OT Headphones - Which type???

Cliff Etzel wrote on 5/7/2007, 3:01 PM
I know the thread has been discussed before, but I want to get some feedback on this idea:

What about using some of the ear bud type phones with built in volume for on camera audio monitoring - I'm looking at the Skullcandy Smokin' Buds - the reason for looking at these is to keep my kit as small as possible - part of the less is more philosophy for the VJ work I am developing. They seem to offer the ability to block out outside noise like a full headphone, but are smaller and lighter in the process - anyone have suggestions on this???

Cliff

Comments

busterkeaton wrote on 5/7/2007, 3:40 PM
http://www.head-fi.org/ is a good heaphone resource.

Personally, I wouldn't want something called Skullcandy Smokin' Buds in my kit, but to each their own.

rs170a wrote on 5/7/2007, 3:45 PM
I use the Shure E2 and really like them. Around $100 at B&H.

Mike
John_Cline wrote on 5/7/2007, 4:24 PM
I'm with Mike, the Shure E2 is a great deal for around $100. They sound great and they are much more effective at blocking outside sounds than any of the active noise reduction headphones. They're so effective that sometimes I have to pop one out of my ear to talk to someone, although Shure sells a little $50 box that has a mic and a button on it for just this purpose.

John
Cliff Etzel wrote on 5/7/2007, 4:32 PM
ROFL - I just laughed my a$$ off on that one buster.. :-D
riredale wrote on 5/8/2007, 8:42 AM
Another vote for the E2/E2c. I use the foam tips and it makes for acoustic bliss on airline trips. The only issue is that it takes time to insert them, so I use Sony noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones for conventional stuff.
Baron Oz wrote on 5/8/2007, 11:01 AM
I use a set of E3c, but I went to an audiologist and had custom ear molds made. They cost about $50 plus the office fee (most of that was covered by insurance). They seal your ear completely and are very comfortable - I've worn them on trips to Brazil for 10 1/2 hours with no problems.

Ted
Tim Stannard wrote on 5/8/2007, 1:51 PM
Please excuse my ignorance here, but are active noise canceling headphones actually useful for live monitoring and if so, how?

As I understand it they work by sampling the sound around the headphones and then producing an equal and opposite signal (presumably by inverting the phase) in the cans.

Now, assume I'm pointing a mic at a source - call it Sound A - and that's what I want to monitor.
The sound around the headphones is a combination of Sound A AND other sounds - Sound B
If we now subtract this Sound A + Sound B from what's in the headphones, is this not likely also to affect the Sound A from the mic that I WANT to hear? I realise it won't cancel it, but I'm more concerned about it affecting it to some extent which may negate the benefit of such headphones.
riredale wrote on 5/8/2007, 10:04 PM
The noise-canceling circuitry doesn't care what's coming in over the wire--it just samples the ambient sound, assumes that a portion will leak in past the ear seal, so it inverts the ambient and mixes it with the real signal in order to cancel the ambient out.

It works to a certain extent, but only at lower frequencies. In-the-ear phones like the Shures are totally passive, but act like earplugs, and are much more effective.
DJPadre wrote on 5/9/2007, 7:51 AM
Etymotic ER 6 or ER 4

nuff said
totally lost wrote on 5/9/2007, 4:53 PM
The in ear models are great except when monitoring louder sources, eg live amplified music. With my FX 1 they simply aren't efficient enough and therefore do not have enough output to compensate for the loud music. At that point I reach for my trusty old closed cup Sony MDR V6's.

btw in ear headphones damage your hearing. Use sparingly.
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/2118/3142/view.phtml
farss wrote on 5/9/2007, 5:10 PM
If you want cheap cans to use with prosummer cameras we've been buying the Takstar DJ headphones off eBay. These are at least 10dB more sensitive than anything else we can find with closed backs at any price. They're sure not Sony 7506s or 9s in terms of sound quality but all that 'quality' is dead useless if you can't hear it in the field.
We've had one total audio disaster due to the use of 'good' cans like the 7509s. The user could sure hear the audio, it just wasn't coming through the cans as the mic was unplugged.
We've probably resold over 100 of these Takstar cans, we had one guy come back and buy all we had in stock he liked em so much. They're definately not for use in the studio or for mixing but in the field unless you've got a headphone amp they're excellent.

Bob.
GlennChan wrote on 5/9/2007, 9:21 PM
In ear devices might actually be better for your hearing than ear buds. What ear buds don't do well is block out background noise; to compensate, you have to crank up the volume/sound level to damaging levels. In ear headphones block out a lot of sound, letting you keep the volume down.

2- An alternate approach is to house good quality headphones in those sound isolating earmuffs (that people use for sound protection).

3- You might be able to add earmuffs on top of in-ear headphones for high sound isolation + good sound quality. (May be wrong here though, haven't done this myself.)
Cliff Etzel wrote on 7/24/2007, 10:57 AM
Bump

Ok, so the ear buds aren't working well as I thought they would for sound monitoring while shooting. I think I do want a set of headphones, but I have specific features I need.

1) They need to fold up since they are stored in my photo backpack when not in use

2) I would prefer inline volume control so that I can make sure I hear every nuance in the audio while shooting - especially if there is alot of ambient noise

3) They should be more traditional style headphones instead of earbuds.

I have looked at the Panasonic HT227's - my only complaint is the straight plug instead of a 90 degree angled plug (I can just see the plug getting bumped and snapping off in the camera).

With this list, any recommendations???

I have looked also at the Sennheiser PX100's, but they are an open back headphone - any thoughts???

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt
rs170a wrote on 7/24/2007, 11:58 AM
...the ear buds aren't working well as I thought they would...

Which ones did you try?
What's your complaint with them?
The Shure E2s I mentioned earlier have been great for me.

...any recommendations???

Check out the Headphones for location mixing thread on the rec.arts.movies.production.sound newsgroup for some recommendations.
I browse this group on a regular basis and have picked up a lot of valuable information. It's composed primarily of folks who do this for a living at a level much higher than you or I ever will so I'd take their advice.

...my only complaint is the straight plug instead of a 90 degree angled plug...

You can always cut off the straight plug and solder a 90° one on.

...would prefer inline volume control....

I'd avoid this feature as it's one of the first things to break down. A good set of headphones will seal out a lot of the ambient noise for you.

Mike
blink3times wrote on 7/24/2007, 12:20 PM
I'm partial to Sennheiser... I bought my first set when I was 16 years old... you remember how loud the music gets cranked at the sweet age of 16...... they just died last year. I'm now 46...you do the math.

I replaced them with.............. yup, Sennheiser. i figure they should do until I cork off.
farss wrote on 7/24/2007, 3:15 PM
Takstar DJ Headphones, buy them off eBay. We just sold 50 to a local film and television school. These things have been so successful I'm now trying to import 1,000 of them directly from China.

For around $20 you get:

Fold up
Closed back
Pouch
Straight lead with volume control
Coiled lead

We've got Sony 7509s that cost a bundle, various Sennys and a collection of cheap Chinese stuff. For location confidence monitoring we've yet to find anything that comes close at any price. They are simply LOUDER which is what you need.
For anything else they're a POS, definately not for mixing, but in the field they rock. And for the price if you loose them or a truck runs them over you're not going to cry.

If you want a pair, look for seller "infoserver".

Bob.
Cliff Etzel wrote on 7/24/2007, 3:21 PM
Mike, it's more about comfort than anything else - The cord is a little short as well - I would like to have about 6-8 feet instead of barely 4 feet - Since I also do the audio interviews, I can't get very far from the tripod - although I guess I could use an extension cord to lengthen the cord. Comfort is another thing - I find the in ear canal can get a little uncomfortable - even with after trying the various sized silicone ear buds.

The challenge I'm also having is finding a quality over the ear headphone that also folds down into a compact size. I feel like I find one with some features, but not others.

What about cord length - what's a good length without being too long??? This is one of those things I know nothing about and I'm tired of spending money on different types of headphones and then finding they don't meet my needs.

The Sennheiser PX100's come very close - they are light weight, fold down and Sennheiser has a positive reputation.

Bob - couldn't find anything with Takstar on eBay.

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt