awesome products across the board. Money well spent.

If we're talking full over the ear headphones my vote is for the Sennheiser HD-280 for comfort.

If you want a set of headphones that are sonically flat and will stay in place no matter how hard you play my "go to" cans are Sennheiser HD 251-II. DJs love them because they stay glued to your head. That being said people with sensitive ears might feel like they're wearing a Vise-Grip. If that's the case go with the HD-280 for comfort.
 
I recently picked up a pair of Direct Sound EX-29's after my old pair of Vic Firth headphones finally wore out.

The EX-29's do an awesome job of canceling out sound and are very comfortable even after being worn for extended periods of time. Additionally they are made in the USA which is a plus.
 
I have ultraphones too (on Bermuda's recommendation), can't ask for anymore, awesome sound and isolation.
 
I've also been thinking about getting some headphones to replace my cheap Audio Technica non-isolation ones. I'm impressed by the ten years (and counting) life of the Ultraphones. If they cost $250 that's only $25 a year. Sounds like a bargain to me.
 
BillRayDrums and Vintage Old School, can i ask you guys wich model in particular you use. I'm really interested in buying a Etymotic in-ear but there's to many choices!!
 
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I've tried many over-the-ear headphones including Koss, Sennheiser, Ultrasone and Audio-Technica. I have found the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 to be very comfortable, and they have good isolation and sound quality. Street price is around $170. I prefer them over my Sennheiser 280s which feel too much like a clamp and they offer better isolation than my Ultrasone 550s (although for critical listening I prefer the Ultrasones to any of them).

I have not tried the Ultraphones but I'm always looking for better stuff so if anyone has used the Ultraphones and either the A-T M50s or the Senn 280s, your comparisons would be most appreciated.
 
JimFiore said:
I've tried many over-the-ear headphones including Koss, Sennheiser, Ultrasone and Audio-Technica. I have found the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 to be very comfortable, and they have good isolation and sound quality. Street price is around $170. I prefer them over my Sennheiser 280s which feel too much like a clamp and they offer better isolation than my Ultrasone 550s (although for critical listening I prefer the Ultrasones to any of them).

I have not tried the Ultraphones but I'm always looking for better stuff so if anyone has used the Ultraphones and either the A-T M50s or the Senn 280s, your comparisons would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...

I own the Ultraphones and love them. Basically, they're Peltor Shooter's ear muffs outfitted with Sony MDR-7506 drivers. So if you're familiar with the Sony's (they are an industry staple, I own two regular pairs and we use these at Disneyland for monitoring all the time) then the Ultraphones are basically the Sony's with really good isolation. I bought them because I was mixing a band from behind the band on a floating raft my first season at Disney. I needed to hear clearly what I was sending out into the house and the Ultraphones achieved that for me. Totally worth the investment.
 
I've been using the ATH-M50s (s=straight cord), and I love them. Good isolation, comfortable, and amazingly good sound. And the price is great too.
 
CRS556 said:
I recently picked up a pair of Direct Sound EX-29's after my old pair of Vic Firth headphones finally wore out.

The EX-29's do an awesome job of canceling out sound and are very comfortable even after being worn for extended periods of time. Additionally they are made in the USA which is a plus.
Click to expand...

I almost picked up a pair but the design really irked me. I just bought a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770s (80 ohm model) and will report back on those. (Right now I use my Klipsch S4s.)
 
This might interest some people regarding isolation.

As mentioned, I currently use a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 around-the-ear headphones. They sound good and have good isolation. But how good is good? I also have a pair of Etymotic ER20 plugs and a pair of Tasco Blackhawk isolation earmuffs (I use these when snowblowing and such).

I decided to compare all three in terms of their isolation. The ER20 have a NRR of 12 dB, the Blackhawks are 27 dB. I couldn't find a rating for the M50. The obvious thing for me was to start hitting a china solidly because if there's one thing that'll make my ears bleed, that's it. They all reduced the levels but the ER20 were the least effective (not surprising given the NRR). The Blackhawks clearly had greater high frequency reduction than the M50 but the M50 seemed to be superior at the bass end. I assume that this may be because the M50 have a lot more mass. According to their spec sheet, in the mid kHz range, the Blackhawk attentuation is around 35 dB but only 20 dB at a few hundred Hz. Of the two, if I was trying to protect my ears, I'd use the Blackhawks but the M50 were still quite comfortable.

I also looked up the specs of the Peltor muffs that the Ultraphones are based on. I wasn't 100% sure which one it is but it appears to be the model 105. That model has a spec NRR of 30 dB so it's just slightly better than the Blackhawks. Assuming the installation of the Sony drivers didn't compromise the outer shell, I would guess that the additional mass might improve the bass isolation. These data, coupled with the anecdotal info from users makes me put the Ultraphones on my list of eventual purchases.

There's nothing quite like a good experiment to clarify things.
 
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