Headphones

Ragedman

Junior Member
Hello Electronic Drums,

Here is the dilemma. My roommate and I play music a lot, more than four times a week for several hours. We live in an apartment so I play electronic drums.

Here is my setup:

Alesis DM8 USB -> Alesis Multimix 16 (not USB) -> Behringer headphone preamp -> AKG K99 headphones.

Also I have a Studio One Audiobox that I record with connected to the preamp.

These headphones are great for the price off Musicians Friend with the Behringer preamp. However they have outlasted their usefulness and the speakers inside have blown and sound like doodoo at higher volume.

What I am looking for is a pair of headphones around the $150 - $200 range that are great for an all electronic setup. Maybe even a better headphone preamp if anyone has any reviews of one.
 
Before I bought my headphones I researched a ton to find out the best pair for the price. From looking at probably hundreds of sites, I ended up going with the Audio Technica ATH-M50. They really are great, they're perfect for electronic drums. If you want more info just look up reviews for them on any site, even YouTube. I got them at Guitar Center and they do price match, so I found a site online that sold them for pretty cheap, I got Pro Coverage so if they break in the next two years they'll be replaced for free, and with everything I think they ended up costing about $140 after taxes. If I were you, I'd definitely look those up. Just go to Google, search "what are the best headphones" and click the first page that comes up.
 
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Be careful!!! Don't turn up the headphones too much. You can damage your hearing.

The reason you'd want a pair of the GK Ultraphones (or the cheaper Vic Firth headphones) is that they're true isolating headphones. The GK's are Sony MDR-7506's housed in Peltor Shooter's muffs. When you wear them, they block any incoming sound from the outside, so you don't need to turn them up and can listen at a comfortable level. This is why I don't recommend regular 'home use" headphones for drum use. The chance of hearing damage goes way up.

Or you could get in-ear monitors, like Shure SE215's, which block outside sound out as well.
 
The reason you'd want a pair of the GK Ultraphones (or the cheaper Vic Firth headphones) is that they're true isolating headphones. The GK's are Sony MDR-7506's housed in Peltor Shooter's muffs. When you wear them, they block any incoming sound from the outside, so you don't need to turn them up and can listen at a comfortable level. This is why I don't recommend regular 'home use" headphones for drum use. The chance of hearing damage goes way up.

Or you could get in-ear monitors, like Shure SE215's, which block outside sound out as well.

Just to weigh in another option.

I use the Shure SRH 440 headphones with the SRH 880 ear pads - Dennis (Audiotech) recommended these to me. They block out a lot of ambient noise (I haven't got the precise figures available right now) but they can be considered as highly-isolating headphones. I still sometimes wear hearing protection underneath them (in-ear plugs) purely because I am absolutely paranoid about hearing loss and I'm very sensitive to high SPLs. The Ultraphones are even more isolating and are essentially high-quality ear defenders with drivers installed.

The vast majority of 'consumer' grade headphones will not isolate sufficiently, even those with some passive noise-cancellation. Forget about Skull Candy, etc and go for a pair of headphones from a recognised audio manufacturer. Their websites tend to have very detailed specification lists for each individual model.
 
Yep. I took my GK Ultraphones to the shooting range once and I can listen to Mozart while firing off a Colt 45 just to test some of the claims I've heard from others, and it's true! Yes, you still hear the gunshot, but it's not deafening, and that's what the Peltors are designed for.
 
I have a pair of IEMs that work great for quieter volumes (Heir Audio 3.ai), and I know Etymotic makes IEMs that cancel out lots of noise. It's another option if you like in-ears.
 
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