[sopro]

My 10 year old is a drummer. I'm looking to provide hearing protection while also letting him hear his metronome or music to play along with. I would lean towards athM50 but a bit pricey.
Seems some have recommended JVC HA-RX700 as decent sounding with good isolation.
My 2 concerns are: that he not hear terribly lo-fi music that might damage his ability to discriminate later; and that they fit his young head.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Happy new year to all.
Thanks
Randy

 

[mritt400]

DT770 Pro's isolate pretty well. Hearing the metronome would be an issue, not to mention with a full kit anyway. But wait, is he going to be listening to music or the metronome? I mean he can just watch the metronome, right? Are we talking practice pad or what? It seems the qualities you are looking for contradict, in part, the necessity of a closed-can in the first place.

 

[Acix]

1. GMP 8.35
2. HFI-550/580.
3. M-50.
4. K-271MKll.

 

[nonsupremous]

I think the HD280 Pro is the best sound isolating headphone I've heard without putting any type of circuitry to them. I use them when I play my guitar plugged into my amp. They are pretty amazing and can be had for under 100.

 

[nullstring]

JVC HA-RX700 are definately not very isolating. I would recommend against those, at least.

 

[loopfreak]

Senn hd 25 1 mkII is great for drummer so punchy and one big plus is they are literally indestructible so your kid can trow them around with no worry that something bad can happen ! They have one of the best isolation/comfort(velour pads)and need no amp .
Maybe used would fit your pocket

 

[sopro]

If I was unclear, I'm sorry. He plays a drum kit. Sometimes along with an electronic metronome while reading sheet music. Sometimes just playing along with songs (rock, jazz...) I'd love them to sound great for the music listening for reasons anyone on this forum needs no explanation. I also think young ears should not learn to get used to distorted crap. But more important is the fit and the isolation from his own kit which will eventually cause hearing damage.
I'd like to spend around $50 or so, if possible.
Thanks

 

[Avedis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopro /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I was unclear, I'm sorry. He plays a drum kit. Sometimes along with an electronic metronome while reading sheet music. Sometimes just playing along with songs (rock, jazz...) I'd love them to sound great for the music listening for reasons anyone on this forum needs no explanation. I also think young ears should not learn to get used to distorted crap. But more important is the fit and the isolation from his own kit which will eventually cause hearing damage. I'd like to spend around $50 or so, if possible. Thanks

For $12, Etymotic offers an earplug (not headphone) that got me through marching band for 10 years (5 years junior high/high school and 5 years in a college drumline), countless garage band rehearsals, etc etc. They offer differently-sized plugs for differently-sized ears; you might want to look at their baby blues or something similar.

To be clear... the same $12 pair did not last me all 10 years (!!) but each pair lasted a good long while.

Obviously this isn't a headphone recommendation, but it should offer a lot of protection for his hearing, as it did for mine - and he won't be tempted to turn up the music too loud in his headphones, either (I probably would have, if I'd had any in-ear isolating headphones available to me at the time). My hearing is still sharper than most of my friends' who never played in band, much less played drums in a drumline (~115dB!) or a drum kit in a garage band in Seattle in the early/mid-90s.

~Jeff

 

[sopro]

Headphone.com has sen HD448 in their top 10 picks. Any thoughts on that?
My main concerns are: very isolating, will fit smaller head of 10 year old, not too flimsy for him to break easily, nice undistorted sound (it doesn't have to be best lustrous magical mixture of highs mids and lows - just clean so it won't hurt his ears.)
He will listen to music he plays along with and/or and electrnic metronome (like a click track) while he plays. Cans can protect his hearing when turned off, too, but emphasis is on the joy of playing along with songs he wants to learn while significantly attenuating the kit he is whacking!
Please no suggestions of used $500 monsters. If koss or bose met the criteria I am net a snob. He's only 10! I am an A/V installer and can get many products wholesale. But my clientelle are not headphone users and I have always been an open-back fan so I am undereducated in this specific area.
Thanks

 

[MrGreen]

If you're drummign while you are using them I'd recommend canalphones.

 

[3DCadman]

Looks like you've already got the drum kit, but my son is also a drummer. He's 14 and has been playing in his school band for 4 years.

He has had an electronic set for 3 years. He had a Simmons up until this Christmas when his wonderful parents

got him a Roland TD-9 kit.

I have to say that I think this was the BEST route for him to go (electronic). He can play all he wants with his headphones on (Sony V6 I've had forever and handed down) and all we hear is TAP TAP TAP TAP very quietly in the background.

The reason I say best route is he gets to play as much as he wants and he doesn't drive us nuts. Also, he can plug in his Zune and play to anything. Also, most electronic sets have some kind of built in metronome and other music to play along to.

This set up has been so good for him that he has improved tremendously in a short time. He actually will play at least 1-2 hours a day, even on school days.

As far as the electronic kits go, they can get expensive. The Simmons was a decent starter kit and he got a lot of use out of them, but the Rolands are in another universe! I even have fun playing them!

Edit: Sorry I wasn't on topic for the thread (no headphone recommendation). I just wanted to tell you my drummer parent story

. I wish him all the best in his practicing.

 

[sopro]

Thanks for e-drum story. We're odd parents in that we love hearing the real kit through his closed door. (Nuts, right?) For what it's worth, though, if you want to learn to really play acoustic drums or percussion (jazz, rock,...) e-pads do not have the same resonse as a real snare drum head. If your child is serious, you might want to get him a snare, at least.

 

[3DCadman]

He's got a nice Ludwig snare for school. A piccolo snare I think (it's thin).

Also, his Roland has the "Mesh" heads that are almost exactly like the real heads (they're made by Remo). The snare he has we upgraded to a 12" (PD-125) on a snare stand, instead of attached to the boom arm on the stand.

He swears it's just like playing his Ludwig.

 

[iHelp]

Yeah... I like the acoustic more (not a parent

)

3DCadman, those sound like some good heads. Roland+Remo=AWESOME.

As a drummer myself, I bought an IEM (in ear monitor), specifically the ER6i. I have black shure foam tips. They're about ~$75.

I also recommend the ER20 plugs. Quite cheap for the noise isolation.

 

[mugtastic]

i play drums and for isolation, snug fit and comfort i like sennheiser hd280pro best. most iems would prob. be ok but for recording i like to just whip phones on and off without the fussiness of my iems.