Hi, I'm in need of some earphones/headphones with very good sound isolating characteristics for use in an office setting. The source will be my computer (Mac) and I need to block stuff like whistling, desk tapping, humming, loud conversations, etc. So not the kind of stuff ANC would block. They also need to be comfortable enough to wear for a few hours at a time. I just don't want to have to turn up the volume to cancel the office noise, as I already have enough hearing damage...
I purchased and am trying a pair of Shure SE215 (the blue 'special edition' models) based on all of the great reviews I've read. I like a lot of the functionality they have (MMCX connectors, BT2 option, comfortable, etc.), but no matter what I've tried, they just do NOT sound good to me. I would describe it as if someone had taken a huge scoop of 100-250Hz or so out of the mix. Like the bass player took the night off and the keyboard player crushed his left hand in a car door. I wouldn't consider myself a 'bass maniac', expecting mini-truck bumping madness from tiny earphones. I just like to hear all frequencies and what I would consider a 'warm / full' sound. To me these sound 'anemic / hollow / distant'. But I know everyone hears differently, and I know I have some hearing damage from a lot of concerts in my youth (though most damage is in high frequencies).
I did try every one of the 6 included tips (3 foam, 3 silicon). Some were better than others, but none made it sound 'full' unless I put pressure with my fingers on the outside of the earphones. So I tried the 'Sugru' trick, packing some of that in the medium-sized silicone tips to get a 'custom fit' of my ear. This helped a bit, but still lacking. I can't imagine getting a much better seal without going to custom molds.
The only thing that helped a bit was using the 'EVEN Earprint' functionality of my phone's Napster app to make a custom profile based specifically on my hearing with these. This DOES make a pretty big difference (though still a bit lacking in low end), and I might keep them if they always sounded like this, but it's limited to my phone (desktop/browser version doesn't have it), so not an option for most of the time. On a side note, I REALLY like the concept of this and wish it would be more widely implemented to help compensate for the different ways people hear (like tuning PA speakers to a room). I have a set of Avantree Aria Me headphones for TV watching, and the custom profiles also made a huge difference (I would have def returned them without this ability).
- Any recommendations of other earphones/headphones that would have equally decent sound isolation, but just sound more 'complete'?
Here's some that have come up in my research as options. Would love feedback.
- Etymotic ER4XR (I worry these wouldn't be much better than SE215s)
- Mackie MT-240
- Even Earprint E1 (not sure how good at sound isolating, I just like the concept of customizability)
- Duraphones / Duraloops (same idea of customizability, but Duraphones rate as very uncomfortable, and Duraloops as unreliable)
- Sennheiser HD280 Pro (these are geared a bit towards mixers / drummers in regards to isolation. I suppose I'm not opposed to big headphones if they're the best option)
- Beyerdynamic DT770 M (these are supposed to be even better isolation, but some say they have NO bass)
- Other????
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
I purchased and am trying a pair of Shure SE215 (the blue 'special edition' models) based on all of the great reviews I've read. I like a lot of the functionality they have (MMCX connectors, BT2 option, comfortable, etc.), but no matter what I've tried, they just do NOT sound good to me. I would describe it as if someone had taken a huge scoop of 100-250Hz or so out of the mix. Like the bass player took the night off and the keyboard player crushed his left hand in a car door. I wouldn't consider myself a 'bass maniac', expecting mini-truck bumping madness from tiny earphones. I just like to hear all frequencies and what I would consider a 'warm / full' sound. To me these sound 'anemic / hollow / distant'. But I know everyone hears differently, and I know I have some hearing damage from a lot of concerts in my youth (though most damage is in high frequencies).
I did try every one of the 6 included tips (3 foam, 3 silicon). Some were better than others, but none made it sound 'full' unless I put pressure with my fingers on the outside of the earphones. So I tried the 'Sugru' trick, packing some of that in the medium-sized silicone tips to get a 'custom fit' of my ear. This helped a bit, but still lacking. I can't imagine getting a much better seal without going to custom molds.
The only thing that helped a bit was using the 'EVEN Earprint' functionality of my phone's Napster app to make a custom profile based specifically on my hearing with these. This DOES make a pretty big difference (though still a bit lacking in low end), and I might keep them if they always sounded like this, but it's limited to my phone (desktop/browser version doesn't have it), so not an option for most of the time. On a side note, I REALLY like the concept of this and wish it would be more widely implemented to help compensate for the different ways people hear (like tuning PA speakers to a room). I have a set of Avantree Aria Me headphones for TV watching, and the custom profiles also made a huge difference (I would have def returned them without this ability).
- Any recommendations of other earphones/headphones that would have equally decent sound isolation, but just sound more 'complete'?
Here's some that have come up in my research as options. Would love feedback.
- Etymotic ER4XR (I worry these wouldn't be much better than SE215s)
- Mackie MT-240
- Even Earprint E1 (not sure how good at sound isolating, I just like the concept of customizability)
- Duraphones / Duraloops (same idea of customizability, but Duraphones rate as very uncomfortable, and Duraloops as unreliable)
- Sennheiser HD280 Pro (these are geared a bit towards mixers / drummers in regards to isolation. I suppose I'm not opposed to big headphones if they're the best option)
- Beyerdynamic DT770 M (these are supposed to be even better isolation, but some say they have NO bass)
- Other????
THANKS IN ADVANCE!