[motW]

...but I was told this place would be a good place to get some info and recommendations. So here's the deal.


I'm a drummer, and am looking for some headphones I can use while drumming that will allow me to clearly hear a metronome/music without cranking it so loud, as well as simply providing hearing protection from the drums. And I will probably use these headphones for just listening to music as well, so good sound would be a plus. Price-wise, I'd like to stay around or below the $300 mark if possible. I can afford more, but I just don't think for me personally it would be necessary. That, and I'd feel a bit nervous wearing a $500+ pair of headphones, to be honest.

So that's the situation, here's the problem. I don't know anything about good headphones and all that jazz. So I've tried doing some research on my own, but I just got lost and ended up more confused. So if you guys could point me in the right direction, or even offer up some possible headphones I could look into, that'd be great!

 

[moogoob]

Sennheiser HD280 pros. They isolate like all hell, so work well for hearing protection. As well, they're pretty tough against general use, though some have had problems with the headband.

 

[Nick 214]

Sennheiser HD 25-SP-II @ HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears


Perfect

 

[Matcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sennheiser HD280 pros. They isolate like all hell, so work well for hearing protection. As well, they're pretty tough against general use, though some have had problems with the headband.

x2

They've been my LAN party headphones for quite a while now. If you've ever been to a big LAN party, you'll understand. If not, think about 400+ people and computers in a room, all screaming (do computers scream?), with tons of distractions. They've also been durable enough to last almost two years of being tossed into a duffel bag around twice a month and toted off to wherever I'm going, and have almost won a fight with a dog (one earcup was beyond saving, and the cable has a bit of tape where she got through it down to bare wire, but otherwise they're fine!).

 

[compuryan]

I would get the HD280 Pro. They will provide better isolation than almost anything you find. They will have a better seal than the hd25sp because they fit around your ears rather than on them. Because of this, I also found them more comfortable (I've owned both).

 

[Bonthouse]

x4 on the HD280 Pro
Seen as you like to drum and not taking off the headphone every 15 min or so, go with the most comfortable one that also happens to isolate the best

 

[Leto Atreides II]

Do you consider the 280Pro more comfortable than the DT770M? The DT770M were designed for drummers, so they should isolate well.

 

[Matcha]

DT770M is more comfortable.

 

[Spektrograf]

This is one of those rare times I'd recommend something that was developed for tracking and studio use... they're not mixing cans, they're not for hi-fi/audiophile listening... they're purpose-built for isolation and for the working musician or studio managers with small studio budgets...

MoreMe Headphones

With how cheap they are ($30), you can afford to purchase a set of these for drumming, and with the money left over, another set for listening to music that you'll like more than any closed can in your budget range.

...and THAT, my friend, opens up a whole other can of worms.

Welcome to Head-fi and sorry about your wallet.

 

[motW]

thanks for all the responses. I've got plenty of stuff to check out now, and that headphone.com site seems very helpful.

just one quick question. with whatever I go with, would it be worth it for me to go right to a $200 pair as opposed to a $100 pair, for example? As someone who's always used cheap wallmart headphones, I'm sure either would sound amazing to me. I'm just wondering if dropping the extra cash is actually worth it for someone like myself, at this point.

 

[Meliboeus]

if you live in europe, check out this shop, theere are a couple of models of noise isolating headphones specifically made for drummers...

THE T.BONE HD-990D - U.K. International Cyberstore

have you tried wearing in-ears and a pair of hearing protection phones ?

 

[chuckdpe1]

One of the beautiful things about these forums is it's pretty easy to sell stuff on here. If you were to get a $100 set of cans and find they're not to your liking, you can knock $20 or so off the price you got them for and sell them in the For Sale forums, and more than likely they'd go pretty quickly.

 

[compuryan]

If you plan on upgrading your amp/source soon, then yes, a more expensive pair that benefits from amplification would be good to get. But if you are not sure and are just getting into it, just go for a ~$100 pair because you can always sell it back to someone here without losing much on the purchase when you decide to upgrade.

 

[Tiemen]

BeyerDynamic DT770M all the way, specially designed for drummers.

 

[motW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meliboeus /img/forum/go_quote.gif have you tried wearing in-ears and a pair of hearing protection phones ?

Sort of. I used cheapo earphones and some isolation phones I took from work. It made the earphones feel very uncomfortable, and the cable pushed the phones off a bit causing them to actually not isolate as well. I'd really rather just get some "cans" as you guys call them here.

And sorry to bump the thread, but I had another questions which can hopefully be answered here without making a new thread. One thing I just remembered today while drumming, is how horrible the isolation phones I took from work make my drums sound. So that got me wondering. How will these cans make my drums sound? Do they really muffle the outside sound, or do they just sort of lower it? I'd hate to have such expensive drum gear that sounds great, only for it to sound horrible when I'm using the headphones.

For reference, the three pairs I'm currently considering are:
Sennheiser HD280
Sennheiser HD 25-SP-II
BeyerDynamic DT770M

So out of those three (or if you have other suggestions), do you guys think any of them will make my drums sound "bad"?