[disturbed]

Well I love the etys but unfortunately I dont like sticking things indie my ears everytime...besides I waste too much time inserting them.

I usually use my Koss 35's when I go out and thy are very open as everone knows.

Now, people recommend me to put on earplugs (foam ones) and then put on my 35's

The questions are:
Wouldnt doing that make it harder for me to hear my music?

If I turn up the volume wouldnt that give the same effect as listening to loud music without the earplugs?

Could someone provide some insight on what to do in this problem of mine?

Otherwize I fear I might have to get used to the feeling of etys stuck in my ears

 

[coolvij]

Well, I recommend sticking with your Etys - they'll protect your hearing for sure.

The ear plug solution would just lower the volume of EVERYTHING - so while the overall listening experience might be comparable, the volume your ears experienced would be lower, protecting your hearing. I *think*.....

 

[chych]

Hm give the etys some more time, I can stick my etys in quite quickly (10 seconds) now, with the foam tips... practice increases speed!

 

[redshifter]

some quality closed cans might be in order, sony mdr v6, or some of the beyerdynamic or denon cans other folks have recommended. the ex70 canalphones from sony are some of the most comfortable headphones i've ever tried, and they go in your ears in about 2 seconds.

 

[davidcotton]

Word of sanity here.

If you are listening continuosly in a loud environment then I would suggest that you stop. If you have to keep cranking the volume up to get any benefits then in the long term you may be damaging your ears, so it may not be worth it.

Example.

When I first started work I used to listen to my sony md player all day every day, I work as a scanner operator (trust me its more boring than it sounds!)and when I first started the scanners hardly made any noise and aside from the office radio (urrgh) there wasnt a lot of noise so could listen to it reasonably freely. However we have recently swopped makes of scanners and also have more of them, (have gone from three single sided scanners, to seven scanners capable of doing both sides of the paper at once!) theres a LOT more noise now obviously as well as the radio being on and so I just gave up listening to the player as it wasnt worth the risk of having to crank it that much higher anyway. Means I have to put up with some diabolical music (celine dion, Mel C anyone?!)but it does mean that I can listen to my home rig much more comfortably..........

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Choice #1 - Leave.

Choice #2 - Closed phones. This is my primary solution at work.

Choice #3 - In-ear phones, such as the Ety's.

Choice #4 - Turn it up. Bad choice for long-term hearing.

Choice #5 - Earplugs + turn it up. This actually kind of makes sense, if it is the only alternative to #4, because what it does is lower the volume of _everything_, headphones _and_ noise floor, so you won't have to turn it up as loud to drown out the background level. But not as good as #2 or #3 because, as I mentioned in another thread, no earplugs give a flat response.

 

[Mike Walker]

Uh, turn up the volume

Sorry, couldn't resist. MY solution would be to use closed "cans" like the Sony MDR-7506/V6

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Walker MY solution would be to use closed "cans" like the Sony MDR-7506/V6

At the risk of sticking my proverbial foot in my proverbial mouth (again!), isn't it true that the MDR-7506/V6 are only partially closed? I used to wear them at work because I could talk to people without taking them off, as long as I shut off the music. But then I got a server put next to me, so I had to get a fully closed pair...

 

[Neruda]

well, I go with the volume increase myself...or I use my ex70's. And turn up the volume anyway.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

At the risk of sticking my proverbial foot in my proverbial mouth (again!), isn't it true that the MDR-7506/V6 are only partially closed?

actually they are completely closed cans. they just don't have quite the isolation of their ear-muff type brothers.

 

[Mike Walker]

Redshifter's right...the MDR-V6, 7506 is completely closed. As closed as a republican's mind

(KIDDING!)

 

[MacDEF]

To some people, with very large ears, they sit on the ears, rather than around them. However, for most people, they completely surround the ears. If you get the Beyer velour pads, they are even more closed and more comfortable.

 

[gerG]

I recently moved to a noisier office area, with very poor acoustic damping materials. It is not dangerously loud, but the combination of a strong 4 hz signal (with audible harmonics and fixture rattles) and a high pitched whine coming out of the ventilation system drives me up a wall.

The Etys are ideal, but they have the issue of attracting phone calls and visitors with questions and puzzled expressions. I intend to wire the telephone into my amp so that I don't have to take them out for calls. Some visitors I still take them out for, but people are getting used to getting my attention before asking questions now.

The Sony V6 are ok for easy donning and doffing, but don't isolate very well. They cut out the high pitched note, but let the LF stuff right through, which thins out the bass and makes me play them louder. They are also uncomfortable to me after a short while. I still use them on days with a lot of meetings, since the Etys become a bit of a pain for frequent changeouts.

I also use foam earplugs sometimes. Even more comfortable than Etys, but no music. Headphones over earplugs does not work very well. The problem is that earplugs are very non-linear in frequency response. You will never get the HF back. However, I have had great luck using cotton to regulate volume levels with reasonable frequency response. I have used this trick at live shows and concerts for many years, and it would probably work for headphones. Tear off a piece of cotton ball, twist it up, and insert it into the ear canal. Changing the density changes the attenuation.


Good luck.

 

[coolvij]

Mike: I'm a Dem, and a flaming liberal, at that. But you don't even want to *make* jokes like that - some ppl take politics SERIOUSLY!!!! Can you believe *that*!?

 

[Mike Walker]

And some people take LIFE (too) seriously. But nobody gets out alive! We all need to chill a bit! God knows the (near) future will be difficult enough. Only a little occasional humor (and some sex would be nice too!) can perhaps make it bearable!