[ShibeSuchBass]

I have JVC HA-FX1X earphones, which are pretty great for me, excellent bass, not muffled and dark sounding like a lot of other bass orientated headphones. Their normal sound isolation is good, but i need better. When i listen to soft audio, like ASMR or put my music on low volume, i can hear almost everything around me like a fan, in the room, people walking around, and if someone is talking in the house, i can hear them perfectly and it ruins everything. I found out you can put on your earbuds and then put on some ear protectors like this, so that is a cheap option, and i need cheap. Although, i think they may look too bulky and big. So what are ways you think, or do, sound isolate in-ear headphones? Replace the rubber tips? I hear foam tips are better, but idk how to find the right size, unless theyre the same size around the little hole where they are held in place? Some other kind of contraption or DIY thing? Anything, please.
 
Also, what would be the best, low priced (+/-$50) IEM for excellent sound isolation and bass performance, im a basshead 

 Im also open to recommendations for full sized headphones, but i would rather buy IEM earphones probably.
 
Any help? Please and thanks!

 

[SteveHiFi]

First, make sure you're being realistic - there's only so much attenuation possible by blocking and covering the ears. If you're not increasing volume to mask the external noises then they will be noticeable. Noise cancelling may not help with human voices and moving around. You'll have to wait until things around you are quieter to be honest
 
For a suggestion the Shure SE112 is warm, bassy without being boomy and has very good isolation. I listen to these on my motorbike - very good.

 

[ShibeSuchBass]

Yeah, voices are always the worst and hardest to mask. Even worse when im trying to relax and listen to some soft music or something. I recently heard about Comply foam tips so i checked them out and i like what i saw. The Comply T-400 "Isolation" foam tips seem pretty good and are pretty popular ive seen. They are said to provide a much better seal than silicone tips, cancel out more noise, and improve bass because of the seal, but the treble falls a bit(i dont care about that slight con). Theyre only $15 too, so it wont be too bad if they dont work, then i can even just return them i guess. Everyone says they last so short, like a month, so its gonna be a temp solution :L
Heres a HeadFi review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/389843/quick-review-comply-t400-foam-tips
 
Ill check out those Shure's, but i actually like booming bass, love the impact, call me a basshead. Know of any full sized headphones for what i need? bass, isolation, no crossfeed, good soundstage?

 

[SteveHiFi]

Comply tips are generally very popular, but their success really depends on the individual - silicone tips work better for me personally. As you say, it's worth a try but you may not be able to return them for hygiene reasons.
 
With full size you'll get as much isolation as a good pair of ear defenders/protectors - other than that, you've got auditory masking which can reduce the effect of the sound which are bothering you. This might be good for ASMR etc if you can put up with some white noise or similar along with it.
 
Regarding low cost bassy headphones, I'll be lazy and add this link, but you've got a good few ideas in there -
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/600870/best-bassy-headphones-for-under-100

 

[ProtegeManiac]

   I found out you can put on your earbuds and then put on some ear protectors like this, so that is a cheap option, and i need cheap. Although, i think they may look too bulky and big. So what are ways you think, or do, sound isolate in-ear headphones? Replace the rubber tips? I hear foam tips are better, but idk how to find the right size, unless theyre the same size around the little hole where they are held in place? Some other kind of contraption or DIY thing? Anything, please. 

 
You can get custom tips, like what Sensaphonics sells for Shure (instead of reshelling them). Note that even if you can get universal tips that fit "right," chances are if it slots into your ear canal the shape of your ear canal isn't perfectly round - the tip will fit in but there could be a lot of gaps around the tightest area that it "fits" through, and no universal shape tip will properly fill in those gaps.
 
If you think the $99 or so for those is a bit expensive, you can try making them out of disposable materials.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GhF_wF-hUQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmk-y_9exJ8

 

[mark2410]

if you want something that isolates more buy something that is more closed.  BA stuff offers better isolation as a rule.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  if you want something that isolates more buy something that is more closed.  BA stuff offers better isolation as a rule.

 
I'd guess that the problem lies more with his ear canal shape. Here's my right ear for example, where the medium ear tip is the largest that fits into a general area, but the ear canal itself is shaped in such a way that there are too large spaces around that area that I can feel it without even getting ear impressions.
 
Round shape is the ear tip, outline of ear canal in flesh, shaded area is the gap
 

 
 
 
By comparison my left ear seals a heck of a lot better than my right I can barely hear any outside noise through there.

 

[mark2410]

ahh, so your saying you get a crap seal then.
 
the answer to that is foam tips,  for the jvc i think your only real option is going to be complys which can be frustrating as those things get expensive replacing them all the time.
 
tbh i would have still put the problem down to them being dynamic and pretty open IEM's.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  ahh, so your saying you get a crap seal then.

 
In my case, though that was just a guess as to the OP
 

  the answer to that is foam tips,  for the jvc i think your only real option is going to be complys which can be frustrating as those things get expensive replacing them all the time.

 
Not in my case. A foam tip that fits right in the same circular area as in the diagram won't expand past that to cover the gaps, so that means larger foam tips are needed. I tried, and those won't go in as deep as they need to, so my right ear ends up with the same amount of noise going in with the additional discomfort of it noticeably sticking out farther than the left ear. The national chain that distributes hearing aids can make me custom tips for $30 per ear, and I already talked to their lab tech, however I'm a bit too busy to go back there for now (I just dropped by but had a meeting elsewhere and couldn't wait for the  other tech who can do my impressions). I was planning to go after work last week, but then I heard about people flying off the street thanks to the typhoon. I didn't want to risk finding out if the wind can push 200lbs of mostly beef-fed human carcass, stayed inside the campus, and hitched a ride with a friend who had a diesel SUV (that had a snorkel for the air filter) since I didn't want to risk my sedan either.
 
In any case as annoying as the gaps around the tips can be, in most areas even the S3 can get the volume high enough past the noise floor, and I can live with a higher noise floor on the go.
 
 

  tbh i would have still put the problem down to them being dynamic and pretty open IEM's.

 
Is that really the case with dynamic drivers? IE the shell design results in less than optimal isolation? AFAIK the only problem initially is that they need airspace inside the shell, like with speakers, but if properly designed that shouldn't be a problem, like the ASG-1 in my left ear right now.

 

[mark2410]

dynamics are rarely totally sealed, dynamic drivers need space to move. BA drivers dont so they are always sealed.  they are often much smaller too, with smaller bores so should be able to put on a small olive and then stick them deep.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  dynamics are rarely totally sealed, dynamic drivers need space to move. BA drivers dont so they are always sealed.  they are often much smaller too, with smaller bores so should be able to put on a small olive and then stick them deep.

 
Oh yeah, mine is (but of course it'shuge) but I forgot about those models with variable bass ports.