Portable/Isolation dilemma: Plz HELP!

[Audio-Me]

I will be out on a US Naval Carrier in about a year for six months.

My agony is this:
I am almost certain that I will need a completely different portable system for this condition.

Noise is everywhere in high decibels. Isolation is a must (but need to be able to hear a nearby loud voice).
The listening area is very CLOSED in. (small, like a large parcel box or something, lol)
I need things that are rugged and will last.
Shielding is absolutely vital.
Must sound good!!!
Power issues - I don't think I'll have easy or close by access to AC outlets during use.
(maybe large battery packs?)
Compression free anti-shock (3 sec+)

Which portable cd-player to get? (what a pain)
Which headphones to get?
Which mini-RCA cable to get?
Which portable amp to get?
Which power supply? (applies to pcdp & amp)

What are my options?

I'll have to do some extensive testing, but I would greatly appreciate any help to reduce the hassle.

 

[limey]

For your situation I can only see limited options -

Headphones have to be the ER4-S as they are the only phones with enough isolation to be listenable in your environment.

If you want good quality I'd go for the Headroon Supreme or Cosmic. Both are very well built and will take AC or 4 D type batteries in the supplied battery pack.

For a source I'd suggest the Panasonic CT-780 - although you may want to get something older which may be a bit sturdier. Just make sure that whatever the source is that it has a Line Out.

Good Luck

 

[Peddler]

Second that. Ety 4P would perhaps be a better choice due to increased flexibility - 4P - 4S - easy with a cable.

 

[Audio-Me]

As a reminder, I need rugged equipment. I have ruled out any headroom amps as I have the supreme and it would not be of good use for me in a carrier.
Any suggestions on older model metal build(or something else really stable) portables with non compressed antishock? (sony d-25s completely out of question as it has no antishock and doesnt last long) I think my Panasonic SL S261C would be good(takes AA batteries), but is there anything better(as in same quality but with non compressed antishock)?

I was thinking more in the line of closed headphones as I do need to hear SOME outside noise.

$300 for earphones? That seems outrageous, I'll have to check out the hype for myself and find out if they really are for real. Do they really sound that good? And perhaps the isolation could be too much?

 

[edog]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio&Me $300 for earphones? That seems outrageous, I'll have to check out the hype for myself and find out if they really are for real. Do they really sound that good? And perhaps the isolation could be too much?

The isolation might be a bit much for you. I really can't hear what's going on around me when I have music playing through my ER-4P's.

However, $300 is certainly not outrageous for the quality you get with the Ety's ($270 if you order from HeadRoom). They really are that incredible.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I'd say

Sony D-EJ725/825/925 (all have uncompressed antishock)
Porta Corda

With wall wart or DIY box for 3 9V batts instead of 1
Sony V6 / whatever closed phones you prefer that are not canalphones

 

[Audio-Me]

I have listened to the Sony D-EJ925 with Sony earphones one time while I was playing flag football. That's how much shock protection they had. Thanks for the reminder Joe. (I'll have to go demo these somewhere of course with my own equipment)

Porta Corda <--is that the microphone amp looking thing that Jan Meier makes? That might be good, it's small and doesn't look like it drains batteries too quick. What about those tin can amps? How do they compare? Which lasts longer (battery wise) or sounds better, or does one of them have both?

For the headphones, I was thinking along the lines of Beyerdynamic DT 250. I've listened to these many times and they were decent for music (but they were really loud which I might need to cancel out outside noise). (75ohm impedence maybe?)
The DT 831 is out of question, cause I know they sound like seagul crap unless they're being driven by a powerful amp.

Does Sennheiser make any closed headphones that matches sound quality even remotely close to the HD580s? The only one's I've demoed were all open air types.

With the fact that Sony headphones are small and light (would be easy to take off and on, and important outside noise could seep through), I might actually get a pair from Sony. Would probably go along great with the Sony discman.

So far the most likely candidates are Sony D-EJ925, Beyerdynamic DT 250, or Sony MDR-V500DJ with MDR-V300 for backup (earpads wear out quick). I'm not sure on the amp yet...

 

[dhwilkin]

I second the V6 recommendation. Good, but not Ety-level, isolation. Very efficient. Can fold up for storage. And they are very tough, these aren't going to break easily.

The Beyer 250-80s would be good as well, but I don't know how durable they are.

 

[dlow]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio&Me Porta Corda <--is that the microphone amp looking thing that Jan Meier makes? That might be good, it's small and doesn't look like it drains batteries too quick. What about those tin can amps? How do they compare? Which lasts longer (battery wise) or sounds better, or does one of them have both?

According to the web site (http://www.meier-audio.com/) the Porta CORDA lasts 48hrs on one 9 volt battery. I'm not sure about the Altoids amp, but I'm curious to know as well.

 

[dhwilkin]

The thing is, these Altoids amps are not all exactly the same design, and some may use different types of batteries. So it's pretty hard to say for sure. The easiest way would probably be to ask JMT through a PM... he can give a rough estimate.