[Oya?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it depends on how soft the tips are.

True.

I found Shure olives on the E4 quite painful to take in and out repeatedly.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oya? /img/forum/go_quote.gif True. I found Shure olives on the E4 quite painful to take in and out repeatedly.

On my RE1, the bi flanges are very soft, so taking them in and out repeatedly(which I do most of the time because my roommates talk to me) isn't a problem and cause me no pain at all.

 

[YGingras]

Thanks for your recommendations. I will play safe for now and go for close cans; I'll try iems once the closed cans have helped me earn my performance bonus.

Here is a list of headphones with good isolation according to the specs. Those received pretty good reviews so I'll probably buy one of those. Can you tell me how they compare to each other in term of comfort and of real world isolation?

* Beyer DT770
* AT ATH-A700
* AT ATH-A900
* Senn HD280 Pro

 

[moonboy403]

I can only comment on the HD280 since that's the only one I owned out of the 4 you mentioned.

It isolates VERY well. However, the downside is the comfort. This headphone achieves its high isolation by clamping VERY tightly around your head thus causing pain(usually within an hour or two of use). The clamping loosen only to a certain degree over time so it doesn't help very much. If you wear glasses, all I can say is GOOD LUCK.

 

[Oya?]

Throw the Sennheiser HD25-1 on your list too, very good isolation. Again though, it's supraaural and isolation comes at the cost of comfort (in this case, clamping force).

 

[YGingras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oya? /img/forum/go_quote.gif Throw the Sennheiser HD25-1 on your list too, very good isolation. Again though, it's supraaural and isolation comes at the cost of comfort (in this case, clamping force).

I wear glasses so I don't think I could stand strong clamping with supraaural. Having the glasses clamped between the head and the headphones is one thing, having it clamped between the ear and the head is another. Most circumaural leave the ear free inside the cup, which was perfectly fine with the Koss R80 that I wore until the cup padding crumbled to dust.

 

[Oya?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YGingras /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wear glasses so I don't think I could stand strong clamping with supraaural. Having the glasses clamped between the head and the headphones is one thing, having it clamped between the ear and the head is another. Most circumaural leave the ear free inside the cup, which was perfectly fine with the Koss R80 that I wore until the cup padding crumbled to dust.

I agree that comfort issues make this phone a mixed bag. I wear glasses myself and find them comfortable for my long school hours, but then again maybe I just got lucky with the shape of my head.

 

[tmuka]

I work in a similar cube farm environment and although the HD-280 Pros are my first closed circumaural headphone, I would definitely buy them again. I wear glasses too and have a relatively big head. Some days the phones do feel tight after a few hours, but they are loosening up now after 9 months or so... The isolation alone is so nice that sometimes I wear them without any music playing. They are also great for lawn mowing since they attenuate like 30dB of outside sound! I'm a musician too, and these are also great for wearing while recording vocals too.

I'm enjoying this thread too, it makes me want to check out the DT770s.

 

[moonboy403]

If isolation isn't your priority tmuka, the D2000 would be a better choice than the DT770.

 

[BruteFM]

I and the guy in the cube next to me wear DT770s. He doesn't know I'm nearby until I sit on his desk and his monitors shake, and I can't hear a note until he takes them off his head.

I wear glasses too, and I would advise against the HD25-1 unless you feel like stretching it out first. I don't know how well it'd stay stretched out, though, and you risk losing isolation by doing that.

 

[YGingras]

Thanks to your helpfull replies, I know the DT770s are the ones I'm looking for. Where should I buy them from?

 

[nickchen]

Don't forget to organize you an amp, the DT770 isn't a can to be driven out of smaller plugs. A cheap Cmoy from Ebay or so will do.

 

[BruteFM]

It can be run without an amp, but it performs better with one. I agree on the Cmoy. I used to run mine off of one until I got tired of constantly changing the battery.

For even more fun, build the Cmoy yourself. I built mine with no prior knowledge of electronics or soldering and ended up having a lot of fun making it. Makes a great conversation piece.

 

[YGingras]

Do I still need an amp if I drive them from a computer port all the time? Given that I plan to use them with the computer and to get the amp much later on, should I get the DT770-80 or the DT770-250?

 

[nickchen]

Then get the 80 ohm version. But don't be disappointed about sloppy & slow one-tone-bass when you plug it into your soundcard.
Quote:

Originally Posted by BruteFM I agree on the Cmoy. I used to run mine off of one until I got tired of constantly changing the battery.

My vote for rechargeable 9V blocks.