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Author Topic: Noise Canceling Headphones  (Read 12902 times)

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Offline awmeyertimmy

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Noise Canceling Headphones
« on: February 21, 2018, 08:39:29 PM »
I need to buy some nice noise cancelling headphones for monitoring in the field. Just looking for some advice. Thanks in advance!
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Offline ScoobieKW

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Offline awmeyertimmy

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2018, 09:14:38 PM »
Wow! Those are beautiful. They would be perfect. Now, I just need to sell a kidney and I can go buy them lol
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Offline thatjackelliott

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2018, 02:53:55 PM »
Are we making a distinction between noise-isolating and noise-canceling headphones here?

Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2018, 04:55:47 PM »
Yes.

I haven't come across an active noise-cancellation headphone with sufficient headroom in it's cancellation circuitry to not clip on high level bass content.

That said, I'm still convinced the ultimate-quality isolation 'phones would use passive isolation combined with active low-frequency isolation to provide a better-tailored, natural sounding isolation response.  It's the only way to sufficiently counter LF leakage so as to achieve as much isolation down low as can be achieved at higher frequencies via occlusion.
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Offline earmonger

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2018, 10:08:12 PM »
Color me ultra dubious about noise-canceling phones. Fully agreed that passive noise cancellation--earbuds in earplugs--is the way to go.

There are about a zillion IEMs out there now, but old favorites like Shure are still good and so are newer ones like 1More Triple-Fi (under $100) or RHA.

It's all about how they fit, though. Try every size of tips that come in the package--all but one will sound terrible and give you no isolation. If you have big ol' ear canals like I do, you can go even puffier and more isolating with Comply tips.

If you want to dive into the true madness, www.head-fi.org has all you need to know and so very much more. 

Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2018, 08:54:25 AM »
Color me ultra dubious about noise-canceling phones.

Please explain why.

The highest sound-quality reduction I've ever experienced was a combination of active+passive-reduction.  As mentioned the only issue was lack of sufficient headroom in the active circuitry at higher SPLs.  At SPLs which didn't overload the circuitry the sound quality was glorious.   This could also provide the potential of custom tailoring the reduction curve to whatever you want within the maximum-achievable reduction envelope of the system, non-linear variable loudness curves, etc.
musical volition > vibrations > voltages > numeric values > voltages > vibrations> virtual teleportation time-machine experience
Better recording made easy - >>Improved PAS table<< | Made excellent- >>click here to download the Oddball Microphone Technique illustrated PDF booklet<< (note: This is a 1st draft, now several years old and in need of revision!  Stay tuned)

Offline Scooter123

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2018, 09:56:17 AM »
Passive won't color the sound in anyway.

I was going to recommend Sony 7506 cans, but the link that Gutbucket gave you is the 7506 driver with additional insulation to make them more soundproof
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Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2018, 10:24:51 AM »
^ Scoob's link.  (probably the best available solution for monitoring in a noisy environment)

Passive most definitely colors the sound.  Hence the muffled effect from foam-plugs - which is the most basic form of passive-reduction.  More highly engineered passive-reduction techniques aim to shape the reduction response via various mechanical filtering systems in order to sound more transparent.  But all are essentially limited to no greater reduction than whatever the minimum reduction happens to be anywhere across the full bandwidth (which will be dominated by LF, hence the great potential advantage of active-reduction in that region) and none provide a reduction curve custom-tailored to the individual's personal hearing response curve.  The reduction curves of various products may be more appropriate in a general population sense, but we all know how variable personal hearing response is compared to average response.  It's very difficult to find a truly accurate reduction curve match which will sound transparent for each individual. And if you do it's only truly applicable to one SPL level (the curve varies with level as an inverse "loudness curve").

Practically, if you can find passive-reduction plugs which sound transparent enough for you and you are happy with, great!
musical volition > vibrations > voltages > numeric values > voltages > vibrations> virtual teleportation time-machine experience
Better recording made easy - >>Improved PAS table<< | Made excellent- >>click here to download the Oddball Microphone Technique illustrated PDF booklet<< (note: This is a 1st draft, now several years old and in need of revision!  Stay tuned)

Offline rumbleseat

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2018, 09:09:25 AM »
I agreee with Gut - Passive for HF, Active for LF.
The best solution I've stumbled into is to use a set of In-Ear Monitors for monitoring, and place a pair of Noise Cancelling headphones on top of them.  The IEMs feed you the signal and the NC headphones are turned on, but are not plugged in to your source.  I have an old pair of Bose NC headphones that work reasonably well for reducing the "whump whump whump" effect at EDM shows.  Better than earplugs/IEMs alone.  Take note that since the NC headphones will be pumping as hard as they can, the battery life will be drastically reduced.
BTW, this combo is a dream on long airplane flights!
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Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2018, 09:53:17 AM »
^ Can that Bose NC circuit handle EDM bass or does it clip?  That's the problem I've had with using this technique in a practical sense, but I've not tried it with any Bose gear.

Wondering if the passive-reduction provided by your IEMs worn underneath the Bose NC circumaural 'phones might be reducing higher-frequency distortion products from the active-NC circuit clipping, making any overload of the active NC circuitry less noticeable, or if the Bose circuitry actually has sufficient headroom not to clip.  The other possibility is that Bose implements some sort of limiting circuit which kicks in to minimize excessive distortion at high SPLs by reducing the level of the cancellation signal above a certain SPL threshold.

In other words- if you take out the IEMs used for monitoring and just use the Bose active NC circumaurals, do you notice any distortion corresponding with the heavy bass impacts?
musical volition > vibrations > voltages > numeric values > voltages > vibrations> virtual teleportation time-machine experience
Better recording made easy - >>Improved PAS table<< | Made excellent- >>click here to download the Oddball Microphone Technique illustrated PDF booklet<< (note: This is a 1st draft, now several years old and in need of revision!  Stay tuned)

Offline rumbleseat

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2018, 11:25:21 AM »
Those are all good questions and speculations about distortion.  I have not tried to determine if there's distortion or not.  With my already damaged hearing, I would have a hard time determining if the distortion was from the headphones or just my ears at that volume.
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Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2018, 11:59:41 AM »
I hear that.  No worries, just exploring the idea in more depth.  Glad it's working for you.
musical volition > vibrations > voltages > numeric values > voltages > vibrations> virtual teleportation time-machine experience
Better recording made easy - >>Improved PAS table<< | Made excellent- >>click here to download the Oddball Microphone Technique illustrated PDF booklet<< (note: This is a 1st draft, now several years old and in need of revision!  Stay tuned)

Offline thatjackelliott

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #13 on: March 02, 2018, 12:14:25 PM »
In other words- if you take out the IEMs used for monitoring and just use the Bose active NC circumaurals, do you notice any distortion corresponding with the heavy bass impacts?
I can't speak to rumbleseat's experience, but I use the Bose NCs at our music festivals and they do clip big-time with kick drum whacks and heavy bass hits. It's a "thwapping" sound that initially surprised me until I tumbled onto what was happening. I "listen around" that now, it's not normally a big problem unless the sound tech is deaf and turns things up too loudly for the active circuity to null out. I've learned to overlook it. I do need to cancel out as much of the ambient sound because what I want to hear in my 'phones are the stage-lip mics and sound board feed, and the live sound reaches my position somewhere between 40 to 80 milliseconds later (speed of sound), which can sound very muddled without NC 'phones.

That said, I love the idea of IEMs + overear NC cans. I may try that this music festival season.

Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Noise Canceling Headphones
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2018, 02:24:32 PM »
^that parallels my experience with the AT in-ear active NC phones.  Except the distortion artifacts were too egregious to "listen around", making it impractical.

I don't generally done need to monitor live unless trouble-shooting a problem such as listening for obvious static or noise.  But the the best solution I found when I have tried to actively monitor was my old Etymotic ER4S in-ear monitors used with maximum reduction foam plugs (hole punched through them to fit the Etys) instead of the silicone flanges, plus passive-reduction circumaural noise-muffs (shooting range type ear-muffs) worn over them to further increase isolation.  Passable, yet remaining bass-leakage was the weak point.  And those shooting range style muffs are ridiculously large and bulky.

I've been wishing some manufacturer would make some IEMs with a really beefy active-NC circuit for a long time.
musical volition > vibrations > voltages > numeric values > voltages > vibrations> virtual teleportation time-machine experience
Better recording made easy - >>Improved PAS table<< | Made excellent- >>click here to download the Oddball Microphone Technique illustrated PDF booklet<< (note: This is a 1st draft, now several years old and in need of revision!  Stay tuned)

 

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